I learned a lot of different things in Mrs. Larson's class, here are the top three most important ones. The first one is time management. Time management is vital to know because of all the different things we got for homework. We had a blog, an AoW, and vocabulary for homework though out the week. I would often procrastinate and end up stressing about all the different things I had to do on Thursday. The second thing I learned was how to write a paragraph. Prior to taking this class, I used to think that a paragraph only needed to be at least five sentences. I now know that you need a topic sentence and supporting details in a paragraph. The third thing I learned is how to write an objective summary. I used to think that an objective summary was like a regular summary. I now know that an objective summary does not contain textual evidence.
Something we did this year that I will remember for the rest of my life was when we were given challenging vocabulary words. It really helped me expand my diction and not be discombobulated with the definition of certain words. It also showed me that being challenged really can be a good thing because it really expands your knowledge.
The nicest thing someone in our class did for me was that more than one person would be willing to explain what we were doing if I didn't understand it. It showed that they are kind enough to give up some of their work time to explain it to me.
Something I taught my classmates were little tricks to remember how to either remember how to spell a vocabulary word, or the definition of a vocabulary word. For example, "Pretentious". The definition states that it is somebody pretending like they have more importance, talent, and culture just to try to impress. I would say "Pretending", "Pretentious". They sound alike, so all you have to do is replace "ding" with "tious.
I think that I made the biggest improvement in comprehending and vocabulary, and I am proud that I used that to raise my lexile score. Before, I wasn't really strong in understanding what I was reading and being able to talk about it after. The AoWs, blogs, and reading Of Mice and Men really helped me improve on that. I now can easily read something and talk about it. My vocabulary has drastically improved because I didn't know that many words besides the basic ones. Before I would say "confused". I can now say "discombobulated", "befuddled", "bewildered", etc. Comprehension and vocabulary helped me raise my lexile score more than what it was in the beginning.
The most challenging part of this school year for me was time management. I would have extracurriculars and homework, which don't mix very well unless you have a schedule. I struggled with procrastination a lot, mainly because I was too tired to do it after soccer practice. I made a schedule that would set some time off of my day for homework so that I would be able to do it before my soccer practices. At first it wasn't so easy because I was already in the habit of putting things off, but then I got used to it and now I do and turn in things earlier.
My best piece of writing that I did this year was my letter to the governor about Death With Dignity. I think it was my best because I put a lot of work into that piece of writing and because on my final draft, I only had one minor mistake. I also had strong paragraph backed up with reliable evidence. I also put a lot of heart into that piece because I can personally relate to Death With Dignity and know someone that didn't have access to Death With Dignity and had to pass away in pain.
The best book that I have read this year is between The Diary of Anne Frank or The Fault In Our Stars. I really liked The Diary of Anne Frank because it was interesting to read about the topic of the Holocaust(I topic I personally love) from the perspective of someone who was alive during the time. I also really liked The Fault In Our Stars because it was very well written, had a great plot line, and had an interesting twist at the end. I am also a fan of the author of the book, John Green. He has other good books as well.
Some advice I would give to others who will take this class follows this. The first piece of advice is to have a schedule because you are going to need one, especially is you have extracurriculars. The second piece of advice is to stay focused because if you always need to be doing something productive otherwise you are wasting minutes of your life. The third piece of advice is to just remember that although this is an advanced class, you can have fun. :)
