Grade 10 for me has been an amazing year, so far, with lots of successes and learning opportunities. English, especially, has been an amazing opportunity to improve my literary skills and is a fun and welcoming environment. I feel that I have improved in all three areas of an English student but my most significant change has been as a reader and a learner through the constant support of Mrs. Hunnisett and my peers. Being part of our amazing class has really pushed me to strive to achieve for more and help those around me.

I am proud of the milestones that I have reached as a reader through my constant dedication and love for books. It astonishes me that I was able to finish reading 12 novels within the first semester, especially since it felt as if first semester just flew by! Looking back on it, reading all 5256 pages has drastically influenced my reading identity, as they began to pull me out of my comfort zone and let me try new genres of books. In grade 8 and 9, I was really into Greek and Roman mythology, so obviously I read the entire Percy Jackson series and when the final book of the franchise came out this year (The Blood of Olympus), it forced me to find new fields of reading. I began to read different books like The Night Circus, the Divergent series, and Sky Breaker. As of right now, my favorite genres of are fantasy, mythology and science fiction, which surprises me because at the start of the year, I didn’t really have a genre except for mythology. I used to just pick up a book that had an interesting cover and try reading a couple chapters, which now I realize was a waste of time because half the books that I picked I put back in a couple hours. This year has really improved my reading habits and set me on the path of a strong, capable reader.

In past years I was an average student when it came to analyzing texts, but after learning a couple tricks about how to annotate a given piece, I feel more confident when answering the questions. This will help me in coming years and I’m glad that I was able to learn them earlier on. This helped my a lot when we read To Kill a Mockingbird because I let me make deeper connections to the text itself. My biggest “aha” moment this year was during our Socratic seminar as we were discussing themes and ideas in To Kill a Mockingbird; I realized that the death of Bob Ewell, by Boo’s gift tree, was just another present from Boo to the children. I wouldn’t have been able to figure this out without someone (I think Karl) thinking of the tree as a symbol for the children’s happiness even though it was on the Radley lot. This year has been an incredible journey and if possible, I would like to have the exact same class in grade 11 and 12!!

Looking back over this semester, I wish that it had lasted longer, so that we could all stay together, but unfortunately it has come to an end. Although we always looked like we weren’t doing any work at all, we have all learnt something and improved both our reading and learning habits in one way or another. I will always remember the fun ‘adventures’ we had in our class and look forward to seeing some of you in my classes next semester :).

http://www.quotessays.com/journey.html

This semester was filled with unique and interesting lessons. Day after day, I entered the warm comfortable environment that was our English class and it never occurred to me that I was learning more than just vocab words from To Kill a Mockingbird. My personality developed in that class and what I learned was significantly more important than the plot of Romeo and Juliet. When I first entered L.A this semester, I wasn’t sure what to expect. There are very few L.A classes that have left a significant impact on my life, so I did have high standards when I entered the classroom. These few classes are the reason I began to love English so much. Thankfully, I have the pleasure of saying that this was one of them.

Throughout the first half of the year, my growth as a learner might not have been sudden but when I look back, it was definitely there. I believe my strengths as a learner is the fact that I love to intake new information and I love to consider different ideas from a unique point of view because I get really excited when I get my own “aha” moments. This class had definitely allowed me to develop new analytical skills using material such as The Truman Show and Romeo and Juliet and has allowed me broaden my thought process in order to find the messages that really matter in literature. A major challenge I have as a learner is procrastination because I can never seem to come up with any ideas unless I am stressed or on a time limit. I would like to improve on that because in order to be successful in the future, I must set myself up with an effective schedule.

Throughout the semester, I had a major “aha” that initially shaped the way I learnt and the way I motivated myself to learn. After observing the classmates around me and receiving marks that I was not happy with, I realized that hard work has a strong basis in joy and joy only comes from acceptance. It wasn’t that I couldn’t accept the class. It was more like I couldn’t accept the potential I had to be a great writer. Boxing myself in my comfort zone lead to a strong feeling of regret at the end of the term. Regret for not working as hard as I could have. Regret for not doing everything I possibly could to prove that I earned to be in a class of skilled writers. This realization will motivate me in the future to improve the way I perform in my studies.

As a reader, I have developed due to the push to read more advanced books rather than just relaxed novels. I’ve always had a strong passion for reading but this year I was able to expand my comfort zone and read books that I normally would not pick up. I also feel like my vocabulary has expanded and has allowed me to be capable of understanding complex novels. Thanks to the intelligent readers in our class, my to read list has doubled and although I may not get to all of them, I now have many options to choose from when I have nothing to read. I am looking forward to reading And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini and I cannot wait until I hear about more amazing book recommendations. I have come to the realization that I no longer enjoy fantasy novels but rather I have drifted towards novels that reflect on human nature such as The Kite Runner or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

The very first week of classes was memorable. When Ms.Hunnisett first introduced us to blogging, I remember her telling us about how there will be one blog, out of all your other writing pieces, that will greatly show your progress. It will dominate all of your other pieces and show everyone the potential you have to be a great writer. I remember having an overwhelming surge of inspiration when I read the example blog. I remember how my heart beat grew faster and faster as the climax of the short story came closer. I remember wishing, hoping, that one day someone would read my writing and would feel the same magnetic pull to hard work. The same drive to feel like you might accomplish something if your work ever became as good as the example. No one left as a bad writer in that class and although I didn’t accomplish the goal I had set at the beginning of the semester, to find my “aha”, I left feeling like my writing did develop.

At first I believed that my writing style was more formal than it was personal but as the year went by, I began to love personal writing more. I’m not a fan of short stories but I do love personal narrative pieces where I can express any of the thoughts I am feeling at the current moment. I feel that if I could work on anything to support my writing, it would be having more evidence to give a strong base to my main idea and using a more advanced set of vocabulary. My future plans for writing would be continuing with blogs to find my unique writing style and to begin writing more short stories or plays to develop the creative aspect of my writing.

I believe my first semester in grade 10 started off great. My favorite part of the entire semester was definitely meeting new people and having to step out of my comfort zone to ensure that I was not in a class of complete strangers the entire semester. The first day of L.A, I had no idea who was in my class and I was forced to choose a spot to sit. Thankfully, as the week progressed, three amazing individuals that I had the privilege to be friends with, showed up and we were all able to create a dynamic group of fun. Sitting in my group of four for the very last time was definitely a difficult thing to do but when I observed the faces of the three people around me, I realized that without them I definitely would not have progressed as an individual and I would still be a very reserved student. As we slowly began to grow in that classroom, it became terrifying, but knowing that you would always have a shoulder to lean on if it got too overwhelming, really softened the blow of growing up. Hand in hand, we got to face these challenges together and I am very thankful for that.

My goals for next semester are to try my best to talk to everyone in my class and attempt to make some new friends like I did this semester. I would also like to expand my self-confidence so I can perform better in areas where I feel like I might be struggling.

My growth throughout this class shifted the perspective I had on the outside world by allowing me to expand my horizons and accept other people. I am grateful for having the privilege of being in this class and I wish all new students entering their first class with Ms.Hunnisett the same warm and loving environment that I got to experience.

https://www.pinterest.com/judithbarlingen/life-is-a-journey/

Being in Ms. Hunnisett’s class for Grade 10 Language Arts has been an amazing experience and has made me fall in love with literature and appreciate all forms of it. Ms. Hunniset within a number of days made a class passionate for this subject and how much impact she made within all of us with her strong inspiration she helped inspire us all. Within these blogs a community of writers was created, a community who supported and built off of one another’s passion. Within the hour and a half classes we made a community of learning and knowledge, but as well created memories. Within the teachings of Ms. Hunnisett, we created a class into a family. I believe that each and every individual was a piece of our classes identity, if we took away anyone we wouldn’t be the class we are today.

Blogs in Language Arts last year were more formal and to the rubric, we didn’t have the choice to write freely and to express ourselves in different ways. This year my perspective on blogging was changed, I enjoyed writing about my opinions and sharing them with my class and community. I enjoyed the fact that others commented on my blogs and helped support and improve on my work. With writing you need many people to edit your work and help you create a masterpiece. This helped me prepare for Art next semester because I know for a fact that we are going to be needing to write blogs about out art pieces. Thankfully I am more confident with my writing, and to capture other bloggers’ attention.  I enjoyed seeing the writing that my fellow classmates had done, it was very impressive and as well inspired me to write short stories in the future. Short stories are one of my weaker genres of writing.  I am stronger in taking evidence and analysing it to make a theme or connection with everyday life. My goal is to write more short stories and to  improve upon my blogs and reposting them. Edublog’s was frustrating at times but gave me experience and techniques in writing regularly.

Each class this semester, in Ms. Hunnisett’s room, put a smile on my face; we had multiple characters in our classroom which created this fun and kind identity for our class. This class was my stress reliever, made me feel calm and more confident in my learning and abilities. We all accepted one another which was the main factor on how much we all had an influence on one another.

I enjoyed how we explored Romeo and Juliet by acting it out and getting out of our desks and creating a play of all the scenes. When we analyzed the film, The Truman Show and used the technique of SAY, MEAN & MATTER impacted my way of analysing any form of literatur; I will continue to use this throughout high school and beyond. It will help me recover information and ideas that were hidden by the text creator. Our novel study To Kill a Mockingbird was a really impacting book; Harper Lee had a great visual and characteristic for each character. Each event and character was connected to an overall theme or motif. Making this book has offered unlimited perspectives and ideas, creating many inspiring class projects and creative pieces. Each piece of literature could be taken in all kinds of ways, making each story, play or film has unlimited meaning and matter. I was really impressed how much our class was capable of doing in this one semester.

It was an unforgettable privilege to be in Ms.Hunnisets class; this semester has made me appreciate all forms of literature and made me find the hidden matter, morals and motifs. Ms. Hunniset within a number of days made a class passionate for this subject. The impact she made within all of us was fueled by her strong inspiration in which helped inspire us all. I will miss this class, but I will always keep what I have learned both educationally and as a community this year close to me. I believe that each and every individual was a piece of our classes identity, if we took away anyone we wouldn’t be the class we are today.

Mirrors and Windows

By Mah Noor

The Present

 Sydney J. Harris once said, “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”

Through the course of this year’s English Language Arts class, I have dug deep within my capabilities, pondering upon my true potential. From Mrs. Hunnisett’s remarkable characteristics and excellence in teaching I have learnt to turn mirrors, which only allow me to focus on my appearance rather than granting me the talent to seek forward and step out of where I believe my certainty ends; into windows that assist me in visioning the future that beholds me in front of my eyes, shaping it the way I want to perceive it as, but first I must learn, read and write in order to make that future a better painting to live in.

I truly believe in the importance of hard work when it comes to school, but I equally believe that a content and happy education environment is also needed, and I always experience such comfort and satisfaction with Mrs. Hunnisett’s presence within the classroom. Furthermore, this has eminently allowed me to most significantly achieve my Language Art goals that I have wanted to accomplish since grade 5; these goals consist of:

• Earning at least a satisfactory when writing short stories and thesis statements
• Experiencing that ‘happiness and emotional connection’ with books when I read them.

As a Writer

Though this year’s English 10 course, I would like to point out that I am most certain of one very important skill that I have mastered: writing a thesis. I have experienced a continuous struggle with writing essays because I could not write thesis statements. Most amazingly, Mrs. Hunnisett taught me so well on how to write thesis statements that you can give me any prompt and I will generate a thesis. That is the excellence I also hope to achieve through my essays as a whole, free from any errors or silly mistakes, which, as a result, can flow more stylistically.

I have always been negligent of the talents that I have within, that could be unleashed with a little hard work. I carried a naive mentality towards Language Arts, telling myself that I was not capable of escaping the dreadful “60%” on my short stories, so I prevented myself from wasting energy on something that I could not do. But, this year has proven  a drastic improvement for me when writing short stories, for example, when I wrote a fictional account on the dreadful Peshawar occurring that happened, I earned myself a 100%.

When it comes to writing I have learnt a very substantial tip: it is the passion and inner connection with your piece that forces your ambition to take a pen and start writing, without the marks that force you to try.

Hard work truly does pay off, like the saying ‘the fruit of patience is always sweet’. The evidence that portrays my hard work and improvement in writing would be The Truman Show essay I wrote at the beginning of the year, and when I look back on it, I laugh at the grammar, run-on and structural mistakes, that I now rarely commit because of the effort, hard work and diligence I put into polishing my writing.

In addition to the future of my writing success, I hope to completely get rid of GUMPS, style, and grammatical mistakes throughout my essays, blogs, short stories and personal responses. Most excitingly I hope to write more fictional accounts on worldly problems that the fellow world and I are impacted by.

As a Reader

 “Let us pick up our books and our pens, they are the most powerful weapons,” – Malala Yousafzai.

During the past, picking up a book, and even lasting a chapter without getting bored was difficult. Today when I look back upon the dull reading identity that once haunted me, I am not surprised at the contrast that lay between me as a reader before and now, but I am surprised to the fact that the books I used to dread reading are the books I now take time out of my day to read, in order to acquire happiness.

I have experienced a huge reading identity shift, which is evident from my current reading ladder results, proving that I read at least 170 pages a week. Before I read a book every 4 months. As a result of this year and my new reading habits, I have learnt that when one has the intention of reading a book; the plot of the book itself grabs ones’ senses and intrigues them into every single word, well at least for me, that’s the case.

In addition to the list of my future reading goals, I hope to read at least 300 pages a week and continue with my routine of reading one book a month, possibly two if I have enough time. I have experienced a significant change in the course of this year in ELA, while being forced to read a book a month, but when I first read I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai I became more curious about the books that magically lay on Mrs. Hunnisett’s shelves. While reading through this course and formulating within me a strong reading personality, I have read a total of 14 books in 7 months, many books from the past that I read again in order to gain memory, and all of which I will never forget.

Education is among the greatest blessings of life, a pleasure that every student in the world should be grateful for. Amazing teachers are among the greatest gifts of life; a rare learning opportunity every student in the world should be eager to learn from. Education has proven to be a successful aspect of my life, but there are very few moments in my life that I was able to absorb as much knowledge as possibly could from my teachers. One of those very few occasions was this year in English Language Arts Class with Mrs. Hunnisett. The most absolute piece of advice I have learnt from her is “The more you read the better you write”, but the way she provides herself as an admirable role model for the class, who can read a 100 books in an year, allows for students to go to her in search of a learning opportunity or any day when Language Arts seems to be the hardest struggle in high school.

To establish myself as a strong reader, Mrs. Hunnisett only had to say “The more you read, the better you’ll write” and I was making my way towards the destiny of a better future, reading books and writing blogs. It seemed painful at first, but the books seemed to become an addiction and the blogs seemed to be a way of portraying my true potential, while heating the computer with my inner emotions, outer struggles and the exemption of every talent that existed within.

As a Learner

Towards the future, while enhancing my learning potential I hope to see myself achieve a 90% or above in ELA, but also maintain the stigma to read regularly. I am also working forward to building the boldness of being able to participate more often in Socratic seminars and class discussions, since sharing the ideas you carry, is also a form of learning.

I see myself as a determined learner who is willing to try their fullest effort to achieve anything they intend or desire.

As a Grade 10 Student

I didn’t hear quite pleasant comments about Grade 10 to tell the truth, but I didn’t let that discourage and prevent me from entering Grade 10 with an intention of doing well.

Thus far, I am enjoying High School, the friends, the electives, but above all High School has taught me that ones’ potential is worth more than keeping it in, rather it deserves being exposed to create courage, self-esteem and belief in ones’ self.

Lastly, if I could design my own Grade 11 and 12 classrooms, I would make them colourful and open, where windows allow the students to enjoy the natural sunlight and altering seasons, which is exceedingly essential in an ELA classroom where evolving thoughts and hectic imaginations are brought to life.

The Future

I sincerely hope to grow as a learner, reader and writer through the years that follow, but above all I yearn the desire of having Mrs. Hunnisett as a teacher again. I have profoundly learned this year from writing essays to performing plays; subsequently boosting my inner esteem and allowing me to paint that picture that lay beyond the window. Obviously, that painting will become more vibrant and prosperous for the years to come, but for that I must read more, to write, and write more to escape my inner emotions so I can paint that picture in a poetic manner.

References:

• https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/846715-let-us-pick-up-our-books-and-our-pens-they
• http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/reading.html
• http://wallpaperhosting.co/eiffel-tower-book-lights-photo-mood-hd-wallpaper-background-uhd-2k-4k-5k-2015-2016-tablet-phone-mobile-pc-computer-other-hosting/
• http://wallpaper-kid.com/writing-wallpaper.htm

Grade Ten English Language Arts program has been a remarkable subject in my life. There were several things that I learnt in this year, including several vocabulary, as well as many lifetime lessons. Although it might seem very weird and awkward for a person to hear that they learnt life time lessons in an English class, but as strange as it might seem, this is absolutely true.

From the novel that we have analyzed in class, To Kill a Mockingbird, I have learnt several morals which I was able to connect to my personal life. Through the study I have learnt the importance of treating people from all races with fairness and equality. I also must mention the fact that out of all the characters from the novel, Atticus was my most favorite, mainly because of his hidden courage, maturity, and caring attitude. Analysing Atticus helped me to realize that it is far more important for a person to stand up for their convictions, even if you are the only one standing up for it. Adding to that, from this study, I personally learnt the priceless skill of showing courage with one’s mind, rather than with any other body actions: “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you are licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” Without a doubt, this was my favorite quote from the entire novel, from which I was able to undertake the unique concept described by Atticus in the quote above. This quote clearly helps the audience realise that courage is not quantifiable or can be measured; it can rather be noticed and sensed within other people.  From this unit of Language Arts this year, I was able to comprehend the fact that although a book does not seem appealing at first, it can be the most beautiful and insightful truth of one’s life, as one goes into depth with it. Lastly, I feel that I am best at learning when I can easily see the concepts relating to one’s real life.

As a reader, this year I feel that I have definitely improved a lot. As of this year, I have read approximately six to seven books in the few months of this course. Therefore, I read approximately one book a month. I feel that this is evidently better than what I have read last year, when I barely spared enough time for myself to read. This year, I was also able to learn that it is very important for a person to continue reading so that they can always have a chance to improve their writing. The more a person reads, the better their writing gets. However, I feel that my reading improved a great amount since I actually realised the benefits and advantages behind doing so. In the future, my target is to read as many books as possible so that I can gain both knowledge and improve in my skills. More specifically, I would like to finish approximately eight to nine books more, by the end of this school year. Some books that I would like to receive an opportunity to read are as the following: “The Life of Pi” by Yan Martel, “The Kite Runner” and “And the Mountains Echoed” both by Khaled Housseini, “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green, and “The Harry Potter Series” by JK Rowling. The types of books that I favour the most are the ones that are based on futuristic dystopian societies and action novels. Adding to that, I love novels that are meaningful, with strong characters and a strong story behind them. As an example, “The Divergent” Series are some of my favorite books mainly because of the amazing personalities of some characters and the strong story of passion behind it.

At this moment, I feel that I have greatly improved in my writing skills, than the beginning of this year. It is very clear to me that I am a better writer than I was one year ago, mainly because of the age difference, grade difference, and most importantly, my increased rates in reading novels. My GUMPS’ error was at an average level with few mistakes, however, now I feel that it has increased to a high level, where I have very few to no mistakes. I feel that through the website, “No Red Ink” I was able to increase my knowledge and skills to almost the proficiency level.

After an entire semester of English and trying to improve my writing style, I really feel that my thoughtfulness and ability of thinking about different supporting ideas has improved a great amount. I feel that now, I am able to support my thoughts, opinions, or statements in any piece of writing with much more additional confirming statements, as compared to last year. Additionally, I feel that I am able even provide evidences which help prove my stand in any piece of writing, much stronger. As a writer, my plan for the future is first of all to ensure that I am able to improve and include lots of variations in my writing, so that I can improve my grades and possibly create my own writing identity. Lastly, a piece of writing that I admire, from this year, is the in- class critical essay on To Kill a Mockingbird. The reason for this is that since this was my first cold writing in Grade Ten(after the diagnostic exam), I was able to efficiently show my skills and what I have learnt since the start of Grade 10. Cold readings and writings have always been a challenge for me, however by this ‘practice’ cold writing exam I was able to gain a better understanding of my ability in writing English, especially in a limited amount of time. All in all, I feel that English Language Arts is a great subject in the sense that it can be quite challenging at times, and that reading is an integral part in order for a person to maintain their skills in this creative subject.

So far, Grade Ten has been a wonderful year for me, as there were several fun- filled moments. However, I must say that there are also quite some challenges that I have faced. Amongst them, one of the biggest one is that the challenge of time- management. Grade Ten always revolves around lots of work and assignments, which is why it is both highly important and recommended for one to keep a good track of their time so they can reduce the amount of stress in their life. However, after spending one whole semester of Grade Ten, I feel that I have gotten a good grasp over the time management skills and hopefully not have any problem doing so in semester two. As of now, semester has not begun and based on that I will have to set up my goals. However, my goals in general for school, are to get approximately ninety percent or above on all of my four upcoming subjects.