Alyssa Prydz

English 9H/Period 6
8/30/16
Reflections On Learning
Today in English 9 Honors, we learned more efficient ways to look up our homework
assignments or classwork that needs to be finished by looking online to check work or essays for the day.
Another assignment we learned and completed today was that of Informal Reflections. In these
reflections, we had to reflect on the specific assessments that we were required to do and how we could
improve on the assessments the next time. In addition, we learned how to go onto a website called
Turnitin.com, which is a website that helps students check their essays. Through this website, students are
able to do spelling, grammar, as well as plagiarism checks. Our class also started Haiku Classroom, a
website that lets us check our daily agenda and assignments that are due. Through this lesson, I learned to
become more efficient in looking up assignments. I no longer need to write down homework/classwork in
my agenda book, and know that I can now simply find the assignments online.

8/31/16

Its Wednesday and today we completed the SRI Testing as well as the Timed Write Essay for Of
Mice and Men. My class also went over the synonyms and antonyms of the Verbal Advantage list to help
us develop a better understanding of the vocabulary and to help us prepare for the quiz on Friday. The SRI
Testing was not that hard, but there were some vocabulary words that I did not know so I had to guess
what word would fit the most with the story or summary on the test. I felt that this really helped with my
overall thinking, learning, and vocabulary skills because the test really made me think what word would
best fit the story. I believe I did a pretty good job on the test, and I liked how the test let you pick what
kind of category or genre you would like to be tested on. I was really nervous about what the timed write
consisted of because I havent completed an essay where we had to finish within an hour during class in a

long time. One of the struggles I had during the test was trying to type as fast as I could without messing
up my spelling and grammar, but I knew that I just had to continue typing and then proofread. Completing
and working on this essay really helped with my typing and essay skills because I know I need to do this
in college and during important English tests. Now that we are starting the Verbal Advantage Lists, I
found that it was really helpful to go over the synonyms and antonyms with the class. Going over them
with the class made it so we could understand the vocabulary words more and so we could be absolutely
ready for the quiz.
9/2/16
Its the last day of our second week of school where we finished our first Verbal Advantage Quiz
and learned ways on to fix our essays by changing our weed (messy) essays and turning them into
beautiful rose (well-written) essays. I had a lot of homework the night before the quiz, so I barely had
enough time to study fo the VA quiz. The quiz was not hard at all, but I know I got a majority of the
synonyms and antonyms section wrong. The definitions and matching words to sentences were easy, but I
guess a struggle for me was that of knowing the synonyms and antonyms because I did not study them as
much as the definitions of the words. Next time, I should make more time to study instead of trying to
make more time to take breaks. Learning about Weeds and Roses was truly essential towards fixing our
essays and making them more advanced. One example I learned was that for citations you must include
the author and the page number in the parenthesis after you cite the quote. In the Timed Write, I just put
the page number in the parenthesis, so now I know Im supposed to put the author in the parenthesis with
the page number. I additionally learned that the background information in an essay always includes who
is involved, what is going on, and why it is happening. Today, I now know more about how to make my
essay into a beautiful or well-written essay and that I should make more time for even the smallest
quizzes because studying will always help me improve on subjects I need to know.

9/6/16

After coming back from a three day weekend, we went over Deconstructed Standards for Unit
Two, learned and completed notes on CPARIS, as well as started on Notes about the author Edgar Allan
Poe. Deconstructing Standards really helps to develop a better understanding on how to read a structured
and well-written statement as well as directions that the teacher or worksheet is asking you to complete.
We also started CPARIS, which is an acronym for: to make a Connection, make a Prediction , Ask a
question, Reflect, Infer what the author means, and to Summarize what happened. We use this acronym to
help us have a finer explanation of the story or text. In 8th grade, I read a story written by Poe, and
learned about his background. Today, I was given a refresher course on the author and how his real life
may have influenced his dark and gloomy stories. My class also made predictions: on a story we are
going to read written by Poe and what the pictures in the story convey. I was actually really curious today
about what the story will tell and if my predictions will be right or not.
9/7/16
Since today was a block day, we started off by reading for 15 minutes. Then, we opened our
chromebooks and logged onto the SRC website. We spent some time looking up books in our SRC level
as well as learned a little more about the SRC reading program we are starting. I had a hard time finding
books that I found interesting at my level, but we just now started learning about the program so I may be
able to find books that I enjoy when I know have increased knowledge of SRC. In addition, we read the
majority of Edgar Allen Poes short story, The Cask of Amontillado. Our first assignment related to the
book was to reword the introduction and rephrase it so we could understand the first paragraph a little
better. The final assignment we completed today was after having followed along with the teacher, we
read sections of Poes story and wrote down predictions or questions we had about that particular section.
I am now curious about how Montresor will kill Fortunato and take his revenge on him.

9/9/16
After finishing the short story, The Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allen Poe for Thursday nights
homework, we came into class and started to have a discussion about the story, reworded the introduction,

and wrote a quick write on how Poe foreshadows throughout the short story, which our table buddies then
edited. I didnt understand the introduction all that much at first when trying to reword it myself, but
when we went over it as a class, I had a better understanding of how the story starts off. I additionally
struggled on the quick write because I wasnt sure which textual evidence to use, but I felt much better
when my table buddy also wrote only two sentences for the quick write. When I got home from school, I
read the book another time and understood the entire story a lot more. I then knew just what evidence I
was going to use for my assignment where I had to write two TEAS body paragraphs for the quick write.

9/12/16 and 9/13/16

Its Monday and today we started our group wiki project on determining which type of insanity
Montresor may have in Edgar Allan Poes The Cask of Amontillado. I am one of the researchers in my
group and we are all working together as editors. My job as researcher is to investigate what kind of
disorder or insanity Montresor may have and provide evidence from my research as to why he has this
certain disorder. In completing this project,I learned how to work in a more collaborative manner with my
group members as well as to help anyone else who needs it. I additionally learned how to conduct more
advanced research on a specific topic. This job was really exciting because my mother is a school
psychologist and I always enjoy learning what kind of disorders or disabilities individuals may have.

9/14/16
Today is Wednesday and the class worked on SRC Reading, getting ready to present their
projects, going over the synonyms and antonyms for VA list 1.2, started our new Deconstructing
Standards in our table groups, and finally we worked on our informal reflections for the group wiki
project. I always enjoy block days in English because we get the chance to read calmly for SRC, and
experience the wonders of books. After reading, the table group leaders and editors prepared to present
their group's wiki page. Our groups leader was Alina George, and I just stepped in as editor to help her
with presenting. Presenting the wiki page was really helpful since it gave us the opportunity to improve

our presentation each time we presented to a new group. Next, we went over the synonyms and antonyms
for list 1.2 which helped us prepare for our quiz and enhanced our understanding of vocabulary words.
Then, we reworded the new standards for Reading and Speaking/Listening in our table groups. In doing
so, this helped us better understand how to select the main points within the standards and reword them so
we could simplify them in a way that would be easier to comprehend. To conclude, the class individually
worked on our informal reflections about the group wiki project. I wrote about how our group explained
and presented our project thoroughly, but unfortunately we did not take advantage of the opportunity to
improve after each presentation. Overall, we learned that next time we should change and improve our
presentation each time we present to a group in order to determine which way worked best.

9/19/16
Today in class we turned in our VA Packets, completed our 1.2 VA Quizzes, had a discussion on
Finding Common Ground, and started to read Anna Quindlens argument, A Quilt of a Country. I believe
my performance improved on this quiz in comparison to the last quiz because I now understand the
concepts and what main points I must study. During class today, we had a discussion about Finding
Common Ground and how having a common interest has an impact on our nation. I learned how this
common interest brings others to come to a discussion and allows others to share their ideas about society
and individuals. As I began to read A Quilt of a Country I realized that the author is explaining how
America is such an improbable idea in that we can have all this diversity and yet still be together as one,
united country. At the end of the argument, she states as the last sentence, Like many improbable ideas,
when it actually works, its a wonder. America is a wonder as we unite together when tragedies occur
and forget about our differences. Even though we are all different and unique individuals, we seem to
work and come together when our country needs it most.

9/20/16

Today is Tuesday and we started the day off by completing a quick write on A Quilt of a
Country. We had to write a TEAS paragraph about why the author Anna Quindlen considers America to
be an improbable idea. In my quick write, I explained how she considers America to be an improbable
idea because she demonstrates that even though we, as individuals, have our differences in our nation, we
are somehow still together as one country. After the time was up for our quick write, we peer edited with
partners at our table. My partners paragraph was well written and she simply forgot minor things. She
also needed to change some of her grammar in her paragraph. When I saw how mine was edited, I also
noticed minor things as well, such as grammar. We additionally began responding to the questions
provided in our textbook about A Quilt of a Country. I finished the questions at home, and noticed that
the questions mainly centered on how she supports her claim throughout the story. I am really enjoying
this unit so far because I get to read stories about the wonderful diversity that we have in our country, and
that as a result of this diversity we are a united and unique nation.

9/21/16
Today in class we started off by reading for SRC, went over the questions in the book for A
Quilt of a Country , had a whole discussion on the story, completed an online selection test on the story,
handed out our workbooks/close readers, and started to read the story, Make the Future Better,
Together, by Eboo Patel. We additionally answered the questions about Patels story in the workbook.
As we analyzed the text, I definitely developed a better understanding of the story. I understood how the
author was trying to explain that America is an improbable idea, and how despite our different
backgrounds, we still work together as a whole country. After the discussion, we took the online test, and
I believe I did really well as the discussion and reading through the book multiple times helped me
understand the concepts in the story. Lastly, we received our close reader workbooks and read a new story
about how America as a country is better if we work together and how working together will lower the
barriers that make people believe we are better apart. (Patel, pg.3).

9/23/16
Today in class, we spent the period discussing the story Making the Future Better, Together
written by Eboo Patel. In class, we mainly discussed the short response at the end of the story/blog. We
first reviewed our short response with our group members, indicating whether Patel convinced us or not
that the United States is a nation that cherishes its diversity. I believe that Patel convinced me when he
wrote about the three pillars which Washington believed to be essential for a diverse democracy to thrive.
Then, as a class, we discussed our short responses and I heard how Patel convinced as well as did not
convince others in my class. I have really enjoyed this unit as I have learned to better analyze texts and
understand what messages authors are trying to get through to the readers about finding common ground.

9/26/16
Today we started a new story called Once Upon A Time and as we read, we took CPARIS
annotations. As the authors background was read, I made the prediction that this story was going to be
about the apartheid in South America as the author, Nadine Gordimer usually writes stories about this
topic. As I followed along with I story, I saw that the story started off with a frightened girl in a rich
household. She seems to be afraid of the outside neighborhood where there are supposedly thieves and
intruders. Since she is unable to fall asleep she tells herself a story; a bedtime story. The story is of a
family who is also afraid of the people outside their house, and to protect themselves they build this
humongous wall with many traps so that the thieves and intruders could not come into the house. Then
their son, while playing a game, drags the ladder to the wall, and he becomes entangled in all the traps.
After finishing the story, I see that Gordimer is trying to say that if we let our fears get the best of us, bad

things can happen and that since the family tried so hard to separate themselves so much from the outside
world it led to having the familys son experience a tragic ending.

9/27/16
Today we started by summarizing Once Upon a Time and how the text is similar to other texts.
Then with our groups, we worked on responding to the questions in the book about the story Once Upon
a Time. As a class, we had a discussion on the story, and explained each answer. Analyzing stories with
the class really helps me develop a better understanding of the text as well as understand the other
possible answers that there may be to a specific question. We also chose partners, and started to work on
the performance task for the story Once Upon a Time. With our partners, we had to work on creating a
narrative story about the problems in society today. Completing this narrative story was really fun and a
great way to get my creative side out. My partner and I both had the same ideas and knew just what to
discuss in relation to a problem in our society. We developed a topic that we knew should now be
accepted in our society, because we are all one human race, despite our differences.

9/28/16
Today we read for SRC, went over the synonyms and antonyms for VA 1.3, worked on our
narrative stories, and then discussed a new assignment. I really enjoy that we have 30 minutes of reading
during block period as it is sometimes hard for me to read at home. I have to finish all my homework first,
so having 30 minutes of reading time in class helps me greatly for SRC. Then, as we went over the
synonyms and antonyms with the class, I developed a better understanding of the words because I saw
that the VA words had synonyms and antonyms to other words I already knew and understood. After
going over the synonyms and antonyms for VA list 1.3, we got together with our partners and continued to
work on our narratives. My partner and I created a story with two different kingdoms. In one kingdom
there lived a prince who was gay and in the other lived a princess who wished to become a knight. Both

had the struggles of whether or not to tell their parents about who they really were, and what they want to
become. Lastly, we discussed a new assignment where we had to create a speech related to the topic of
living together as one united nation, and what we must do to in order to accomplish becoming one united
country.

9/30/16
Even though, I was not here on the 30th, my friends told me that we took the VA quiz 1.3 and
shared our narrative stories. I took the VA quiz on Tuesday, and it seemed pretty easy. I feel that I did a
really good job with understanding the VA words for this list. My partner, Julianne, said presenting went
well and that it was fun to present our story. She explained how it was also interesting to learn about
other groups stories and to hear about what they choose as the problems present in our society. I loved
completely this project with Julianne as it let my imaginative mind flow as we used fairy tale ideas,
turning them into modern day problems in society. I wish I was there to experience other classmates
stories and to present our Equally Ever After story to my classmates.

10/4/16
Throughout the entire class period, we worked on our draft for our Finding Common Ground
Speech. My job was to write claim three, and I decided to talk about Anna Quindlens, A Quilt of a
Country. I choose a quote from her story and analyzed how it related to our thesis. I mainly discussed how
she questions how we can be a united nation, when in reality we simply coexist side by side, separately,
similar to the squares on a quilt. I additionally wrote how she uses the quilt as symbol to represent the
current state of our country because she wants us to reflect on how critical it is for us to move beyond
simply coexisting. My group members all helped each other with our paragraphs, and we worked together
to improve our speech.

10/5/16

In class, we continued to work on our speeches for about 10 minutes and then presented to other
groups. I finished up my last sentences about how if we truly want to become a united nation, we must
absolutely stop division and hatred based on fears of those who are different. I concluded my paragraph
by saying, that it is vital the we come together as a nation through genuinely valuing the beauty of
diversity. Then we gathered with two other groups and listened to Juliannes group. Julianne was really
interesting and funny as she told the introduction of the speech. I was definitely engaged while she said
the introduction. We only listened to about three of her groups paragraphs, but it was enjoyable to listen
to their speech.

10/7/16
During the whole period, we presented and listened to speeches. We were the seventh group to go up, and
I was sort of nervous but not really really nervous. The first group to go up was Juliannes group and they
definitely engaged the audience and made them giggle. When it was our turn, I do not know what
happened, but as it was my turn to speak, my hand just started to shake and I could not read my card, so I
had to hold it with two hands. I have never had that happen to me before, and I have never been that
nervous before, granted my heart always beats faster before I have a presentation, but I never have had
my hands shake. I had to read fast because my paragraph was really long and I wanted to reach the time
limit. I know next time to just calm and down, and know that this is just talking for a minute, and then I
am done. In order to improve, I should cut down my paragraph and read a little bit slower. After our
presentation, we still had one more group to go. Ms. Frederick said that she liked the part in our
introduction where we asked students to raise their hand if they had ever been judged, and that made me
extremely happy.

10/10/16
Today we finished up the speech assignment, added the speech assignment to our informal
reflections, and completed the Quarter One: Self Evaluation form. After the last group to go up finished

their speech, I worked on my informal reflections. In my informal reflection, I explained my strengths,

weaknesses, and how I can improve. My strengths were being able to find a quote from one of the texts,
and analyze the quote by explaining how the author is trying to get their view across and explaining how
the quote relates to my thesis. My weaknesses were not thinking of more interesting ways to engage the
audience and trying to reach the time limit for the speech. To improve, I can look up ways and strategies
for engaging the audience during a speech, and next time I could to try to shorten my paragraph to meet
the time limit. Lastly, we filled out the Quarter One: Self Evaluation. I have completed and met a majority
of the standards, but I still need to reach my SRC goal.

10/11/16
Today, we started off by reading for 30 minutes, deconstructed standards, looked through our new
textbook - Unit 4, and completed the activities assigned in the textbook. I first took an SRC test on The
Fault in Our Stars, and then continued to read. After reading, we received our new textbooks, and I liked
how it had pictures and little comic pages in the middle of the book. I was a little concerned that since I
saw a lot of wording, that it wouldnt be as interesting and it would be a book that was more advanced as
well as harder to understand. Then as started to read through the book, it really helps you have an
understanding about the topic you are trying to learn. We also worked on deconstructing our new
standards for Unit 4. Rewording our standards always helps me really understand what we need to
achieve in our reading and writing for this unit. Our final assignment today was to complete the activities
in the textbook for pages 7-20. In the textbook, we were reading about rhetoric, ethos, pathos, logos, as
well as completing the activities really which helped me understand these terms better.

10/14/16
Today we had a discussion about the textbook and went over the activities in the workbook with
our table groups as well as with the class. We also started to work on a quick write about the individual
and the community. We discussed what the terms rhetoric, ethos, pathos, and logos mean. I had a better

understanding of these terms since we discussed it as a class. I understood more that rhetoric means the
art of persuasion in speaking or writing. Ethos means to be trustworthy, credible, and to show you have a
good, moral character. Pathos means to try and persuade through emotions and feelings. Logos means to
persuade through logic, reason, and evidence, which is what we have been already doing in our
argumentative essays. We finally started to work on our first quick write for this unit. In our quick write,
we had to write about the relationship between the individual and the community using TEAS form. We
additionally had to write about how we, as individuals, have responsibilities towards the community and
vice versa.
10/17/16
Today, we shared our quick writes with our table groups and then began to take They Say/ I Say
annotations for Letters of Birmingham. Our quick write prompt was about the relationship between the
individual and the community. I explained my quick write topic related to how the individual must
contribute to society in order to make-up a good and wonderful community, and vice versa, that the
community must include and value others differences to make up a unique and wonderful community.
After sharing the quick writes, I began to read The Letters of Birmingham and thought King used great
rhetoric examples in his letter to the clergymen. The letters were really interesting as they talked about the
critical topics related to prejudice, racism, and civil rights.
10/18/16
As we continued to read Letters in Birmingham, I thought that the entire letter that King wrote
was really inspiring. He was persuasive in a manner that grabbed the attention of the clergymen. King
used rhetoric styles such as ethos, pathos, and logos in order to persuade as well as make the clergymen
think about what they wrote in their letter. Near the end of his letter, he used the church and God to really
persuade and grab the clergymens attention to help them understand that African-Americans as well as
all men should have equal rights. Thereafter, I started to work on Learning Log #4, where I answered how
King uses the clergymens knowledge of the church to try to persuade the clergymen of the wrongdoings
in Birmingham. I additionally addressed the issues King illustrates such as the unjust, and inhumane

treatment of African-Americans in Birmingham. Even though, the letter was long, I enjoyed learning
about our history in America, and how King made excellent as well as persuading points to substantiate
the essential and ethical claim that all men to be created equal.
10/19/16
After reading for SRC, we summarized Letters from Birmingham and then shared our summaries
with the class. In my summary, I wrote about how King uses topics such as the church and Saints to show
the clergymen that all men should have equal rights. I additionally wrote about how he explains to the
clergymen about the differences between just and unjust laws, and how morally, people should only
follow the just laws. We then went to the Questions for Discussion page for Letters from Birmingham
and started to work on the questions in our groups. After finishing the questions with our groups, we
discussed the questions as a class. During the last few minutes of class we started on the Questions on
Rhetoric and Style.

10/21/16
Today we continued working with our group on the Questions for Rhetoric and Style. My
group and I answered questions about how King persuades and uses rhetoric styles in his letter. One of the
questions I answered was whether Kings last three paragraphs demonstrated rhetorical effect. I indicated
that Kings last three paragraphs reflected rhetorical effect because King writes to the clergymen that if he
has said anything that overstates the truth then he is deeply sorry. This shows that he is a kind man to the
clergymen, which is ethos, and he also grabs the attention of the clergymen by just wanting to be a
Christian brother towards the clergymen. He says that if he has settled for anything less than
brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me and so by using God and asking for forgiveness he is using the
clergymens knowledge and love of God and the church to show that all men should have civil rights and
be created equal as well as to be treated like brothers. My group and I did not finish today so we will
finish over the weekend.

10/24/16
Today we spent the day working on a Letters from Birmingham quick write about Kings major
claims, assumptions, and the types of evidence he uses as well as their effectiveness. I explained how his
major claims were related to prejudice and injustices experienced by African Americans. He used
evidence such as Saints and real life experiences to support his claims. He explained how the police were
brutally beating African Americans, using pathos, as it can play with emotions since it is inhumane to beat
or hurt innocent individuals. He uses the Saints, God, and church to persuade and grab the attention of the
clergymen which is effective as they are all men of the church. I did not get to finish, but I did write a
really long paragraph for the quick write. We then peer edited out quick writes, and I believe my partner
and I did a really good job with our quick writes even though we both did not have sufficient time to
finish.

10/25/16
We started to read and annotate Where I Lived and What I Lived For by Henry David Thoreau.
In this story, Thoreau explains how we must live with simplicity, and if we live with simplicity we may
find the meaning of life leading us to live a life worth living. Thoreau explains how we as humans get
caught up in the possession of objects, luxury, and gossip, and we feel as if we need these insignificant
things in our lives. When in reality, luxury is not a necessity in life. Instead, to live with simplicity, with
one meal instead of three, we can become more focused on the true essence of our community and with
our extraordinary world. Our society has only become worse with the many advances in technology,
which sets us even farther back with living a life without true meaning and purpose as we become
disconnected with the natural and humane realm. Thoreaus ideas and experiences show us how to find
the true meaning of life, with simplicity and being more focused with our community.

10/26/16

Today we wrote our summaries about Where I lived and What I lived For and then shared them
with our table groups. I wrote about how Thoreau is trying to tell us that we must live with simplicity in
order to find the true meaning of life and to live our lives with purpose. We then wrote our answers down
for the Questions for Discussion with our table groups, and then we discussed the questions as a class.
One question that I remembering answering was related to what Thoreau would say about all the different
technology we have today, and if that technology has simplified or caused a negative impact on our lives.
I answered this question by saying that it has created both a negative impacted and has helped simplify
our lives. Technology has helped with communication in many ways but it has also made us not pay
attention to the true beauty within the world around us.

10/28/16
We read a poem today called Child of the Americas by Aurora Levins Morales. In this poem,
we see Morales talk about all the different kinds of ethnicities she has within her, but even with all this
diversity, she is still just American. After reading the poem, we answered Explaining the Text questions
based on the poem. One question asked was: what is the authors tone in the poem. I indicated that I
could tell that she was proud of her cultural heritage because that is what makes her an American as
America is filled with diversity. She uses words such as I am whole and Spanish is in my flesh, ripples
in my tongue, lodged in my hips. These words show how she is proud to have all the different cultural
backgrounds as they are what make her whole and make her American.

10/31/16
Today we received our 1.5 Verbal Advantage list and then worked on our Child of the
Americas quick write. After working on the quick write for a while, we discussed our prompt for our
Timed Write on Unit 4. We had to write an essay arguing what the key aspects of a community consist of,
and use textual evidence from the stories we have read to substantiate our arguments. We wrote down our
initial responses to the prompt which became our claim. Then, we discussed the different types of thesis

statements such as: open, closed, and counterargument thesis statements. After much reading related to
the types of thesis statements, the class came to a conclusion that an open thesis statement is the strongest
as it helps the reader become interested in the essay and limits the points you can make.

11/1/16
Today we went over our weaknesses in writing, what makes evidence effective, and different
types of evidence. Our main weaknesses in writing were MLA Citations, formatting the evidence, and
analysis. In class, we were shown correct examples of how to cite using MLA citations, how to effectively
format evidence, and what our analysis should contain. We additionally learned that for writing to be
effective, it needs to be relevant, sufficient, and accurate because you cannot argue evidence. Then we
read some pages in our Unit 4 textbook about the different types of evidence. The different types of
evidence I wrote down included relevant , first hand, second hand, current events, etc. I also learned that
in order to have accurate evidence, I must go to a credible source. Furthermore, in order to have
sufficient evidence, I should not just have one source, but I need to use various sources to support my
thesis. The last activity we worked on was to start our outline for our timed write on community.

11/2/16
Today we completed our timed write on community for Unit 4. I finished my essay about 5
minutes before the bell rang. I always get a little nervous on timed writes as I always worry that I will not
finish in time. My strengths included: having my outline ready with all my evidence as well as thesis and
knowing exactly what I was going to be writing about in my essay. My weaknesses included: being
stumped sometimes or sometimes having writers block while writing my analysis. Another weakness
includes that of not writing my evidence in the correct format as I may not always effectively weave my
evidence within the paragraph. To improve my writing, I should come and ask you how to more
effectively weave and format the evidence within my essay. I should also try to further evaluate what the

evidence shows ahead of time so I can avoid experiencing writers block when completing the analysis
portion of my essay.

11/4/16
After completing our timed write from yesterday, we discussed our weeds and rose in writing
from some of the essays. Our mains weeds were our run-on sentences as well as our introduction
backgrounds. In order to fix a run-on sentence, I learned that we must separate the ideas or add a
conjunction/punctuation that combines them in the right way. In the introduction background, we must
add any necessary information that the reader may not know in order for the reader to clearly understand
the topic. We should always have a hook as well as background information to lead the readers into the
thesis and grab the reader's attention. We should make sure to subtract irrelevant information as well as
add pertinent information within the background. Another weed included that of incorrect use of MLA
Citations as we were still not formatting the citations accurately.

11/7/16
Today, we started on our first semester portfolios where we had to include sections based on
reading, writing, language, speaking/listening, as well as our informal and formal reflections within our
portfolios. I started to decide which Learning Logs and Quick Writes I wanted you to grade and then
worked on my informal as well as formal reflections. I was confused about the formal reflections for a
long time, but then I understood that we had to write whether we 1) met, 2) advanced, or 3) had some
struggles with each of the standards for this semester. I was really excited about the language page as we
had been given the choice to produce any kind of writing using our verbal advantage words. The only
criteria was that the writing must contain at least 20 of the verbal advantage words. Thereafter, I started to
write my reflection on how I felt I was doing with verbal advantage.
11/8/16

We started the day off by deconstructing our new standards for Unit 5. Specifically, we
deconstructed our standards for reading and writing. For the reading standard, in Unit 5, we must learn to
determine a theme of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text. For the writing
standard, we must learn to develop as well as strengthen our writing by planning, revising, editing,
rewriting, etc and focus on what is most significant for a specific purpose and/or audience. As a class, we
then discussed some background information on To Kill a Mockingbird, and learned about some concepts
the author attempts to teach us. After learning some information on To Kill a MockingBird, we then went
to the library to get our books and started to read Chapter One.

11/9/16
Today we discussed our To Kill a Mockingbird graffiti journal assignment. For our graffiti
journals, we must first pick one topic the section focused on, and then find three quotes from the section
that relate to the topic. We also have to illustrate the most important scene for each graffiti journal. There
are a total of seven discussions we will have for each section, and after each section we must come to
class with our graffiti journal as well as share the journals with our table groups. After learning the
specific details related to what we have to do for our graffiti journals assignments, we continued to read
the first section of To Kill a Mockingbird, which includes Chapters One through Five.

11/14/16
We came to class after continuing to read the first section of To Kill a Mockingbird, and engaged
in a discussion about the chapters in class. When reading the chapters, I noticed many topics such as those
related to the education system and social class. In the book, Miss Caroline, the teacher, seems to not
know what to do when Scout, her student, is more advanced than others in First grade so she tells Scout to
tell her father not to teach her to read anymore. Today if a person is more advanced than others within
their grade, they would move up a grade and would be challenged more rather than be told to keep the
same pace as the others who are not as advanced. I also see how the author touches upon the topic of

social class when Walter Cunningham is asked over to Scouts house. Since Scout is young, and does not
understand the hardships the Cunningham family experiences, she criticizes Walter and Calpurnia molds
her into being a better hostess. Social class seemed to be the most important topic in the first section so I
used social class as my topic for the first graffiti journal.

11/15/16
Today we completed our first Lit Circle for Chapters one through five and worked on the Lit
Circle questions with our table groups. We additionally shared our graffiti journals with our groups. We
answered questions related to how the whole community was poor because if the farmers did not get a lot
of money then the professionals did not get as much money as well. Another question we answered was
related to how Scout was more advanced for her grade, and how Miss Caroline, Scouts teacher, did not
know what to do as in relation to Scouts advanced achievement. In those days, schools went by specific
rules and so everyone learned the same exact things whether they were advanced or behind academically.
Near the end of the first section, the children play a game about Boo Radley. While playing the game,
Scout heard laughing in the Radley house, and knew that Boo was definitely still alive in his house.
11/16/16
Today we continued to read section 2 of To Kill a Mockingbird, which consists of Chapters seven
through eleven. We soon discover that Boo Radley has left gifts for Scout and Jem in the knothole of a
tree, and we later find out that Nathan Radley, Boos brother, has covered up the knothole. Another scene
with Boo Radley was when Miss Maudies house catches on fire, and Scout has no idea that Boo was the
one who had placed the blanket over her during all the chaos of the fire. Scout and Jem visit their family
and thats when everything goes downhill. Francis, Scouts cousin, calls Atticus a nigger-lover and
Scout gets extremely angry over this, and they begin to fight. Scouts uncle, Jack, hits Scout for hurting
Francis and he soon learns that Francis has called Atticus a nigger-lover and is deeply sorry for hitting
Scout. Throughout these chapters, I decided to illustrate the gifts in the knothole as these seemed to be the
most important scenes in the chapters.

11/18/16
Today we worked on a Quick Write for Part One of To Kill a Mockingbird, continued to read
chapters twelve through sixteen of the novel over break, and work on graffiti journal number 3. In my
quick write, I explained how Atticus teaches a valuable lesson, and I wrote about its significance in the
novel. After finishing the quick write, I read some of the chapters for section three, and I noticed some
important scenes such as when Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to her church. Lula, a African-American
woman at the church does not like the fact that white folks are coming into the church. I also notice that
Calpurnia changes the way she talks when interacting with those in her African-American community and
when interacting with others within the white community. Another important scene was when Atticus
goes to the county jail to protect Tom Robinson, and a lynch mob approaches Atticus telling him to step
aside but Scout saves the day by being kind towards Walter Cunningham Sr. The scene with the lynch
mob was the scene I illustrated for my graffiti journal.
11/28/16
Today we discussed Lit Circle three and shared our graffiti journals with our table groups. We
discussed the scenes related to when Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to her church, and when Aunt
Alexandra decides to stay at the Finch's house so that Scout may have a feminine role model. Other Lit
Circle questions included those related to how Dill ran away from home as he was being neglected by his
parents. Also, during the mob scene, we see that even though people have different views, people still
have respect towards each other. Walter was demonstrating respect towards Atticus and his family even
though he did not like the fact that Atticus was helping Tom Robinson. A new character named Dolphus
Raymond is portrayed as a man that would rather be on the African-American side than that of the white
side of the court because he knows how the whites treat the African-Americans. He does not like the
whites ways and racism. He additionally has a African American partner and mixed children.
11/29/16
We are now continuing to read the fourth section of the novel which consists of chapters
seventeen through nineteen. Within these chapters, the entire setting is within the court. Within the trial,

the first to go up to the witness table is Heck Tate. Heck Tate explains the injuries Mayella had when he
saw her, and tells Atticus that he saw that her right eye looked badly beaten which could only mean that
the person who had injured her had to have been left handed. Then Bob Ewell goes up to the witness
stand and shows that he is in fact left handed when he writes his name down. Mayella Ewell goes up after
Bob and says that Tom Robinson was the person that definitely raped her, but here we see evidence that
Tom Robinsons left hand is deformed, and so he most definitely could not have raped Mayella. Tom
Robinson was the last on the witness stand, and he explained how all he ever did was help Mayella and
never hurt her in any way. The scene when Tom Robinson was on the witness stand was my illustration
for graffiti journal four.
11/30/16
We went over chapters seventeen through eighteen of To Kill a Mockingbird, and had Lit Circle
number 4. We shared our graffiti journals with our groups and then worked on the Lit Circle questions.
We answered questions about how the author uses certain characteristics that make us side for or against a
character. Another question I answered was that of the author choosing to show the trial through the eyes
of a child because during this time children are not biased and really just care about what is truly
happening. We finally answered questions about the strategies Atticus uses as a lawyer, as well as the
other major topics that were illustrated throughout these chapters. After our discussion in Lit Circle four,
we started to read section five which consisted of chapters twenty through twenty-two.
12/2/16
Today we had Lit Circle number five and shared our graffiti journals for section five of the novel.
For the Lit Circle questions, I answered the question related to how Dolphus Raymond trusts the children
with his secret which was pretending to be a drunk because he knows that this is nothing special to them
and they would not go around telling his secret. In addition, in these chapters, Atticus allows Jem and
Scout to see the rest of the trial so they can come to the realization that Atticus will not win because
whites overpower African-Americans. My thoughts and reactions to the trial were that it is absolutely
horrible that an innocent man could be charged as guilty just because of the color of his skin. When

Atticus says that only children weep, he says this because children are taught in school that all men are
created equal and they do not know that no matter what the cause is, whites overpower the AfricanAmericans. Only children weep for Tom Robinson because they know that it is not fair that he is charged
as being guilty for a crime he did not commit.
12/5/16
Today we continued to read section six of the novel. It relates to the aftermath of the trial and we
see that Jem does not understand why Tom Robinson was charged as guilty since Atticus had all the
evidence to prove he was not guilty. Atticus explains how white people overpower African-Americans no
matter the cause. Later on we learn that Tom Robinson has been shot while trying to escape from prison.
Then, we see the wrath of Bob Ewell as he becomes a nuisance to others and seems to harass Helen
Robinson by not leaving her alone. Deas thereafter tells Bob Ewell to no longer bother Helen or there
would be consequences for him. Afterwards, we see that Scout acts like a ham in the school play and Jem
takes her to school for the play.
12/6/16
Today we shared our graffiti journals for section six of To Kill a Mockingbird, and answered the
questions for Lit Circle six. I answered questions related to how Bob Ewell spits in Atticus face after
blaming him for beating up Mayella. Furthermore, we also discussed that when Scout is socializing with
the other women in Maycomb, we are able to see that society quickly forgets about the lower class men
and does not care whether Tom Robinson dies. When Mr. Underwood associates Toms death to how
hunters and children kill innocent songbirds for their own amusement, he means that hunters are violent
and do not care if the songbirds do not harm the world as they still shoot them. Tom dies with seventeen
shots in him, which was not at all necessary reflecting that Tom was like a songbird, meaning no harm but
only helping society. Harper Lee shows how society is filled with diversity, including both kind and
malicious people that will go out of their way to despise others who are different simply based on
physical appearances.
12/7/16

Today we discussed the final section of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird and shared our graffiti
journals. Jem and Scout hear footsteps behind them, and when Jem and Scout are near their home, Jem
becomes badly hurt and has a broken arm. Boo Radley brings Jem into the Finchs house and Scout has
no idea what happened as the ham costume blocked her view. Heck Tate comes over and we see that Boo
Radley is dead and he was the one that hurt Jem. Near the end of the novel, Scout is taking Boo Radley
back to his house and finally realizes what it is like to be in someones shoes. She understands what Boo
Radley is going through which shows how much she has matured and grown up over the course of the
novel. There are many topics throughout the novel such as judgement, sexism, stereotypes, racial
injustice, social hierarchy, loss of innocence, racial profiling, growing up, community, fear, logic,
bravery, racism.

12/9/16
I started to work on my outline for the To Kill a Mockingbird Essay and decided to choose the
prompt on empathy. Over the course of the novel, it seems that Atticus is the character that showed the
most empathy towards others. He showed empathy towards Mrs. Dubose as he knew what she had to go
through in life as a morphine addict. Even though, she was disrespectful towards Atticus, Atticus looked
past that and put himself in Mrs. Dubose shoes. He even showed empathy towards Bob Ewell, the one
that despised him the most. Atticus put himself in Bob Ewells shoes, and knows that he embarrassed him
in front of all of Maycomb, so even though Bob Ewell spat at him, he remained calm and empathetic
towards Bob Ewell. Still yet, Atticus showed the utmost empathy towards Tom Robinson and the AfricanAmericans as he understood what they had to go through simply because they have a different skin color.