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Last quarter, we worked on several things in English class including poetry, photography, and Teenlife Project. We focused mainly on poetry, and thus we spent most of our class periods writing and reading poems out loud. Nevertheless, we were still able to train our photography skills and also finish the Teenlife Project, where I, along with Adrian and other students from other schools worked on ‘poverty’. In brief, Teenlife Project was where the three schools, located in Malaysia, Canada, and Columbia, got together through media and completed projects together. There were different topics about the problems in the world such as global warming for different groups, and each member/members of different schools were responsible for different things; the members of M’KIS were responsible for the poems and photos that were related to the topic, the students in Columbia were in charge of storyboards and recordings, whereas the people from Canada were working on background music and post-production. Now that we have finished our poetry books, participated in Poetry Night, and completed the Teenlife Project, hence I will be writing a reflective journal about which and how the five ESLRs helped me accomplish each of those things, and also what I could have done for better results.

First comes- Critical Thinker. While writing the poems for the book, I was ‘building meaning and understanding for myself using prior knowledge and new information’ by adding the new ways to write poems while using things like figurative language and rhythm, rhyme, and repetition. At the same time, I also ‘identified, evaluated and used resources effectively for the purpose of problem solving’ by reading the poems that famous poets wrote and using their unique styles to write my poems. For instance, I wrote my color poem, Silver, Silver, Silver, after reading Silver and Blue Cornucopia. Lastly, I ‘selected, monitored, and adjusted problem-solving strategies’ when I asked Mr. Raisdana to edit/check my poems for the book. Therefore, I met all the bullet points while finishing the book. When participating in the Poetry Night, I ‘solved problems using a variety of strategies’ by asking my mom to come with me so that she can help us organize the food section. I believe that I was being an awesome critical thinker by doing so, and so I cannot think any other things I could have done for better job. During the Teenlife Project, I ‘gathered, analyzed and processed information from a variety of sources’ by looking over the websites that one of my group members posted on the wikipage for better understanding. However, I could have done a better job if I had used the information I gathered from the sources as I did not really apply the information I read inside my poem due to my laziness. Also, I could have ‘solved problems using a variety of strategies’ by thinking more creatively and making changes to the photos I got from Internet by using Photoshop or other appropriate programs, or by burning, drawing, spilling water on it, etc., not just copying and pasting simply cause of laziness.

The second ESLR is called the Academic Achiever. I firmly believe that I was a strong academic achiever by finishing the book as I ‘demonstrated progress’ as I received a 99 per cent on the project. I also ‘continually assessed, evaluated and adjusted work to maintain high standards’ by asking the English teacher to read my poems, and I ‘accessed information from a variety of sources’ by examining the poems from the text book and writing similar-concepted-poems. However, I did not ‘demonstrate the ability to work both independently and collaboratively’. I could have done that by working, reading, and editing others’ poems with a couple of my friends. On the Poetry Night, I was academic Achiever by bringing the food I was supposed to bring, organizing the food that other people brought in, asking my mom for assistance (though she did everything), and by being responsible to call all the eighth graders who were coming (along with Sai). This means that I ‘demonstrated the ability to work both independently and collaboratively. By participating and finishing the Teenlife Project, I ‘demonstrated the ability to work both independently and collaboratively’, and ‘demonstrated technological literacy and the use of technology as a tool for the efficient and creative completion of a project’. I did the followings by working/communicating with the team members AND writing the poem plus finding the picture by myself, and by successfully working with other people in different countries through technology. And yet, I could have done better by making the pictures unique to ‘demonstrate technological literacy and the use of technology as a tool for the efficient and creative completio0n of a project’ more.

Involved Citizen comes next. ‘Demonstrating care and concern for their environment’, and ‘demonstrating responsibility in active decision-making’ are the things I did when working on the poetry book by discerning trashes and reusable papers, and using my time wisely and knowing what I should do to finish the project. However, I would like to point out that I would have been more successful if I ‘demonstrated care and concern for the environment’, and ‘seek to improve the lives of others in the community’ more by using appropriate amounts of materials, not over-using them. I was successfully being an involved citizen at the Poetry Night by meeting such bulletpoints: ‘demonstrating responsibility in active decision-making’, ‘interacting respectfully with people of diverse cultures’, and ‘demonstrating awareness and respect for the rights of others’. I could do all those by being responsible to bring the food assigned to me, making sure that everyone else had what to bring and brought in what they were to bring, communicating freely with people/parents from diverse cultures, and by respecting people who attended. However, if I ‘demonstrated care and concern for the environment’ by not having plastic plates, forks, spoons, and other materials plus not too many tissues, I would have been an even better involved citizen. The Teenlife Project was the part where I was being the best involved citizen compare to the other parts as I really accomplished all five bullet points, ‘seeking to improve the lives of others in their community’, ‘demonstrating care and concern for their environment’, ‘demonstrating responsibility in active decision-making’, ‘interacting respectfully with people of diverse cultures’, and ‘demonstrating awareness and respect for the rights of others’. I did them by trying to bring awareness to the public about the seriousness of poverty throughout the world, participating and donating my ideas and thoughts on the wikipage (on time), and by successfully work and communicate with people from Columbia and Canada. Because I am very satisfied with the result, I don’t suppose I could have done any better.

The second to last ESLR is Effective Communicator. When working on the poetry book, I ‘demonstrated my creative talents to convey ideas’, ‘listened respectfully and asked questions to facilitate understanding and achieve insight’, ‘understood and conveyed written, oral and visual information using appropriate media’, and ‘demonstrated awareness of the role of audience’. I did them by writing poems by looking at the cards with different visual images, asking questions for better comprehension, and by reading out loud in front of the audience. However, I could have worked collaborately with other people and communicated with people through technological programs like MSN about the poems, as we live in the 21st century, in order to ‘incorporate/utilize technology as a tool for communication’, ‘demonstrate the skills of effective collaboration’, and ‘collaborate with others in appropriate learning situations to achieve group goals’. Also, I wish I had ‘incorporated/utilized technology as a tool for communication’ by being more involved while taking photos as I was not really interested in taking photos that I just ran around and took random pictures. I ‘demonstrated my creative talents to convey ideas’, ‘listened respectfully and asked questions to facilitate understanding and achieve insight’, ‘demonstrated awareness of the role of audience’, ‘demonstrated the skills of effective collaboration’, and ‘collaborated with others in appropriate learning situations to achieve group goals’ at the Poetry Night by communicating with people fluently, reading my poem in front of the audience and by collaborating effectively with other students in order to set up everything for the Night. I am very happy with what I have achieved, but I think I would have been able to ‘demonstrate their creative talents to convey ideas’ better by taking better photos so that it could have been hung on the wall. During the Teenlife Project, I used technology (blog and wikipage) to communicate with people from other cultures, collaborated with team members, created a product (a poem plus a picture) for the people globally to notice the affect and effect of poverty. This means that I ‘incorporated/utilized technology as a tool for communication’, ‘listened respectfully and asked questions to facilitate understanding and achieve insight’, ‘demonstrated the skills of effective collaboration’, ‘collaborated with others in appropriate learning situations to achieve group goals’, ‘understood and conveyed written, oral and visual information using appropriate media’, and ‘demonstrated awareness of the role of audience’. And yet, as I have mentioned previously in this journal, I could have ‘demonstrated their creative talents to convey ideas’ by editing the pictures from the internet to make them look unique.

Self-Directed Learner is the last ESLR in this journal. ‘Accepting responsibility for their own learning’, ‘identifying their needs and applying appropriate learning strategies’, ‘taking creative risks in developing untried ideas’, ‘demonstrated competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills’, ‘monitoring, adjusting and documenting work in progress’, and ‘developing prioritizing and continually revising personal goals’ are the things I have done to achieve where I am standing. I did all of the above by being responsible of my homework and/or project, asking Mr. Raisdana to edit my poems, creating my own unique poetry book, making time adjustments in order to finish the project on time, and having, keeping, and revising my own goals. I am proud of what I have achieved. On the Poetry Night, I brought in something unique, organized the food, asked my mom for help and practiced reading my poem, and thus, I ‘accepted responsibility (for their own learning)’, ‘identified their needs and applied appropriate learning strategies’, ‘participated in a wide variety of co-curricular programs and activities which develop social, emotional and physical talents’, ‘demonstrated competency in organizational skills’, and ‘took creative risks in developing untried ideas’. I believe that I had been a very good self-directed learner. For the Teenlife Project, I ‘accepted responsibility for their own learning’, ‘identified their needs and applied appropriate learning strategies’, ‘participated in a wide variety of co-curricular programs and activities which develop social, emotional and physical talents’, ‘took creative risks in developing untried ideas’, ‘demonstrated competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills’, and ‘monitored, adjusted and documented work in progress’. I took responsibility to finish and post things on time, was involved and donated, created my own unique poem, and used time wisely to adjust the work to do so. Because I met 7 bullet points out of 8, I think I have achieved more than I could have.

On the whole, I am really satisfied with what I have accomplished; I learned that I have achieved more than I have ever expected through writing this reflective journal. I firmly believe that I was being strong in all five ESLRs, Critical Thinker, Academic Achiever, Involved Citizen, Effective Communicator, and Self-Directed Learner. However, I think I did better in some ESLRs compared to the others. The strongest to the weakest are as follows: Self-Directed Learner, Academic Achiever, Effective Communicator, Involved Citizen, and Critical Thinker. I chose Self-Directed Learner as the strongest ESLR as it is the ESLR that helped me to become an Academic Achiever, Involved Citizen and Critical Thinker; and I chose Critical Thinker as my weakest ESLR as I believe that I was not an awesome Critical Thinker as I could have done so many things to improve. And yet, by saying so does not mean that there are big differences between them, and it fact, the differences between each of the ESLRs are vague and very subtle. Once again, I am fully proud of myself for achieving all these things through ESLRs.

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In English class in the second quarter, we read Anne Frank and we made a project, commercial iMovie, to give people lessons, to not make racial jokes,

and this is the essay that reflects what we did using the Blooms taxonomy and what ESLRs we achieved through the project:

· How are symbols, images, and sounds and other conventions used in visual media?

· What are the ways in which image-makers carefully construct meaning?

· How are techniques used in visual media to influence or appeal to a particular audience?

Symbols are depictions of any groups or even of mere objects that symbolize something important. We used the Swastika and The Star Of David to represent the two different parties present, the Jewish people and the Nazis. We understood that we used these symbols only for the purpose of representing these parties, and in no way offending any race. Images could be symbols, yet they are also pictures of what people and places are or were like. We used a lot of images through this project, as we were working on an iMovie, and trying to depict the lives of many Jewish. The pictures we used consisted of, but were not limited to – Anne Frank, her family, the VanDaans, the Helpers, the Nazis, the Jewish, etc. This iMovie was designed to be a commercial, and these symbols and images were meant to be slightly persuasive, to tell people how Anne Frank lived, and what little they can do to help the world. We felt that sound was the most important aspect of this project. Sound adds a deep emotional touch to this project, and listening to the music while watching the pictures can be extremely touching. We used the song Hurt (Instrumental) by Christina Aguilera, which really matched the theme as it provided crescendos and flat notes in the same song. That’s how lives are. Filled with times of great happiness, and times where people are just low. Image-makers are ones that create images and even put images together. By doing this project, we became image-makers, as we were compiling images, symbols and sounds to make the project perfect. Image-makers use images, symbols, and sounds to design any sort of product they are hoping for so that the viewers understand the essence of that project. The trick that we used was to not use a lot of words through this movie, as people would get bored and not want to watch the movie anymore. Using a lot of images, symbols, and sounds is really going to help us, because then we will be getting peoples’ attention. Meaning is the whole point of the project. A 10 hour long movie will be a complete waste if there is no meaning to it, or if the viewers don’t understand it. That’s why, image-makers use appropriate images that stick to the theme of the project they are working on. Also, if you were designing a movie about people dying, you wouldn’t want Christmas Carols playing in the background. Appropriate sound is very important, as it adds a better feel to the project.

Knowledge: The symbols that we used were the Star of David and the Swastika to represent the Nazis and the Jewish. We also used airplanes in our movie to show what sort of cacophony was going on and how the Jewish longed for the freedom they were only used to looking at. We used the images of Anne Frank and the members of her family, the VanDaans and the helpers, and the place where they had to hide for over two years. Through this project, we used the song Hurt (instrumental) by Christina Aguilera, as we felt it was the most appropriate.

Comprehension: As for symbols, we felt using the Star of David and the Swastika very important, as we had to mention the parties that were involved and how the Holocaust happened. The reason why it happened was because the Nazis went against the Jewish, and putting the symbols on the iMovie displays this. Images represented the life of Anne Frank and the other Jewish around her. It also showed the lives of the Jewish people all over Holland, and the painful things they went through. Images of Hitler show what he put all the Jewish to. The sounds that we used were appropriate, as they went with the images that were immensely painful for viewing. It will make people cry.

Application: These symbols, images and sounds were the best we could use, as we realize that this is what the audience is looking for. Since we know the audience consists of our very own peers, we realize how important or unimportant any symbol, image or sound could be.

Analysis: We felt that the most effective way was image and sound put together. None could have worked without the other. For instance, image without sound would not have been as powerful, as it would have seemed robotic and without emotion. Also, since images consist of symbols, we felt all three put together was most effective.

Synthesis: We created a short commercial, or an iMovie displaying the life of Anne Frank and the other Jewish people around Europe during the World War II.

Evaluation: We felt we all deserve a pat on the back and a round of applause for all the hard work and dedication we have put into this project. Working on the iMovie proved to be more enjoyable as we all like to work with technology. We are all worthy of an A+ for this assignment, as we worked tirelessly.

All through this project, we learnt how to apply most of the ESLR’s in such a way that we get a good result for our final product. This project was designed in such a way that we could understand the real essence of what The Diary of Anne Frank was trying to convey while enjoying at the same time.

We feel we were Self-Directed Learners due to the fact that we demonstrated competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills. Being self-directed in this case means to do your part while contributing to other group members at the same time. All these were key skills to perfect while working on this project. During class time, we drew a storyboard, and decided who would do what in a certain period of time. All this was setting goals, in the sense that these goals provided us with a clear path ahead. We asked each other once in a while, “What do you think would have happened if we would have not designed a storyboard? Would this have been possible at all?” Our time management was quite strong, as, if we would have not managed our time wisely, we would have ended up having to do this project on the very day before it was due. We managed to have this project all refined and perfect by Friday night, leaving us the whole of the weekend to make any sort of changes we need to. We feel that our organizational skills were very strong, as we all remembered to bring in our music and pictures, and none of us ever forgot to do our fair share of work. We could never imagine what it would be like to have to rush the work and make only one or two people do it. All of us contributed to this project, and it has paid off very well.

Being a Self-Directed Learner is not just doing what you have to do, but maintaining it, and making sure it is perfect till the end. We therefore monitored, adjusted, and documented work in progress. While working in the computer lab during English one day, we each had a computer, and instead of wasting time crowded around one computer, we did different tasks that would enable us to come together with the final product in no time. Fredrik worked on the main iMovie – looking through good effects and transitions and seeing if the titles were appropriate. Sai was working on the present essay and reading through the rubrics to see to it that the group meets high standards, while Sarah was on the Internet looking for pictures that would go well in the iMovie. We all had to make sure we were monitoring what, not only we ourselves were doing, but also what the others were doing to make sure that everyone was on the right track. This is quite similar to what we did with the other group projects we might have had in the past, but I feel that this time, we have really outdone ourselves by collaborating so well. We give ourselves an Excellent when it comes to grading the whole team put together on the usage of the “Self-Directed Learner” ESLR.

An Academic Achiever is someone who not only makes sure that the end result is perfect, but also maintains high standards all through the work process. We were all continually assessing, evaluating, and adjusting work to do what was mentioned above. This connects to the Self-Directed Learner ESLR, where it was necessary to monitor, adjust and document work in progress. We were all assessing and evaluating the project, as we knew that the best results could be achieved only by honestly grading the work that we have done to see if it satisfies the necessary requirements. There was a certain way we assessed, evaluated and documented the work in progress. After we finished our first “draft” of the iMovie, one of us would edit it, and see what he/she can do to make it better. Then, it would go on to the next person. After completing about two or three rotations, we all came together to make any final changes to the draft we had. This method proved to be extremely effective and really connected to the Self-Directed Learner ESLR.

The one very obvious bullet point we hit was the “Demonstrate the ability to work both independently and collaboratively.” We were all superb in displaying this ESLR, as we all did our fair share of the work; at the same time contributing to the overall completion of the project. Yet, at a certain point of time, Sarah brought up a good question stating, “What if we each would not have done what we were supposed to do?” This was a good question to ponder, as we all thought of some things that could have happened – we could have piled all the work on one person, or not have been able to finish the whole project at all. Thinking about those consequences made us feel proud of the work that we have done, and the way that we have organized ourselves. We rate ourselves a Good on being Academic Achievers.

Critically thinking takes not only a sharp mind, but a well-focussed one too. Through this project, we have learnt to build meaning and understanding using prior knowledge and new information. Doing this has been imperative, as, without the knowledge we have gained through the read of the Diary of Anne Frank, none of the project would have been possible. We designed a brief timeline to remind us of the journey of the Franks – from happy, rich Europeans to Jewish that had to now go into hiding. The transformation was too mind-boggling to fathom. The prior knowledge that we had was the information we got from the Diary of Anne Frank, and the new information we got was from researching on the Internet. None of us realized how much more there was to learn about Anne Frank and the Holocaust. We each did a brief read-through of the notes that we took during class discussions so that our memories would be refreshed. Then we started the research, and started entering the world of information about the Holocaust. We all felt that this project was not very similar, yet matched in some ways with the project we did for Lord of the Flies. Both involved reading the book thoroughly and use the information we had. During one of the “work sessions” that we had, Sai brought up a good question, “What would have happened if none of us really understood the book? Would it have affected our understanding, and hence our commercial that we are trying to produce?” All three of us felt that we could have been seriously misled if we did not understand the book correctly, and if not getting a lower grade, we could end up offending some races. We would grade ourselves a Very Good on this ESLR.

Being an Involved Citizen is not only about picking up empty cans and putting it for recycling, it is also about being involved in intellectually enhancing work, such as this project. We categorized being an Involved Citizen into two bullet points, as suitable to this project – demonstrating responsibility in active decision-making, and demonstrating awareness and respect for the rights of others. Although these bullet points are quite similar, both of these have their different expectations that one needs to meet in order to achieve being what that ESLR states. Active decision-making has been vital through this project, as we did not receive the amount of time we hoped for. We were not very strong with this, as we spent quite a bit of time arguing over which song we should use, or which title would work better than the other. That wasted time, as, reflecting now, we all feel we could have been much faster if we would have just made our decisions quickly. But, we feel we were all extremely good at being aware and respectful of the rights of others. None of us were rude and impolite, or belittling anyone for speaking their mind. Instead, we would encourage each other to provide his or her ideas, so that the project could be enhanced even further. Now, we all strongly believe that this project would have been impossible to do without any one person in our group. Comparing one person to the other seems slightly unfair, yet, there were time constraints to working on this project for some people which was another weakness we had. We all feel that we will do our best to try to improve this aspect in future projects or assignments. The one excellent thing we had with our group was that no one would cease to ask questions. And, the others would never fail to answer! Fredrik asked a good question one day, “ What if we wouldn’t have been cooperative and respected each others’ opinions? What if we would have just all been in a bad mood and not really listened to each other?” We all felt that this would have really damaged our project, if not our relations as well. We would all rate ourselves a Good with this ESLR.

When it comes to being an Effective Communicator with this project, we felt we have hit all the bullet points. Effectively communicating is not just talking till people get tired of listening to you; it is about talking in moderation, and listening to what others’ say so you can provide appropriate feedback, which would then help you be an Involved Citizen. We demonstrated our creative talents to convey ideas by actually creating this iMovie. Our definition of creativity is not only being artistic, but moulding our strong areas to suit the necessary requirements. All three of us are good with computers hence we chose the commercial project over the memorial, as the memorial would require us to have to make a model physically. None of us were capable of taking up that task, so choosing the commercial was the best thing to do. The whole point of a commercial is to be able to convey ideas through to any kind of audience. We worked really hard to show the world the brutality of the Holocaust, and what people can do to stop crimes like that from happening. To do all this, we had to listen to each other respectfully, and ask questions to make sure all of us understand. First we understand, then we make the world understand. This is also similar to being an involved citizen, where demonstrating respect for others is a key idea. Whenever any of us were doubtful about anything, we would ask each other so that everyone is on track and knows what they are doing. For instance, Sai did not know what song the group was doing; therefore, she asked Sarah who confirmed to her that they were doing the instrumental version of Hurt by Christina Aguilera. Thus, everyone understood, and whoever was in doubt before also just got it clarified through this short “question and answer session.” And, as clearly noticed, none of this would have been possible if we were not effectively collaborating or working well with others, as being non-cooperative would have got us nowhere. Yet, now we realize that collaborating is not the main thing. Collaborating effectively is important. We could have just been “contributing” ideas, and “listening” to each other without doing so. Collaborating well means putting your heart into what you are doing, and making sure that your work is perfect and improves the quality of the overall presentation. We all feel that we have been doing this extremely well, and that goes without saying! Last but not the least, the biggest and most important bullet point we have achieved is understanding and conveying written, oral, and visual information using appropriate media. This is the most important bullet point, as it thoroughly sums up the point of this project – to use symbols, images and sounds to convey information effectively. Understanding this information is the first and foremost part that people tend to overlook. It would be utterly difficult if any of us was not really paying attention all through those class discussions, or if any of us were not really doing our homework which was reading the Diary of Anne Frank. These “small” things really matter in the long run, and would have affected this project had we not have been the organized and responsible people we are. The one main question we all asked each other was, “What if we chose another project? Would we have worked the same way or would we have been wasting time and distracted?” We believe that this is a question whose answer we can never know until we actually try to do the memorial.

In conclusion, we feel that we have really worked our hearts out in delivering a heartfelt message to the viewers. We feel it is more our responsibility as humans to protect the rest of our kin from this sort of violence. We all hope that this presentation brings tears to the eyes of the viewers, as we sure were crying by the end of this presentation.

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We read a book called Lord of the Flies in English class in the first quarter. On the first day of class, I felt a weird silence where the ‘ghost of Mr. R’ didn’t say anything and when we, all by ourselves, had to figure out what we had to do after reading the directions he had left us. We started from choosing the leaders, Fredrik and Sai. Then, we answered the questions after grouping ourselves into four small groups, and we discussed our answers with everyone. Mr. R finally told us what we were doing and how it related to the book at the end. After that lesson, we were assigned to read few chapters for homework after each class. We always had a discussion about the chapters we read for homework and everyone had chance to talk and/or ask questions in class. Finally, after finishing the Lord of the Flies, our projects were issued and I made a book cover with a blurb. Now, here are the five different ESLRs that helped me to finish the novel, participate in class-discussions and complete my project this quarter with the book, Lord of the Flies.

The first ESLR that I achieved is a self-directed learner. I accomplished this ESLR while trying to finish the novel when I accepted responsibility for my own learning, and identified my needs and applied appropriate learning strategies, and when I demonstrated competency in time management and organizational skills. I did these by reading appropriate pages that were assigned for homework every night/day and by looking at the appropriate websites for extra information that related to the book. However, I didn’t take notes using the post-its while I was reading. Therefore, I could have been a stronger self-directed learner if I accepted more responsibility for my own learning, and if I applied more appropriate learning strategies by using the post-its more effectively to take notes on each chapters of the book. I would have had better understanding of the book because I could have communicated my thoughts and asked questions more effectively with other people if I used more post-its to write comments while reading. I think I was a more self-directed when I was reading this book than when I was reading The Giver from last year, because I accepted responsibility for my own learning more, and because I identified my needs and applied appropriate learning strategies by using internet for research.

In class-discussions, I was a self-directed learner by accepting responsibility for my own learning and by monitoring, adjusting, and documenting work in progress. I did all of the above by taking my own notes when discussing the incidents in the book and by taking risks by ask people questions. What I didn’t do in order to be a better self-directed learner was to try to find appropriate evidence that would have supported my opinions from the book when answering the questions. So, what I could have done in order to be a surpassing self-directed learner was to find some dialogues or events that would have helped my ideas. I believe I was more self-directed in class discussion compare to last year because I took notes for myself to monitor, adjust and document work in progress. I took creative risks in developing untried ideas, and I demonstrated competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills in order to be a self-directed learner through completing my project. Specific examples are making my own creative book cover with original blurb, finishing my project on time without any struggle, and by making the ‘assessment project prospectus’ and writing down the things I have to do to have my project done on time. Some things that I didn’t do are research for important events that I could apply for my blurb and checking my blurb many times, writing. If I had done this, I could have been more self-directed compare to last year, because I managed more to demonstrate competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills this year compare to last year. Overall, I think I was being an ‘above-average’ self-directed learner when reading the novel, participating in class discussions, and completing my project although I could have done much better.

Academic achiever is my next ESLR. By letting me access information from a variety of sources and demonstrate the ability to work both independently and collaboratively, this ESLR was helpful until I finished the Lord of the Flies. I proved that I was being an academic achiever while reading the book by applying appropriate websites for extra information on the chapters I read. However, I didn’t use the sticky notes for better understanding of the book and if I had used the sticky notes effectively I would have been more involved in class discussions due to better understanding of the book. I also skipped many descriptive paragraphs that I thought were boring that would have helped me to know what is going on in the book because I often didn’t know what is going on due to so much skipping. Therefore, things that I could have done for improvement are using the sticky notes effectively and not skipping the long paragraphs. If I had done those two things, I would have been a stronger academic achiever by demonstrating progress and by continually adjusting work to maintain high standards. I think I am a better academic achiever this year than last year because I accessed information from a variety of sources for extra information this year, something that I never did last year. I was being an academic achiever in class-discussions by demonstrating the ability to work both independently and collaboratively. I did this by taking notes on what people are discussing and by participating and communicating with other people during the class discussions. However, I wasn’t being a strong academic achiever in class discussions because I didn’t share the information I found from the research I did and didn’t try to find the scenes from the book to support my ideas to be more convincing than arguing with people without any logical sense. I could have been a stronger academic achiever by accessing information from a variety of sources through sharing what I found from the websites with other people and by using the book to find logical evidences to support my thoughts. I would have got higher standard on participation marks if I had done this. In my point of view, I think I am more successful this year than last year because I relied on other people last year but I demonstrated the ability to work both independently and collaboratively this year. Through the project, I demonstrated progress and I continually assessed, evaluated and adjusted work to maintain high standards. The two specific examples are that I finished my project few days before it was due, and I brought it to school on the day before it was due to ask Mr. R. I suppose that my project improved a lot from last year’s project because I continually assessed, evaluated and adjusted work to maintain high standards. As a result, I believe that I was being an okay academic achiever while reading, weak academic achiever in class discussions and quite a strong academic achiever through completing my project.

The third ESLR is critical thinker. In order to be more successful critical thinker, I should have applied problem-solving skills to facilitate learning by writing notes, important events, comments, things I don’t understand very well, and by asking ‘what if’ questions and answering them with logical evidences from the book. I believe that I improved a lot from last year because I identified, evaluated and used resources effectively for the purpose of problem solving by doing research on the book for extra information. I was being such a weak critical thinker during class discussions. The only thing I did was build meaning and understanding using prior knowledge and new information by taking notes while discussing the problem. So, there are many things I didn’t do that could have helped me to improve. I do not find many things that are different from last year, I didn’t improve very much except for the fact that I built meaning and understanding using prior knowledge and new information by taking notes while discussing. I was being quite a strong critical thinker by completing my project by building meaning and understanding using prior knowledge and new information and by solving problems using a variety of strategies. I did this by making the book cover with the pictures of the objects with the tags saying what they symbolized in the real world and the other one with the pictures that compare the day time and night, and by making the blurb. Things that I could have done for a better project was to use resources effectively for the purpose of problem solving by using the book more often for the descriptions of the important events and by using websites for information that I could have added in the blurb. My thoughts on the project are that I improved a lot from last year because I solved problems using a variety of strategies by being original this year. I think I was being an acceptable critical thinker while struggling to finish the book, poor one in class discussions, and a superior critical thinker when finishing my project.

My second to last ESLR that I achieved is involved citizen. I demonstrated responsibility in active decision-making while reading the Lord of the Flies when I decided to read appropriate pages everyday and when I decided to do research for extra information that relates to the book. What I didn’t do was to help other people when they asked me about the book. By sharing what I found from the research with some of my friends what I could have done was to seek to improve the lives of others in the community. I think I didn’t improve very much from last year but one difference that I found is that I demonstrated responsibility in active decision-making by deciding when to read. In class discussions, I was being an involved citizen by demonstrating awareness and respect for the rights of others, seeking to improve the lives of others, and by interacting respectfully with people of diverse cultures. I did this by raising my hand instead of shouting my opinion out loud, participating in discussions instead of just listening, and by communicating with other people from different countries. What I could have done to be a better involved citizen was to demonstrate care and concern for the environment by throwing away the things that we messed up instead of thinking, ‘let someone else do it’. In my opinion, I think I improved as an involved citizen from last year by interacting respectfully with people of diverse cultures and by demonstrating awareness and respect for the rights of others. I did these by summarizing the story of the book so that anyone who wants to know about the Lord of the Flies would know after reading few sentences, people who don’t really understand will understand the conception of the book better, and by deciding to finish my project a few days before it is due. I could have demonstrated care and concern for the environment by recycling the papers that I didn’t use to be better involved citizen. My improvement from last year is that I seek to improve the lives of others in the community by writing the summary of the book so that other people can understand better . Overall, I think I was being an acceptable involved citizen when I was reading the novel, participating in class discussions, and when I was completing my project.

Effective communicator is the last ESLR that I achieved. When I was trying to finish the book, I utilized technology as a tool for communication by using appropriate pages for extra information that relates to the book. However, I didn’t share what I found from the internet. Therefore, I should have collaborated with others in appropriate learning situations to achieve group goals in order to be a better effective communicator. In my point of view, I improved from last year by using appropriate websites for information. I was being an effective communicator in class discussions by listening respectfully and ask questions to facilitate. I this by answering the questions that other people asked, agreeing/disagreeing/adding onto other people’s answers, asking questions, listening to other people’s opinions, not giving orders to other people, and by communicating with other people so that we can all understand the incidents happening in Lord of the Flies better. If I asked more questions to facilitate understanding, everyone could have thought deeper about the problems I think I would have been a better effective communicator. What I know about my process from last year is that I listened more respectfully and asked questions to facilitate understanding more by communicating with people in order and under control.I demonstrated my creative talent to convey ideas, collaborated with others in appropriate learning situations to achieve group goals, and I understood and conveyed written, visual information using appropriate media through my project. I have done these by making the book covers that are creative and original, by understanding what other people had done for their projects through communication in class, and by presenting what I have done with my project to the rest of the people. If I had done that, I would have had better understanding on what they have done. My process from last year is that I demonstrated my creative talents to convey ideas, and understood and conveyed written, oral and visual information using appropriate media through my project. As a result, I think I was being a fair effective communicator while trying to finish the novel, participate in class discussions, and completing my project.

Overall, I achieved all of the five ESLRs, self-directed learner, academic achiever, critical thinker, involved citizen, and effective communicator. The ESLR that helped me the most to finish the novel is self-directed learner when it helped me to be responsible of my own learning and to demonstrate competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills meaning that it helped me to decide to read everyday in order to finish the book. Effective communicator is the ESLR that helped me the most when participating in class discussions because it helped me to listen respectfully and ask questions to facilitate understanding and achieve insight, and because I wouldn’t have been able to communicate my thoughts with other people if I wasn’t being an effective communicator. The most helpful ESLR to complete my project is self-directed learner because I wouldn’t have achieve academic achiever if I wasn’t taking creative risks in developing untried ideas.

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