First of all, I have learned to be more confident, thanks to the Drama class I took in the second quarter when I had to make reflections of the four emotions: happiness, anger, sorrow, and surprise. This was a very great progress for me, because (as you will find out later) this improvement helped me achieve many other growths. In the beginning of the second quarter, I was ashamed and embarrassed of myself, and I wanted to hide behind someone when I had to stand in front of the class and do ‘some stupid things’. However, by the end of the quarter when I performed in front of other students, I found myself crawling out of my comfort zone. During the English class, I have also learned to be reflective. In the very beginning of eighth grade when Mr. Raisdana told us to write a 1000-word reflective journal about the Lord of the Flies, I freaked out and started to moan. However, by the end of the Poetry Unit, I started to enjoy writing reflective journals, having to write the reflective journal for the third time. I am now being critical and reflective on everything I do; from the notes I took to the things I have done in the party. Because I could reach the other world outside my comfort zone and raise my low self-esteem, and because I was able to become more reflective on everything I do, I was finally able to become more independent. I started this year being dependent on my friends, and at the end, I crawled out of the ‘outer me’ and found my strengths. I think that being independent is the most important thing to learn in school life, because you wouldn’t do well on the essays you need to write in the future by yourself. Lastly, I have learned to be more academic throughout this year; I have learned how to use the mixture of old and new information, how to use technology as a tool for better completion of projects, more responsibility, and to adjust and evaluate myself. This academic growth leads to my ESLR-based achievements.

As an Academic Achiever, I grew to be able to demonstrate technological literacy and the use of technology as a tool for the efficient and creative completion of a project. In the very beginning of the year, I simply LOATHED technology. Yes, this is because I was technologically challenged, thank you very much. However, by the middle of the year, I started to think, ‘Hmm. It isn’t THAT bad’. This thought changed my point of view on technology, and in fact, it helped me to do complete several projects such as Anne Frank commercial movie, Teen Life project, and The Tempest pod cast. This improvement is very closely related to one of my personal growths, confidence. The reason to this is because when I learned to be more confident in myself, I also started to challenge myself to my weaknesses. I think this growth was immense and very important, because I, finally in eighth grade, learned how to live in the 21st century of technology.

The second ESLR that I achieved throughout the year is Effective Communicator. As for an Effective Communicator, I demonstrated awareness of the role of audience. There are two sources in which I was able to achieve this growth: Drama performance and the Poetry unit (and the night). I believe that this growth is immense, as it reflects my personal growths: confidence, independence and academics. In the very beginning of the drama performance and the Poetry unit, I avoided any kinds of eye contact with the audience. I simply wanted to stop them from staring at me, I wanted the time to stop, I wanted to finish fast; I was embarrassed. However, by walking along the ‘road of confidence’, I was able to challenge myself on this weakness. Therefore, by the end of the quarter (unit), I started to talk louder, and seldom made eye contacts. However, despite the confidence I feel deep inside my heart, despite the ‘inner me’ reminding me not to be afraid, embarrassed and nervous, I often think that I look ‘stupid’ whenever I am standing in front of people.

As a result, I feel very proud of what I managed to achieve throughout the eighth grade. Looking back, I think I have done amazing job, as I know that my growths in many areas like Effective Communicator and confidence, were very challengeable.  However, I think I could have done even better job as an Academic Achiever by assessing information from a variety of sources. I could have been able to do this by making references to the book or other appropriate websites while working on the projects. Another area in which I could have done a better job is the six traits. Although I learned many skills this year in terms of the traits, I feel that I am not quite used to the traits, especially word choice and conventions.

1. Act 1, Scene 2: Line 186~188
‘Under my burden groaned, which raised in me
An undergoing stomach to bear up
Against what should ensue’

2. Act 1, Scene 2: Line 552~554
‘There’s nothing ill can dwell in such a temple.
If the ill spirit have so fair a house,
Good things will strive to dwell with ‘t.’

2 Examples from the book that I was able to translate:

1. Act 1, Scene 2: Line 568~572
‘What, I say,
My foot my tutor?-Put thy sword up, traitor,
Who mak’st a show, but dar’st not strike, thy
Conscience’
*Means: Listen to me, for I say put your sword away and don’t you dare to strike for your conscience…

2. Act 1, Scene 2: Line 579~581
‘Silence! One word more
Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee. What,
An advocate for an imposter? Hush.’
*Means: Silence! Do not say another word for I will scold you if I don’t hate you. What are you trying to do? Trying to protect a traitor? Be quiet.

Two questions about the plot.

1. Why did Prospero tell Ariel to bring Ferdinand? Why does he want him to meet his daughter?

2. What happened to the rest of the people like Alonso, Antonio, etc?

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.

(Afar Region of Athiopia is just under Eritrea)

          Five British tourists have been kidnapped in the Afar region of Ethiopia, in Africa, near the border of Eritrea while sightseeing with their relatives along with 13 Ethiopian guides early in March. People are still trying to figure out who kidnapped them, where they are not plus their safety, but unfortunately no one found a clear answer to any of the questions. Because of this event, the travelers from all around the world are advised to travel with an armed guard. Also, the Ethiopian authorities have sealed off the area where the British were abducted for people’s security, and the UK team in Ethiopia is negotiating with them.

          The News Agency in Ethiopia said that five of the Ethiopians who were also kidnapped were found near the Eritrea’s border late on Saturday, 3rd of March, and that the cars used by the tourists were set on fire early in the morning on their camp. These information give people clues: one, the kidnappers might not be from Ethiopia but from Eritrea, and two, the criminals have targeted their victims before they committed the crime. However, the president of Eritrea said that these ideas were ‘crazy’, and the BBC’s Africa Editor said that the Eritrean government’s interst doesn’t seem to be engaged in this event.

          This event affects/affected the people in Ethiopia and the rest of the world. Firstly, this event caused the people around the world who were planning to come to Ethiopia to decide not to due to their fear and worries; they are afraid that THEY might be kidnapped. Second, it caused people to be terrified and angry globally, as some people believe that the terrorists are involved in this. Lastly, this abduction affected the economy of Ethiopia as the number of tourists decreased, and without the tourists, the condition of Ethiopia’s economy will not stay in a good condition as tourism is one of the biggest resources of Ethiopia.

To See The Original Article Please Click HERE.

My life here is just wonderful and lots of fun, too. I go to school on week days (talking to my friends and doing my school work), and I go to a tuition center from Monday to Friday. On the weekends, I hang around with my friends, go out for dinner with my family, go shopping with my friends or with my mom, do my homework, etc. etc. However, I sometimes feel boring, due to the fact that I have to do the same things everyday; wake up in the morning, go to school, do my Korean school work, go to a tuition center, practice my instrument, do my homework, etc.

I also feel stressful often from the pressure I get from school and all other things, and the fact that I hate the most about living in a foreign country like this is that my family can’t do things that they can in our own country such as meeting with our friends, to whom we can talk comfortably to. Of course we have friends here as well, but they are not exactly like the ones we have in Korea. During the holidays, when everyone at school can have fun and enjoy their lives, we either go to other places in different countries, or we back to Korea for like a month. Living in this country would not be anything like living in other countries like Columbia, Canada, and the United States.

I love to read a book on my bed while listening to my iPod, go shopping, gossip with other girls on the phone, spend time with my friends, and play any kinds of games. But here are some things I don’t really like: comic books, red peppers, spaghetti without meatballs, my brother who annoys me every 5 seconds, Novia when she talks about nonsense, Sai when she talks and doesn’t eat during lunch, Miki when she stresses out, Emma when she gives me ‘The Look’, etc. My biggest motto is this: Always be happy and smile.

Oops, I forget to mention about our school. So here we go: I have 8 classes and we take 4 classes each day, 1 and half hour each if there isn’t anything special. The 8 classes are: Exploratory (health, drama, art, or computer that changes every quarter), Algebra, Mandarin, Band, PE, Social studies, Science, and of course, English. I like all my classes, especially Algebra and English.

Lastly, the issues that I am interested in for the Teen Life Project. Well, there are many, many problems all around the Earth. And therefore, I am concerned about many things. First, poverty. I have been wondering since kindergarten, ‘Why are there so many poor people all over the world? Why are they starving to death when there are people, on the other hand, who are eating so much that we realize that we have to go on a diet?’ Yes, this is a serious problem. And obviously, everyone knows that. Then why not do something about it? Why are we just sitting here, doing nothing, and yet talk about poverty?

Secondly, terrorism. How did this all start? Why are there terrorists? For fun? Every time I asked myself those questions, I could not answer. I think terrorism is a big, big problem because terrorism is just so……. Dumb. (I don’t really like that word but there really isn’t a word to describe it.) Terrorism is forcing innocent people to die and it has to stop.

Next is pressure/stress. We, especially the students, receive so much pressure everyday from parents, teachers, peers, etc. I think this is a serious issue because too much pressure = too much stress = low self-esteem and low self-confidence = many people commit suicide, do drugs, etc.

Okay, so this is all I wanted to say. I apologize if the topics changed so randomly. I hope that now you have finished reading, you probably have learned some ideas about who I am and please feel free to comment on my blog.

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.

Chelsea: (Reach her hand for her sister.) Michele!

Team Members

Anthropologist- A person who studies about origin, the behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural development of people who lived before. Anthropologist would want to find artifacts that are related to Aztecs’ life style, social classes, culture, and religion.

Archeologist- A person who studies prehistoric people and their culture. They dig up old buildings and objects and examine them carefully. Archeologists are similar to anthropologists but anthropologists study more about human behaviors and their lives and archeologists study more about historical events and culture and/or what people who lived long time ago invented and their importance in today’s world. Archeologists would want to find artifacts that tells people about their history, culture, and what they invented during their times.

Economist- A person who studies about economics which is the study of the way money, goods, services, etc. are made and used in a society. Economists will try to find artifacts in Aztecs villages that shows or tells us how people traded with each other, what they valued, what they traded, how much they valued money, etc.

Historian- A person who studies history, study of past events, especially the events that reflects the people who lived during that time and something that helps today’s people by giving lessons, either good or bad. When historian goes to Aztecs’ village, he would want to find artifacts that are related to past events that are important and how people reacted to that event. A specific example will be an artifact with Ancient Aztecs’ writing that tells people why they let Cortes take control over them without fighting against him.

Linguist- Someone who studies languages. Linguists, once they get to Aztecs
’ territory, would like to find artifacts that has Aztecs’ writing and language on them and they would want to find artifacts that tells them how to speak that language. Also, they would want to know how their language was created.

Theologian- Theologian is someone who studies about theology which is the study of religions. Anthropologists are somewhat similar to theologian, but as I said, they study deeply about the human behaviors and little bit about their religions when theologians study deeply on people’s religions. Theologians will most likely try to find their artifacts in the temples in many Aztecs villages because that is where the people worshipped and prayed to their gods and they will try to find evidences with the picture of the Aztecs’ gods, picture or writing with human sacrifice, something that show people how they sacrificed people, etc.

Notes and Answers to the Guiding Questions

Step 1: Journey to a New Land

Q: Where did Aztecs originally lived?
A: The Aztecs lived in Atzlan, somewhere in North West Mexico but due to some reason, they moved, leaving their homes behind.

Q: What prompted them to relocate?
A: Aztecs were simply forced to use and live on the worst lands in the valley from the strong neighbors around them because no one wanted to live there. The legend states that Huitzilopochtli, one of the gods, appeared as one of the priests and told Tenoch, the leader of the tribe, to lead his people to a swampy island and search for an eagle that is eating a snake on a cactus, surrounded by water. There, they built a city named Tenochtitlan, their first and greatest city, and thanked Huitzilopochtli with human sacrifices.

Q: Where did they end up and why?
A: They ended up in a swampy island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, where they found an eagle eating a serpent perched on a cactus, growing from a rock or cave surrounded by water because they were told by one of their gods to do so.
Step 2: Tenochtitlan

Q: The Aztecs ended up in the middle of a lake and built their new capital Tenochtitlan. What were the pros and cons of settling in the middle of a lake?
A: Some of the pros of settling in the middle of a lake were that they were able to grow crops (they planted trees to do so because they had plenty of water and was easy to get it, it was easy to farm), were able to make canals and bridges that led into the city (they formed defense systems), and they were able to catch fish easily, which took part of their everyday meals. Also, it was easy for the government to control people because of the small size of the land and the people were able to trade easily which helped them to grow fast. On the contrary, some of the cons of settling in the middle of a lake were that they had to use canoes to move around the city, the people couldn’t find things that were needed to build temples and houses (such as rocks), and the land in the middle of the lake was marshy (soft) and therefore it was very hard for the Aztecs to build houses and temples.

Q: Describe the lay of the land and choose an image for your exhibit.
A: Tenochtitlan was built in a swampy island in the middle of a lake named, ‘Lake Texcoco’, one of the five lakes in the Valley of Mexico. There were snakes living in the island and the land was very soft and marshy.
Step 3: Polytheism

Q: Which gods were worshiped?
A: When the Aztecs moved into the new land, they brought their gods and goddesses. They were very religious. Since framing was their major work, they knew that the forces of nature would affect their profits and therefore they worshiped gods who were mostly related to the ‘forces of nature’. They strictly separated the ‘good’ gods and the ‘bad’ gods, and so they sacrificed humans in order to support and please their ‘good’ gods. Here are some gods/goddesses from many of the others:
Q: The pyramids were built for what purpose?
A: The Aztecs built the pyramids in order to sacrifice people because the emperor thought that a special temple should be built for the sacrifice. The Aztecs wanted to make their temples better than other cities’ temples and therefore they built pyramids on top of the old one to make them larger and better-looking.
Step 4: Social Order

Q: Who are the different members of Aztec society? What were their roles?
A: 1. Slaves: They were the people at the very low social classes. The children of the slaves could be sold, usually for short period of time since the slaves could buy back their freedom. Slaves who escaped and reached the royal palace without being caught were freed instantly.
2. Commoners: Most of the Aztecs were commoners who were related to agriculture and common trade. Commoners worked the land in family units and were allowed to keep what they harvested. They were given an area of land until they die but the lower groups of commoners, tenant farmers, were not allowed to own property and therefore they had to work in other people’s land. The lowest groups of commoners were the peasants who worked in the land owned by the noble people and who received part of the harvest.
3. Nobilities: They were part of the highest social groups who were either born nobles, priests, or earned their rank. The highest groups of the highest social groups were called pipiltin. They were the ones to govern and control people. Once the nobles chose the leader, he was the one to rule until his death. Other than pipiltin, warriors, priests, nobles, the most outstanding artisans, physicians and truly wise teachers were highly respected.
Step 5: Communication

Q: The Aztecs have a spoken language. What was it called?
A: The Aztecs spoke a language called, ‘Nahuatl’.

Q: Did they use any other forms of communication? Include an example of either written of visual language of the Aztecs.
A: The Aztecs also used pictographs called glyphs that were used to communicate through writing. Some of the pictures didn’t only mean a word but they also symbolized ideas and/or represented the sounds of the syllables. The people joined few glyphs to make sentences.
Step 6: Economy

Q: How did the Aztecs grow food and what was their main crop?
A: The Aztecs grew food using many methods. Firstly, they made terraces (land for agriculture that looks like stair) because it kept their crops from flooding. Second method that they used to grow food is the slash-and-burn method. The Aztecs also planted giant reed mats (trees) in the swampy island and covered with mud/soil and farmed there. They were able to grow corn, chili peppers, squash, tomatoes, beans, and other kinds of food through these methods.

Q: Did they trade and with whom?
A: The Aztecs traded with other people in different cities and they also traded with people who lived in Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras.

Q: Did they have a currency (money)?
A: Although the Aztecs were very developed, they were not advanced enough to use currency to trade. Instead, they just traded goods and ideas with other people. Something that most likely acted the role of money was cacao beans.
Step 7: Arrival of the Spanish

Q: Discuss the Impact of Spanish Contact 1519 from both the Aztec point of view and the Spanish point of view.
A: When the Spaniards arrived at the southern boundary of the Valley of Mexico, the Aztec Empire was still growing. Hernan Cortes was the leader of the Spanish and he had roughly about 400 soldiers with him when he reached the capital of Aztec. He wanted to conquer the Aztecs and therefore asked some tribes who were fighting against the Aztecs to fight with him. When they reached Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs thought that Cortes was the descent of one of their gods, Quetzalcoatl. Therefore, their emperor, Moctezuma, greeted them with many valuable gifts. However, the relations between the Spanish and the Aztecs changed rapidly and Moctezuma was prisoned by Cortes. While Cortes was away, the Aztecs freaked out and started to resist. When Cortes came back, he showed Moctezuma to his people, thinking that they will calm down, but when the emperor was hit in the head and died after few days, Cortes fought against the Aztecs along with other tribes and took control over them. After he conquered the Aztecs, he enslaved them along with the other people from the tribes who helped them, and he took all their properties.
Step 8: Fall of the Empire
Q: Discuss La Malinche or Dona Marina. Debate her positive/negative impact on Mexico past and present.
A: La Malinche is thought to be born to a noble family but after her father’s dead who was a chief, her mom remarried and gave birth to a son. Her mother thought that her son would be a better chief than her and therefore handed her over to some traders. La Malinche was then enslaved when she met Hernan Cortes and became an interpreter. Her name has become into a word that describes someone who betrays his own culture. Dona Maria’s negative impact is that some people consider her as a betrayer of the Aztecs and think that she shouldn’t have helped Cortes because he was the one who conquered the Aztecs (therefore the Aztec civilization collapsed) and destroyed much of their culture. However, many women in Chicana consider her as an outstanding historical figure. Her positive impact is that it made good relations with the Aztec Emperor when she interpreted and helped Cortes to communicate with other people.
Q: What does the term Mestizo refer to?
A: Mestizo means a person of mixed racial ancestry, especially of mixed European and Native American ancestry.

Q: What influences remain today from Aztec culture of the past?
A: The Spanish who destroyed much of their culture (such as books with writing).