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Entry One

What challenges have I overcome in the first semester?

Introduction

My first semester has been a very big learning experience for me, especially in writing and explaining. The projects that had the biggest effect on me this semester was in both language arts, and in math. In language arts, we had two projects that tested my writing abilities. The first of these projects was the individual’s role project, where we had to write an informative essay about what we thought an individual’s role in society is. The second language arts project was the prologue project, where we had to write a prologue/epilogue about a class reading. In math, we did the parabola poster project, where we had to explain the math behind a parabola and demonstrate a real-life parabola. Through these projects, I grew in both my writing and explaining skills.

Individual's Role Project

The first project we did this year was the individual’s role project. The purpose of this project was to think about society, and how individuals should interact within this society. The first step of this project was to find an answer to the driving question. My answer to this was the individual’s role should not be chosen by society, but by the individual themselves. Next was to start writing an informative essay that used several sources we reviewed in class to get our point across. The thing that made this project difficult was that I have always been used to writing an argumentative style of essay. It was difficult for me to get used to writing an informative essay. If you look at my responses for the several check-ins throughout the project, I said that I was slowly getting used the informative essay writing style. After writing the essay, we had to make an artform that represented what we thought about an individual’s role in society. For this, I decided I would do a manifesto. For inspiration, I looked at the communist manifesto by Karl Marx, which gave me some idea of what I would have to discuss in my manifesto. In a manifesto, I found out that you have to make some very strong and passionate points. In the end, I feel that in this project, I improved in not only my informative writing abilities, but also in my manifesto writing abilities.

Prologue / Epilogue Project

The second project we did this year in Language Arts was the Prologue/Epilogue project. This project helped me grow in both in the amount of detail I have in my stories and the way I use tone and mood. The purpose of this project was to write a prologue or epilogue for a story we read in class. For this project, I chose a prologue for The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Alan Poe, which challenged me a lot during this project. Edgar Alan Poe has a very distinct and special way of writing, using a lot of description to set the tone and mood of the story (which is usually dark). This was especially difficult for me, as I started off having difficulty emulating the style of Edgar Alan Poe. This was also difficult for me because I had a difficulty using a lot of detail in my stories. At the beginning of the project, I spent a lot of time reading the Cask of Amontillado, trying to find some key features that helped set the tone and mood. During this time, I made an outline of the events of the story to help me when writing later. After a little bit of time looking at the Cask of Amontillado, I felt that I had looked at it enough to understand the mood and subtle nuances. The first draft of this story was lacking in figurative language, and that was the main piece of critique I received on the story. After that, I added some figurative language, using some examples from The Cask of Amontillado. I also changed some of the vocabulary to add a bit more time period appropriate language. Through this project, I not only grew in my use of tone and mood, but also I gained an appreciation for literature and the subtle nuances embed within them.

Parabola Poster Project

The only project we have really done in math this semester was the Parabola poster project. In this project, I gained more skill in explaining different concepts, especially in math. In this project, we needed to make a poster that not only explains how parabolas work, but also an example of a parabola in real life. At the beginning of the project, I struggled with both finding a real life parabola example, but also finding a simple way of explaining the math behind a parabola. I started off by researching some real life parabolas. I had looked at a parabolic solar cooker, and I learned a fun fact about parabolas. Any light that hits the inside of them is reflected into a single focal point. I then found the parabolic light fixture. These are usually used in photography, as they allow you to use a regular, round, bulb, and get straight, linear light. After finding this, I had to write my explanation of parabolas. I struggled finding a simple way to explain it, however, I found out that if you break every piece of the equation down, and explain its purpose, then it makes for a much simpler explanation. I used this for the poster, and overall, I believe it turned out pretty good and informative. Through this project, I learned about explanatory techniques for concepts, which could help me a lot later on not only in explaining, but also in understanding.

Conclusion

This semester has been a big learning experience for me. I learned about creating informative essays, writing a “passionate” manifesto, using figurative language and detail in my stories, and explaining concepts. This would not have been possible without the help of the Individual’s Role Project, the Prologue Project, and the Parabola Poster Project. Through these projects, I have strengthened both my writing abilities, and my explanatory skills.

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