3rd Quarter Reflections

I can't believe it is the end of 3rd Quarter, the year went by so fast! (In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts?) My biggest improvement is by far poetry. After the poetry unit, I know so much more about metaphors, figurative language and especially writing poetry. I think that my favorite poem that I have written so far is either the AOW Poem or the Where I'm From Poem. 

(What is something you have accomplished this quarter that you are proud of?) I think that something that I am proud of is finishing my Lit Circle Book, First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung, and all of the different jobs that we had to do. Each day we had a different job to do: the summarizer, the connector (who connects the events in the book to a current event happening now), the passage picker (who picks quotes or paragraphs that stuck out or meant something to them), the discussion director (who came up with questions to help guide the discussion the next day). Getting everything done was challenging sometimes, because I was sick and out of school for two days and I just get distracted very easily and most times go right to my phone when i get home from school. But, I am very proud that I got everything done on time. 

(What has been the most challenging part of 3rd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?) I think that the most challenging thing this quarter was staying on course with the 40 Book Challenge. I am not proud of how many books I have read so far and I still need a ton of books left if I want to finish (which I really do). I get distracted very easily and when I get home, normally I go straight to my phone and don't notice where the time goes and I don;t have enough time for reading. I think something I can do to fix it is have someone take my phone hostage until I can get something done. 

(Of the books you have read this quarter, which was your favorite? Why?) My favorite book that I read this quarter is First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung. It is a memoir written by a survivor of the 1975 Cambodian Genocide. It is very, very interesting. The title hooks you in and you are kind of anxious the whole time because you aren't sure when her father is going to die or if he is going to die. We came up with a theory in the beginning that he wasn't going to die physically, but the part of him, the funny and caring person that she loves, that part of him dies. The book is so detailed and well written is crazy to me how she can remember some of the tiny details, because she was so young when it happened. I would definitely, definitely recommend this book.