Melanie English Blog

 Prompt Response: The final project was my favorite project because the other ones where longer and had to write more and explain it. Going into the spring semester I need to focus in this class and come to class on time everyday. I have to listen as well and do all the work to my best ability.  Summary: Today I presented my poem poster and recited my poem " This is just to say"  by memory. Here is my poster below: 

 Prompt Response: One tradition me and my family have is that before we open the gifts in the night time after midnight we do a prayer. We also pass baby Jesus around and everyone kisses the baby in any part of the body you would like to show adoration and respect. 

 Prompt Response: The holidays have changed by how many people are with us and how much we actually open presents. As we grew older we stopped receiving as many presents and the spirit wasn't there anymore. I used to wake up and go downstairs to eat and then open presents but instead now I wake up and get ready for work. My family is busy working and we barely have any time to really celebrate.

 

Prompt Response: The best gift I ever received is my 15's necklace and ring. I cherish them so much because it was given with love and for a special reason. My mother worked very hard to get it and that's the reason why it's the best gift I ever got.  Summary: We worked on a vocab lesson five and did exercise one. We also worked on the cultural mask and turned it in when we were done.  Reflection: I realized that what we wear and do reflects on our personality and the way we are. The mask is in a way of how we are as a person.

 Prompt Response: The part where a part of her mask broke and she started to panic. The poem explains in words how there were different experiences for people because of how they looked and felt while the video showed it visually. I want to reveal that I am not afraid to speak my mind and do things the right way instead of staying quiet and doing the wrong. Summary: We watched a video about the girl with the mask. We then continued to work on masks and turned them in if we were done. Reflection: The video made me realize that its okay to be different and to not be afraid to show ourselves and be brave.

 Prompt Response: I'm mostly proud of my work and my car because I work a lot to get everything I want. I paid half of my car and I like to drive in it and how I modified it as well. I work a lot to also pay my mom back because she paid the other half and I don't like owing people. I'm also proud of where my mom is from. I show it with pride because I know she went through a lot to get here and I want to represent where she came from. Summary: In class today we read another poem called "I ,Too" and analyzed it as well. We then answered questions over it and we had to do a base for my project which is a mask I have to do about my cultural identity. Reflection: Everyone has different cultures and we have embraced that and we rarely do. I realized I need to show what I like and what I do. Not everyone is the same just because we live in the same area or have a few things in common. 

 Prompt Response:  At my old school, we would have a lot of early release days where we left at 11 or even earlier. One day we had a release day in October and we left and went to an abandoned place and went and sat down. I was with my friends and they told me to go with them and at my old school it was a popular thing to go to an abandoned place and explore. We had to sneak around and run when we saw the police and the place was in an unsafe area so we had to be careful. This made me realize that I shouldn't put myself in those situations because anything could happen to me. Summary: We analyzed a poem called "We real cool" and then we did a circle with branches to talk about the seven We they had said. We wrote what the author was trying to hint and what the moral was. Reflection: In the poem, the seven kids would eventually die because of the seven actions they did. It made me realize that if I continued to keep doing that on release days anything could go wrong and my...

 Prompt Response: The most memorable thing that I experienced was spending time with my family and still being with them and especially with everyone still here. We always spend thanksgiving together each year but each year makes it more special because we still have everyone here despite the difficulties. I also spent time with all the people I love throughout the whole week whether with friends or family. Summary: In class we did Lesson Four vocab which had 4 exercises. We did that the whole period and then turned it in. Reflection: I like working by myself and it being quiet and being able to do it on our own. That period helped me focus more on the work and also have time for myself to think about certain things.