Final Blog Post

   Throughout this school year, us as a class have shared many memories and experiences together. Together we have learned, grown, and (some of us) matured. Since the first day of school, Ms. Galang has taught us about everything from social awareness to decoding Shakespeare and through that, she has prepared us very well for the future of English class, and school in general. Despite us all parting ways, the lessons we have learned in this class will always guide us towards success.

Of the many lessons we have had, two stand out in particular. The poetry project and, no surprises here, the Romeo and Juliet unit. The poetry project stood out because we learned about literary devices such as onomatopoeia and about applying them in a variety of structures (haikus, sonnets, etc). Additionally this unit was a very good precursor to Romeo and Juliet due to Shakespeare using many of these devices in his work. Speaking of Romeo and Juliet, it was the most important unit we have had this year because not only did it tie our whole year together, it was also a bridge to high school English. Overall, these units were more meaningful than all the others due to their importance for our futures, and because of Ms. Galan’s passion towards them.

Ideal Bookshelf:

To finish:

I Am Malala

A Tale of Two Cities

To Start:
The Art of Racing in the Rain
The Time Machiene
The Grapes of Wrath
A Farewell to Arms

Poetry Project

Poetry Project

By: Jeremy Flics 811

A Collection of Haikus

The water flows down the rocks on the lake

refracting the colors of the rainbow

I don’t know how to swim!

A beautiful, peaceful morning

with a striking golden sunrise

We’re out of coffee

The rocks atop the mountain

covered in a thin blanket of snow

I’m gonna need a thicker coat

Explanation

When writing these poems, I wanted to stick to the true form of the haiku. To do this, I used imagery to describe the beauty of a natural setting. Afterwards, I added a line that used irony to create a humorous tone.

My Morning

I am barely awake when I hear the first sound of my day

Wake up!

My dad says in his loud, but kind tone.

When I’m awake, everything hits me at once

I hear the water in the shower

Splashing as it hits me

I hear the sound of my cereal

Crunching as it’s chewed

I hear my toothbrush

Swishing across my teeth

And as I walk to school,

I try not to hear my brother

Singing his new favorite song.

This is my orchestra

This is my morning

Explanation

For this poem, I used onomatopoeia to show the activity of my morning that usually goes overlooked. In addition to this, I used linebreaks to emphasize the sounds that are my morning. Finally, I compared it to an orchestra to show the bustling noise of it.

A Sonnet For Rusty

When I was born you were at my bedside

Your orange fur and tiny little paws

Your majesty was never cast aside

Take care of us that was your only cause

When I was young you always stood by me

You helped with everything that I would need

Your life I thought was precious as could be

When we were apart my young heart would bleed

As I grew you too grew old and frail

And even with old age you were beloved

They tried to save your life to no avail

That day I lost the kitten that I loved

Although the two of us are now apart

The very thought of you will warm my heart

Explanation

In this poem, I used the rhyming pattern of a Shakespearean Sonnet to show progression of time throughout the poem. In addition to this, I wrote the poem in iambic pentameter to give the poem a consistent tone.

Heart Poem

Reading Response

From its unique line breaks, to the beautifully powerful descriptions, no poem encompases the essence of poetry like “A Poet is a River” by Francisco X. Alarcón. When I first read this poem at the age of six, I was inspired to write poetry. And although I am not very good at it, this poem is the reason why I am interested in reading and writing it. I remember when I found this poem in first grade on “Put a Poem in Your Pocket Day” and instantly falling in love. Since then, this remains to be one of my favorite poems because at first it seemed simple, but as I grew, so did the meaning of the poem.

The poem is about how universal poetry is, and, despite it often going unnoticed, how it has the power to change the world. This is shown when the author writes about what a poet becomes stating things such as, “A poet/becomes/a table/a guitar/a house /el barrio” because it explains the ubiquitous nature of poetry in places that people wouldn’t think to look. The author also explores the idea that poets can make change even if nobody notices. The quote, “A poet/is a river/flowing/unnoticed/caressing/stones/moving/silt from/one place/to another/carving/canyons” shows this because it explicitly states that poets are an unnoticed force. In addition to this, the poem states that poets create canyons which supports the idea that they have the power to change the world, as creating a canyon is an infinitely impressive feat.

The poet also creates a message that poetry is a language that is understood by all. This is done by expressing the idea that poems are hidden in every action. He even gives specific examples of what poetry hides in; these examples include a clenched fist, a bleeding nose, a smile, and laughter. These details support the idea that poetry is conveyed through everything because they are a wide variety of actions and subjects that the author states poetry exists in.

In addition to its powerful themes, “A Poet is a River” uses careful word choice, and line breaks to add to the tone. By writing in the format of a list, Alarcón is able to articulate his ideas very clearly, while using line breaks to keep an artistic tone. This is done by separating each idea into a very short stanza, while breaking it up to make the poem flow. Finally, this format makes the poem read like the river that was mentioned in its title, as it moves easily from one idea to the next.

Reading this poem inspires me to write with a purpose beyond personal enjoyment. Although I wasn’t able to act on it at six years old, I have found a comedic voice in my poetry, and hope to use it to make people laugh. Furthermore, This poem has had a profound effect on my life, and continues to inspire me to this day.

Champion By: Marie Lu

When one thinks of a weapon, guns and bombs come to mind, but the most powerful weapon is propaganda. In the book Champion, by Marie Lu, two nations fight feverishly for control over land, and it’s citizens. In this book, propaganda surpasses all other weapons for both tasks.

Of the two sides one of them, The Republic, is losing the war on all fronts, but they are able to keep their people inspired and eventually prevail. During this war, the people of the Republic revere a boy named Day for rising from poverty to fight for their rights. When the Republic is able to convince Day to join their cause he becomes the most influential person in the whole nation. An example of this is when he paints the city with messages telling the citizens to join his cause, “I make my way through Tangashi sector’s dark alleys until I come across landmark buildings, places where I know most people will have to pass by… I write the following on the wall: LISTEN FOR ME.” (Lu, 269). In this quote, Day is using his influence to rouse the people against the imposing power of the Colonies (the other nation) creating an army for the Republic. Although they didn’t have access to nearly as many resources as the Colonies, the Republic’s inspired people were able to rise up and fight.

The Colonies on the other hand use propaganda as a measure of attack. For example, they instill the idea that they are the superior nation into the minds of the Republic’s citizens. The fact that this was somewhat successful speaks to the power of their propaganda. And overall, it shows that propaganda is also extremely versatile. This is because the propaganda can be used as an attack and a defense. Finally, this shows that propaganda can also be forcefully enacted.

The power of propaganda in this book reflects how strong it is in reality. For better or for worse, propaganda is able to shape people’s beliefs remarkably successfully. According to this book though, the strongest form of propaganda is the kind that reinforces someone’s prior belief.

Authors Note

Even though it is illegal in forty nine out of the fifty states, bullying still remains omnipresent. Although society has moved away from the traditional schoolyard bully, social media websites have prevented intolerance from going extinct. The reason behind this is that these websites allow people to anonymously criticize and belittle their peers. I hope that this story will teach the reader, regardless of age, about the true terrors of cyberbullying.

Through my personal experience, I was lucky to avoid being bullied via the internet, but sadly I was not able to escape the menacing intentions of my peers. Because of my personal experience, I know firsthand the degrading effects of being harassed, and mortified in public by my “friends” . In addition to that, I want this story to show readers that if you are being bullied, the only way to stop it is to take action. Many people who don’t stand up their bullies are at higher risk of depression and suicide much later in their life. This simple fact should be enough for bullying to become a felony.

Overall, I can only hope that this story is viewed as a call to action for people who haven’t spoken up, or a wake-up call for bullies. I also want to state that many people accidently say offensive things on the internet, and although they don’t  necessarily know what they are doing, it can still hurt a lot of people. Finally, you should make sure what you’re putting on the internet is appropriate and not offensive.

The Alchemist By: Paulo Coelho