I have learned so many new things in my English Language Arts class this year. One important thing I've learned this year in the class is all the writing rules and formats. Writting is something everyone will use for the rest of their lives, so it is good to have learned most of them before highschool, and other events. Another important thing I have learned this year is all of the new vocabulary words. Using the same boring words while writing isn't intresting, and looks like you put in little effort if you keep using them over and over again. Learning new words each week has allowed me to use a larger amount of different words for writing. Another important thing I have learned this year was how to take notes and analyze a book. Everytime we have read a book this year we have done something a little different to understand the book better. We have learned to write in notes into the book, we wrote down quotes from the book, and wrote down important parts of the book. These techniques have helped me understand the books so much better.
Something from this year I will remember forever is the class, and the people in it in general. My most memorable times in this school year has been in this class. It has definitely been the class I have gotten the most out of, and I have built a good relationship with everyone in the class. Most of the people in the class have been in that class for two years, like me, and that has given us plenty of time to become good friends. Even though it has been a tough class to be in, I still had a great time with the rest of the students and my teacher.
The nicest thing someone has ever done for me in this class was helped me understand and catch up with work I missed. Whenever I have missed a day, some of my classmates make sure I know what I have to get done. They have always offered to help before I even asked them. It made me thankful for the great friends I have, and how they are willing to go out of their way to help me. I was then able to get my work done without having trouble doing it.
Something my classmates and I taught the class this year was to look at things from different angles. After reading To Kill a Mockingbird and Tuesday's with Morrie we have learned to look at things differently. Many things we have discussed about the book has opened our eyes to think of other things. Everyone had their different thoughts about certain things, and I think it has made us able to think a little more. Everyone views things differently, and sharing those views has made us aware of all the different things people see things as.
An area I feel I made my biggest improvements was in my writing. This year I've learned so many different rules, and formats for writing to make the piece better. I have also learned many new vocabulary words so it won't have boring, simple words. I recently looked back at my old blogs from this year and the years before, and saw a huge difference. I think I learned more writting skills more than anything I learned at all this year. In the beginning of the school year I had some trouble making a good piece of writing, but it comes easily to me, since I'm used to doing them.
The most challenging part of this year for me was all of the To Kill a Mockingbird work. Out of all the things we have worked on, this part of the year has taken away most of my time. There was a lot of work that had to be completed, and it had to be good quality. There was a lot of work to do after each chapter, and it would take even more time if you didn't understand something. All of the work has made me understand the book so much better, so I think all the work was necessary. Although it was very difficult to do it has made certain things easier for me to do now.
The best piece of writing I did this year was my argumentative essay. I think I put in a lot of effort and thought into this unit. While writing this piece, I was able to write what I thought, and was able to back up where I stood in a debatable topic. I also think it was written very formally which can sometimes be difficult for me to do. Overall I was really proud of the outcome, because I knew I put in my best effort, and ended up receiving a good grade for it.
Of the books I have read this year, my favorite was Tuesday's with Morrie by Mitch Albom. Very few books have made me cry, laugh, smile, and think so much while reading the same book, and Tuesday's with Morrie is one of them. I think this book has definitely opened my eyes to the world so much. I have also taken so much out of the book and thought about it for a long time. I think the writing in the book has inspired me to live a better life without being upset, or stuck on something I regret. The book has taught me to live my life to fullest, because it won't be long before everything we once had will all be gone.
Advice I would give students who will be in this class next year is to work on your assignments during any free time you have. In eighth grade it can sometimes be hard to find enough time to turn in homework that is good quality, because there are many things, like clubs and events, that can affect the amount of time you have to complete that assignment. Waiting last minute to finish something is only going to hurt you. It can become very stressful having to rush yourself to complete something that could have been finished at an earlier time. It feels so much better knowing you don't have anything to be working on once you finish something.
