In the poetry unit, I made a poetry book, wrote poetry, participated in Poetry Night, and participated in Teenlife Project. I had a good experience and fun time. I was able to communicate with students who were in different countries, and I was also able to experience some poetry that was short, long, funny, boring, etc. When I started this unit, I thought it is going to be really hard. I thought that poetry is long and boring writing that I cannot understand. However, I started to like poetry. If I rate how much I liked poetry in the beginning, it was about 2.5. Towards the middle of this unit, I started to like poetry and I found that poetry was fun. Right now, if I am rating how much I like poetry, I would say rate is going to be 4. I also found out that poetry was something that is free to write, and I had fun writing poetry.

As I said in the first paragraph, I made poetry book in this unit. In order to make poetry book, I used Self-directed Learner. Getting more specific, I had to be responsible for my own work, I had to manage time, and organize time and work. The reason why I chose Self-directed Learner is that I had to be responsible for myself and write poetry and keep poetry. I also had to manage time because I had to make poetry book and I had to work on Teenlife project at the same time. When I was making poetry book, I was a Self-directed Learner. However, I wasn’t an Effective Communicator. The reason is that even though I was able to communicate and fix my poetry into better poetry, I didn’t communicate or talk to other people and fix errors. If I talked to other people and fix errors, I was able to be an Effective Communicator. Next time, when I got assignment like making poetry book, I would like to be a Self-directed Learner again by being responsible for my work and organized. I would like to be an Effective Communicator by being able to communicate and fix errors in my poetry. I think I did fine for making poetry book, and if I am grading myself for process, I would like to say that I did good job.

In this unit, I also had fun, exciting part where I can hang around with my friends, relax, and share poetry called Poetry Night. In Poetry Night, I used Effective Communicator. Getting more specific, I think Effective Communicator has to have good skill to persuade people, but at the same time, I think Effective Communicator has to have skill of being clear and loud enough so everyone can hear every single word. The reason why I chose Effective Communicator is because I had to be loud and clear so when I am reading my poetry in front of people who came to Poetry Night can hear me. However, in Poetry Night, I couldn’t be an Involved Citizen. The reason is that I didn’t communicate with other people who came to Poetry Night. I think the purpose of Poetry Night was to share poetry and relax, but if I think about what Poetry Night was like, I thought that it would have been better if I experienced booth. Overall, I think I did good job in Poetry Night, because I think I was able to read my poetry clearly and loudly enough that people can hear me.

I think Teenlife was most difficult part in this unit, because for me, it was little bit hard to write poetry, and do my best to finish all three projects. I chose Self-directed Learner for Teenlife Project. I had to be responsible and organized, because most of the homework had to be posted on wiki page. It doesn’t have specific paper that has to be turned in, so there were some possibilities that I would do homework after due date. The reason why I chose Self-directed Learner is that I was able to be responsible and organized enough to do works on time like I just said. I chose Effective Communicator as well as Self-directed Learner, because I wasn’t talking to my group face to face, so I had to be clear in my writing. Writing is one way of communication, and it can be confusing. However, I can’t fix it like if I’m talking, so I think I was an Effective Communicator. However, I didn’t use Involved Citizens, because I sometimes had confusion of what is going on at the specific time. Next time when I have project like this again, I would like to be an Involved Citizen and ask or communicate with my group and understand what is going on. Overall, I think I did fine, because I was able to communicate and post my homework on wiki on time. I was good enough except for the part that I didn’t communicate with my group when I had confusion.

Overall, I had fun and some straggles in this unit. However, I was able to enjoy poetry, and have fun at Poetry Night even though I was little nervous and afraid. All together, I think I did a good job in this poetry unit; I want to give myself C+ to B. It is because I had some problem of knowing what is happening at Teenlife in my group, because I wasn’t really involved. This is what I felt in Teenlife. I also have another reason, and it is that I didn’t check my poetry if it is okay, and I think there was some poetry that people couldn’t understand. However, I am proud of my poetry book. Summing up, I was a Self-directed Leaner, Effective Communicator, and Involved Citizen in many ways such as I was able to finish my poetry book and homework on time.

Anne Frank Memorial

As part of our Anne Frank unit, we had to either design a memorial for Anne Frank or create a commercial that would spread her message to everyone. My teammates and I decided to design a memorial. Below, is a description of it, reasons why we used the objects we used, who did what and the ESLR’s that we completed.

Light is all you can see when you enter the memorial and cautiously step onto the moving travelator disguised as a railway line. Far away in the distance, you can hear the faint noises of moving trains and horns. Then suddenly, pictures before the Holocaust appear on your left and a few precious moments of Anne Frank’s life before the dilemma appears on your right. As you gaze at these pictures and listen to the calm uplifting music, the corridor in which you are passing tightens, the light disappears, shadows fall upon you and you can distinctly here Hitler’s voice making a speech just inches from your ear. You look around but everything is covered in darkness. Soon, Hitler’s voice dies down and the marching sound of soldiers can be heard. Suddenly, you see a small light up ahead. As you reach this light, you realize that it is a spotlight on a can, filled with the gas used in gas chambers and another light is on a small model of a bed in the camp. Between these two is a wall screen, projecting pictures of people being taken away from their homes and put into trains. There is also a timeline about the Holocaust and what happened during Hitler’s reign. The train sounds get louder but you are stopped in your tracks. On your right, is a timeline about Anne Frank’s life. You are allowed to leave the travelator and wander around the place, however, you have to finish your journey.

All of a sudden, as you continue, the corridor opens up into a large circular room that is intentionally split in half. On one side, is a curved wall filled with pictures from a concentration camp in Germany, a PowerPoint presentation on how the war affected everyone in Europe and halfway is a door leading to another room. Enter this room and you will see eight touch screens, each showing a different camp in
Germany and you are able to walk through each one with a running documentary. On the other hand, the other side has seven pictures of the seven people who hid in the Secret Annex for two years and their helpers from the outside. The other side also has a separate room with eight touch screens as well. These eight touch screens take you through the Secret Annex and the different rooms in it, with written information. After visiting all this, you step onto the ‘railway line’ and leave the room. In a little while, the travelator splits into two and you choose your path. The left takes you through a corridor with wall screens depicting the aftermath of the Holocaust and the thousands that died. The place is very bright and the music is peaceful yet sad. A sense of respect and awe fills over you as you see the many brave people who stood up for their religion. Take the other path and you also feel the similar emotions. It is bright in there too and the music is the same. The wall screens explain what happened to Anne Frank and the six others who hid in the Secret Annex. If you wish, there are corridors leading back to the split of the travelator and you may take the other path. Both the paths lead back to a room that is filled with sunlight and electrical light. In the middle, on a pedestal, is a picture of the Diary of Anne Frank and several pages from within. There are two windows on either side, a little higher than usual and an open glass window on the roof. The walls have different quotes from her diary such as “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death.” Once everyone has seen them, the light dims down and the doors are closed. Spotlights come on and beautiful white doves are released from the two windows and they leave the room through the open window on top. The room has a dramatic yet tranquil music and a voice says these words, “Anne Frank always wanted to live on even after her death…her wish has come true. Her diary was discovered and now it has become the second most read book. She has carried on living, not only through her diary but also through each and every one of us. Remember that Anne Frank was only one voice among millions.” A door opens in front and everyone is allowed to leave. Outside, there is a shop where people can buy the book, The Diary of Anne Frank and various quotes from her diary engraved on a framed piece of paper.

Images, Sounds and Symbols

We used various sounds, images and symbols to stir emotions in this memorial. The sounds we used were: sad, dramatic, uplifting, calm, Hitler’s speech, trains, soldiers marching and a sound achieved from nature would be the chirping of the doves. The speech made by Hitler, trains and soldiers marching were used to create a sense of fear and anger because we wanted the people to feel how it was like to be in that depressing situation which the Jews had no control over. The sad and calm sounds were used to create sadness among the people but still make them realize that Anne Frank, a 13 year old child, was able to face this traumatic time with a positive reaction. The uplifting sounds were used for a sense of happiness and order before the Holocaust and a sense of relief after the issue ended. The dramatic sounds were mainly used only for the doves because we wanted the audience to pay attention to the doves. The chirping of the doves was used to create a sense of hope for the audience.

The images we used would fall into many categories: before the Holocaust, during the Holocaust, after the Holocaust, the Secret Annex, Anne Frank’s happy moments and the seven who hid in the Secret Annex. The images from before the Holocaust and Anne Frank’s happy moments showed how all was good in life and everything was in order. The images of during the Holocaust, the Secret Annex and the seven who hid in the Secret Annex, was meant to show how one person was able to change the lives of millions because of his dislike for that particular race. People were forced to change their lifestyle in order to save themselves and their families. The pictures depicting the aftermath of the Holocaust showed how the Holocaust had changed
Europe and the lives of people forever. The people who survived were scarred for life and millions lost their lives.

The Symbols we used were the gas cans, the duplicate of a bed at the camp, the travelator disguised as a railway line, the doves and the open windows. The gas cans and the bed at the camp symbolized the torture and pain at the camp while the moving railway line symbolized the seemingly never-ending journey that the Jews had to go through. It also symbolized the anticipation and fear that the people had to face. The open windows implied the ideas of freedom and hope that Anne Frank had and the doves signified hope as well. Another reason the doves were symbols was because they hopefully told everyone that if a young 13 year old girl can remain hopeful during the Holocaust, then why can’t we be hopeful and think positively during our daily lives.

Which is the most powerful? We would say that the sounds and music in the memorial is the most powerful. This is because, nowadays, music is a very important aspect of everyone’s life, so therefore, listening to music would spread the effect we wanted everyone to have. Music is very powerful also due to the fact that no one can stop themselves from hearing it. People can choose not to look at pictures or symbols but no one can prevent themselves from listening to music.

Please realize that this memorial is for all ages. The older ones, however, may find the Holocaust and pictures too gory, so we designed the place in such a way that the people are allowed to choose which side interests them the most: the information about the Holocaust or Anne Frank’s life during these stressful times.

ESLRs

For this project, we completed many Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs). This project basically covered all the required ESLRs such as, Critical Thinker, Academic Achiever, Involved Citizen, Effective Communicator and Self-Directed Learner.

Critical Thinker: We managed to accomplish this ESLR because we used information from various sources, such as the internet and one main book and solved problems using a variety of strategies. One example of this would be when we had a PowerPoint presentation and didn’t know how to fit it into the project. Eventually, we altered our memorial and made space to place the presentation.

Academic Achievers: We did this ESLR by accessing information from a variety of sources. We gained knowledge from the diary of Anne Frank and found information from the internet.

Self-Directed Learners: We accepted the responsibility for our own learning by realizing that in order to accomplish this project we needed to get the information for ourselves. We took creative risks to develop untried ideas and demonstrated competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills. We did this by trying different ideas for the memorial and setting time goals to complete this project.

Involved Citizens: We achieved this ESLR by trying to improve other people’s lives by designing this memorial. We wanted others to know what happened during the Holocaust and learn a lesson from a simple girl that would make them a better person.

Effective Communicator: We were effective communicators because we demonstrated out creative talents to convey ideas by excelling in the task we were given. Fred used his good knowledge of computers, Honoka used her artistic talents and I used my good writing skills. We listened respectfully and asked questions to facilitate understanding and achieve insight by asking questions when we didn’t understand the other person’s thoughts about the plan of the project. We collaborated with each other to achieve goals by coming to a compromise in order to finish the project. We conveyed information through visual and written sense by creating a blueprint of the memorial, the PowerPoint presentation and writing the required information. Finally we demonstrated awareness of the role of the audience by realizing that some of the people that would come to the memorial may find the pictures too gory, so we separated the memorial.

Who Did What?

This project was quite complex and due to the time restraint, we had to divide the work equally among the three of us. Our team managed to complete the project and we are extremely proud of ourselves. After deciding what to do, all three of us sat down together and jointly came up with the creative ideas and excellent plans. Honoka and I (Arathi), planned out the memorial and Fred designed the short movie on a PowerPoint document. Although we planned separately, we still advised each other and took the comments into consideration. Afterwards, when the real work began, Honoka worked on the blueprint of the memorial and Fred completed the PowerPoint presentation and wrote a description explaining it. Finally, I did the write-up: the description, the reasons, the ESLRs and who did what. Honoka and Fred were very efficient in completely their tasks and the final outcome is really good. I also believe that I did a good job of completing my task as well. We believe that this project was very interesting, partly because it allowed us to openly express our ideas and partly because it meant working with others and collaborating with them. Thank You Mr. R for this interesting project!

Movie:

In my English class, I had a project about the Lord of the Flies. There were several choices of what my class and I can do. I chose to create a T-shirt. When I was creating a T-shirt, I was a Self-directed learner because I demonstrated competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills. I can demonstrate competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills, by planning how I am going to finish my project on time. In the other English lesson, our class started to read book called the Lord of the Flies before this project. For reading book, I wasn’t being Critical thinker but I think I need to be a critical thinker, because if I were a critical thinker, I was building meaning and understanding using prior knowledge and new information. However, I wasn’t building meaning and understanding using prior knowledge and new information, because even though I had problems about understanding the story, I didn’t use any knowledge that I have or information that I learn.

In my own words, this means that I am managing time to finish my assignment and organize other assignments that I received from other classes, so I don’t have to rush in the last minute. I had a piece of writing that was attached to my T-shirt, so that represents what I mean. By finishing my writing on time, I organized assignments and finished it on time. Next time when I am doing project like this, I will read and check what you need in order to finish the project. The reason is because I had a trouble with the supplies that I needed. I had to get fabric paint, but I wasn’t very clear about getting it, so I accidentally used my permanent marker. However, even though I wasn’t clear, I didn’t ask question about fabric paint, so I should have asked and check if you must use fabric paint and where you can get it. If I read the assignment sheet and asked question quickly, I didn’t had any problem about making T-shirt. If I can make T-shirt once again, I will do things that I said like read and check information about the project, ask if you have any problems or questions, and make sure I have finished the project correctly. Finishing my project on time shows that I was being a self-directed learner, and I was able to demonstrated competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills.

However, even though I was beings self-directed learner for my project, I was not an Effective Communicator in the first class meeting that my class did before we started to read Lord of the Flies. During this meeting, I was not a student that listened respectfully and asked questions to facilitate understanding and achieve insight. The reason why is because I was listening, but not the whole time, and I did not try to communicate with other people to get everyone involved in this meeting. To me, this ESLR means to communicate with others to trade information and listen to people and ask question so that everyone keep communicating with each other. From all the things that I said, I can be a self-directed learner but I can’t be an effective communicator.

Overall, even though I had problems creating the T-shirt, I felt I was average for preparing and creating T-shirt, because I finished the project on time. I also presented in the class on time, and I was prepared enough to make the T-shirt except for the fabric paint. I think I did well on T-shirt itself. For ESLRs, I think self-directed learner will go along with the project, because if I was not self-directed learner, I couldn’t finish this project on time. However, I think critical thinker goes well with project because if I can’t think critically, I think I could not think any creative ideas about T-shirt.

In my own words, this means that I use my knowledge and new information that I get from teacher, and solve problem. However, I didn’t try to solve problems using my knowledge or new information. I also didn’t use any information that was given in class, and I didn’t ask any questions teachers or friends to understand things that I could not understand. This book included a lot of difficult vocabulary, and it was confusing. I think I should have used my prior knowledge and new information so I can understand. I also think I should have connected to something in my real life when I read some interesting chapters or scenes so that I could get better understanding about the chapters or scenes and get new ideas from that chapter or scene.

Next time when I read book in the English class, if I don’t understand something, I will ask question or use any source to understand things in books. If I am going to read a book that has a lot of difficult vocabulary and if the book is confusing, I will try to do things that I said like connect to my own real life, use my prior knowledge, use new information, and get new information from other people. I think if I had used prior knowledge and use new information, I had better understanding and I think I did better on other assignments related to this book.

Overall, I felt I was doing badly in understanding information about the story. However, I had fun reading book so I kept up with reading even though I was moving house and I couldn’t keep up with everyone in my class one time. So I think I was doing fine with reading book except for understanding the story. From this experience, I will try to understand with next book.