Friday, June 8, 2012
Question of the Week (6/8/12)
As we approach the end of the semester, reflect back on the class and share what you liked and disliked about the course. Was there a particular aspect of the course you liked? If so, what was it? Was there something you wished we had covered in the course, but did not? What were your favorite novels and why? What were your least favorite? Post your answers to these questions by the end of the day on Tuesday. Remember to respond to another classmates' response. Enjoy your weekend.
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Reflecting back on the semester, I particularly liked doing the structured interactive activities, such as the debate we had while reading Tallgrass. I think it made participating easier as we talked it over with our small group first before joining the entire class in the debate. I can't think of anything that I wished we covered that we didn't, but as far as activities goes, I would have liked to do more projects relating to the books, and less discussion of the study guides. I also like the ideas of writing poems as part of poetry and enjoyed the "I am" poems, along with guessing who wrote the poem. It would have been fun to write a poem using particular forms or techniques we learned about, such as writing an Italian Sonnet, or trying to use assonance in a poem. I think by coming up with your own examples, it is easier to remember different techniques. My favorite novel we read was “Into the Wild”. I previously had found non-fiction books boring, but Into the Wild introduced me to a realm of books that were both true and interesting. I also enjoyed the chance to read an independent book that I was interested in and write about it. My one difficulty was confining my journals to under two pages, and I think in the future, the aim of the journal should be around two pages, instead of no more than it, as I found myself having much more to say than there was room for. While I didn’t dislike any of the books we read, my least favorite was A Separate Peace. I didn’t find it as engaging as the rest of the books we read. However, I found it interesting to compare A Separate Peace to the movie production of it.
ReplyDeleteI guess you enjoyed this semester of English a lot! I also agree that we should have done more projects instead of reviewing the study guides all the time.
DeleteI can really relate to what you said about using certain techniques that we discussed in our own poems as well as the fact that a two-page journal entry was very difficult. Good job reflecting on many different aspects of the course.
DeleteI liked doing the Tallgrass debate in class, because we could voice our opinions and share what we had to say. It was also fun to just debate. I also enjoyed the independent reading project. I thoroughly enjoyed Animal Farm, and Orwell is definitely one of my top five authors. I felt that I could write more thoughtful papers on a book of my selection rather than a book picked for me to read. I did not like the selection of books this semester. Into the Wild seemed very boring to me, and keeping track of all the characters and events was extremely difficult. I could not relate at all with McCandless. A Separate Peace also wasn't very engaging. Tallgrass had a good message, but I believe that it lacked originality. And although The Catcher in the Rye was quite deep, it was very monotonous. It did have a profound meaning, about which I thought about, yet the story lacked excitement and thrill. I think reading the books would have been more enjoyable if we had spent less time reviewing homework and study guides, and spent more time doing activities. I disliked the personal narrative essay. As a narrative, it seemed fitting for the paper to in chronological order because I was reciting an event that occurred. However, I was supposed to be writing it like any other essay, with three body paragraphs, a thesis, and supporting details! That did not make sense to me, and reformatting my whole essay negatively affected my grade.
ReplyDeleteGREAT JOB RAJ!!!!
DeleteI also agree that Tallgrass was not very original, and I also see your point about the narrative.
This semester in English I liked how we watched movies after reading the books. I think that this was good because after we got to envision the book ourselves, we got to see how the director of the movie envisioned it. Even though watching the movies was good, I did not think that the content of the books was very relevant to us with the exception of The Catcher in the Rye. The books were about getting lost, and murder, and things like that. Even though the books are good, they do not have the content to get me very interested in them. I also thought that the poetry unit was very casual and brief, and we did not really get to go over any of it. We just read about three poems in class every day and discussed them. I do no think that that is a good way to learn about poetry, and we should have gotten time to write poetry of our own, like the I am from poem. If we spent more time on that we could get our poems checked for grammar, and we would actually learn how to write them instead of just filling out a template. I also liked the Tallgrass debate because it was interactive with the whole class. I also liked the independent reading book, because there was such a wide variety that we could choose a book that we really wanted to read. Also, the reading journals on the independent reading book were better than the normal journals because we got to choose our topic.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely on the poetry, that we didn't have a lot of time and rushed through it. It seems like you learned a lot and took a lot in.
DeleteThe things I enjoyed doing this semester were things like watching the movies after reading the books, having the debate on the book Tallgrass, and having open discussions. I felt that the movies were helpful because we got to see what it was like in the book, instead of just imagining how everything is. The debate and open discussions were helpful because not only did you get to use your input and talk about what you think, but you got to see how everyone else in the class thinks about the book and how they got about it. My favorite novel was Tallgrass and the independent reading book, which I chose Frankenstein. These were my favorite because they were thrilling how things you wouldn't think would happen do, and there are always unexpected twists. My least favorite books were Cather in the Rye, Separate Peace, and Into the Wild. These were my least favorite books because Catcher in the Rye and A Separate Peace was dealing with anger, jealousy, denial, and I do not want to read a book about some teenage boy's problems because I didn't connect with these books at all. Into the Wild I just didn't like how it was written. It was written in a journalistic way that was not fun to read. My favorite thing in the class was the independent reading book. I liked it because we got to choose a book that we thought was interesting instead of having to read assigned ones. The journals were also more fun because instead of writing about quotes or the topic of the day, we got to choose how we wanted to structure it and go about writing it.
ReplyDeleteThis Semester in English class was really fun, the teaching was great and I really enjoyed the material. I thought all three books were good but I could not connect to them as well as maybe some other people could. They were all about young troubled boys who are very cynical and critical of society. While I am a young boy I am not at all cynical or critical to society because when thinking badly of society when tend to elevate ourselves above society. When men believe they are above society terrible things happen. Therefore it is better to not be critical of society because of you are overly critical of society you are overly critical of yourself and that is simply no way to live. I did enjoy a separate peace however, because both Finny and Gene didn’t seem to question things as strongly as the other characters, they simply lived their lives. The poetry section was extremely confusing to me and I have no wish to be a poet. I appreciated one of the poems above all others though, “The Charge of the Light Brigade”. I feel as though most poems have the same message about war and it is to lay down your arms and be a family. In this poem however, the author honored the men brave enough to follow orders and die in the act of defending their families and friends. I believe that it is better a man die with a gun in his hands than an innocent child die simply because the man believes that fighting is wrong. This English class was fun.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a lot of fun this year in english Sam. Your response was very thoughtful. The astounding clarity of your ideas pierced my mind like the rocket Excaliber cutting through the early morning sky, his gallant, duct-taped nose cone slipping through the air like a hot knife through butter, his fins proudly supporting his finely crafted structure as he coasts pass the jealous plagiarists that are his competition. Coursing through every sentence of your response was the vicious passion that Lebron James must feel as he posterizes yet another hater in a violent drive towards the rim, his hands clasped tight around the orange, and his beard fluttering in the dry air. The conclusion of your piece knocked me off my feet with a force equal in magnitude yet opposite in direction to the mighty shockwave emitted by the explosion of group two's rocket. Also, watch your punctuation, a comma or two would be appropriate in some parts of your response.
DeleteThis is really good. I, as well, could not really connect to those books, so I completely understand
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ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing about English 9 was writing essays and papers, then peer editing. It’s interesting to see all the different opinions and emotions that arise from a single story. Everyone ends up having a unique point of view. Besides peer editing, I also enjoyed the daily journals. They were an opportunity for me to sharpen my ability to get my ideas across in a concise manner (because of the seven minute time limit). I wish we had done more creative writing in class, because other than the personal essay everything we did felt very dry and academic. A fiction piece would be a great addition to the course, in my opinion. My favorite novel was Catcher in the Rye, because it was so quirky and insane that I couldn’t help loving it. The rest of the novels, especially Tall Grass and A Separate Peace, were much less inspiring or enjoyable. The only reason I disliked Into the Wild was the book’s poor organization. It was difficult to keep track of the various characters that kept on weaving in and out of the story. I was thrilled when we finally got to choose our own books to analyze. The independent reading project was by far my favorite assignment because it was a combination of structure and creativity. I explored my book, Grendel, much more deeply than I would have if I had been reading it on my own. Overall, English 9 was a very enjoyable class, and I had a good time.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Jakub!
DeleteI agree with you about the daily journals, and how it helped in being more concise (which I sometimes struggle with). I didn't consider this before, but I think that adding on a fiction piece would also be a good addition to the course. The structures of the essays we wrote sometimes felt a little uncreative and like you said "dry", so I think that is definitely something worth implementing.
This year has been mostly fun for me. We have done a couple projects that have been fun. First, we did a fun skit production project, which was really fun. As well, I liked the time that we made our own informational page for the many characters in the book Into the Wild online. As Jacob said, I also liked writing papers, since there wasn't a very strict form in which we had to write it and the peer editing we did. I also liked the topics of the papers, my favorites being either writing about a trip to some foreign place and writing about the book we were reading with any 2 of the questions that we were given. Being completely free to write what we want in our papers made me really like this course, and the knowledge that it doesn't have to be perfect the first time makes it even better. I really liked this course, and I hope my peers enjoyed it too.
ReplyDeleteReflecting back on English 9, I feel that what I’ve gained most is the independence regarding work, assignments, etc. There was a lot of independent, at home work, such as the journals for our reading books and the organization it took to construct the Wiki page for Into the Wild. I most enjoyed having the chance to read the novels we did this semester that I otherwise might not have chosen to in my own free time. I liked being assigned a chapter at a time because that allowed me to thoroughly analyze the significance and subtle motifs that I may not have noticed otherwise. My favorite novel was probably Catcher in the Rye or Into the Wild because I felt they both broadened my horizons as a reader. By that I mean that I gained new incite from each of these books- the struggle with the coming of age for Catcher in the Rye, and a sense of freedom in Into the Wild. My least favorite was Tallgrass. I enjoyed the thoughts of prejudice that the book evoked, but I found it to be a little TOO similar to To Kill a Mockingbird. I wish, in this course, that we had done more projects and creative discussions- which I feel would promote participation. A critic for the course would be to improve on the poetry unit. I enjoy poetry, but I felt it was sort of crammed and rushed. Also, as well as with discussion of the novels, I think that different types of discussion should be tried when talking about the meaning behind the poetry. Also, writing some more of our own poetry might help us further understand the concepts taught about it.
ReplyDeleteMy choice of favorite books was pretty much exactly opposite of yours. However, I understand why you chose them and I see your point. I also completely agree with your appreciation of the independence we got in the semester.
DeleteI agree that the poetry unit could've been better if we got to write more of our own than just the "I am from" poem, and that Tallgrass was very similar to To Kill a Mockingbird. Nice job.
DeleteLooking back on the semester, I particularly liked the Tallgrass narrative. I enjoyed the writing format’s less strict structure, as well as the resulting ability to make the piece a bit more unique. I also liked the individual reading book assignment because, again, it provided a little more freedom and individuality. However, I disliked filling out study guides on books and discussing them in class, because this seemed a little repetitive. I wish we did more writing like the Tallgrass narrative, with a less rigid structure and more creativity involved. My favorite novel was Tallgrass, because it was more positive than the other books. It covered an important, solemn topic without being depressing. I disliked most of the other books because of how negative they ended up being, especially a Catcher in the Rye and a Separate Peace. I liked Into the Wild in concept, but it seemed to have a lot of unnecessary detail that made it a slow read and made quizzes difficult.
ReplyDeleteTalgrass was also my favorite book, and for many of the same reasons. Part of it might be that I've never read To Kill a Mockingbird, but I like that I was able to connect Renie, a more realistic and normal character than those in some of the other books we read. I also liked the concepts of Into the Wild, but agree that it was slightly confusing. Great Job!
DeleteGreat job, I liked Tallgrass because we were able to debate about the rights of people in class. I enjoy debating, especially after the series of study guides. I have to agree with your ideas. What do you think the teacher could have added?
Delete-Jin Kim
My favorite aspect of this course was the reading assignments. I really enjoyed getting to read books that I might not have gotten to read by myself. My favorite book that we read was Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I love the style of that writing and although I found some of it sad I thought it was very amusing. I also really liked the assignment we had to write several journals about your day in Holden’s style of talking. My least favorite book that we read was Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Because of all of the characters that were thrown at you and all of the flashbacks and flashforwards, I found the book to be very confusing. I cannot think of anything that we should have covered in the course that w did not.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Into the Wild was confusing, but to me that is what made it interesting. I would have been even less interested if it had just been a plain story continuing through the life of Chris. I can see how not following that aspect could make the rest of the book very hard to follow.
DeleteOwen
During this semester in English 9, several things stood out to me as highlights. One of these that immediately comes to mind is how we read a couple books that had movies made of them. I really liked this because it enforced the understanding of stories such as “A Separate Piece” and “Into the Wild”. It was also really interesting to compare and contrast the text to the films. I also really like the independent reading project because a lot of freedom was given in choosing a book as well as what you could write your journals on. However, I found it very challenging to write within the limit of two pages and consistently needed at least an extra half of a page to complete my thoughts. Creativity was also a large part of the personal narratives we did, which I also enjoyed because I was able to explore different writing techniques without the stiff structure of an essay. While I did like the poetry unit as well, I felt it was a bit rushed and dull since, for the most part, we just read and discussed poems that were handed to us. There wasn’t much time for actually exploring poetry. Nothing stands out to me that the course was lacking, but I think some areas such as poetry could be fine-tuned for years to come. I enjoyed all of the novels we read because there was a great variety in the topics discussed and each produced in depth conversations that I learned a lot from. Even though “Into the Wild” was kind of boring at some points, I still enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to others. Overall, I really enjoyed this past semester and acquired many new skills.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job! I agree with you when you say you liked being able to watch the movie of the book we had just read. I also agree with the time limit on poetry and how we could have used more time. Other than that I completely agree with you and good job on the blog response!
DeleteA project I particularly enjoyed this semester was the independent reading project. I enjoyed it because it allowed us to read the book generally at our own pace and interpret the text in our own way. Also we did not do any class discussion or note sheets, which as Olly said, can be boring and I feel take away from the book. My favorite novel was Tallgrass because it was the least depressing book. It was the closest to being a happy and upbeat book that we read this year at all. I also liked the point of view from which the story was told. Rennie was a more relatable character than the somewhat psychotic males characters in the other books. Out of the other books I did not have a least favorite. That is to say, no one was so remarkably worse than the others for me. I was not a huge fan of the point, that Chris was not insane, Krakauer kept pushing. I did not enjoy the dark and somewhat unrealistic characters in A Separate Peace and in Catcher in the Rye. As a freshman in highschool I would prefer more uplifting stories about teens, or preferable not stories about teens. It seems to me the reading material of the Highschool is usually very dark and usually augmented stories about teens, not usually what is actually happening. However that is not just this class. I don’t think there really are any topics I would have wished to cover but did not. I would have enjoyed the poetry section more and payed more attention to it if we had done it at a time other than the two weeks before finals. Overall it was a good thorough class.
ReplyDeleteNice job Owen,
DeleteI liked how you expanded on the independent reading project. I agree with your content of picking your own book and getting to discuss it in journals. I would like to tak about how you think all of our books we read were dark and depressing. They were, and I agree with that, but I know that I will always learn more from mistakes as opposed to triumphs. I think it's important we read sad books so that you know that the world isn't sunshine and flowers.
But great journal and I do somewhat agree.
One thing I really liked about this semester of English 9 was the variety of writing we did. I enjoyed doing things other than a literary analysis for each book we read. Writing the personal narratives for Tallgrass was a nice break from typical essays, while the topics still related to the story. I also thought that doing the wikispaces was a great idea for Into the Wild. The book contained many themes and topics that could be explored deeply, and I think that having each group do one was a much better idea than having each student write a paper about the book. I also really enjoyed the poetry unit, but regret that we didn't spend more time on it. While I learned a lot about the different ways poems are structured, I think that if we'd been able to write some poems of our own it would have given me an even better understanding of some of the terms and styles. One of the books I enjoyed reading most was Tallgrass. I liked the book itself because I learned more about what happened to the Japanese-American people after Pearl Harbor, but I also really enjoyed the way we “tackled” it. For both Catcher and A Separate Peace we spent most of class going over very structured study guides, and I liked how we spent more time in class discussing main ideas and themes. For me, creating and discussing our own questions about the assigned reading helped me understand the book better and get more into the story itself than doing comprehensive study guides. I also really enjoyed reading my independent reading book. For me, the weekly journals were helpful because they encouraged me to go back and focus more on the author's style, themes, characterization, etc. rather than just the plot. I also appreciated that we got to choose the topics we wrote about. One of the novels that was my least favorite was Into the Wild. The fact that the book was not written in chronological order made putting all of the characters and places together difficult for me. Watching the movie and doing the wikis helped some, but it was probably my least favorite book we read this semester.
ReplyDeleteI liked A Separate Piece and I liked the poetry. I wished that we had covered some grammar and parts of speech. My favorite novel was A Separate Piece by John Knowles. My least favorite novel was definitely Catcher in the Rye. The one thing about this course I didn’t enjoy was the assigned seating. It was every single day and I wish we got a little bit of freedom on the last week or two.
ReplyDeleteThis semester of english 9, I enjoyed reading books that displayed the coming of age. I also liked debating about the rights of the Japanese for Tallgrass. The personal narratives for the book was also fun to write because we were able to write in our perspectives. I wish we did more projects like the wiki space. I like working with other classmates and answer specific questions through research. I also wished that we reviewed Into the Wild more before the quiz. My favorite novel was The Catcher in the Rye. I could relate to some of the situations he faced. Like being lonely, growing up, and being protective. Also the unique style of J.D. Salinger's writing was fun and relatable. The stream of consciousness is how I communicate to myself. My least favorite book was Into the Wild. The book was mostly factual and it was hard to read because the author veered off topic many times. It was my least favorite because it was hard to keep up with the book.
ReplyDeleteThis semester of English 9 I really enjoyed the different books we have read. I liked how a lot of the books had the same theme, about children becoming adults and realizing how harsh the real world is. The class was very enjoyable and the grading and work load was always fair. I liked when we wrote about a trip we took, reading everyone else's was also fun because I got to learn about their trips. My favorite book that we read was TallGrass because it was the most interesting because there was a murder and we could try and figure out who it was. My least favorite book was A Separate Peace because the first part was interesting but soon got boring and hard to find something to understand. The poetry section felt rushed but fun at the same time, I wish we had more time to discuss the poem thoroughly. English was fun!
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