811 Reflection and Summer Reading Bookshelf

Margot Supple                                                                                                         6/21/15

ELA Class Reflection                                                                                                        811

            Dear 811,

Whether it’s annotating “Am I Blue” or creating countless synthesis pages, I had a great year in ELA. I felt that as a class we had pretty meaningful discussions, even with highly advanced books such as Romeo and Juliet. I know that in ELA everyone has learned and matured as a reader and writer (even James).

My two favorite units this year in ELA were Story Books, and Romeo and Juliet. I never thought that writing a short story for kids would be so hard. I remember staying up the night before the story was due, gluing and coloring all the pages so that they looked just right. When I finished, my story was pretty great. It rhymed, and it was about an owl named Theodore that saved the forest from being built into a mall. I was excited to read it to the kids, and even show it to everyone else in the class. All the other storybooks were excellent (Harris the Subway Rat being my personal favorite). My favorite part of this unit was when we went to read our stories to the 1^st graders. They were all very polite, and reading to them was really fun.

           

            Romeo and Juliet is hard to make interesting to middle school students. However, when movies and a performance were added, it easily became my favorite unit. I started to look at Romeo and Juliet as an interesting book, not a hard classic. When watching the 1^st movie, I saw that it was actually a really good book, full of adventure and suspense. And during the performance, I learned that it was easy to understand too. Over time, Romeo and Juliet seemed easier and more entertaining to read.

            I’m really grateful I switched from 809 into this class. 811 has been a great class to be with, in and outside of school. Everyone in this class is extremely smart, funny, kind, and talented, and I feel lucky to have been placed in a class with such remarkable students. Thank you 811, for a great year in ELA, and a great year in general.  

Summer Bookshelf

Books to finish

-       The Kill Order by James Dashner

-       And Then There Were None by Agatha Cristie

-       Bossypants by Tina Fey

-       Eragon by Christopher Pauloini

Summer Reading

-       Enders Game Series by Orson Scott Card

-       The Power Of One by Bryce Courtaney

Others

-       The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Romeo and Juliet Refection and Letter

Margot Supple                                                                                                5/18/15

ELA Reflection Letter                                                                                                      811

1.)  Describe your character. What did you want to communicate about him during the performance?

My character was Friar Lawrence. While wondering how to perform the monologue I received, I looked back in the book to see the emotions of the Friar before my scene. I found that right before my monologue, he runs from the tomb in fright, abandoning Juliet. And, when the prince questioned the Friar, I wanted to convey that he felt guilty by looking at my hands and putting my head down. I also wanted to convey fright throughout the scene by emphasizing certain words. Lastly, I wanted to show that the Friar had recently experienced sorrow when he saw Romeo dead. I tried to show that by pausing when talking about Romeo.

2.)  How did the performance go? What did you do well? If you could have changed and improved something in your performance what would it be and why?

I think that the performance of Act 5 Scene 3 went well, especially considering the amount of time we had to put the whole thing together. I think that one thing I did well was annunciating my lines and using a change of tone. If I was to improve something in my performance I would take it more seriously.

3.)  What did you learn and gain from the Romeo and Juliet unit?  How can you apply the skills and lessons to high school English?

I learned that reading Shakespeare is not as scary as it seems if it is read slowly and step by step. I had had experience with Shakespeare before in the 8^th grade play MacBeth, but since we were rushing I never fully understood the text. Now, after reading Romeo and Juliet multiple times, I can paraphrase, annotate, and perform the play. In high school English, I can use these new skills to easily read classics. By reading them step by step and annotating, I can understand classic books.

Letter Written By Friar Lawrence

I imagine that Friar Lawrence would leave this note in the tomb at the end of the play. Since he was a friend and father figure to Romeo, I believe that this letter would be addressed to him. In the letter, I imagined the Friar apologizing to Juliet and Romeo, about his plan and their tragic lives.

Dear Romeo,

I’m afraid you may never read this letter, and for that I apologize. But I want you to know that I have done everything in my power to earn your forgiveness. I understand your decision to join Juliet in heaven. However, I do blame myself for your death, and Juliet’s. I was scared of the tombs, so I arrived too late and left too early. I am so sorry for the pain and ending that I have caused you, and I have found a way to make it up to you. Therefore I will make this letter brief. The feud has ended between the two houses. It seems as though your tragic ending, as well as Juliets, has caused the two families to connect. Your poor mother has died of grief, but your father is alive and well. Mercutio, Benevolio, and Balthasar visit your tomb almost everyday to deliver flowers and gifts, as do I. But no matter how many letters I write or flowers I bring, nothing will erase the mistake I have made. A mistake that took the life of two young children that I loved. I am writing this in my study. Resting on the desk in front of me is a small vial that contains poison I received from a poor apothecary. At exactly noon I am planning to drink the vile, so that gives me enough time to write this letter to you, and leave it at the tombs. I can never fully forgive myself, and I can not live with the thought of killing the most important person in my life. I decided I would join you, to apologize in person. But for now, I am deeply sorry.

            With much love,

                                                The Friar   

   

Poetry Project

Margot Supple                                                                                                         4/19/15

Poetry Project                                                                                                                  811          

Response to my Heart Poem

            I chose “Another Sonnet for Stephan” by Alvin Lester Sitmor to be my heart poem because of the chronological order of events that show the development of the main character. I believe it is the growth of the main character, Stephen, that makes this poem special.

            In the first 12 lines of “Another Sonnet for Stephen”, the narrator tells the story of Stephen’s life. In the first four lines Stephen is portrayed as a young cheerful boy who spreads happiness to the narrator. “Who made me feel it’s great to be alive” (line 3). It is by now that the reader is introduced to Stephen. In lines 5-8 the speaker is describing Stephen when he is in college. He describes him as “enthusiastic, kind, who scores a ten” (line 7). The reader now realizes that the author is referring to the young boy from lines 1-4. In lines 9-12, Stephen is a successful grown man who is “fighting back attackers of his health” (line 12). Every four lines represent a different stage in his life, which differentiates it from other poems that focus on a single moment.

            The last two lines of a sonnet are usually the most important or famous lines because they are excluded from the rest of the poem by having their own rhyme scheme. In “Another Sonnet for Stephen” the last two lines of the poem are a concluding note that shows more perspective of the narrator. “The boy, the youth, the man are each now gone, except that in my heart they linger on.” This shows that Stephen has died due to his illness mentioned in line 12. However, the last line states that Stephen will be remembered by the narrator because of all his accomplishments and personality. These last two lines are a great way to end the poem because they summarize the 12 lines before about Stephen growing up, and they show how the narrator feels about Stephen being gone.

In this poem Stephen reminds me of my grandfather. When my grandfather was a young boy he went to Duke and majored in economics. Shortly after he went to Penn for graduate school and majored in business. He grew up to be the president of the Head tennis company. When he was 43 he died of brain cancer, which was shortly after having my father. Although he has died, my family will always remember him.

“Another Sonnet for Stephen” by Alvin Lester Sitmor is a great poem because it shows the development of one character, and is a poem I can relate to.

Feel it's

  

Poem #1: Free Verse

The Mountain of Light

She starts with the light

As a young child
She climbs the mountain

Now she is older

And she is surrounded by darkness

She climbs the mountain

She reaches the top

Covered by a shadow

There is no more mountain to climb

But there is still light

I wrote this poem based off of a picture below of a dark mountain with light in the distance. I thought that the picture represented growth, because it got darker the higher the mountain got, but when the summit was reached, there was light beyond.

Poem #2: Haikus

Nature Haikus

A blank road ahead

A sky of orange and blue

Trees of every color

A glass painting of

A weakened tree

On the wall

Dim lights lead the way

To an unfound destiny

My heart is racing

The city never sleeps

Everyday it repeats

Not knowing how to stop

A bright springs day

In the middle of March

Becomes a chilled frost

I wrote these Haikus based on the pictures shown below and my surroundings. I believe that haikus are the most fascinating poems, not only because of their history but also because of their rhythm and comedic, wise, and dramatic interpretations.

Poem #3: Sonnet

The sound of gunshots cradles me asleep

And greets me at the start of a new day

My youth and pride are very hard to keep

When brutal wars have taken them away

Another battle twenty years ago

Stains the earth with dark red drops of blood

Before when no one thought it could be so

That war would take our country like a flood

Surrounded by the painful sounds of death

I fight and wait until it is my turn

For me to stop and take my final breath

And watch the world around me start to burn

I will escape the man I used to be

And from the war I’ll finally be free

            I chose to write my sonnet about war because I was recently studying World War One in Social Studies and the horrible conditions solders had to live with. I decided to write this sonnet about World War Two and make the narrator a boy who was drafted into the army and wants to escape the war because it is making him a monster.

Visual Art Piece

Reading Response

Margot Supple           2/12/15

ELA Reading Response      811

Critical Thinking Question: What were the main causes that caused the main character’s behavior change? How are they shown?

Fear, manipulation, and ambition can lead many innocent people to perform terrible actions. This was the tragic fate of Macbeth, in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. In the play, Macbeth is a young Scottish thane that has recently led his army to victory over Norway and Sweden with his best friend Banquo. Soon after, he meets three witches that tell him he will be king and that Banquo’s children will be kings. With help from his wife, Lady Macbeth, he manages to kill almost all that are close to him in order to obtain and keep his power as King of Scotland before his downfall. The main reasons behind his bloody murders are fear, manipulation, and ambition.

While Macbeth is king he kills all characters who might be a threat to his rule. Since the three witches told Banquo his children would be kings, Macbeth fears Banquo’s son, Fleance, might overthrow him. Out of fear, he sends murderers to execute Banquo and Fleance. When expressing his feelings to Lady Macbeth, he cries

‘ “O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!

Thou know'st that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives.” ’(Shakespeare,12)

This quote shows that the fear of losing his throne led Macbeth to kill Banquo. Also, directly after killing Banquo, Macbeth holds a great feast. In the middle of the meal, he hallucinates, seeing the ghost of Banquo sitting on his throne, glaring at him. In this scene, Macbeth is haunted by guilt and fear of what he has done.

‘ “Avaunt! and quit my sight! let the earth hide thee!

Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold;

Thou hast no speculation in those eyes

Which thou dost glare with!” ’  (Shakespeare,15)

This scene shows that Macbeth is fearful of not only losing his throne, but the crimes he has committed.

Lady Macbeths first appearance in the play depicts her character throughout the rest of the story. She is seen as a dedicated woman, who is hungry for power. In her first scene, she reads a letter sent by Macbeth that tells of the three witches and their prophecy. Lady Macbeth is the first to suggest the idea of killing the present king, King Duncan. Macbeth refuses, but Lady Macbeth calls him a coward, and uses different tactics to manipulate him to kill the king.

‘ “Was the hope drunk

Wherein you dress'd yourself? hath it slept since?

And wakes it now, to look so green and pale

At what it did so freely?” ’ (Shakespeare,8)

This shows the effect manipulation had on Macbeth, and how it may have been the main cause of the killing of Duncan.

It is told throughout the play that Macbeth only cares about power. Although fear and manipulation were causes of many deaths, Macbeth always was ambitious and his ambition was the leading cause of all murders he committed. His feeling of a need for power led him to Duncan, Banquo, and others that stood in his way of becoming king. In this quote he expresses his hidden desire to become king.

‘ “Stars, hide your fires;

Let not light see my black and deep desires” ’ (Shakespeare,8)

This shows the “deep desires” Macbeth has to become king.

Fear, manipulation, and even ambition can take over someones brain. Throughout Macbeth, Macbeth is a victim to all reasons.