Zander's English Blog

Prompt Response: A talk that changed me was when I was going through puberty and I got "the talk", this really opened my eyes to how the human body works and why you feel certain ways about things. "The talk" definitely educated me and gave me information on things that, while uncomfortable to talk about, need to be understood to know how the world works. Summary: Today we worked on citing evidence and making claims. Reflection: I learned how to properly cite evidence.

Prompt Response: When I was a child I believed in Santa Claus. Most kids only believe in Santa because their parents told them to but I believed it because I had seen him one Christmas when my mom told me to look out the window. When I grew older I realized that my parents had just told my neighbor Bobby North to dress up as Santa for us kids.  Summary: Today we worked on our vocabulary lesson. We also had a lesson on different kinds of rhetoric by looking at advertisements. Reflection: I learned about rhetoric in commercials.

Prompt Response: I have overcome my fear of heights. One time when I was very young I tried to climb a tree and got stuck in the tree and had to get helped out and while I was stuck in the tree I developed a fear of heights. Very recently I went to a climbing gym with my friend J and he taught the ropes and how to climb and overcome fear of height and I overcame it. Summary: Today we worked on making claims and Identifying different types of claims. Reflection: I learned more about different types of claims.

Prompt Response: As I grow older, I think the topic of Artificial Intelligence is something I may have to argue about in the future. AI is only getting more powerful and even now a lot of people are very worried about while many others fully support it. AI is a very dividing topic in the modern age and I only think it will get to be a larger topic. Summary: Today we worked on making claims and what the different kinds of claims are. We also did a worksheet on making claims. Reflection: I learned about how to make different claims.

Prompt Response: A truth I was afraid to accept was that I would not be able to wrestle through my shoulder injury. A while ago I got a shoulder injury and I had to stop wrestling for a while to do PT for it but the PT did not end up working and the shoulder continued to have lots of pain. I put off going back to the doctor for the pain because I did not want to have to take time  off wrestling again but recently it has gotten too much and I finally went to the doctor for it and I am going to be getting an MRI. Summary: Today we worked on arguments in essays and how to make a good argument for your point. Reflection: I learned more about ethos, pathos, and logos.

Prompt Response: One time I was judged unfairly was when I had my moderator privileges removed on a discord server with my friends. Essentially what had happened was I was using my moderator privileges to keep order in the server and enforce the rules, but the other people in the server thought that I was abusing my powers, I tried to argue my point but it didn't work and my moderator was removed. Summary: Today we did a CommonLit on the human perception of fear. Reflection: I learned that fear can be used as a method of storytelling and creativity.

Prompt Response: In regards to Hispanic/Latino Heritage, I am very curious about their celebrations when it comes to birthdays. I am aware that certain birthdays in Hispanic/Latino culture are very important and I would like to know more about that. Summary: Today we had a lesson on how to write an essay including a thesis statement. Reflection: I learned how to write a proper thesis statement.

  Prompt Response: Michaels presentation on how life is similar to a chess game really caught my attention. I liked Michaels presentation because I thought the comparison was very accurate and that his poem flowed very well. Summary: Today we looked at each others poem presentations. Reflection: I learned a lot about how different people in the class think about things.

Prompt Response: A time I felt like someone was out of place was when a person who no one at my lunch table knew showed up and started sitting with us. One day when I went to lunch, I sat with my friends and discovered that a person who nobody knew was sitting with us, no one was friends with him and he didn't talk at all and it annoyed me that he was sitting at our table and taking up space because a lot of the time the table is really crammed. Summary: Today we read a CommonLit story called the Interlopers and we answered questions on it afterward. Reflection: Today I learned about the symbolism and meaning of the story The Interlopers.

Prompt Response: I think I will use agape, aggrandize, and altruism most out of all the vocabulary words. I chose these words because they are new words to me and I would like to learn how to use them better. Summary: Today we went over a presentation with information on how to write an essay and what the steps were to making an essay. Reflection: I learned how to begin writing an essay.

  Prompt Response: I like the culture of the Lakeside community the most. I like to show off school spirit by supporting the school at athletic events and being a good student and athlete. I do not have a favorite homecoming tradition because I have never gone to homecoming. Summary: Today we took a quiz on the poem "constantly risking absurdity" and we worked on our poem poster. Reflection: I learned more about the meaning of different aspects of the poem "constantly risking absurdity".

  Prompt Response: Me personally, I prefer class discussions as my primary method of learning. I prefer class discussions because I believe it takes away the stress of an assignment and allows me to focus and learn in the moment. I also like how Mr. Reese teaches and I think the slideshows he uses are very easy to understand and allow me to actually take in information. Summary: Today we worked on our poem and our poetry Poster. Reflection: I learned how to add speech to a an Adobe express presentation.

  Prompt Response: What I enjoyed most about creating a poem was going through my head to think of symbolism and other aspects of a poem. I enjoyed being able to write in a way that I usually do not write in and it felt good to think outside of the box. Finally, I liked thinking up ways to give my poem aspects of a poem through, line structure, rhythm, and other literary devices. Summary: Today we had a lecture on literary devices and after that we got to work on creating our own poem using an extended metaphor. Reflection: I learned about the different kinds of literary devices today.

Prompt Response: Something especially absurd that happened to me was when I got stuck in an elevator. One time when I was 5 years old I was in an elevator and I had remembered seeing a cartoon where they talked about getting stuck in an elevator a few days before and I had asked my mom if we could take the stairs because I was scared of getting stuck in the elevator but she wanted to take the elevator. When we get in I'm really scared but we get to the number of the floor were going too and I think its okay but then the door doesn't open. Long story short we were stuck in the elevator for almost an hour until we were rescued and I have always thought about that as one of my most absurd experiences. Summary: Today we read a poem comparing poets to acrobats. We also watched videos of a successful tight rope walk and a failed one. Reflection: I learned about the similarities between acrobats and poets.

  Prompt Response A song that describes my mind right now is Good Life by Kanye West. I chose Good Life by Kanye West because my life right now is really good and I am very grateful for everything I have. I feel that ever since school has started I have just been feeling really good, I am getting all of my school work done and I feel like I am improving a lot athletically. Summary: Today we took an Emily Dickinson poetry quiz and got to work on some other assignments from the week. Reflection: I learned about what a slant rhyme was.

Prompt Response: If I were to write a poem I would write it about the never ending movement of time. I think this poem would fall into the topic of life because mostly time both brings you in to and out of this world. The overall life message would be to not waste your time on earth because it ends quickly. Summary: Today we worked on our Dickinson Soundtrack. After working on our Dickinson soundtrack we read and analyzed quotes by Emily Dickinson. Reflection: Today I learned how to analyze quotes better.

Prompt Response: I think that American Lit has been going well so far. I really like the teaching style and I like the class lectures that we do. The things we have been learning have also been engaging and fun to learn, and I really liked the origin myth project. Summary: Today we read some Emily Dickinson poems about death. Reflection: I learned how different people interpret death.

Prompt Response: A time I did something out of the norm was when I decided to start lifting weights. Before being a lifter I didn't do sports and I was skinny and unathletic and this is what started my athletic career. Most people were pretty supportive when I started lifting. Summary: Today we read a poem by Emily Dickinson about success. We also worked on our heart assignment. Reflection: I learned that to get success you must get through failure.