ELA Portfolio

Expository Writing
Critical Analysis Response #1 - Perspectives on Ideologies
http://laughatyourselfbeforeanyoneelsecan.blogspot.com/2010/11/critical-and-analytical-responce-1.html
Critical Analysis Response #2 - Peter Jackson's Return of the King
http://laughatyourselfbeforeanyoneelsecan.blogspot.com/2011/03/critical-and-personal-responses-2.html

With the analytical response number 1 I found that I did not really put that much effort into it and since we, the students, could bring in a seperate piece of paper I chose to write it out before hand and just copy it word for word during the timed class. I did not go into enough depth and went off topic as I read it back now. For the second analytical response I decided to only write down the key points that I must center around which was Aragorn. I feel that this improved my writing skills because it made me focus during the timed class to write it. Not only did I stick to my main points the majority of the time but I went in depth and provided specific evidence from Return of the King to verify my reasoning. I could still improve by saying the points first then providing evidence for it instead of the other way around.

Personal Response

Personal Response #1- On the Rainy River
http://laughatyourselfbeforeanyoneelsecan.blogspot.com/2010/11/personal-responce-1.html
Personal Response #2- Falling on Cedars
http://laughatyourselfbeforeanyoneelsecan.blogspot.com/2011/03/critical-and-personal-responses-2.html

For timed personal response it may not seem like I have improved mark wise as they both received the same mark of 73%; however, I feel that I have improved on my writing of personal responses in that I have, like the analytical responses, thought it out during the class while only using a few jot notes unlike how I had wrote out the whole paper the first time and copied it word for word. I can still improve on supporting my thoughts with more personal knowledge or experience.

Creative Response

Poetry to Film Comparison - The Swimmers (Aragorn's) Moment
http://laughatyourselfbeforeanyoneelsecan.blogspot.com/2011/03/swimmers-aragorns-moment.html
Response to Hamlet
http://laughatyourselfbeforeanyoneelsecan.blogspot.com/2010/12/to-be-or-not-to-be-hamlet-responce.html

I chose to use the Swimmer's (Aragorn's) Moment as my ability to work with visuals becasue it was done using editing photo softwear. At the beginning of the year, I was not good at doing visuals in that I was hoping that the marker (Kabachia) would think deeper than I did when looking at a visual and get it, but for this visual I made it go deep but in a simple way. The way of putting certain objects at specific places with other important things makes the visual even better.
For the Response to Hamlet I took a phrase from Hamlet and put it into my own words, which is modern terms. Each word can mean something different from what the sentence is saying and I think that I cleary depicted what William Shakspear was trying to get across.

Individual Novel Study
http://laughatyourselfbeforeanyoneelsecan.blogspot.com/2011/01/1984-story-board.html

Story Board of 1984. I got a 5/5 on it becasue I made sure that the main quotes I had were acturate and were important parts of the novel 1984 by George Orwell. This novel was boring and slow at first but it gives a certain perspective of a citizen (Winston) of how they view living in a totaltarian regim. The middle-end part of the novel was really interesting in that it makes you want to read more to see what Winston's and Julia's fate will be. Remember, Big Brother is watching you.

Humanities 30.....Thus Far

Ah humanities, the class for the academics and homework lovers. I found that in this class there was a large amount of projects given with class time to complete them but it was still trying to find the balance of doing humanities assignments vs studying for my other courses. Last semester was busy for me and even stressed me out at a few times. However, this class is a really great class for me. For myself I learn better when the class discusses things and I just listen and I have been with this class for two years now and so I feel comfortable doing things outside of my box although I am still extremely opposed to presenting. Mr. Kabachia is one of those teachers that are serious (most of the time) about what they are teaching which is a major help, even though it makes it slightly harder to accomplish assingments as you have to really think of everything. In the end I think humanities is a fantastic class because it suits me and my learning style even though I am not, nor will I ever be a fan of english or social studies but the content is important and will never leave me. This class makes me think more intellectually everyday and so I rate humanities 30 and Mr. Kabachia 9/10 (not a 10 because of the Grapes of Wrath and the presenting).