Aaron's English Blog

Prompt: Some new perspectives that I gained about my poster and writing in general were that using bright, contrasting colors makes people like the poster better. Also, adding humor in the form of a funny picture made people like my poster. Making the poster well organized helped people understand the information better. The use of fitting pictures contributed to the design a lot. Summary: Today in class we looked at videos about AI and other peoples' posters. Reflection: I enjoyed seeing what other people had made.

Prompt: Reflect on the simile and metaphor worksheet. Which topic challenged you the most when creating your figurative language, and why? In your response, explain what made that topic difficult and how you worked through the challenge (or what you might do differently next time).

Prompt: The topic that challenged me the most was the one about pressure to fit in. I feel that I have been in control of my life for the most part and able to stay away from peer pressure. This made it difficult for me to create a simile or metaphor as I had to embellish a very small example of peer pressure. The example I ended up choosing was about being left out on the playground. Summary: Today we worked on our posters for the similes and metaphors. Reflection: I enjoyed creating my poster.

Prompt: Today you created similes and metaphors that reflect your struggles, growth, and resilience. In a well-developed paragraph, reflect on the process. What did you learn about yourself while writing your figurative language?

Prompt: The process of creating similes and metaphors about my life was challenging at times. I had little experience in some of the topics and it took a lot of thought and a bit of imagination to find metaphors or similes. The similes I wrote about leaving my friends were the most important to me because it was a time of great change in my life. I really enjoyed discovering new things about myself. Summary: Today we created similes and metaphors about our life. Reflection: I struggled with some of the prompts.

Prompt: Describe how you spent your time, any activities, traditions, travel, hobbies, or moments that stood out to you. You may also discuss something new you tried, something you learned, or how the break helped you reset before returning to school. Keep your response appropriate for a school setting and focus on experiences you are comfortable sharing publicly

Prompt: Over the break I spent a lot of time playing basketball and going to the gym. I tried to go in the morning so that I was able to go with my dad. Moments that stood out to me were my AAU practice because it was a lot of fun. I also played basketball with my friends at Briarwood rec center. Summary; Today we read a poem called "Still I Rise" Reflection: The poem was very interesting.

Prompt: In the spirit of Valentine’s Day week, describe your idea of a perfect day spent with someone you care about (a friend, family member, or significant person in your life).

Prompt: A perfect day spent with my brother would include many fun things. We always talked about going on a fishing trip together when he fixed his car, so that would be what we would do. We would take his VW Beetle to a lake and cook food on a grill. We would talk about how things are going in our lives and go swimming in the lake. On the way home, we would stop for some good food and listen to music. Summary: Today we started our rhetorical analysis planning sheets. Reflection: I think this sheet will help a lot with the essay.

Prompt: Today, you learned how to complete a rhetorical analysis planning guide step by step, from identifying the rhetorical situation to analyzing devices and effects. Reflect on one step of the rhetorical analysis process that helped you understand the process more clearly. Explain what you learned during that step and how it improved your ability to analyze a speaker’s message.

Prompt: The step that helped me understand the process more clearly was the planning step. During this step we identified all of the important pieces of information that could be useful. It helped my ability to analyze a speaker's message by showing me all of the different devices that speakers use to enhance their speech. I could use this step to plan my thesis statement. Summary: Today we finished our planning guides for the rhetorical analysis essay. Reflection: The guides will be very useful as they give us the information to write the essay.

Prompt: Now that you have completed the rhetorical analysis essay, reflect on your growth. Explain how this experience impacted your confidence as a writer and whether you feel prepared to continue analyzing complex speeches and texts in American Literature. Support your reflection with specific references to the writing process.

Prompt: I think that I have gotten better at analyzing the importance of rhetorical appeals and devices. Writing the essay increased my confidence as I was able to write a decent essay within the time constraints. I feel prepared to continue analyzing complex texts because of the first step that we learned which was about finding all of the information and grouping it into the different rhetorical devices. This made it easier to write the essay as all of the details were ready. Summary: Today in class we wrote the rhetorical analysis essay. Reflection: I think I did okay on it.

Prompt: If you had to describe how you show love using only three objects (for example: a playlist, a hoodie, a late-night snack, a long text message, etc.), what would you choose and why? Explain what each object represents and how it connects to your personality.

Prompt: If I had to show love using only three objects I would use food, small gifts, and talking to someone. I would use food because I enjoy eating and making good food so I would show love by making food for someone. I would use small gifts because they are a great way to show that you care about someone if they are well thought out. While talking to someone is not really an object, I would say it is important in showing love as it shows you care about someone and care about their feelings. Summary: Today in class we wrote poems to our parents. Reflection: I thought that it was a good exercise to appreciate our parents.

Prompt: What is the best piece of advice of that your parent or guardian has given you? Tell what the advice was and what prompted you to ask the question.

Prompt: The best advice that my parent has given me is to make sure I get my work done before doing what I want to do. I did not ask a question to prompt this, but my parent told me this after I did not want to do my homework. I don't always follow this advice, but it is still important because it teaches me to make priorities. If I feel that a homework assignment is not as important right now I can do it later, but usually it is more important. Summary: Today we analysed a poem by Langston Hughes. Reflection: I thought that the extended metaphor in the poem was very impactful.

Prompt: What is the most challenging part of working in a group? Discuss a time when a group assignment did not go as well as you planned and how you learned from that experience.

Prompt: The most challenging part of working in a group is when everyone does not do their work. Often some people will not involve themselves at all in a project or just enough to make it seem like they are doing work so that the rest of the group will just do the work for them. A time this happened was in middle school when a member of my group did not do any of the work assigned to them until the day it was due. I learned that if possible, I need to choose groups with people I can trust. Summary: Today we analysed and graded examples of rhetorical analysis essays. Reflection: I learned that I do not need to write a very large amount for a rhetorical analysis.

Prompt: What is the most challenging part of writing an essay for you? Is it brainstorming, organizing ideas, writing a strong thesis, or something else? How do you plan to overcome this challenge?

Prompt: The most challenging part of writing an essay for me is making sure that I have a clear understanding of the topic. This makes it much easier to know what I will write in my body paragraphs. It can also be challenging for me to write an essay if it is not on a topic that I care much about. If I care about it, I can write it much faster as the ideas just flow much better. Summary: Today in class we continued learning how to write a body paragraph for a rhetorical analysis. Reflection: It can be difficult to write the commentary part of a rhetorical analysis.

Prompt: Describe a real moment in your life that felt like the beginning of a powerful story. Tell what happened, and why it felt like a turning point in your life?