Overview
Throughout the year, it was definitely difficult to adjust to a gradeless classroom after spending the last four years in a “normal” class setting. I admire the potential of the concept and the opportunities that it has enabled me to pursue. It allowed me to truly see my growth in my own eyes and understand how the importance of giving and receiving feedback contributes to development in a gradeless classroom. As I progressed through the year, I believe I showed considerable growth as a reader, writer, and speaker/listener. I have consistently shown development through all four marking periods individually and altogether. The feedback I have received and the work I have done over the course of the year will support the reasons that I’m asking for an A as my final grade for the year.
Reading
- *I can analyze rhetorical elements in text.
The poem writings shown above demonstrate growth from August to now. I feel that I improved with finding meaning in a poem and picking apart the pieces of a poem. With Untitled, I chose a line from the passage and broke apart the word choice in order to describe how it made the poem feel to read. In regards to my writing on Photograph from September 11, I interpreted a line from the poem and explained how the word choice and figurative language used supported my idea of the meaning. These responses show my consistency and growth in being able to analyze poems like these through the mind of the author and the reader. Another example is with my response to Ta-Nehisi Coates’s letter, where I used text evidence to support my claim about the word choice. I feel that it also showed that I can understand texts and respond to them with strong claims. These pieces all show my steady development in analyzing texts and acknowledging them.
5. *I read independently & communicate my learning from texts in myriad ways.
Pictured above are three of my favorite books that I read independently throughout the year. While we have also read a number of books in class, such as To Kill A Mockingbird and Haroun and the Sea of Stories, I made sure to take the time out of class to read books that were not assigned and that fulfilled my own interests. I read one of the books, Guests Behind the Barbed Wire, prior to reading Night in class. This helped me understand more of what went on during this time, and I chose to read this on my own to gain more knowledge to use and because I was simply intrigued. At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t reading independently at all, but as I progressed and found more of my interests, I began to pick up more books from the library to read on my own.
Writing
6. *I can write texts in a variety of modes and media (essay, short paragraph, blog, podcast) to explain to and inform readers about my take on a text.
12. *I can create and maintain an online presence that organizes and publishes my formal and informal writing to a world-wide audience.
With the blog posts and personal essays, I showed growth from one to the next. With my first To Kill a Mockingbird blog post, I feel that I did not have was much of an original voice, and it didn’t flow as well. However, in my second post, I got feedback that the paragraphs flowed better together and had less abrupt changes. This growth also demonstrates my ability to write posts about texts and interpret and respond to them. In regards to my essay writing, I felt I improved with organization of my essays. With my Personal Philosophy essay, I knew how to connect all of my thoughts together at the end. With my NERP, I also concluded my essay with my statement on purpose, connecting my project with myself. The consistency I show in being able to write these essays shows my growth as a writer in being able to accept feedback and alter things. My blog also shows growth in the areas of continuing an online presence that is organized and combines all different kinds of writing. It is set up with all of the correct menus, meets all criteria, and has up-to-date posts.
Speaking and Listening
- *I can collaborate and communicate with others. (Touchstones/Soc. Seminar)
- I can use speaking skills to engage an audience.
I believe I improved a lot with speaking and listening over the course of the year through our Touchstones discussions, Socratic Seminars, and Literature Circles. In the beginning of the year starting with Touchstones, it was intimidating for me to be able to participate in a large group circle where people are only listening to you and can be critical. However, I started to grow more comfortable in these groups, especially with the introduction of Literature Circles, which allowed me to participate more comfortably in smaller group settings. As shown on the evaluation forms above, I participated more in these smaller number discussions because it felt easier to do. This was a big improvement for me being that I rarely had participated before. Redirecting conversations with new questions was also a big goal of mine, which I did accomplish in Touchstones and Lit Circles as well. On the first Touchstones worksheet, I noted to stop having side conversations, which I believe improved as the year progressed and I was able to not get distracted as much. In regards to learning target #12, my second elevator pitch presentation improved a lot more from my first because I prepared more, and it showed. The feedback I got on the first presentation said that the “story” was not as clear, however in the second presentation, I got feedback that said my idea was clear and well reasoned.
Journey of the Mind 