Class Work During Romeo and Juliet Unit

reading the play
listening to the play
watching the movie
taking quizzes
learning about rhyme schemes
learning new literature terms (i.e. iambic pentameter, allusion, solilique, etc.)
learning shakespearean language
deciphering R and J in lamon's terms
learning about William Shakespeare
learned how to cite lines from plays


During this unit, I enjoyed listening to the play the most. This is because it was a faster pace, and it was helpful to hear the voice inflections. I also enjoyed watching the movie. Although, it did get boring at times, because it was pretty much verbatum what we were reading. My two least favorite parts about the Romeo and Juliet unit were 1) taking the quizzes (this is because I can't retain some of the more detailed content you would ask us about), and 2) the literature terms (even though these are necessary to know, I struggled with them). But other than that, I enjoyed this unit.

Odyssey Test

1. What have you learned about Greek culture, values, and religion? Address the roles of women and men, honor and virtues, gods and goddesses, etc. (250 words)

While reading the Odyssey, I learned a lot about Greek culture, and the values of the people. I would say that I learned more from watching the movie than reading the book, because it gave me a visual, and it was easier to put the story together. So, I'm not sure how acurate my perception of Greek culture is. But the first think I noticed about them was their clothing. It was all togas and robes and such. Something that seems very valuable in Greek culture is family. Especially between Penelope and Odysseus, becuase what they had was true love. Another value seemed to be materialistic things. For example, they were always concerned with how many sheep they had and how the gifts they had recieved or given.

The people in the Odyssey all had specific roles. So, this is what I took for what the role of each person is. If you are a woman, your purpose is to bear a child for your husband. If you are not a royal woman, then your place is as a maid. Men are the protectors and providers for the family. They are the "rock" of the family. Gods and goddesses are worshiped by all. People pray to the gods and it's always good to have the god's on your side. However, the gods will do something for man that he should do for himself. As for honor and virtues, those are very important. If you are not an honorable man, then you might as well be scum. You will not be respected.

2. What resonated with you in reading about Odysseus’ adventures? Why? (150 words)

When I think of the Odyssey, and Odysseus' adventures, the first thing that comes to mind is suffering. I think of Odysseus' adventure, and I just feel sorry for him. I mean, he went through a lot. And it was all to get home to Ithaca to see he wife and son. That's probably what stuck with me the most was how truly in love Odysseus was with his home and family. He went through hell and back again so he could get to his wife. Like literally, he went to hell. He was also offered eternal happiness, but turned it down. It really pissed me off when in the beginnig they were almost to Ithaca and then that guy opened up the bag full wind. They were so close to making it home, but then it was all just ripped away from them. And that, until the end, was the theme of the book. Nothing went in favor of Odysseus and his family. It sucked.

3. This epic poem is dated nearly 3000 years ago, why is it still relevant? (150 words)

The Odyssey is a relevant piece of writing in our time, becuase people like to analyze it. People want to find out what was going on three thousand years ago. Now, your wondering what this has to do with our time. Well, I think that in the world that we live in, everything is always the same. I mean... of course we didn't have Ipods or t.v.'s or anything like that three thousand years ago, but if you go beyond that stuff, the people are the same. They have the same problems, they have the same kinds of feelings, they are pretty much just like us. Therefore, people like to read the Odyssey to relate to it. That is my take on one of the reasons why the Odyssey is such a popular piece of literature.

Short Answers-

4. How would you characterize the narrator, the fictive "Homer" whose voice we imagine as singing the verses of the Odyssey?

I'm not sure what is meant by "characterize". But when I think of the mysterious Homer, I think of an intelligent man with an incredible imagination/memory. Also when I imagine Homer, I think of a lonely man who spent much of his life alone. Why? I don't know. And maybe that's why he wrote about love and such so much in the Odyssey.

5. What kinds of behavior are treated as contemptible in the Odyssey?

The contemptible behaviors that I mostly thought of in the Odyssey were being dishonorable. And if you didn't live up to your promises, then that was just unacceptable.

6. How does the poem represent mortal women? Since Penelope is the most important woman in the Odyssey, what qualities does she possess, and how does she respond to the troubles she faces? (Some of the other women are of note, too-Eurycleia the serving woman, the faithless maidservants, Nausicaa the Phaeacian princess, and Helen of Sparta, Menelaus' queen, whose elopement with Prince Paris sparked the Trojan War.)

As far as mortal women go in the Odyssey, most of them were strong. Especially Penelope. The poem also portrays women as loyal, and smart.

7.How do Homer's gods think and behave? How do their actions and motivations differ from the conception of god in other religions of which you have knowledge? What role do the Homeric gods play in human affairs, and what is the responsibility of humans with respect to those gods?

The gods that are in the Odyssey were fairly clever. I couldn't say what the exact purpose of them is, but I know that they in a way regulate human bevior. And depending on what they think of it, they either have a positive or negative view about you. It's good to be on the gods' good side, because they are very powerful. They have different powers all around the earth. Like Posiedon is the water, and I forget his name...but that one guy was the god of wind. I do know one thing about the gods though... Although they can help man, they can not do what man should do for himself.

Odyssey Test

1. What have you learned about Greek culture, values, and religion? Address the roles of women and men, honor and virtues, gods and goddesses, etc. (250 words)

While reading the Odyssey, I learned a lot about Greek culture, and the values of the people. I would say that I learned more from watching the movie than reading the book, because it gave me a visual, and it was easier to put the story together. So, I'm not sure how acurate my perception of Greek culture is. But the first think I noticed about them was their clothing. It was all togas and robes and such. Something that seems very valuable in Greek culture is family. Especially between Penelope and Odysseus, becuase what they had was true love. Another value seemed to be materialistic things. For example, they were always concerned with how many sheep they had and how the gifts they had recieved or given.

The people in the Odyssey all had specific roles. So, this is what I took for what the role of each person is. If you are a woman, your purpose is to bear a child for your husband. If you are not a royal woman, then your place is as a maid. Men are the protectors and providers for the family. They are the "rock" of the family. Gods and goddesses are worshiped by all. People pray to the gods and it's always good to have the god's on your side. However, the gods will do something for man that he should do for himself. As for honor and virtues, those are very important. If you are not an honorable man, then you might as well be scum. You will not be respected.

2. What resonated with you in reading about Odysseus’ adventures? Why? (150 words)

When I think of the Odyssey, and Odysseus' adventures, the first thing that comes to mind is suffering. I think of Odysseus' adventure, and I just feel sorry for him. I mean, he went through a lot. And it was all to get home to Ithaca to see he wife and son. That's probably what stuck with me the most was how truly in love Odysseus was with his home and family. He went through hell and back again so he could get to his wife. Like literally, he went to hell. He was also offered eternal happiness, but turned it down. It really pissed me off when in the beginnig they were almost to Ithaca and then that guy opened up the bag full wind. They were so close to making it home, but then it was all just ripped away from them. And that, until the end, was the theme of the book. Nothing went in favor of Odysseus and his family. It sucked.

3. This epic poem is dated nearly 3000 years ago, why is it still relevant? (150 words)

The Odyssey is a relevant piece of writing in our time, becuase people like to analyze it. People want to find out what was going on three thousand years ago. Now, your wondering what this has to do with OUR time. Well, everything was the same

Short Answers-
Answer in complete sentences. Cut and paste each question and answer underneath the prompt.

4. How would you characterize the narrator, the fictive "Homer" whose voice we imagine as singing the verses of the Odyssey?

5. What kinds of behavior are treated as contemptible in the Odyssey?

6. How does the poem represent mortal women? Since Penelope is the most important woman in the Odyssey, what qualities does she possess, and how does she respond to the troubles she faces? (Some of the other women are of note, too-Eurycleia the serving woman, the faithless maidservants, Nausicaa the Phaeacian princess, and Helen of Sparta, Menelaus' queen, whose elopement with Prince Paris sparked the Trojan War.)

7.How do Homer's gods think and behave? How do their actions and motivations differ from the conception of god in other religions of which you have knowledge? What role do the Homeric gods play in human affairs, and what is the responsibility of humans with respect to those gods?

Odyssey Test

1. What have you learned about Greek culture, values, and religion? Address the roles of women and men, honor and virtues, gods and goddesses, etc. (250 words)

While reading the Odyssey, I learned a lot about Greek culture, and the values of the people. I would say that I learned more from watching the movie than reading the book, because it gave me a visual, and it was easier to put the story together. So, I'm not sure how acurate my perception of Greek culture is. But the first think I noticed about them was their clothing. It was all togas and robes and such. Something that seems very valuable in Greek culture is family. Especially between Penelope and Odysseus, becuase what they had was true love. Another value seemed to be materialistic things. For example, they were always concerned with how many sheep they had and how the gifts they had recieved or given.

The people in the Odyssey all had specific roles. So, this is what I took for what the role of each person is. If you are a woman, your purpose is to bear a child for your husband. If you are not a royal woman, then your place is as a maid. Men are the protectors and providers for the family. They are the "rock" of the family. Gods and goddesses are worshiped by all. People pray to the gods and it's always good to have the god's on your side. However, the gods will do something for man that he should do for himself. As for honor and virtues, those are very important. If you are not an honorable man, then you might as well be scum. You will not be respected.

2. What resonated with you in reading about Odysseus’ adventures? Why? (150 words)

When I think of the Odyssey, and Odysseus' adventures, the first thing that comes to mind is suffering. I think of Odysseus' adventure, and I just feel sorry for him. I mean, he went through a lot. And it was all to get home to Ithaca to see he wife and son. That's probably what stuck with me the most was how truly in love Odysseus was with his home and family. He went through hell and back again so he could get to his wife. Like literally, he went to hell. He was also offered eternal happiness, but turned it down. It really pissed me off when in the beginnig they were almost to Ithaca and then that guy opened up the bag full wind. They were so close to making it home, but then it was all just ripped away from them. And that, until the end, was the theme of the book. Nothing went in favor of Odysseus and his family. It sucked.

3. This epic poem is dated nearly 3000 years ago, why is it still relevant? (150 words)

The Odyssey is a relevant piece of writing in our time, becuase people like to analyze it. People want to find out what was going on three thousand years ago. Now, your wondering what this has to do with OUR time. Well, everything was the same

Short Answers-
Answer in complete sentences. Cut and paste each question and answer underneath the prompt.

4. How would you characterize the narrator, the fictive "Homer" whose voice we imagine as singing the verses of the Odyssey?

5. What kinds of behavior are treated as contemptible in the Odyssey?

6. How does the poem represent mortal women? Since Penelope is the most important woman in the Odyssey, what qualities does she possess, and how does she respond to the troubles she faces? (Some of the other women are of note, too-Eurycleia the serving woman, the faithless maidservants, Nausicaa the Phaeacian princess, and Helen of Sparta, Menelaus' queen, whose elopement with Prince Paris sparked the Trojan War.)

7.How do Homer's gods think and behave? How do their actions and motivations differ from the conception of god in other religions of which you have knowledge? What role do the Homeric gods play in human affairs, and what is the responsibility of humans with respect to those gods?

Hayao Miyazaki

I enjoyed Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke more than Totorro. This is probably because I can't remember Totorro. I must have been absent or something. But anyways, there were lost of similarities that I noticed in Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. One of them was that in both there were giant glob-like characters. There was NoFace in Spirited Away, and the demon boar in Princess Mononoke. And one interesting thing that I learned today is that Miyazaki uses a lot of little things from his own life and his own child-hood in his movies. One differenct that I noticed is that the animation in Princess Mononoke was less "cartoony." The animals and everything were made to look normal. Well, since I can't really remember or was absent during Totorro, I don't know what else to say...

What I got out of Waking Life and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Waking Life was just really confusing to me. It messed with my mind a lot. It made me think about life and the point of it... and if there even is a point to life. There were also some interesting facts in there... like the one about the isolated people, and that their scores on the crosswords were significantly better than the rest of the world's scores from the day before. Well, I did a bad job of explaining it, but I think you know the part I'm talking about. Another really cool think about Waking Life was the rodoscope. I had never heard of that before, so it was really interesting. It was also fun to watch and pick out when the artists had changed. And it was neat how the artists added in those little drawings of what the people were saying. After watching waking life, it made me all suspicius that I'm not really alive. And then I started turning on and off light switches. Another thing that was cool is that the director is the same guy who directed School of Rock. But those are two totally different movies. So it's interesting to see the different sides of the director. But overall to me, Waking Life was just mind-boggling. But I did enjoy it.

If I had never seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, then I would have been very confused. It took me a couple times of watching it to completely understand it. But I really like this movie. It's very different. The concept of erasing someone's mind kind of freaks me out. But I also wonder if it could ever be possible... or if it is possible? I don't know. Another thing I like about this movie is the characters. They are special in a way that makes them stand out from other characters in movies... especially Clementine. Eternal Sunshine is kind of a sad movie at some points, but it's full of all different kinds of emotions. Like sadness, and funniness, and drama, etc. But I guess I'm getting off topic from what the actual question was. What did I get out of this movie? Well, I guess since I have seen it so many times, it's hard for me to pick this out. But it's really just the uniqueness that intrigues me.

Ten Things I Would Save From A Fire – Polished journal
November 13, 2006


If my house were to catch on fire and I could grab ten things, I have absolutely no idea what they would be. See, my parents just happen to be in the antique business… meaning that we have endless amounts antiques in our house that are all pretty cool. But, since we have all of these cool things, it makes my decisions difficult (and I am already terrible at decision making). So, I think I would just try and get stuff that is personal to me. For example, my pillow. I really like my pillow. I sleep better with it, and it’s just something that I would be really sad to lose. Another thing I would want to grab would be my favorite sweatshirt. It’s actually my cousin’s sweatshirt, but it’s really big and it’s soft on the inside. Something sentimental I would want to take with me is my grandma’s “slide bracelet.” It’s been in our family for a really long time, and it’s really pretty. It also is something that reminds me of my grandma. Another thing that I would want to grab is my i-pod. Even though this is something that I could easily get another one of, I still would like to have it, and it has all of my music on it and such, and it seems like something that would be easy to take with me. Hmmm, I’m trying to think of other things. There is also this picture of my entire family that I would want to take. It’s all of my aunts and uncles and cousins. But I also like it because it’s from about six or seven years ago, and it’s got my aunt that passed away. And right next to this picture is a family portrait that I drew when I was in maybe third grade that is similar to the family picture that was taken at the family reunion. But anyways, one of the only other things I can think of is this silk box that my aunt gave me. It just has a lot of stuff it in. It has pictures and letters from my grandma, and it has jewelry and just some other stuff like that. That is about 7 things. But that is all I can think of… other than like furniture and stuff. I would also want to save my fat cat. Her name is Fatty. But, Ms. Chiang said we couldn’t… so that’s probably it for what I would save.

OCD - journal


So there is one main thing that I am OCD about. When I walk home in the afternoon there is this one pedestrian traffic light that I have to click seven times. If I don't click it seven times I have a spazz attack. Not really but I don't even know why I press it seven times. Oh, and there is one other thing that I am OCD about. I'll sound really freakish but, I'm kind of OCD about my sheets. I think I got that habit from my mom. But it really bugs me if I have friends over and they sit on my bed. I mean they sit there as long as the covers are pulled up. Otherwise I just find it really gross to have their nasty clothes that have been all over school and where ever else all over my sheets. There isn't really anything else that I get really pet-peeved about. Just my sheets and that stupid pedestrian button.

Thesis

I am doing a research paper on Audrey Hepburn.
I think my thesis statment will be: Audrey Hepburn is an iconic figure in our society.
(But I might end up changing it.)

Subtopics:

1. I will give a breif history of Audrey Hepburn's life.
2. Then I will talk about the movies she starred in.
3. Then I will talk about how she has influenced young girls and talk about how she is cool.
4. Then I will sum everything up.


http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9335788
This link is a short biography.

http://web.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=6&hid=107&sid=c671b49b-db73-49d4-a555-33d0d76fc365%40sessionmgr104
"Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn"

Journal

How am I handicapped?

So, I think my eyes are my main handicap. Because, basically my eyes suck. Well not both of my eyes, but my left eye. It can't really see that much and it is a loser. I remember one time when I was in band at Renfroe, I had to share music with someone. But I couldn't read it because I had to look out of my left eye and it just didn't work out. But anyways... how else am i handicapped? Umm, I am really aful at making decisions. That makes me hadicapped because in my everyday life I make really uniportant decisions that don't even matter into a big deal. Like all kinds of stuff. I'm sure I'm a lot more hanicapped than those two things but I can't really think of much else. Umm... I can't draw at all. Which really handicapps me when we have to do pictionary. It's pretty much unfortunate. I don't look at this as a handicapp, but some might say that since my family is so screwy I might be handicapped just in a way where I am screwed up more than I am. But I personally don't think I'm screwed up. What else is there? I'm sure if I asked some one they could like name off a list with all of the things wrong with me. But I can't think of anything else that I feel like writing about. So that's pretty much it for now.