Second Quarter Reflection Blog

          The most challenging part of second quarter would be time management. I've always had a struggle with that and until this quarter decided to change that. It's been a struggle for me at least, since I'm usually that person who stays up late into the night doing their homework. I've mostly been doing my homework for Mrs. Larson's class, and also all my other classes as soon as I get home from school. I think over all I'm doing better at managing my time, at least than I used to. One example would be my aows (articles of the week) as I start most of them on Tuesday or Wednesday and then finish and submit on Thursday evening. 

          Something I've accomplished since the new year that I'm proud of would be my vocabulary tests. I've mainly been receiving all 100's which I'm very proud of. Achieving these scores of course isn't easy, how ever with the help of Quizlet studying its ten times easier, for me at least. My vocabulary tests have also helped increase my actual vocabulary. For example one of the words that I had just learned Coalesce which means to unite, or to form as a whole.

          I think the biggest improvement I've made in English Language Arts would be my writing. Especially with the narrative essay we wrote and our latest essay which was To Kill A Mockingbird Thematic Literary Analysis. Both pieces of writing have made me think a lot about for example, "What to write about in this specific category," or, "How to put what I'm thinking into sentences." The revisions and editing took a long time and required a lot of focus, but I believe its improved my writing than anything else. After all, the more you practice, the better.

TKAM Comparative Analysis

- What do you think is the most important difference(s) between the written and filmed version? Provide evidence with specific details.

- How would you prove or disprove that one version of To Kill A Mockingbird is more effective in delivering its message than the other? Be sure to provide specific pieces of evidence to support your opinion.

          One of the most important differences in my opinion between the written and filmed versions of To Kill A Mockingbird was the fact that in the movie, Tom Robinson had his left hand. While inside of the book Tom's hand had been chopped off by a machine if I recall. This is a very important difference especially to how the trial continues, as many could of just said he was lying when he said he couldn't move his hand. For example when Atticus tossed the cup at Tom, as he caught the cup with his right, he could of been lying about not being able to catch the cup with his left. Its obvious he isn't that type of person based off of his reactions later in the trial, but the jury that was all white folks could of thought differently.

          The second most important difference in my opinion would be when Miss Maudie's house burned down in the book, but never in the movie. I think this because without this happening, we wouldn't have seen one of the moments where Boo or Arthur Radley interacts with the Scout and Jem. This was vital in the book as Scout and Jem where always looking for ways to meet Boo and that moment had helped Scout connect with Boo more. As when Boo put the blanket around Scout's shoulders when she was outside watching the fire, very cold.

          I think that the book version of To Kill A Mockingbird is more effective in delivering its message more than the movie. I think this because in the book there is a variety of other characters that helped give more meaning to the book than in the movie. For example Aunt Alexandra, who helped give that mother figure to both Jem and Scout while still helping Atticus while he was busy away at night with the trial. She also taught Scout many things over how to be more feminine. Like when she held that tea party at their house and Scout saw how the ladies acted and tried to be like them.