Aaron's English Blog

 Prompt: My favorite word from the last vocabulary list is "debacle". It is my favorite word because it sounds nice as you say it and it can be used in many situations. The words means a failure or bad situation/predicament. I do not use it very often but now that I know it I will try to incorporate it into my vocabulary. Summary: Today in class we continued working on our slideshows. Reflection: I will ask my parents for pictures of my childhood for the presentation.

 Prompt:  Imagination can help you cope with boredom because it can help you escape your situation by thinking about something else that is more interesting. If you are sitting around waiting for something to happen, your imagination can let you make up things that are fun and help pass the time. Your imagination can help with stress by letting you think out many different scenarios and make a decision easier. You can think about the implications of different courses of action using you imagination and then make a decision based on that. Summary: Today we started on our presentations about childhood. Reflection: This project makes me think about my childhood.

 Prompt: A time that I faced a high pressure situation was when I first started driving on major roads. My mom and I were driving local neighborhoods and I accidentally turned onto a major road where there were much more cars than I was used to. The situation was risky because I was not used to driving and was not confident in my skills. My concentration made me drive without an accident as I was concentrated on the road. Summary: Today we read the poem "Out, Out" and answered questions about it. Reflection: I thought that the death of the child was unexpected.

 Prompt: I spent most of the break playing basketball and preparing for tryouts today. I went to a basketball camp and went to the gym a lot so that I could practice my shot and work on my game sense. I tried to do some strength training as well. This past weekend I visited my brother in college. Summary: Today in class I worked on a comic strip for the new vocab words. Reflection: I think this is a good way to learn the words.

 Prompt: A time that someone's words had a lasting impact on me was when my 9th grade coach helped me. I was not playing good defense and a lot of people were scoring on me. My coach took me aside the next practice and explained that I was not sliding my feet properly and to always try to stay one step ahead of the defender. This had a lasting impact on me because I still use this advice and it has helped me a lot. Summary: Today in class we reviewed how to write effective claims and evidence. Reflection: I learned that my evidence needs to be more specific.

 Prompt: A way that I find time to enjoy my day is my eating good food, talking to my friends, and spending time with my family. I make sure that I eat delicious food because it makes me happier. I try to talk to my friends to catch up and maintain good relationships. At the end of each day I eat dinner with my family and spend time talking to them. Summary: Today in class we revised our "ambush" paragraph. Reflection: I had to change a lot based on the feedback we got yesterday.

 Prompt: A conversation that changed me was when my parents started talking about college. They told me that the best way to get a job was to work hard in high school so that I could get into a good college. This changed me because it made me realize how little time I have left before I need to start college applications and taking standardized tests such as the SAT. I now focus more time on preparing for those things as my parents told me that they are very important. Summary: Today in class we found claims and evidence from the articles provided. Reflection: I thought that this assignment was good as it helped me understand evidence better.

 Prompt: A time that I had to step outside my comfort zone was when I first started playing basketball. My parents told me the summer before 9th grade that I had to play a sport in high school. I chose basketball, even though I had never played it before. Learning to play challenged me a lot and it took a long time to even dribble properly. This experience made me struggle and forced me outside my comfort zone. Summary: Today in class we worked on a NewsELA article. Reflection: I thought that the writing prompt took too long to do.

 Prompt: I have always been curious about space and flight. I like learning about the planets and stars and I think that the way rockets work is very interesting. When I was younger I spent a lot of time reading about the solar system and how the universe works. This has made me curious about those things as I spent a lot of time with them as a young child. Summary: Today we continued working on our unpopular opinion paragraphs. Reflection: I think that having so much evidence for the counterclaim is unnecessary.

 Prompt: A dream that I had that felt real was a dream that I had about falling down. I once had a dream where it felt as if I had woken up and started my day as normal. I ate breakfast, went to school, and came back home. The dream ended when I started feeling lightheaded and fell over and hit my head on the floor. Just as I was about to hit the floor, I woke up. Summary: Today in class we worked on a new vocabulary assignment for a new set of words. Reflection: Some of the words on the list seemed like they would be cumbersome to use in regular conversation.

 Prompt: The best gift that I have ever received was a trip to a treetop adventure course when I was in elementary school. I went there on my birthday with a few of my friends and family during the summer. We spent a few hours exploring the course and going on ziplines. It was not my favorite because of the activity but because I had a lot of fun with my family and I still remember the fun I had. Summary: Today in class we worked on evidence and writing a claim for an unpopular opinion. Reflection: I thought that some of the responses to the unpopular opinions were funny.

 Prompt: Something that I believed as a child was that Santa Claus was real. I believed that he would come every Christmas and put the presents under the Christmas tree. I know now that my parents were the ones who put the presents under the tree. My family still does this but it is just for fun as we know that Santa Claus is not real.  Summary: Today in class we learned new vocabulary words. Reflection: I knew some of the words but others seemed new to me.