Semester Reflection

What lessons have you enjoyed in social studies this year? Why?

I have really enjoyed the simulations in social studies this year. I learn and remember much more because I have an event to associate the information with. The simulations also help me understand the significance of the event.

What has been difficult for you?

Something difficult for me this semester was memorizing concepts of the American government and how it works. This is because I am not an American citizen, and I have only been to there once in my life. Also, I have never studied government and how it works before, so this was a new experience.

What do you want to learn about in social studies? Why?

Something I want to learn more about in social studies are the wars and conflicts that took place because they were most probably about conflicting points of view, and there can sometimes be no right or wrong answer to the conflict.

First Semester RLA Reflection

The most challenging thing of this semester in RLA was completing Back to the Drawing Board every week. It clashed with other homework and activities we had. This semester, I have really improved as a writer. Even though BTTDB interferes with other classes, it has really helped me with my independent writing. Before 8th grade, I never wrote on my own. I just wrote what I was required to write for RLA. BTTDB has given me a chance to write what I wanted to write. As a writer, something that I really want to accomplish next semester is completeing my independant writing story.

RLA Persuasive Speech Reflection

What are you most proud of with this speech?

I am most proud of presenting in front of the class because I get very nervous when having to speak in front of a large group of people

What was the most challenging part of this speech?

The most challenging part of this speech other than presenting in front of the class was making my speech persuasive when spoken. A persuasive essay is drastically different from a persuasive speech because you have to think about tone, pausing, enunciation, etc.

What “unintended learning” did you have beyond the rubric?

As stated above, I learned that a persuasive essay differs drastically from a persuasive speech. With a persuasive essay, the kinds of words used is one of the things that matters most. However, a persuasive speech requires correct tone,  enunciation, etc.

What  did you learn from others (such as from your teacher, mentor texts, or peers) as you developed your speech?

Something I learned from others as I developed my speech was the importance of tone and pauses. 

Video 8: Music Video and Reflection

1. Now that you have finished your music video, what were some of the filmmaking skills or techniques you used the most?  How did they help make your music video better?

For the music video, I decided to have a simple film so that it would require less and simpler shots. They made my music video better by straight forwardly giving the audience the story of the video

2. What were your biggest successes during this project? Why would you label them a success?

One of my biggest successes during this project would be when I  put the film's credits on the late form. This is because the rest of the story is nothing really special, but the credits on  the late form is a great way to start off the film without disrupting the first part with the credits.

3. What were your struggles? Why were they hard for you? How did you overcome them?

A huge struggle was arranging what time everyone could film. Rui was not from my video class, so we could only film after school on certain days. To make up for the lost time, I edited quicker.

4. What was your overall opinion of this project? How would you make it better or different?

I really enjoyed this project because it was something different from the normal film. It would be better if we could work in groups.