Final Reflection

Second Semester

Overall, I enjoyed the variety of tasks I was assigned throughout the year, and the time frame I was given to complete them. However, some assignments could have had more time than others to complete, such as the Earth Day Poem. I enjoyed the activities we got to participate in as a class, such as watching twilight zone as part of our science fiction unit. I enjoyed watching this show, and adding it to my little knowledge of the science fiction genre. When I was in 4^thgrade, I had to read a science fiction book of my choice, and I chose the time machine. After that, I wasn’t very fond of science fiction. After the science fiction unit, I am more open to the genre and enjoy it much more. Another show I enjoyed watching was the Truman Show. It was a very interesting topic with a background that one doesn’t see very often, and I found it quite interesting. I liked the idea of comparing and contrasting The Giver with the Truman show, even though I didn’t choose that topic for my Giver essay. Another unit I liked a lot was the book circle unit. The group I was in; (Teresa, Abby, and I) chose to read “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L'Engle, and I enjoyed reading the story, and it is now one of my favorite science fiction novels. Another specific unit I enjoyed was the unit when we learned about homonyms and wrote sentences on notecards and paired them with a picture, which I enjoyed a lot. I As I stated in my previous reflection, I enjoyed working on the wiki and customizing it to my liking. Throughout the year, I ran into some technical difficulties. As a result, I prefer paper turn ins, because for me, they are much easier to handle. However, it is good to have some technical knowledge about files and documents. I think the wiki was a good thing to use for keeping out assignments. I really like how on the wiki I can review my writing and compare my writing at the beginning of the year to my writing at the end of the year. I liked the topics that were assigned throughout the year, and enjoyed the amount of feedback that was expressed, though on occasion it was a little confusing. I did like the feedback from a partner, but I don’t think that specific feedback really helped me improve my draft unless I had a teacher help me edit it afterwards. During the beginning of the year, each student would sit down and have a conference with the teacher about his or her essay, and I think we all benefitted a lot more from that than having a partner help us edit our essay. When we wrote our persuasive essay, I had to make a lot of changes to my rough draft, and having a conference with the teacher really helped me edit my draft.

Over the course of this school year, I have learned many strategies related to various tasks such as organization and being productive in my work. I have maintained organization by dividing my binder into sections for each class, with lined paper in each section. I also use a folder for any homework assignments, important papers, and my planner. I also have learned a lot about taking standardized tests, because I hadn’t really taken any standardized tests until this school year. I have learned to take all of my grades and assignments seriously and try my best on each and every one of them.

The three R’s; Respect, Responsibility, and Relationships, have showed me that each and everything I do, and say can have some sort of effect on someone, positively or negatively. It has showed me to treat other people with respect, show responsibility, and value each and every relationship.

The aspect I struggled with most was technology. At the beginning of the year, I ran into a large number of technical difficulties. For example, a lot of the times I wasn’t uploading a file right, or my document was in the wrong format. I learned how to upload and import files, and keep files safe. I also learned how to transfer files to and from various places. By using the wiki, I feel as if I have improved my technological skills, and will benefit from it later on.