skateboarding…..

 This unit English Eight, we worked on a Poetry unit. Throughout this unit we worked on many poems and on a smaller project called the Teen Life Project. At the end of the unit we had at least twenty poems made ready and corrected and began a book. The poetry book was our major project this unit. All ESLR’s where used this quarter and will be listed.

Poetry this year was much more fun than I had expected it to be. I was never a real poetry fan but this unit really got me engrossed in it. During this unit I was an Academic Achiever, an Involved Citizen, an Effective Communicator, a Self-Directed Learner, and a Critical Thinker. As an Academic achiever I demonstrated progress in all areas of work. I did this because as you read through my poems I feel that they progress in quality and length. However as an Academic Achiever I did not access information from a variety of sources. I am sure that over the time that I dedicated to my project I could have dedicated more time to finding more information from books and magazines and not just Google. On the other hand, I believe that I demonstrated technological literacy and the use of technology as a tool for the efficient and creative completion of a project. This was done by using technologies such as computers and printers and binders to complete my book. As an Involved Citizen I seeked to improve the lives of others by not making too much noise in the class room, and by helping those in need. I also demonstrated awareness and respect for the rights of others by again not speaking too loudly and letting others talk and not talking when they are talking. For example, during class discussions or group meetings I raised my hands and let others talk respectfully. I was not only an involved citizen but also an Effective Communicator. I demonstrated my creative talents to convey my ideas, and I incorporated technology as a tool to help me finish my projects. I did that by using Microsoft Word to help me finish my writing and cameras and printers for the pictures. Last but not least, I demonstrated the act of being a Self- Directed learner. I did this by accepting the responsibility of my own learning, and by taking creative risks in the making of the book and the poems. Over all I think that the most important ESLR completed was the Effective communicator. I think that any one can complete the other ESLR’s but for many people it’s hard to communicate their ideas. I definitely had a bit of trouble reading my poems.  In conclusion, I would give myself an A+ in this part of the unit.

The teen life project we did this year was great. I had a lot of fun making the videos and taking pictures for the project. Throughout the duration of this project I accomplished a couple different ESLR’s. One of these ESLR’s was the Self Directed Leaner. We did not have much instruction in this project, and I felt it was really up to us to make it good. As a Self-Directed Learner I accepted the responsibility for my own learning. I feel that this point was achieved because as I mentioned before, we did not have mush instruction and it was up to us to make our learning adequate. However in the completion of this project I did not take creative risks. Last but not least, I also monitored, adjusted and documented all the work that we were performing throughout the project. Now moving on to Involved Citizen, during the making of this project I definitely was an involved citizen because you needed to respect others and that is what I did, I interacted with others from diverse cultures respectfully. I also demonstrated the awareness of the rights of others, I did this by respecting the things that the other students posted and wrote. In return they respected mine. Lastly, I demonstrated the act of seeking to improve the lives of the other students. I did this by not imposing too much work on them and respecting them. Last but not least I was an Academic achiever. I was an Academic Achiever because I demonstrated advance or progress in all curricular activities. Unfortunately, I did not access information from a variety of sources; I mainly just got information from Google and wrote two poems. Finally, I continually assessed my work to maintain high standards; this was done by keeping a written record of all the poems and changing them for the better. Over all the work done in this unit was not much for we really only needed to have at least one poem and one picture by the end of the project. In conclusion I think it was a great experience to be able to meet new people and new schools. If I where to change something in this part I would have used a variety of sources to find new information. I would give myself a B+ in this part of the unit.

The last part of this unit was the technological part. Though it may seem unimportant it was one of my most difficult tasks. I was never very good at computers so this part was hard for me, but on the other hand though I learned a lot about computers. In this part of the project I was a Critical Thinker. I was a critical thinker because I identified, evaluated and used resources effectively for the purpose of problem solving; this was done by using the resources around me to help me solve problems with computers or blogs. Even so, I did not use a variety of strategies to help me solve problems. I used Mr. Raisdana or my friends when I could have also used my booklet on how to do things the internet, my dad or even Ms. Cofino. During the completion of this project I was not an Academic Achiever. I did not get good grades in this section and was trying very hard to continually assess work in order to maintain high standards. Nevertheless I was a Self-Directed Learner and took full responsibility for my learning. Overall I think that the most important ESLR completed here was the Critical thinker. Because I needed to acquire more sufficient skills in computers, this ESLR really helped me achieve my highest. If I were to change something in this part of the project I would change the way I did the Academic Achiever ESLR. I would have demonstrated progress in all curricular areas, continually assessed, evaluated and adjusted work to maintain high standards, and demonstrated the ability to work both independently and collaboratively. I would give myself a B+ in this part of the project.

In a nutshell, I had a good time doing the unit. I was not very excited to begin with but at the end of the project I was very content. Furthermore I feel that I learned a lot in the arts of photography and in poetry alike. Mr. Raisdana taught me a great amount of tricks that make the poems seem better or more poetic. Taken as a whole this poetry unit was my favorite unit of all the English Units so far.

By Nick C.

Hannah B.

And Daniel N.

We created a “commercial” using certain symbols, images and sounds to create something that would tell people about the true horrors of the Holocaust. Here we’ve described them:

Symbols:

Barbwire: symbolizes that the Jews had no freedom in the concentration camps as this barbwire surrounded the entire camp. Barbwire also symbolizes the concentration camps themselves in which many Jews suffered and died.

The dove:  the universal sign for peace and harmony but we felt that it should also symbolize hope, as we did not have a symbol for hope.

The Star of David: symbolizes the Jewish religion and also the persecution of all Jews in Europe at the time of the Nazi occupation. This symbol is both good and bad as it represents the Jews being persecuted but it also represents a religion that some people were very proud to belong to.

Images:

The Jewish persecution is symbolized with the Star of David the Jews had to wear. This image is portrayed in not a very graphic way but it still has a meaning that will show us how wrong we were to treat these people like that.

Death is symbolized by the concentration camps in which most Jews were killed. It is also symbolized by the mass graves that the Germans had the Jews dig before they were killed and buried with hundreds of others.

The Final Solution is symbolized the death in the concentration camps. Hitler called this the final solution because his dream of a final solution was to have no more Jews left in
Europe.

Anne Frank is a symbol of hope to all. She gave hope that they were going pull through. She symbolizes this because of her bright, optimistic character and her belief in the good inside of her.

Sounds:

We used two pieces of music. One had singing, but it was wordless. This was better because it was more of a universal song. It was also very depressive and sad, and at the same time reflective. The second song we used was a song by Enya that had a lot of meaningful words and that went with the last few bits of the “commercial” well. Both were composed by Enya and conducted by Howard Shore of the LOTR the Return of the King album.

Most powerful:

After comparing all of our symbols, images and sounds together, we’ve come up with some of the most powerful. We believe that the most powerful symbol we used was the dove. It was powerful because it was something white and pure amidst the black background. It’s also so powerful because it known world-wide and needs no explanation. The most powerful images we think we used were the concentration camp pictures. These images were filled with death and the horror that was the Holocaust. Those pictures were the real eye-poppers of the “commercial”. And finally we believe that the first song we used was the most powerful because it was universal and it all flowed smoothly together. Because it was wordless, people could really use their own imagination and put the words in themselves, or just listen to its beauty and its sorrow.

ESLR’s:

While doing this project, I believe we improved on some of the ESLR’s. The first ESLR we improved on was the Self-Directed Learner ESLR. We identified our needs and applied appropriate learning skills, or in other words, we took the time to figure out what we needed for the project and we did it. We also took creative risks in developing untried ideas by communicating our ideas correctly and creatively. However, we didn’t demonstrate competency in organizational skills because we all didn’t exactly know what we were doing until Saturday, and even then we were still debating and bickering. We would give ourselves a B+ for this part of the project because of our lack of organization. During the making of this “commercial” we were also definitely hitting the Critical Thinker ESLR. We built meaning and understanding using prior and new information. We achieved this skill by using new signs and old images and sounds to make a project that communicated meaning and understanding. We would give ourselves an A- on this ESLR. Unfortunately however, we didn’t demonstrate very good Concerned Citizen skills. We didn’t show responsibility in active decision making because we couldn’t really ever agree on anything. We switched from commercial to memorial to commercial again. On the other hand, we did exhibit awareness for the religion of others, which was quite a big part on this project. We did this because we didn’t reveal any images, sounds or symbols that in any could offend someone because of their religion or race. For this, we would give ourselves an A. The next ESLR we achieved was the Effective Communicator ESLR. Of course, we did have our occasional fights, which meant that we weren’t demonstrating the skill of effective collaborators, but despite all this bickering, we also incorporated technology as a tool for communication. We used the internet and our thumb drives to get our information to each other and we even used PowerPoint to convey our ideas better. We also wrote this reflection, which shows that we were able effectively communicate how well we thought we did. Anyway, we would give ourselves a B for this ESLR.

Individual work:

Working as a group was not a difficult task for us. We just did not find the right way to organize ourselves. Every one contributed fairly to the project. Nick did the entire PowerPoint presentation while Daniel and Hannah split the write up in two. Four bullet points for each person on the checklist.  Then later on Nick checked the write up to see if it was ok.

Summary:

We created a short “commercial” in order to commemorate the victims of the holocaust or remember Anne Frank. We incorporated specific images, sounds and symbols that would give the audience a deeper understanding and get them thinking. We went through the process of planning, arguing, switching, arguing some more, then switching back again, and then doing the actual project and write up. Group wise, we think we did ok, even though we had our little occasional argument. But project wise (write up included), we think we delivered a great project that incorporated relevant symbols and images and good music to go with it. It was meaningful and it makes you reflect a while before going back to your daily life. Because of this, we think we deserve an A-.

Throughout the duration of the first quarter in English we performed many exciting new activities that really helped me gain knowledge of and understand the ESLR’s that I surpass and the ones I am not quite full in.

While we read the book The Lord of the Flies, we had many in class discussions. During these discussions, I was an effective communicator because I listened carefully and asked questions to help facilitate my understanding and achieve insight. What this means to me is to listen carefully to other people’s ideas and compare them to mine. Every discussion I would listen, think very carefully about what the teacher and the other students said and then I brought up another question or point. Usually my comments kept the arguments or discussions going. Even though I performed this part of this ESLR very well, I did not incorporate technology as a tool for communicating my ideas to the other kids. I am as bad at predicting the weather,as I am at computers and most things that have to do with technology. What this feature means to me is to use every resource around you to really fully understand the book and to use Internet or PowerPoint or songs to present the ideas from me to the listeners. I did not do this because during all of the discussions I got all of my ideas from the book and my head and I did not use technology. I believe I could have made this experience much better if I had researched more into dept the major events in the book and what they meant. If I was to grade myself on this ESLR, even though I did not execute the whole ESLR I completed listening carefully and asking questions very well so I think I would give myself any where from an A- to an A+.

All through reading the book, I feel I quickly began to complete the ESLR of being a self-directed learner. I carried out many attributes from this ESLR as a mail man does his letters, but one that I bring about that I am quite proud of, was not falling behind while reading. What this means is that I demonstrated competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills. I perform sports almost every afternoon and then I arrive at home and begin homework. My head starts spinning by the time I’m done with Algebra, and when I’m done, thinking about reading hurts as bad as a stubbing your toe on the door. As soon as I complete my homework, I move on to 30 minutes of piano. After finishing piano I have dinner and go on the computer. I had to give up about 15-20 minutes of my 30 minutes on the computer to read just to keep up with the book; I also had to finish all the English homework on time and I did it. Even though I finished all my homework and kept up with the book, I did not take any creative risks while doing my work this evidently cost me many points on the final points and brought my grade down. Wrapping up I think that if I where to grade myself I would give myself a B- even up to a C+.

During the periods in class, I was an Academic Achiever in many ways but most of all by working cooperatively with others and working well independently. What this means is to not care who your partners are, not to brawl with your team members and to work quietly when alone. While in groups, I listened to others and cooperated very well. When I was alone, I tried to work as inaudibly as a mouse, but sometimes it got the best of me and I began to chatter with others. Even though I worked well with the other students, I did not continually assess my work. If I had evaluated my essays and projects more often I possibly could have improved their quality because I would know where I was lacking effort. This basically escorted my grade to being less then it was at the beginning of the year but in the end my grades were ok. In conclusion if I was to grade myself on this ESLR, I would definitely give myself an A- to A.

While finishing the project I was a critical thinker, I applied problem solving skills to facilitate learning. What this means to me is that one has to work in groups or read books to help you ease the process if learning and that’s exactly what I did. I read books, I worked in study groups, and I used all that I learned to make the final project as well as conquering any problems I encountered like comparison and definitions of terms. Another thing I did do was to solve problems using a variety of strategies, for example: I did not only use my head as a way of solving problems I also used books, internet, the students, and the teachers as tools to solve strategies. One time when in an in class simulation, my team didn’t know what application was from the Bloom’s Taxonomy and we used other students and the internet to have a full understanding. This reminds me of math class in 7^th grade with Mrs. Daly. Whenever we didn’t comprehend something she would make us a variety of sources like other students, books and many more things to understand it. I believe that this really supported me in fully knowing the problem like the back of my hand. If I had not used this ESLR in this form I suppose that it would have made my work a lot harder to accomplish. In the end, I believe I would give myself anywhere from an A- to an A for this particular ESLR.

Whilst in class I performed one ESLR a great amount of times, this ESLR was the involved citizen. I was continuously seeking to improve the lives of others in the community. What this means is that one must have teamwork and cooperation, and one must do assignments about current events. I had superb teamwork and cooperation but I also listened carefully to others and talked when appropriate. This helped others in the community communicate their ideas. Another part of this ESLR that I attained was demonstrating responsibilities in active decision-making. What this means to me is that each decision you make is important. I never made a quick decision and thought about the consequences afterward. I always thought if I do this what good will come and what bad. In the end, I think that I learned more from demonstrating responsibilities for active decision-making than from seeking to improve the lives of others because even though they are both very important if you don’t have control over you decisions you could get in a lot of trouble. I would probably give myself an A for being an involved citizen.