Amelia's English Blog

Prompt Response:  This year in Multicultural Lit, my favorite thing was the books we read. I feel like in my past lit classes we didn't take as much time to read books as a class and discuss each chapter in depth. The project I found most engaging was the one where we were assigned a letter from the Color Purple and made a video for it. I thought it was fun to be able to creatively interpret the text and it was cool to see how everyone's videos turned out. I definitely connected the most with the fiction we read, especially the Color Purple. I had grown up hearing about it but now not knowing anything about it and it was interesting to finally read it and understand what it was about. I think one area I need improvement in is class discussion and feeling comfortable coming up with coherent answers in the moment. Summary: (Absent Wednesday - exempt from final)

Prompt Response:  One tradition that's very important to my grandmother and great aunt is that they cook most of the Christmas dinner by themselves with no help. Every year, they insist on making so many different dishes by themselves and refuse anyone who tries to come in the kitchen to help and every year they tire themselves out. The food is great but the tradition of the older women cooking by themselves is starting to not work for our family. Now we have started a new tradition, where every family member brings a dish to share. I think it is cool how our traditions have shifted and the holidays feel just as special. Summary: Today in class we continued watching the Color Purple movie and answering comparison questions. Reflection:  I got better analysis and comparison skills.  

Prompt Response:  The holidays have definitely increased in personal significance for me since I was a kid. When I was younger, all I cared about was the material aspects of the holidays like getting presents. Now though, I have more appreciation for being able to get together with my entire family. It is such a privilege to have family close by that I can spend time with during the holidays. While I still enjoy giving and receiving gifts, I feel a lot more grateful to spend time with my family now than I did when I was younger. Summary: Today in class we started watching the Color Purple movie and answered questions about comparing it to the novel. Reflection:  I got better analysis and comparison skills.

Prompt Response:  I would predict that Celie is going to grow her pants business into an empire. She has found so much fulfillment and self worth in her sewing and I think that passion will take her very far so she can expand her business. I also think she will fall in love with someone new, maybe legitimately with Albert or with a different person altogether. I think her confidence in herself has grown significantly and she is in a place where she can have a healthy and fulfilling relationship without feeling anxiously attached to that person. Summary: Today in class we presented our literature circle projects. Reflection:  I got better presentation skills and analysis skills.

Prompt Response:  Growing up, I had a group of friends through elementary school that I was pretty close with up until the pandemic. Over the pandemic, we would have a lot of petty arguments and our friend group ultimately fell apart and became fragmented. I am only really friends with one person in that group to this day. However, at the beginning of this year my elementary school had a reunion and I was able to see my old friends again. It was really nice to see them and none of our previous conflicts crossed my mind. We were all able to forgive each other and recall our memories together fondly. The Color Purple's ending parallels this and shows me that even if you have disagreements or different beliefs, you can find love and belonging with those around you.  Summary: Today in class we finished The Color Purple and worked on our literature group Power Points. Reflection:  I got better reading comprehension and analysis skills.  

Prompt Response:   A song that brings back a specific memory is High Infidelity by Taylor Swift. My best friend and I went to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour about 2 years ago, and that was the song she played for the surprise set. At every show, she would play an acoustic set with two songs that changed every night. High Infidelity was one of the surprise songs at our show. I was expecting her to play it because it contains the lyric "do you really wanna know where I was April 29th?" and the concert was on April 29th. I already loved that song but every time I hear it now I'm reminded of how awesome that night was and it becomes even more special.  Summary: Today in class we read letters 81-85 and answered discussion questions. Reflection:  I got better reading comprehension and analysis skills.

Prompt Response:  The best gift I have received was the quilt that my grandma made me when I was 10. The primary color is pink and there are checkered blocks made up of 9 squares of assorted patterns like flowers, stripes, dots, stars in every color. It must have taken my grandma months of diligent work to put everything together. I have always been grateful for the quilt because it's such high quality handmade work that I will have with me for the rest of my life. I am also grateful for the quilt because it inspired me to start quilting myself. Summary: Today in class we read letters 76-81 and rewrote excerpts using different dialects. Reflection:  I got better reading comprehension and analysis skills.

Prompt Response:  A time in my life where something I believed in turned out to be different than I imagined was when I found out that Santa wasn't real. I never fully bought into the idea that one man could deliver presents to the entire world in just one night, and my parents didn't try all that hard to convince me of it, but I still remember feeling very conflicted on the topic. I would go back and forth, and at times believe wholeheartedly that Santa existed. However, I would still debate with my mom and try to convince her to admit that she was the one putting presents under the tree, and eventually she broke and told me Santa was just a made up character to make Christmas feel more magical for kids. I definitely wasn't that surprised or upset, but it helped me feel more grown up to know the truth and reminded me to trust my instincts when I know I'm being deceived.  Summary: Today in class we read letters 71 - 75 and wrote a found poem. Reflection:  I got better r...

  Prompt Response:  As soon as I saw Nettie's familiar handwriting at the bottom of Mr. _____'s trunk, my cheeks flushed hot with rage. Here I was, sure that Nettle had been killed, discovering that she was far from dead. All of this time I could've been writing with my sister, plotting to meet each other again, and Mr. _____ took that away from me, from us. I was so angry I could kill Mr. _____. To keep those letters from me was unimaginably cruel. All those lonely years, longing for Nettie by my side, and he snatched away any scrap of comfort and family I had left. But I can't clue him into my rage just yet, not until I'm sure I can make it out of here for good. Summary: Today in class we took a quiz on the reading we did for homework, read Letters 61-65 and wrote and answered questions about them. Reflection:  I got better reading comprehension and analysis skills.

  Prompt Response:  I had a best friend growing up that I really was close to for a long time, but as we got older we became very different and drifted apart. I think the reason our dynamic shifted was that we started going to different schools, and my friend got other friends that were more similar to them. My friend was very eccentric and intelligent and had many special interests and I almost felt like I wasn't interesting enough, or I was "too normal" for them. I tried to be like them for a long time but it began to feel more and more forced, and eventually after my first year of high school, we drifted apart for good. I will always be grateful for our childhood memories and I have nothing against them. I think it is okay for two people to change and grow apart. Summary: Absent

  Prompt Response:  Something that made me thankful over the break was that all of my family and family friends were able to make it to Thanksgiving at my house. It has been a couple years since everyone has been able to make it, and it was so nice to have that reunion. I'm also thankful for the family friends in my life who are not even related to me but feel like family. My dad's best friend and his mom come every year, and this year my mom's best friend came over. It was so festive and nice to eat and talk with everyone there. Summary: Today in class we read Letters 46-50 and answered discussion questions. Reflection:  I got better reading comprehension and analysis skills.