Mariano’s school stuff

Poetry Unit Reflective Journal

This quarter in English we learned about quite a few things. We started this quarter with the poetry unit in which we read and learned how to write different types of poems, and then we wrote poems using the style we had learnt about in class for homework. In the end of the quarter, we gathered all the poems we had written and organized them into a poetry book. We also had a poetry night in which people came to relax, eat, to listen, and to read poetry. While the poetry unit was going on we were also taking part of an international �Teen Life Project� in which we chose a topic and the end result was a multimedia presentation on it. Our part in it was to write a poem or poems on the subject and to get pictures. The project included schools from USA, Canada, Colombia, and us here in Malaysia.

The quarter started with us mainly studying poetry. In class we read different types of poems and for homework we had to write a poem using the same style as the one we read in class. I was being a critical thinker because I had to analyze and absorb the information in the form of the poem and then try to come up with a poem in the same style in two days. I was also being a self-directed learner because poetry is not something that you can write anytime but I tried to work with the ideas I had at that moment to write the poem. I also think that I was and effective communicator because the ideas I tried to express through my poems came out well in an understandable manner. I think that for the writing part of the poetry unit that the most important ESLR�s that you needed were to be a critical thinker and to be an effective communicator. I think that being a critical thinker was important because we had a certain time to write our poems so we had to concentrate on what we were writing about and trying to develop the poem well. I also think that being an effective communicator was important because I believe that poems are meant to have certain ideas that you can pick up and ponder on and if your idea was expressed in an unclear form the reader would be confused and wouldn�t understand what the poem was about. I think that if I had given myself a bit more time to write my poems I think that they could have had more meaning. I would have done this by trying so set up my schedule so that I could have at least thirty minutes a day just for writing poetry. I think I did well in the writing of the poems though I did have in a few of my poems late but overall I would give myself an A- on the written part of the poetry unit.

While working on the poetry unit we were also involved in the �Teen Life Project� which we mainly worked on at home. What we had to do was the artistic side of the project which included making a picture and writing at least one poem. We were aloud to do more but with time constraints it was difficult. The ESLR�s I used for doing the project was being a self-directed learner which was the main one because most of this was done outside of class time and we had to take responsibility for ourselves to do the work that had to be done. I think I was also a bit of a critical thinker because we had to incorporate the idea that we were trying to get through into a poem and also to create an image that would symbolize the idea of our projects. I think that on the project I could have been a bit more involved with my group though I did all that was required. I think I could have had a little more input from my side. If I would do this again I would try to write a few more poems than just one and I would have also like to have made at least three pictures that could have been used in the presentation of the project. If I were to grade myself overall on the Teen Life Project I could give myself a B+ because I only met the required needs even though I know I could have done more work on it.

At the end of the unit we had our Poetry Night before spring break. During Poetry Night we invited parents and anyone else who wanted to come to enjoy the evening and to listen and maybe even write some poetry. At the poetry night there were interactive stations in which parents and visitors could do different activities. We also had our poetry books on display were anyone could read them and yes we didn�t forget the most important part of this kind of event, we did have food of course which anyone could enjoy. Mr. Raisdana had made Poetry Night an optional event but most people came though it was also optional if you wanted to read. I think for this event that I was an involved citizen because I went to poetry and read and I also helped out after the event was over with the clean up of the area we had used. I also believe that this was also an event which required us to be a self-directed learner because you had to take the responsibility of going and I also had to have the courage to read poetry in front of a crowd. I also think that the ESLR I mostly used on this part of the unit was being an effective communicator because I could have just read my poem as if it didn�t matter but I practiced reading it at home so that I could set the mood I was trying to make the audience feel and for the crowd to get a reaction or a feeling from what they had just heard. I think if I could have read again I might have wanted to read a few more poems but overall I think that I did well in the poetry night. If I had done the poetry night again I would change the way that I read but I think I would have wanted to be more active in it by taking part in a few of the stations and I could have also helped more with the set up though I did work on cleaning up afterwards. I think that I would have given myself an A for the way I read because I think the mood that I was trying to set and the idea I was trying to get through was absorbed by the crowd.

Overall I think that I did well on the quarter even though I know I could have possibly done better. I think that if I had pushed myself a bit harder that my poetry book would have turned out to be more visually pleasing but I think I did well with writing the poems. I think that overall that the poetry unit was an interesting experience because for this unit the main thing that we needed to be was a self-directed learner because a lot of the work we had to do was at home and we had to take responsibility for doing it well and on time.

In English this year we read the book “Lord of The Flies.” The book is about a group of boys who get stranded on an island. After reading the book we were told we had to do a project. We had a choice of twenty projects which we could choose from; each project required a different type of activity. Some involved more writing than others and some you had to do something artistic and others you had to make a presentation. For the project, I chose to select songs that would fit the themes of the book and to give an explanation of why and also to present this information using media. Apart from that we also had to show and explain which skill of each ESLR’s we used and didn’t use. ESLR’s stands for “Expected School wide Learning Results.” The ESLR’s are: Academic Achiever, Critical Thinker, Involved Citizen, Effective Communicator, and Self Directed Learner.

For my project I was a Self directed Learner by demonstrating competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills. I think I did this because I set aside time to do the project so that I would have enough time, and so that I wouldn’t have to rush myself the day before it was due to finish the whole thing. By managing my time more wisely I was able to finish it correctly and on time and I had time. I performed this project without too much stress to finish it on time because I had set aside time on more than two days to finish not like other projects where I had to finish them the night before they were due and they had been rushed so they weren’t done as well. Compared to other projects I have done I think I used my time wisely and gave myself enough time to complete the project. Because I did my project in an organized matter I also think I earned the grade I had gotten. If I had done this project again I would have tried to make the project a bit more organized so it would be clearer and I would have liked to have set aside a few more hours to also have made it a bit more thorough. Overall I think I used my time wisely and didn’t do the project all in a rush and in the end the project looked respectably well done because I had spent time on it. I think I did above average in this part and if I had had to grade myself on this I would give my self a B or a B+.

Another ESLR I used was being an Academic Achiever. I think I was an Academic Achiever because I demonstrated technological literacy and the use of technology as a tool for the efficient and creative completion of a project. I showed this because I made a PowerPoint presentation for my project which helped make it easier to present and it looked a bit more creative and attractive than other projects I’ve done. By doing my project on PowerPoint I found it easier to present, and to incorporate the music into it and to make it flow. In addition it was more interesting than just a speech. Apart from that I think that the way I did my project this time in comparison to other ways was easier to do and to add the music to because it was all on a computer. It was also easier to check and correct if it had something wrong with it. If I had presented this project as a poster I don’t think it would have been as easy to present, check and correct because if I had done something wrong I would have had to do the whole project again. If I could have done my project again, I would have tried to make it flow better and I would have practiced a few more times before presenting it, I also would have tried to put the music onto the presentation so it would have been easier to present because it took a bit of time to change to the next track and change to the next slide. Another way I could have used technology would have been by maybe making a Flash animation of the scene and having the music playing in the background of that. Overall I think I used the technology wisely and to the most of my ability because working with computers isn’t exactly one of my expertise. If I had to grade myself on the use of technology I would have given my self a B+ because I used the technology pretty well but I could have done a bit more.

Another ESLR I think I hit was being an Effective Communicator. I think I verified this by incorporating/utilizing technology as a tool for communication. I think I showed this by making my presentation using PowerPoint, which helped me present my project in an easier more understandable way. I think by doing my presentation on computer it was easier to communicate my idea to my public and it was easier for the public to understand. In addition by incorporating/using technology as a tool for communication I also demonstrated technological literacy and the use of technology as a tool for the efficient and inventive completion of a project. In the end I think I communicated my project pretty well to the public. I would give myself an A- for this part.

Overall I think I did my project capably even though I could have improved a bit more on it. Also I would have liked to have been able to use the ESLR’s Involved Citizen and Critical Thinker fairly more. With a bit more effort and a bit more time on the project I think I could have gotten an A. Also I think that if I had been more of a critical thinker I could have put the ideas that I hadn’t thought of before on the project. Furthermore I would have liked to have expressed my thoughts in a better way so that they could have been clearer. But overall I think I performed exceptionally well on the project.