Over the past school year many valuable things have been learned, whether it be academically or friend wise. In ELA many things were brought to my attention of how much I did not know about literature, and grammar. For example the couple weeks of when we learned about literary devices such as irony or hyperbole. Not only did it broaden my vocabulary list, but also allowed me to give the thing I’m reading a name when it shows up in the book or article.
In the beginning of the year the class or rather the whole 8th grade was asked to write a bookshelf with books we enjoyed. Just glancing at the assignment seemed quite easy. However, when I got home I really had to narrow down my favorite books. The fact that there are hundreds of thousands of books out there made it hard. Not saying that I read all of them, but of the books I’ve read it was rough. Having us do this made me reflect on what I learned from the book, and why I liked it. Something I don’t do often.
The most recent and most memorable was the Romeo and Juliet play. Before this I never really thought about Shakespeare and his writing. All I knew was that he wrote Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Julius Caesar and many more in which it would be too long to write. When I was reading and trying to annotate his writing style it was difficult. The sonnet was extremely arduous, having to match all the syllables, and what not got tiring really fast. But in the end it definitely paid off, now I can say i wrote a sonnet. Regarding the play itself, it brought great pleasure. It was fun the try to act out scenes, and of course we got to watch the movie to understand how our characters were suppose to act.
Books to finish:
Broken Silence by Natasha Preson
Pines by Blake Crouch
My Sisters Grave by Robert Dugoni
Summer Reading:
Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self Control by Walter Mischel
Feed By M.T Anderson (required)
A Perfect Red by Amy Butler greenfield
