This week was more of a creative week, and I learned quite a bit. I learned how to pull a certain word, sentence, or phrase from the text. How it can, in just a few short words, summarize and represent the whole piece of text. I've started to learn the story of Hamlet. I learned that The Lion King was somewhat based of Hamlet. Also, I learned to use certain parts of a song to convey the way a character is feeling. One thing that I didn't necessarily learn, but rather noticed and found interesting was the different ways people interpret things. All throughout the week we got to see everyone's take and view on Hamlet when we shared the song lyrics we chose to represent his feelings and emotions. I also noticed it when we did the text rendering. We all read the same piece of writing and were all given the same task, but we came up with quite different answers. I found it so interesting to see the different things people noticed and took from the writing.
This past week I learned quite a bit about video editing. I learned how difficult it is to make a video and to get everything right in it. I had never made a video prior to this so it was a new, different experience for me. At first it was a bit frustrating, but once I figured it out it got easier. I learned how to choose the right music, text, images, and tone of voice to set a certain mood. l learned just how important pacing and timing is in a video. How placement of media can change the whole way the video is perceived. As I went through the Pardoner's tale and dissected every part of it, I had a better understanding of the story and appreciation of the tale and the message they author was trying give. By doing so I realized just how willing people are to give up anything and everything for "salvation." I learned how people can blatantly ignore and overlook hypocrisy and lies just for the idea of something better, like a Heaven. That's why I felt like the quote at the beginning of my video was perfect.
This week we worked on our Old English Poetry Analysis group project. We had to read old English poems and then come up with a rating system and key elements for a good English poem. I learned how to work better with other people and the best way to present. I learned how to better interpret old English poems and what makes up a good poem.
We worked on our creative writing, I learned what a heartbeat line was and how to create a whole new story with it. I chose a line from my previous creative writing about people we love/loved and used that in my new story. I actually really enjoyed writing that story, it made me appreciate my family and the people I love a little more. We read the "The Pardoner's Prologue", and "The Pardoner's Tale". They taught us a little about pardoners and what they did. It taught me about greed and hypocrisy. We did a worksheet while reading it. Courage is something that I believe we have have within us. It's the truly courageous who act on it. Courage can be found all around us, in small ways and large. Courage can be standing up for something you believe in, it can simply be saying no while everyone else is saying yes. It can be stepping in and stopping bullying or even giving a speech. Not only can courage be found in the obvious, such as, police officers, and firefighters, but in all of us.
This was our first week with our actual teacher. He made us comfortable and welcome the second we walked through the door. He shook our hand, asked for our name, and showed us respect. I couldn't help but show him the same respect. This week we focused on Beowulf. It's an interesting story about a jealous, vengeful monster called Grendel, and a hero named Beowulf. The story is of a monster who comes in the night to take people and eat them. The main ideas we learned this past week were based on The Hero's Journey. The Hero's Journey was a step by step process that most hero movies, books, and even plays go by. It's an eight step process. First comes the Call to Adventure, the Threshold, then comes the Challenges. After the Challenges comes the Abyss, the Transformation, and the Atonement. Last but not least is the Return, which is the final step in which the hero returns with a gift and is praised or rewarded for their job. Star Wars was just one example of The Hero's Journey. Watching Star Wars helped us to truly understand and grasp the idea behind The Hero's Journey. Heroes, no matter where the come from or what they do, they all take the same Journey in their adventures and conquests.
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