This is the poster that I created for my poetry recitation final.
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As the first semester comes to an end, take time to reflect on your learning and growth in this course. In a well-developed response, explain what you enjoyed most about the class, identify the project or assignment you found most engaging, and discuss which aspect of the course you connected with the most (such as poetry, fiction, writing, or discussion). Finally, reflect on one area where you feel you need additional support or improvement as we move into the spring semester.
This semester has been very fun in this class. I've enjoyed everything that we've done when it comes to interactive stuff. I like when you show us videos or examples on your board whenever we need them. I think they can be both funny, and informative. I like your teaching style by getting up in front of the class and working with us through whatever we are working on. I also appreciate that we don't have much homework (pls keep it that way), unless we didn't finish something in class or studying. I connected the most with discussion because it helped me become a better talker, and understand things better. One thing I still need to improve on is analyzing and understanding a poem quickly.
Many holidays center around traditions. Describe one tradition that is important to you or your family and explain why it still matters (or why it no longer does).
One tradition that my family and I still do is we go to the Stone Mountain Highland Games every year. In my ethnicity, I have a lot of Scottish in me. My grandma's parents on my dad's side were born in Scotland. Since Stone Mountain park hosts the highland games, it's very close to my house, and its been a family tradition since the early 90s. My dad's side normally comes up every year, but ever since the passing of my grandma in 2021, they now only come up to visit once every 2 years since it was my grandma's tradition. And all of my dad's side lives in Mobile, so it would be a long journey just for a weekend, then head back home.
How have the holidays changed as you have grown older? Compare your experiences of the holidays during childhood with how you experience them now, focusing on shifts in perspective, responsibilities, or emotional meaning.
As I've gotten older, I've started learning more things that change the way I celebrate holidays. Christmas is still a great time to be with family and open gifts, but It just isn't the same as when I was a young child. I used to wake up at 6am, run into my parents room, and be so excited to see what I got for Christmas. Now it's probably, wake up at 8, eat breakfast, then open gifts. Still fun, but not the same. Today we copied down lesson 6 of the vocabulary into our notebook, and created our own sentences using those words. I learned new vocabulary today.
Write about something you’ve outgrown but still miss.
Something that I've outgrown but still miss is watching cartoons and kids TV shows. I would always be watching some sort of cartoon or show if I had the time to. Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, xd, PBS kids, Looney Tunes and more. Today we took our vocab quiz which I did very well on. I studied last night, and the night before and it helped a lot. I came up with mnemonic devices to help me understand and remember the words quicker. I am proud of my score on the test and had a good class.
Write about something that you can't stop thinking about.
I can't stop thinking about Christmas break. Everyday I say "another day closer to the break". I can't wait to sleep in, relax, hopefully get some snow (doubtful), drink hot chocolate, celebrate Christ, and open gifts. Today we went to the media center and chose electives for classes next year. I feel good about the classes I chose.
Post the picture of your cultural identity mask onto your blog. Write a reflection about the creation process of the mask or presenting it to the class.
I combined a few things on my mask to create something all together. It made a face! The eyes that were given, the fish as the nose, and the lake as the mouth. Also the mountains as the hair. Today we presented our masks to the class. I think I did a good job with my presentation, and did everything the rubric said. I really enjoyed the mask project as a whole.
Write about the best gift you have received.
The best gift I have received was my trampoline I got in kindergarten. I had it for 8 solid years before we got rid of it. I loved jumping around with friends for hours, and playing all these games we created. Today we learned some new vocabulary. After doing exercise 1, we finished our masks. It was a productive day today and I finished everything.
After watching the short film Identity, write a blog post reflecting on how the masks in the film represent the pressure to fit in and the struggle to discover who you really are. Choose one moment from the film that stood out to you and explain why. Then, connect the film’s message to Langston Hughes’ poem “I, Too” and to the mask you are creating in class. What part of your identity do you want your mask to reveal?
The film showed masks as who you are as a person. So if you saw everyone with a red mask, you would probably want to fit in with them, even if you are a blue mask. One moment that stood out to me was when she took her mask off. She wanted to be herself. I want my mask to reveal who I truly am as a person. I want to be known for what I like, not what I try and like to be "cool". Today we started working on our masks after reading and analyzing "I, Too". I enjoyed making my mask, and I got better at poem analysis.
In “I, Too,” the speaker expresses pride in his identity and his rightful place in America. Reflect on your own life: What aspect of your cultural identity are you most proud of, and why?
I'm most proud of the Scottish in me. Every year we have a family tradition to go to the highland games in stone mountain park with my dad's side (Scots, Swedes, Irish). It's always a good time, and I love always experiencing Scottish culture. Today I worked on and finished my "We" chart paper. I think I did a good job on the assignment and gave a good explanation at the end.
In “We Real Cool,” the speakers make choices that seem exciting, bold, and rebellious, even though those choices lead to consequences. Write about a moment in your own life when you followed what looked cool or fun, only to realize afterwards that it wasn’t the smart or responsible path. What influenced your decision, and how did your perspective change later?
In freshman year, me and 3 of my friends would ALWAYS walk in the hallways before the first bell rang for 1st period. And us being the close friends we are, we always push and shove each other for fun. Which is not the best idea... One day my friend was playing around too much and did a heavy push on one of my other friends, and that shove sent him straight into the fire alarm. As expected, the alarm went off and it caused a big scene. An admin came running down the hall and she told us to follow her to her office for a chat. Luckily it wasn't too bad (our grades saved us). She probably would've been way worse on us if we had bad grades. But we learned our lesson to not act a fool in the halls anymore. Today in class we read and analyzed a short poem about if you try and be "cool", it could shorten your life in the long run. I learned a lesson today, and that is to just be yourself. You'll find more out about yourself, and find your way in life if you do that.
What did you do over Thanksgiving break?
I went to Siesta Key, Florida with my mom's side of the family. It's an every other year tradition that's been going on since the 60's. We stayed in a few villas by the beach for an entire week. We ate amazing food, did a lot of fishing, and relaxing. On Thanksgiving day, we ran the turkey trot 5k, then watched football, and finally had dinner together. Today, we took notes and did some exercises on vocabulary. It was a good class today. Simple and productive.