Sawyer's English Blog

 Today we continued our group assignment. We are visually representing "The Rockpile" by James Baldwin. One of our group members wasn't here today so I don't know if he will finish his work outside of class. I didn't struggle with my part of the assignment, which was to find connections from the story to my life.  I'm very tired today. After my swim practice yesterday I was extra tired and slow-moving. That in turn made me slow to eat dinner and do my homework. And that led me to go to bed way later than I anticipated.

 Today in class we started a group assignment. I learned that it is important to communicate during a group project. I could see that working with others is a skill I can improve on. I can use good communication throughout my life to be successful. I didn't really like the assignment because working in a group meant I had to compromise on how to do things.  I'm doing well today, my coach said we had best average practice today so I'm not looking forward to that. I do have some homework I need to do tonight. 

 Today in class we worked on an argumentive paragraph. I learned that writing an essay is easy when you have a plan. Having a plan makes writing easier but you have to take time to make a plan. I plan on using this knowledge to plan other papers. I liked the lesson because we didn't have to write a whole essay, but rather just a paragraph. I'm tired today. This first week after fall break has felt really long and has made me tired with all the other activities I have. I don't think I'll be able to make it to the Powderpuff game so I will just stay home and look after my siblings. 

 Today in class, we finished a paper assignment that started on Tuesday. The assignment was to find evidence from a text to support a claim and explain the evidence. I liked the session because it made me work on something that was not my strong suit. I also liked the assignment because the text was short and I could clearly find the evidence needed to support a claim.  I'm doing good today, I've have practice after school then after that, I'm going to the football game. So it will be a late night.  

Today we found evidence in a text to support a given claim. I learned that explaining your evidence is important. I can use this information to apply it to future essays and arguments. I liked the lesson because it was good practice finding evidence that we will need for the EOC. I struggled with explaining my proof because I had a hard time putting my thoughts into words on paper.   I'm doing good today, I've had a productive day so I got a lot done. I don't really like the schedule this week, but it is what it is and I can't change it. I am going to sleep in tomorrow because I don't have any testing.                

 Today in class, we worked on lesson five, a vocabulary exercise in which we matched a picture to a word and explained why it went with the word. I liked the simple lesson because the school just returned from fall break. I also liked the lesson because it allowed me to work alone. I can use the lesson by applying it to my writing and future essays.  I'm good and rested today thanks to the break. I am a little upset because I got a bad cold over break and underperformed at my swim meet. Looking forward to the high school swim tryouts because I enjoyed it the past two school years. 

 Today in class we examined a poem and wrote a paragraph about whether going against norms showed confidence or if a person was lost. I learned you can have any opinion as long as you have valid evidence to back up your claim. I liked the lesson. It was short and easy. I also liked the poem I thought it was interesting that one can pull meaning out of a short pole.  I'm feeling good today. I have plans to go down to Douglas Georgia for hurricane relief services. I think it will be a good experience because I'll be serving people but with friends. 

Today in class, we did an assignment on claims. I learned that there are three different types of claims. I can use different claims to argue various points. I didn't like that we were given a passage and identified claims in it. I would rather have created my own claims from a prompt. I didn't struggle with the assignment it just wasn't my favorite.  I'm feeling good today, though the even block day made it feel like Thursday. And that made me tired at the end of the school day. We had to write a DBQ in AP U.S. History and I didn't feel too confident about it so I hope I get to go over it with some feedback from my teacher. 

 Today in class, we did an assignment on evidence. We made a claim on a topic and gave evidence explaining why we supported the claim. I learned it's hard to find evidence for something you have a limited amount of experience with, so it is important to make a claim you can support. I didn't really like the lesson because the assignment was about topics I didn't know a lot about or even have an opinion on.  I'm feeling tired today my swim practice yesterday was hard and really tired me out. I struggled to wake up and only got up when my mom came to wake me up. But other than that I'm staying on top of my school work and trying to keep my grades up. 

 Today in class we had a lesson on evidence. I learned that good evidence comes from experiences, observations, and documents. If I have a claim, evidence should come naturally because I support the claim I made. I can use evidence in essays that use claims that are opinion-based. I liked the lesson because it was interesting to hear what other classmates had to say on different subjects.   I'm feeling a little upset today because I underperformed in my swim meet on Saturday and can't let it go. But I can do something about it. I can work harder in practice and be more coachable. 

 Today in class we learn about different claims. We worked on a sheet and creating our own claims about different topics. I learned that a claim is just like an opinion with facts to back it up. I can use claims in all my essays and arguments. I like the lesson because it was easy and I’m glad because it’s Friday.  I’m feeling tired today. My grand parents are here though so that’s something to look forward to. I also have a swim meet tomorrow morning so I’ll try and go to bed earlier so rest up.

 Today in class we took a benchmark assessment. I learned that tests are easy when you prepare for them. I can apply that to other tests and exams. I didn't like the essay portion of the test, but I felt confident in the multiple-choice section. The I struggled on the informational essay because I didn't know to to inform the reader without trying to persuade them in a way.  My day is going good. My grandparents fly in to day and their spending the weekend with us, so I'm excited to see them. 

Today we look at different scenarios and how we would approach them with logos, pathos, or ethos. I learned that there can be more than one view of looking at things, but some can be more effective than others in certain situations. I can apply this to my life because problems don't always have one solution. I can look into the issue and find different solutions to fix the problem.  I'm doing well today. I'm getting plenty of sleep and have started to clean up my diet for swimming. I'm preparing for a swim meet this week and hope to perform well.