Ja'nylah's English Blog

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What strategies have you and your group used to ensure that all members are actively contributing to group assignments? Explain how you communicate, divide responsibilities, and hold each other accountable throughout the process.

Prompt Response: Strategies that my group and I have used to ensure that all members are actively contributing are asking everyone their opinion on what would be a good sentence to write or what sources they can cite to get the job done faster and easier. Summary: Today in class everyone in their groups type their prompt page for their research question and topic, then copied our cited sources into a document. Reflection: I learned how to write a prompt page that discusses my topic and research question.

What challenges did your group face while selecting and analyzing sources, and how did you overcome them? Be specific about how your group communicated and worked through disagreements.

Prompt Response: Challenges that my group faced while selecting and analyzing our sources was finding good evidence to write about our sources. We overcame this by all looking at the same sources and examining different paragraphs and finding what would be best to write as our evidence for the sources and quotes. Summary: Today in class we finished finding quotes and evidence from 7 out of 10 of our sources. Reflection: I learned how to communicate work with group members.

Reflect on your research topic and identify the most compelling issue connected to it. Clearly explain what the issue is and discuss why you find it particularly interesting or important. Support your response with specific details from your research.

Prompt Response: Absent Summary: Absent Reflection: Absent

Which part of the annotated bibliography (summary, reflection, or evaluation) was the most challenging for you, and why? Explain how that challenge helped you grow as a researcher and how it will help you when writing your research paper.

Prompt Response: Absent Summary: Absent Reflection: Absent

As you gathered sources, you were expected to find multiple perspectives on your topic. What differences did you notice between your sources? Explain how these differences helped you better understand the complexity of your issue.

Prompt Response: The differences that I noticed about my sources are the different perspectives of the articles about how people should be held accountable for their actions of their word choices they've used in interviews, comedy acts, etc. This helped me understand the complexity of my issue because as I dived deeper into finding different articles and perspectives, it made me have a chance and understand more about my topic. Summary: Today in class we continued to research sources for our research questions. Reflection: I learned how to cite and research sources that are relevant to my research question.

Think about your experience using GALILEO to find sources. How was this different from how you have searched for information in the past? Explain how using specific search strategies and evaluating sources impacted the quality of what you found.

Prompt Response: Using GALILEO was different from how I would search up information in the past because most of the time google does not have creditable information and it's mostly blogs or opinions from other people, while GALILEO has factual and creditable information that it scientific and reasonable. Summary: Today in class we gathered our research about our topics and applied them to our research document. Reflection: I learned how to easily gather creditable research that is factual about my topic, identify what kind of source it is, create a link for it and apply the MLA citation to it.

Political cartoons often use exaggeration and symbolism to make a point, and they can also serve as important visual sources for analysis. What is being criticized in this image? What does this source suggest about the issue, and what does the cartoonist want the audience to question or reconsider?

Prompt Response: The cartoon criticizes Donald Trump for distracting people from a domestic issue. By pointing to Iran and Israel, he avoids attention on the "Big Beautiful Bill," suggesting leaders may use foreign conflicts to distract from problems at home. Summary: Today in class we looked at 7 different sources and reflected on how they agree or disagreed with USPS being reconstructed. Reflection: I learned how to reflect on how different sources state their opinions about different topics.

Your research question is designed to explore a complex issue. What makes this topic difficult to answer or solve? Identify at least two different perspectives or factors related to your topic and explain why understanding multiple viewpoints is important.

Prompt Response: This topic is difficult to answer because it involves many different factors, such as people's beliefs, experiences, and available evidence, which can all lead to different conclusions. For example, one perspective might focus on personal responsibility, while another might emphasize social or environmental influences. Summary: Today in class we learned how to find creditable sources that can be used for our research project. Reflection: I learned how save and search up creditable sources that are in sync with the topic I have picked.

Reflect on your past experiences with research in school. What challenges have you faced when working independently or in a group, and how did you handle them? Explain how those experiences will influence the way you approach this current research project.

Prompt Response: Absent Summary: Absent Reflection: Absent

April 3: If you could plan the perfect spring break with no limitation, money, time, or responsibilities—what would it look like? Where would you go, who would you bring, and what would you do?

Prompt Response: If I planned the perfect spring break with no responsibilities, I would plan to go on a trip to Miami or Houston with my friends because we would be able to do whatever we want, hang out with each other at different places and pay for whatever we want whether we need it or not. Summary: Today in class we worked on a CommonLit Reflection: I learned how to read the main topics of a paragraph in a book to understand what is happening.

How does watching the film version of Into the Wild change or deepen your understanding of Chris McCandless compared to reading the book? In your response, explain one key difference in how his character or experiences are presented, and connect this to a time when seeing something visually changed your understanding of a situation.

Prompt Response: The film "Into the Wild" shows Chris's loneliness and emotions more clearly than the book. Seeing his struggles made me understand how isolated he really was, like how watching something instead of just hearing about it can change how real it feels. Summary: In call we watched 40 minutes of "Into the Wild" and compared it to the book. Reflection: I learned how to compare and contrast a book from a movie and point out the different moods and timelines of the story from a film and movie.

Chris and his sister Carine McCandless had a very close relationship, even when he struggled to connect with others. Write about a relationship in your life where you feel truly understood. Explain what makes that relationship strong and how it compares to the connection between Chris and Carine in Into the Wild.

Prompt Response: Absent Summary: Absent Reflection: Absent

How do you think others would describe your personality? In what ways might their perception differ from how you see yourself?

Prompt Response: Others would describe me as a quiet person who doesn't talk as much in class, just sits back and listens. Although I am a quiet kid who sits back in class, listens and does the assigned work, I have a very silly personality around people I am comfortable with and they always give back the same silly energy that I give and I am able to connect with them more than other people. Yes, I am very quiet in my classes, but that's what I was told by my parents, act accordingly in school and don't get into any trouble. Just listen, get the work done and move on. Summary: In class we read chapter 12 of "Into the Wild" and answered text analysis questions about the chapter and connected to how we can relate to it with our personal experiences. Reflection: I learned how to answer text analysis questions and connect to them with personal experiences.

March 24, 2026: Based on the first 40 minutes of the film and Chapters 1–11 of the book, does the visual version of Chris’s journey make his choices seem more justified or more reckless than the text does? Explain how the medium (film vs writing) shapes your perspective.

Prompt Response: Absent Summary: Absent Reflection: Absent

Think about a moment when your understanding of your family changed as you got older. How did that shift impact your perspective, and how does that connect to Chris’s realization about his parents in Chapter 11?

Prompt Response: As I've gotten older, I've started to see my parents as real people with their own struggles, not just authority figures. This made me more understanding. This connects to Into the Wild because Chris also begins to see his parents as flawed people, which changes his perspective on them. Summary: Today in class we read chapter 11 of "Into the Wild" and reflected on key details based on Chris McCandless's family, character analysis, the authors purpose, and a personal reflection. Reflection: I learned how to find key details and explain the meaning of them and why they are used in the story.

Reflect on your reading of Into the Wild chapters 1–10. Which chapter stood out to you the most, and why? In your response, explain what specifically made this chapter meaningful, interesting, or impactful. You may consider elements such as McCandless’s actions, a key event, a theme, or Krakauer’s storytelling.

Prompt Response: The chapter that stood out the most to me was chapter 8 because It talked about how other men like McCandless went to Alaska, were unprepared and died due to their lack of preparation. This chapter was interesting because it shows the reader how independence and lack of guidance can lead to very tragic situations and compares how the other reckless adventurers did not survive their trip in Alaska. Summary: In class we took our test on chapters 1-10 of "Into the Wild." Reflection: I learned how to test my knowledge on specific chapter of a book.

Chris McCandless rejects a traditional path of success and instead defines success on his own terms through freedom, experience, and personal meaning. Reflect on what success means to you at your current stage in life. In the response, explain how success is currently defined (grades, college acceptance, achievements, happiness, etc.) and where those ideas come from. Then, consider whether that definition truly reflects personal values or if it is shaped by expectations from family, school, or society.

Prompt Response: To me, success means that you've reached your goals in life and are enjoying the things you love to do in your future. This definition truly reflects personal values because if you know you've become successful, that means that you have reached your goals that you wanted to achieve, you are working at the job you want to work at and making the money you want to make. People who do not reach their personal goals tend to not have a good job, enjoy life, or not have enough money to take care of themselves. Summary: In class we answered our peers critical thinking questions, then read chapters 9-10 of "Into the Wild." Reflection: I learned how to create and answer critical thinking questions.

Choose a vocabulary word from Lesson 10 that resonates with you personally. Write a blog post explaining why this word is significant to you, including any personal memories or experiences that link you to the word.

Prompt Response: Absent Summary: Absent Reflection: Absent

For most of you, yesterday you took the SAT. If you did not, you will take it before you leave high school. What is your desired SAT score? Identify your top three colleges and explain why each school appeals to you.

Prompt Response: My desired SAT score is higher than a 1050. My current top 3 colleges that I would like to get into are Morehouse, Spelman, and Texas Southern University. These 3 colleges appealed to me because not only do they have my activities that I want to major in, but they're all HBCU'S and I always wanted to attend an HBCU because I feel like I will have a lot of connections there and enjoy college more around people I can relate to. Summary: Today in class we read chapter 7 of "Into the Wild" and asked 2 questions, made predictions, reaction, made key points and wrote down unfamiliar words and defined them. Reflection: I learned how to come up with creative questions that a book does not talk about.

Twice a year we adjust our clocks for daylight saving time, but the change can affect our sleep, energy, and daily routines. Now that we have sprung forward; reflect on how this time change impacts you personally. Do you find it easy or difficult to adjust your schedule? Explain how the time change affects your mood, productivity, or daily habits.

Prompt Response: Due to the time being pushed forward, I've had a hard time trying to adjust myself and my schedule. Lately I've been feeling really tired and low on energy, I also feel like I have to rush to get things done on time, like coming home from school and practice trying to get all my homework out of the way so I can have enough time to get ready for the next day. Summary: Today in class we wrote 3 facts, 2 interesting things, and 1 question about chapter 6 of "Into the Wild." Reflection: I learned how to identify important details and facts in a story.