Reflecting on my year of English with Mr. Bellew!

At the beginning of the school year, I was excited for G10 English because some English teachers had told me that Mr. Bellew is great at teaching, and some of his students told me that he is really funny and always tells jokes in class. I was, however, a bit nervous because I had struggled with writing commentaries during the previous year, and although I was able to find literary techniques, I wasn't always able to connect them to the message or describe the effects they had on the story. My main expectation was to generally feel more comfortable when writing essays and especially with in-class essays. Now I am much more confident with writing commentaries and I am getting better at going in depth and supporting my thesis.
My reading comprehension has improved slightly this year because now when I read books I think and remind myself to look for a theme or notice any turning points in the story that affect the outcome. I try to look for symbols, and it is much easier for me to find metaphors now when I couldn't before. This improvement has helped with our commentary assignments because now I am able to find a variety of techniques instead of just the same ones every time. Also, I can think of a thesis and message much faster than before, which is also because of the improvement in my reading comprehension. If I want to become a "better" reader I should always have a pen or pencil nearby so that I can annotate the text whenever necessary. Also, when I find words that I don't know, I should search to find their definitions.
My writing has improved, in general terms, by becoming more coherent and succinct and much less repetitive. Before, I always wrote on and on about something when I could have written less with higher quality. This year I tried to use stronger words so that I could improve my word choice and writing.
One assignment that really helped my persuasive speaking was the speech unit for the Speech Contest. I learned so much about being able to effectively persuade an audience just by using some speaking techniques. I feel a little bit more confident due to the activities we did in class, and having the opportunity to always participate in class. For example, the activities where we had to use a random word in our presentation, or the impromptu speeches, which I was not very good at before, helped me to feel more confident when presenting to a class.
Last year we didn't have many timed in-class essays so I really disliked them. However, this year we had many both in English and Social Studies, so I know that I definitely improved and I feel much more relaxed and comfortable with writing them. I've improved because now I am able to manage my time better by leaving time to write a conclusion instead of before when I always ran out of time and didn't include one. So thanks to having more in-class essays this year, I am able to manage my time better when writing timed essays!
Lastly, I think keeping a blog was a great idea because it was a really nice way to present all the major assignments we had done in English and some from Social Studies. Sometimes we lose our papers or throw away assignments, but by using the blog we were able to keep track of all the assignments. Also, since I am moving this year, I can use my blog to show my future English teachers what I did in tenth grade! I think that more teachers should make students use blogs because at the end of the year it is really nice seeing everything that I've accomplished. And it's a chance to be creative and have fun!

THANK YOU FOR A GREAT YEAR MR. BELLEW!!!

750words.com!♥

Happy Mothers' Day!♥

The Three Little Hats!♥

The Three Little Hats -

The Italian Risorgimento!♥

Sonnet!♥

The Way of TEA♥

Sado, the traditional way of tea
Has been around for many centuries
It may seem simple but surely it's not
There are steps to take and the tea is hot!

The soul needs to be cleansed and purified
The mind has to be free of any thoughts
One must breath deeply and fully relax
In order to feel the serenity

Green froth forms inside the beautiful bowl
The matcha is whisked to a perfection
The fukusa is folded and replaced
While the bowl moves across the tatami

Savor the sweet and unique wagashi
Because soon after comes the bitter tea!

Poetry Analysis!♥

MYP Reflection: Semester 1

I am proud of what I was able to accomplish in the first semester, but there is room for improvements! There is no specific pattern to most of my grades, and therefore, they are quite inconsistent. However, there is one criterion where my grades are more consistent; Criterion C (Skills). This is the category for Document Based Questions (DBQs). Although I feel as if I struggle with drawing my own conclusions from what I see or read, I can tell, from the table above, that my strengths are in Criterion C/DBQs. This being said, I still feel like one of my main weaknesses is the inability to go in depth and fully answer a question. I am able to come up with a satisfactory answer, however, I usually miss some key ideas. Sometimes it can be difficult for me to read a passage, for example, and then be able to take key ideas and answer the "so what?" question. I am quite sure that if I focus on finding key points, connecting them, and drawing conclusions from them, my grades in Criterion A (Knowledge & Understanding) would increase. Another weakness that I have is managing my time during an assessment. I always spend too much time on the first few problems and then I run out of time for the last few. I can improve by planning out my time and setting a time limit for each question. Also, if I am more prepared before class I can balance my time better. Hopefully I can make these improvements happen in the second semester!

Can You Define Love?♥

She is no stranger to the miseries of unrequited love,

She is free, afloat, watching somebody else,

She pretends to spy her loved ones in sun-speckled cloud shapes,

She has not been asleep.

Squashed roses, in darkening shades of pink, float on the water

Your time has come, they say

Go, be brave.

She has a distinct hourglass figure,

She wears a long, lilac gown,

Her skin is white as whole milk,

Her lips are a peachy orange.

She finally closes her eyes,

Kiss me, kiss, kiss, sweetheart, she whispers.

He holds out a hand for her to grab,

Both beautiful, they meet,

She doesn’t blush, and he breaks down,

She lets him fall into the calm, glassy waters,

This is the thing called ‘love’

A story of enchantment.

Reflectively Speaking!♥

When the speech project was introduced to us, the first topic that came to my mind was womens’ rights in the Middle East. I thought of burkhas and hijabs and how much I dislike them and decided that I definitely wanted to include something about them in my speech. After researching a little and talking to Mr. Bellew, I realized that it was better to make my topic related to the whole world because there are many cases of the oppression of womens’ rights everywhere. Not only did I read and learn more about womens’ rights throughout this process, but I also learned how to be a more persuasive and more effective public speaker through the use of literary devices. While writing my speech I was sometimes conscious of the devices that I was using. But most of the time it happened naturally. I used repetition, an anecdote, personal pronouns, and more. After we had delivered our speeches and had to annotate them, I noticed that I had more devices than I had expected and that many were put in unconsciously. I feel like the main thing I learned was the importance of each of the literary devices and how much of an effect they really have on making the speeches more persuasive.

In my opinion, both presentation and content have a huge impact on persuading a listener. These two factors depend on each other very much, because without one, the speech is either pointless or not very interesting and persuasive. Without the adequate content, the speech becomes pointless and even though it sounds good because of its strong presentation, it still lacks the support from the content. However, if the content is excellent but the presentation is not, then the speech becomes either boring or not persuasive at all. Therefore I believe that although it is extremely important for a person to have great presentation, their content also makes a big difference!

My speech related to the mission statement (“Canadian Academy inspires students to inquire, reflect, and choose to compassionately impact the world throughout their lives”). In my speech I initially asked the audience to change their perspectives on womens’ rights. From there they can “choose to compassionately impact the world” and make a difference especially in Islamic countries in the Middle East. I hope I was able to inspire women in the audience to be their best and to attempt to impact the world.

Nationalism: Cohesive or Divisive?

nationalism -

The Oppression of Women's Rights!

Women's Rights Around The World!

The Oppression of Women's Rights -

My Goals for the Future!♥

I have both short term goals and long term goals for my future. My main short term goal related to my education is to have a 4.0 GPA for the second semester. My grades are very important to me so my goal has always been to have straight As. I want this to continue throughout the rest of my highschool years and therefore I need to keep up my efforts and always try my best. I also want to prepare for the SATs so that I can get a high score that will help with college. My main long term goal is to be accepted to a great college in the United States and have a job that I am passionate about, such as a chemical engineer, architect, or lawyer.

Next year, if I am still at Canadian Academy, I would like to take Economics HL. I am passionate about math and since this course involves math I am quite sure that I would also be passionate about this course. Economics relates to everyday life and is often based on common sense which interests me. I also want to try something new since the only time that I have been exposed to economics was in 7th grade for one quarter. However, I also would not mind taking History HL. This is because I enjoy DBQs; analyzing data, then drawing conclusions from it. So far I have enjoyed Social Studies and I like studying history and finding changes or continuities, for example. Both history and economics interest me and I am sure that I would be passionate about both the courses.

Day vs. Night!♥

My Photographic Memory!♥

After 12 years of going to school, I have discovered that I am a visual learner. I am good at memorization and I have a pretty good photographic memory. For example, I can look at something and remember it very well later on. I am good at finding my way around new places just by being there once or twice since I am able to record certain objects, for example, in my memory just by glancing at them! I think that the reason why I love visual art so much is because of my way of learning. Also, I think it is possible that spelling is one of my strengths because of my photographic memory. By memorizing how the letters of the word look and are arranged on a page, I can also remember how they are spelled properly! When I look at a text and read it, I can understand and remember it quite well. With this, I am able to memorize speeches quite easily in short amounts of time and other things such as monologues and more. However, I am not very good at listening, (because of my short attention span) which is one of my weaknesses in terms of learning (my friends always complain about this). And for this reason, I do not learn or understand much when I hear or listen to a lecture. Because I have this problem, I should find ways to help myself out. I should take detailed notes during class and maybe even include diagrams or drawings to go along with my notes. Then, when I am at home, I can review by re-reading my notes and studying off of them. This will make my learning much more effective and successful!

Mini Commentary!♥

After Dark Passage:

"On her table is a coffee cup. And an ashtray. Next to the ashtray, a navy blue baseball cap with a Boston Red Sox 'B.' It might be a little too large for her head. A brown leather shoulder bag rests on the seat next to her. It bulges as if its contents had been thrown in on the spur of the moment. She reaches out at regular intervals and brings the coffee cup to her mouth, but she doesn't appear to be enjoying the flavor. She drinks because she has a coffee cup in front of her: that is her role as a customer."

What is Murakami trying to achieve with his use of language in this passage?

Murakami’s style creates an awkward and mysterious mood, which reflects the type of language he uses in this passage. There are many incomplete sentences that the author uses such as, “Next to the ashtray, a navy blue baseball cap with a Boston Red Sox ‘B’.” This creates a sense of awkwardness since the sentences are short and choppy. He sometimes begins his sentences with conjunctions, for example, when he writes, “And an ashtray.” Again this is a different way of writing and therefore makes the reader feel uncomfortable, which is exactly what Murakami intends. He also has no transitions between his ideas; he moves from one idea to another without linking them together. “It might be a little to large for her head. A brown leather shoulder bag rests on the seat next to her.” The fact that he does not include transitions makes the ideas more mysterious to the reader and creates a sense of curiosity. The precise language techniques that Murakami uses reflect the uncomfortable feeling that the reader is left with.

Imaginary Pastiche!♥

Imaginary Pastiche -

Classroom Pastiche!♥

Classroom Pastiche -

Short Story Essay!♥

Short Story Essay -