Reading Artifacts From Trimester 3
Romeo and Juliet Explication sheet for the Prologue
First Reading Reflection
For my first reading reflection, I chose to reflect on the progress I have made in the understanding ¨It is possible to make sense of classic writing - sometimes it takes multiple close readings.¨ The two artifacts I have chosen that show my growth are the Romeo and Juliet prologue explication sheet above this reflection and my Romeo and Juliet study guide, which is below this reflection. The prologue explication sheet shows a bad attempt at deciphering the Shakespearean text in which I needed a lot of help to find out what the words were trying to say. The Romeo and Juliet study guide shows my growth because it shows how I was able to learn how to use close reading to figure out what the Shakespearean text was saying on my own. I grew in my understanding over the trimester by learning how to use strategies like finding patterns in the text and using the study guide questions to figure out what I was looking for. This helped me find the deeper meaning of the story and develop an understanding of the underlying themes of the story. My explication sheet is a good example of my growth because I put translations like ¨an old fight to a new battle¨ and I translated ¨Whole misadventured piteous overthrows¨ as ¨Its the story of their death¨. These translations only catch the shallow meaning of the lines and fail to see the deeper drama of opening the play this way. My Romeo and Juliet study guide shows my growth by showing how I was able to improve my understanding of Shakespearean language. An example of this growth is when I analyzed the line, ¨O I am fortune´s fool!¨. I analyzed this by saying, ¨Romeo means that fortune has not been kind to him and has made him look bad throughout the story. This connects with the theme of Romeo´s love and his life being star crossed in the entire story.¨ When I analyzed this, I showed that I understood more of the story and how one significant line can hold one of the overall major themes in the story. My deeper understanding of more than just the literal meaning of the line and my use of close reading strategies shows my growth from the explication sheet to the study guide. Overall, the artifacts show my growth in the understanding, ¨It is possible to make sense of classic writing - sometimes it takes multiple close readings.¨ by showing how I learned to use strategies to decipher the text and find a deeper meaning of the story.
Romeo And Juliet Study guide
More of the Romeo and Juliet Study Guide
Odyssey Study Guide
Second Reading Reflection
For my second reading reflection, I chose to show my growth in the understanding, ¨Reading involves thinking ¨. The artifacts I have chosen to show my growth are my Odyssey Study Guide and my Independent Research Notes. These artifacts both show my growth and neither one of them is bad. My Odyssey Study Guide shows my growth in taking notes on a classic and understanding what was happening in the story. My Independent Research Notes are a good example of my growth because they show how I was able to think about and analyze articles I found on my own. They represent times I thought deeply about the two very different kinds of reading I was doing and analyzed them. I grew in my overall understanding of doing better thinking while reading in order to understand concepts in the story. The Odyssey Study Guide is a good example of my growth because I showed my ability to think about and interpret literary signposts. Some examples of this would be when I realized that Homer was foreshadowing Antinous´s death by saying Antinous would be, ¨The first to savor blood from a arrow at his throat.¨ I was able to realize that Homer was using foreshadowing and irony in this line, which shows my growth. Later in the story, I was able to recognize more irony when Penelope gives her speech about letting the beggar string the bow, I realized the irony because Odysseus was the beggar, but Penelope doesn´t realize he is back in his house. This again is an example of how my Odyssey Study Guide shows my growth in the understanding, ¨Reading involves thinking¨. My Independent Research Notes are a good example of my growth because I was able to think about the reading and get a better understanding of what I was researching, For example, some of my surprise annotations helped me put together what was causing the endless violence in Africa, and my question annotations led me to do more research on corruption and poverty. That is how my Independent Research Notes show growth in my thinking while reading. Overall, my selected artifacts show my growth in the areas of using annotations to dig into a topic and understanding literary devices, which shows my overall growth in the understanding, ¨Reading involves thinking.¨ because I was able to expand what I got out of reading.
My Independent Research Project Notes
More Independent Research Notes
My Implicit Bias Research Notes were Done last Trimester and are On that Portfolio
Independent Reading List
Writing Artifacts From Trimester 3
Implicit Bias Synthesis Paragraphs
First Writing Reflection
For my first writing reflection, I chose to reflect on my growth in the understanding ¨Writing improves with careful revision.¨ The artifacts I have chosen that show my growth are my Implicit Bias Paragraphs and my Independent Research Paragraphs. My Implicit Bias Paragraphs are an example of when my writing was not very carefully revised and I made mistakes. My Independent Research Paragraphs are and example of how I grew and got better at revising my papers over the trimester. I grew in my overall understanding of ¨Writing improves with careful revision¨ by learning how to ask a friend to read my paper and comment and by learning how to go back and critique my paper like I was grading it with a rubric. My Implicit Bias Paragraphs are a good example of a time I did not do a good job of revising because I made errors like saying, ¨You feel guilty and become focused on your thought processes.¨ This shows how I did not revise my writing well enough because it still included personal pronouns when I turned it in. I also did not add enough of my own voice and just fed off of the research I did in my writing. This led to a boring paragraph that could have been written by anyone and you could not tell there was a personal voice in it. My citations also had simple errors like including the authors whole name instead of just their last name that could have been fixed if I had revised my paper more carefully. My Independent Research Paragraphs show my growth because I did not make any simple errors and had revised my paper based on the suggestions of a friend. I did not make any technical errors like punctuation, formality, or word choice, which shows how I grew in my understanding of how my writing could improve with careful revision since my Implicit Bias Paragraph had been turned in. I also made sure to add more of my own personal voice to the writing and I revised my writing to cut out parts that made the paper drag on and were unnecessary. Overall, I grew in my understanding of ¨Writing improves with careful revision¨ over the trimester by learning how to use a rubric to grade myself and by learning how to carefully search a paper for little errors that can be prevented. The artifacts that I chose to show my growth are good examples because they show my work before and after my growth and the improvement that my growth in the understanding brought about.
Independent Research Synthesis Paragraphs
Romeo and Juliet Final Project
The Odyssey book 9 Literary Analysis Paragraph
Second Writing Reflection
For my second writing reflection, I have chosen to reflect on my growth in the understanding, ¨Analytical writing consists of breaking down a text to examine literary tool and authorial choices.¨ The artifacts I have chosen to show my growth are my Odyssey Book 9 Literary Analysis Paragraph and my Odyssey Book 10 and 12 Literary Analysis Paragraph. My Book 9 Literary Analysis Paragraph is an example of a time when I did not breaking down a text properly and used plain and literal evidence in my writing. My Book 10 and 12 Literary Analysis Paragraph is an example of a time when I broke down a complicated piece of evidence to examine what the author was trying to say and draw a conclusion about stereotypes of the times. I grew in my understanding of ¨Analytical writing consists of breaking down a text to examine literary tool and authorial choices¨ by finding more complicated lines to break down and learning how to draw more than just a literal translation from them. My Book 9 Analysis Paragraph is an example of when I struggled with breaking down a piece of text and analyzing it because I chose this quote to be my main evidence, ¨I slew him by the seaside and burnt his long thighbones to Zeus beyond the stormcloud, Cronus´ son, who rules the world. But Zeus disdained my offering; destruction for my ships he had in store and death for those who sailed them, my companions.¨ This is a weak quote because anyone can read it and tell me that Zeus had doom in store for Odysseus. The quote hides no meaning and it does not have to be analyzed for anyone to realize what it is saying. That is why my example from my Book 9 Analysis Paragraph is a good example of when I struggled with breaking down and analyzing a piece of text. My Book 10 and 12 Analysis Paragraph shows my growth in the understanding of ¨Analytical writing consists of breaking down a text to examine literary tool and authorial choices.¨ because I chose a sophisticated quote to break down and analyze and I was able to draw conclusions about more than just the story, like about the author´s life and the stereotypes of gender where he lived. The quote was, ¨Low she sang in her beguiling voice, while her own loom she wove ambrosial fabric sheer and bright, by that craft known to the goddesses of heaven.¨ This quote took some analysis to break it down and figure out what it meant, but I was able to analyze it to tell what Ancient Greek expectations of women were. I was also able to see the author´s voice and what he thought about women, along with how that expectation fit into the overall story of The Odyssey. Those are the reasons my Book 10 and 12 Analysis Paragraph is a good example of my growth in understanding how to break down a piece of text and write about it. My two pieces of evidence show my growth in the understanding of ¨Analytical writing consists of breaking down a text to examine literary tool and authorial choices¨ by showing when I was weak in my understanding and how I improved after I increased my understanding. Overall, I grew in my understanding of how to analyze a piece of text over the trimester by learning how to decipher a text and display the meaning through my own writing.
The Odyssey Books 10 and 12 Literary Analysis Paragraph
Participation Self Evaluation and Reflection
Participation Check List
Participation Reflection
Two things from the Participation Check List that I am proud of from this last trimester are my participation in class discussions and my offering good responses when called on. I am proud of my participation in class discussions because the things I added to discussions were always meant to get other people thinking and listen to their responses. While some people might find it annoying, you can learn a lot by taking the opposite view in the room just for the learning experience. I am proud of the way I made discussions more thoughtful and I am proud that I learned during class discussions. I am proud of my responses when asked questions in class because I always knew what was going on and I could always provide an answer if called on. I am proud of this because I think it shows that I was always prepared when I came to class. One thing I regret was that my feedback during workshops was not always great because I had some reservations about criticizing my peers. I am not a very confrontational person when it comes to things that do not directly effect me, but I wish I had been more honest in order to help my peers more. I think I can work on that as time goes on.