Energy and Place
For this project we had to think about what "place" meant to us and where that place was. While thinking about that we also had to consider energy and how that played a role in our place. We then wrote essays that described our place and represented our land ethic. To complete the project we made visual pieces that complemented the ideas in our essays.
When I began the project I had no idea what my sense of place was or what I really felt about the land, but I was able to figure a lot of that out by writing in my inspiration journal. The idea of perspective came when I was up on smelter taking pictures. I saw the town in whole different way. And I realized that the way we look at nature can change very quickly depending on how we see it.
I am really proud of the way that I was able to write in the grand style. I feel that through the project I was able to really work on my descriptive writing. I'm also proud of the way that I was able to connect me writing and visual piece. I felt that they both complimented each other really well.
I really enjoyed this project, all aspects of it. I felt that the project really helped me realize my feeling toward the world in a way that I never did before. I thought there was some connection between the chemistry and humanities projects, but I would've liked a little more.
When I began the project I had no idea what my sense of place was or what I really felt about the land, but I was able to figure a lot of that out by writing in my inspiration journal. The idea of perspective came when I was up on smelter taking pictures. I saw the town in whole different way. And I realized that the way we look at nature can change very quickly depending on how we see it.
I am really proud of the way that I was able to write in the grand style. I feel that through the project I was able to really work on my descriptive writing. I'm also proud of the way that I was able to connect me writing and visual piece. I felt that they both complimented each other really well.
I really enjoyed this project, all aspects of it. I felt that the project really helped me realize my feeling toward the world in a way that I never did before. I thought there was some connection between the chemistry and humanities projects, but I would've liked a little more.
Wounded Knee Inquiry
For this assignment we read 10 primary historical documents about the Wounded Knee Massacre. We annotated the documents and wrote notes to help us with our textbook passage. Our textbook passage was a short 3 paragraph writing that we wrote about Wounded Knee and the events leading up to it. We had to write the passage as unbiased as we possibly could. We then watched a movie called Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. After this movie we wrote an in class essay about the ideologies of the movie compared to those of the documents. During this assignment I was fairly engaged. I had difficulty focusing on some of the readings. But my biggest difficulty was understanding what was going on. Most of the time I was confused about the setting of Wounded Knee because originally I had thought that it had been in a building. But it was definitely rewarding to finish the documents and have more of an understanding of what had happened.
In my passage I think I'm more biased against the Indians in the beginning and then float to their side toward the end.
This changed my perception on the study of history because it wasn't boring. And since a lot of my history has been taught using textbooks, I've never been very keen on it. But I found that reading these documents made history interesting.
In my passage I think I'm more biased against the Indians in the beginning and then float to their side toward the end.
This changed my perception on the study of history because it wasn't boring. And since a lot of my history has been taught using textbooks, I've never been very keen on it. But I found that reading these documents made history interesting.
Deconstructing Our America
In this project we explored and deconstructed American ideology. We discussed many of the conflicts we face in our country, such as gay rights, inequality, animal testing, and health care. We then wrote an Op-Ed about an ideology that we felt strongly about. We had to address the problem, concede our argument and provide a solution. To follow up our Op-Eds, we created oral pieces to educate and convince our audience of our belief.
Throughout this project I have learned that our days are filled with rhetoric. Every time someone asks us to do something, they are trying to convince us to do what they want. And on a daily basis we are rhetorically convinced of ideologies that many Americans believe. Our generation hears about gay rights every day. And every time someone uses "gay" as an insult they sway us to believe that it is an insult.
What I liked most about this project was that it gave me a deeper understanding of where our country is at and why. I realized that we are almost always trying to convince others of what we believe. In a way our world has become a competition, a competition of which country has the better rhetoric. We try to prove that we, Americans, are superior through use of the bald eagle and our star spangled awesomeness. But because people are always talking about us as superior we go along with their rhetoric instead of looking behind their curtain of fallacies.
The most challenging part of this project was choosing a topic to write about. There are so many topics that I felt and feel strongly about that it was hard to choose one to focus on. If I had to do this project over again I would change my topic to one that was more controversial, like gun control or abortion.
I have discovered that as a young American my ideology has already begun to form, but has a long time before it fully matures. I've realized that I enjoy listening to other sides and trying to argue even against what I believe.
Throughout this project I have learned that our days are filled with rhetoric. Every time someone asks us to do something, they are trying to convince us to do what they want. And on a daily basis we are rhetorically convinced of ideologies that many Americans believe. Our generation hears about gay rights every day. And every time someone uses "gay" as an insult they sway us to believe that it is an insult.
What I liked most about this project was that it gave me a deeper understanding of where our country is at and why. I realized that we are almost always trying to convince others of what we believe. In a way our world has become a competition, a competition of which country has the better rhetoric. We try to prove that we, Americans, are superior through use of the bald eagle and our star spangled awesomeness. But because people are always talking about us as superior we go along with their rhetoric instead of looking behind their curtain of fallacies.
The most challenging part of this project was choosing a topic to write about. There are so many topics that I felt and feel strongly about that it was hard to choose one to focus on. If I had to do this project over again I would change my topic to one that was more controversial, like gun control or abortion.
I have discovered that as a young American my ideology has already begun to form, but has a long time before it fully matures. I've realized that I enjoy listening to other sides and trying to argue even against what I believe.
This I Believe
Essential Question: What do I believe and why?
In this project we had to write an essay about a topic we believed and how certain events in our life had shaped the belief we had. To start thinking about what we believed we came up with a list of what Americans believed in. We also shared song lyrics that spoke to us and thought about why they did. Once we came up with our belief we had to choose a life event that had helped shape our belief. We then wrote our essay to the guidelines of NPR's This I Believe. Our essays were written in first person using authentic voice. At the end of the project, if our essay was under 500 words, we had the choice to submit it to NPR.At the beginning of the project I thought that I wanted to write about the idea of everyone holding onto their innocence. As I went through the process, I began to realize that I kept coming back to an idea that wasn't innocence. That’s how I decided that what I really believed in was the power of the imagination. It then took a lot of refinement to get rid of excess words and stories that I didn't need. And in the end I was very satisfied with what I wrote.
The thing I am most proud of is that my personality really came through in my essay. When we were doing critiques a lot of my peers commented on how they could really tell that it was me who had written it. I have struggled in the past with showing my personality in my writing, but this project really helped me gain confidence in writing in first person and putting myself out there. I was very proud of how much I was able to articulate my belief while showing who I was personally.
If I were to send this to NPR I would want to improve my descriptive language. I believe I could've used a lot more, especially since I was talking about the imagination. As a writer in general I think I need to improve on organizing my thoughts. When I write I have so many ideas, but it takes me a while to figure out what to do with them. But this project definitely helped me improve my writing skills.
Participating in this project has broadened my perspective on the world and America. Before I never really thought deeply about what I believed in. I only thought about those ideas that are commonly brought up, like global warming. But I was given the chance to really explore, and the topics that my peers wrote about changed my perspective on a lot of things. I feel that after this project I have gained a deeper understanding of life and become a more critical thinker.
In this project we had to write an essay about a topic we believed and how certain events in our life had shaped the belief we had. To start thinking about what we believed we came up with a list of what Americans believed in. We also shared song lyrics that spoke to us and thought about why they did. Once we came up with our belief we had to choose a life event that had helped shape our belief. We then wrote our essay to the guidelines of NPR's This I Believe. Our essays were written in first person using authentic voice. At the end of the project, if our essay was under 500 words, we had the choice to submit it to NPR.At the beginning of the project I thought that I wanted to write about the idea of everyone holding onto their innocence. As I went through the process, I began to realize that I kept coming back to an idea that wasn't innocence. That’s how I decided that what I really believed in was the power of the imagination. It then took a lot of refinement to get rid of excess words and stories that I didn't need. And in the end I was very satisfied with what I wrote.
The thing I am most proud of is that my personality really came through in my essay. When we were doing critiques a lot of my peers commented on how they could really tell that it was me who had written it. I have struggled in the past with showing my personality in my writing, but this project really helped me gain confidence in writing in first person and putting myself out there. I was very proud of how much I was able to articulate my belief while showing who I was personally.
If I were to send this to NPR I would want to improve my descriptive language. I believe I could've used a lot more, especially since I was talking about the imagination. As a writer in general I think I need to improve on organizing my thoughts. When I write I have so many ideas, but it takes me a while to figure out what to do with them. But this project definitely helped me improve my writing skills.
Participating in this project has broadened my perspective on the world and America. Before I never really thought deeply about what I believed in. I only thought about those ideas that are commonly brought up, like global warming. But I was given the chance to really explore, and the topics that my peers wrote about changed my perspective on a lot of things. I feel that after this project I have gained a deeper understanding of life and become a more critical thinker.