The poetry unit and the teen life project helped me develop various skills towards learning and helped me critically analyze my attitude towards work by improving on my skills that were developed and further enhanced my skills to achieve the goals within the set guidelines and to cooperate and work together with my peers. The teen life project helped me analyze my role as a responsible citizen of not only a small community, but the world as a whole. It deepened my knowledge and increased my curiosity and ability to achieve higher academic standards by improving on my earlier skills and develop new skills. It increased my imaginative skills and helped me achieve higher literary levels by encouraging me to achieve my optimum levels of learning and understanding. Participation in the poetry night, increased inter-community interaction. It helped me convey my thoughts and ideas through the poetry book, which conveyed to the community a variety of information in the form of poems and visuals that created a great impact on the audience.
The poetry unit helped me understand the true meaning of a poem. A poem is a poet’s feeling, thinking, imagining, analyzing or a perspective to look at things. Writing poems gave me freedom to learn skills at best of my abilities. I used my previous knowledge about poems, like, emphasize on rich vocabulary, use rhyming words, usage of figurative language and use diversified ideas. However, I always thought that poems should be couplets, sonnets, ballads, limericks, triplets, cinquains, quatrains or haikus. A major skill, which I learnt in Mr. R’s class, was the freedom to express your feelings and put them in words and visuals. He taught that a poem can be anything and that one should have the freedom to express the passion rather than follow rules. Simply, by re-phrasing a phrase, one can write a poem. For example, I cannot write a poem. This phrase can be re-phrased as, Poems are something I cannot write.. and then continue this poem.
The poetry unit helped me achieve my academic goals by learning new skills like the use of figurative language especially personification, metaphors, similes and rhyming words. It also developed my sensory skills, as I wrote poems which involved image, sound and touch. I efficiently learned the use of rhyme, rhythm and repetition. I learnt the impact of a particular colors and how it will affect our feelings, like the red beaked birds eating reddish maroonish berries. This repetitive use of the color ‘red’ in various situations helped me enhance my thinking skills and my imagination. The street poem helped in visualizing an actual street or an imaginary street. The message poem helped me to convey my message to other citizens about the importance of peace. This poem was written by me in conjunction with my topic of teen life-terrorism.
The teen life project helped me learn about the consequences and effect of terrorism and the urgency of the world to curtail violence and spread the message of peace and harmony. In this way, the lives of the people would be secured and the wastage of resources would be stopped which could be directed towards the well being of the under privileged. It helped me interact with students from different schools and increased my knowledge. It also taught me how to work together with a diversified community. During this project, the use of computer technology proved very handy, as one could effectively communicate through blogs. The teen life project made me a good risk taker as the project was completed by me individually at my own set goals. I learnt how to organize my time and my work so as to produce the best work within the time frame. I used the internet sources to learn about terrorism and also from my past experience as I lived in Sri Lanka, which is prone to terrorism. I have personally gone through various acts of terrorism and can emotionally feel the effects of terrorism.
The writing of poems helped me apply my knowledge in various ways. I could look at a picture and express my feelings or describe the picture in a form of a poem or when given a phrase, like the ladder…, I could write various stanzas about the ladder, using various senses and figurative language. Making a poetry book and making visuals, made me develop motor skills. I drew pictures and scanned and acquired the pictures in a software called ACD See 7.0 which is a software that helped me edit the picture, I drew as while scanning there was no true color in some of my pictures and also purple scanning lines also appeared on the scanned picture which needed editing. I used my imaginative skills to draw and color. The writing of the poems enhanced my thinking skills as I had to imagine various imaginary situations, develop emotions and feelings and then use vocabulary and figurative speech that would make my work very impressive and generates the same feelings in the reader’s heart. The reader should become a part of my poem. The writing of poems gave me a chance to accept the challenge of learning on my own. I could manage my time and organized myself with the best of my capabilities. I even tried writing ballads which was a new experience and writing color poems where I had to feel for a particular color and express my feelings in a way that would evoke similar emotions. In this way, I feel that I was a good risk taker to take up the challenge.
The poetry night was a great experience. I had a chance to mingle with people from a diversified community. The participation of the whole community made the poetry night a great success! During the poetry night, the work of all students was displayed and everybody had the chance to read other fellow students’ work. It was encouraging to see how the parents devoted time to go through our poetry books. It was indeed a great motivation. The parents also participated by writing poems. We all got a chance to present one of our poems. Each one of us walked up to the podium and read our poems. I could effectively communicate by reading my poem clearly and by communicating directly with parents. The group clearly showed that we at M’KIS are responsible citizens by showing our warmth, hospitality and respect for the audience. I communicated my ideas and feelings with my peer group and the parents during the poetry night.
In the poetry unit, we made a combined movie which was a movie that consisted of poems written by us and by talking about who we really are. The photography of the scenic view brings out the poet in me. It taught me how to plan a movie and edit it while also teaching me how to use a camera more efficiently which can be used as a skill in newspaper in which we are currently doing a news broadcast.
The teen life project, increased inter-community interaction and made me think critically how to handle situations, mental trauma and anxiety arising from the cowardly acts of terrorism. I know how to handle people or fellow students who actually witness these acts. I could to a great extent counsel them. For example, by switching off televisions and other media which could enhance the mental anxiety of the victims, talk freely to the victim and answer their queries, support them and try to help them get over their fear, anxiety and insecurity. I can also now understand my parents’ point of view when they stopped me from hanging around at crowded malls or cinemas or to stay late out at night.
If I am given a chance to make another poetry book, I would not use an A4 sized paper as it does not look very distinctive. Rather, I would use a book with a different shape because it attracts attention. Rather than using spiral binding, I would use paperback binding. I would use calligraphic writing rather than a normal font. I would try to write more poems and design the all the pages with different page borders.
If I were to organize an event like a poetry night, I would increase the parent student interaction by designing activities that would involve active parental participation. We could divide the parents and children in two groups each comprising of both parents and students. The group would be chosen by asking the parents to pick a number and the students to pick a number. The numbers would then be divided into two groups, like one to ten in one and ten to twenty in another group. Mr. R would become the host of the show. He can show a picture or give a phrase to a group. Students and parents from one group would make a poem and present within the given time. If they are able to present, they get a point otherwise the picture or the phrase is passed to the next group. Another activity would be where a student or parent from one group recites a poem in response to another group’s poem. It will carry on till one group has no words to reply. This would increase participation of parents and students as well as increase communication skills and literary skills. It will increase vocabulary and thinking skills too.
If, I were to do a teen life project about terrorism, I would try to make a movie with live interviews with people who have witnessed terrorism or were affected by terrorism (like losing a dear one, losing property or wealth during terrorist attacks or have become disabled during an attack). A live interview would have greater impact on the viewers and students and they would understand the urgency of bringing about peace and harmony to make this world a better place to live in. A live interview would also help people understand what the others go through during a terrorist attack and it will create awareness for the community. A talk with the victim might also affect the thinking of young teenagers who get influenced by various terrorist organizations and indulge in crime. They can understand the rights of others and the importance to live in harmony.
I feel, if I was given more time, I could have written better poems but as I joined school in the middle of term, I had to speedup. I still feel I have written poems to the best of my ability and when I read them, I can’t believe that there is a hidden poet in me. In writing poems, I used my critical thinking skills the most as I had to analyze the situations and then develop a feeling which was a tough task and then use figurative language to write a good piece of poetry. I also used management skills and organized my work during the given time.
The poetry night helped me develop my responsibilities towards the community. I interacted with the parents and my peer group and learn t to appreciate the work of my peer group and develop new ideas. I warmly welcomed the parents and showed respect and hospitality. Another skill that was use by me during the poetry night was communication. I was a good communicator as I could express my work through written poems and visuals. I could answer queries of the audience Reading my poem to the audience, helped me orally convey my ideas. I could work well within my group and the community as a whole.
The teen life project helped me develop concern for a serious problem faced by the world today. As a good citizen of the community, I wrote the causes, the effect and how to tackle terrorism. It also gave me a chance to interact with students from other schools and to work efficiently together with them. Another skill that was enhanced was that I learnt on my own. I took the risk of doing a project independently and demonstrated that I could manage my time and work efficiently. It made me a risk taker. It helped me learn and respect the emotions and feelings of others who have been victimized by terrorist attacks.
The poetry unit and the teen life project helped develop the ESLR’s in a subtle way but when I look back, I realize and value the skills I have learnt during this project. Learning does not mean to achieve high academic goals like getting an A+ but learning means to develop a person as a whole. One should learn to be a risk taker, develop motor skills, think critically and solve problems arising from various situations, effectively communicate one’s ideas and learn at one’s optimum level of learning and most importantly to serve the community and take care of the environment.
The poetry unit and the teen life project helped me develop various skills towards learning and helped me critically analyze my attitude towards work by improving on my skills that were developed and further enhanced my skills to achieve the goals within the set guidelines and to cooperate and work together with my peers. The teen life project helped me analyze my role as a responsible citizen of not only a small community, but the world as a whole. It deepened my knowledge and increased my curiosity and ability to achieve higher academic standards by improvising on my earlier skills and develop new skills. It increased my imaginative skills and helped me achieve higher literary levels by encouraging me to achieve my optimum levels of learning and understanding. Participation in the poetry night, increased inter-community interaction. It helped me convey my thoughts and ideas through the poetry book, which conveyed to the community a variety of information in the form of poems and visuals that created a great impact on the audience.
The poetry unit helped me understand the true meaning of a poem. A poem is a poet’s feeling, thinking, imagining, analyzing or a perspective to look at things. Writing poems gave me freedom to learn skills at best of my abilities. I used my previous knowledge about poems, like, emphasize on rich vocabulary, use rhyming words, usage of figurative language and use diversified ideas. However, I always thought that poems should be couplets, sonnets, ballads, limericks, triplets, cinquains, quatrains or haikus. A major skill, which I learnt in Mr. R’s class, was the freedom to express your feelings and put them in words and visuals. He taught that a poem can be anything and that one should have the freedom to express the passion rather than follow rules. Simply, by re-phrasing a phrase, one can write a poem. For example, I cannot write a poem. This phrase can be re-phrased as, Poems are something I cannot write.. and then continue this poem.
The poetry unit helped me achieve my academic goals by learning new skills like the use of figurative language especially personification, metaphors, similes and rhyming words. It also developed my sensory skills, as I wrote poems which involved image, sound and touch. I efficiently learned the use of rhyme, rhythm and repetition. I learnt the impact of a particular colors and how it will affect our feelings, like the red beaked birds eating reddish maroonish berries. This repetitive use of the color ‘red’ in various situations helped me enhance my thinking skills and my imagination. The street poem helped in visualizing an actual street or an imaginary street. The message poem helped me to convey my message to other citizens about the importance of peace. This poem was written by me in conjunction with my topic of teen life-terrorism.
The teen life project helped me learn about the consequences and effect of terrorism and the urgency of the world to curtail violence and spread the message of peace and harmony. In this way, the lives of the people would be secured and the wastage of resources would be stopped which could be directed towards the well being of the under privileged. It helped me interact with students from different schools and increased my knowledge. It also taught me how to work together with a diversified community. During this project, the use of computer technology proved very handy, as one could effectively communicate through blogs. The teen life project made me a good risk taker as the project was completed by me individually at my own set goals. I learnt how to organize my time and my work so as to produce the best work within the time frame. I used the internet sources to learn about terrorism and also from my past experience as I lived in Sri Lanka, which is prone to terrorism. I have personally gone through various acts of terrorism and can emotionally feel the effects of terrorism.
The writing of poems helped me apply my knowledge in various ways. I could look at a picture and express my feelings or describe the picture in a form of a poem or when given a phrase, like the ladder…, I could write various stanzas about the ladder, using various senses and figurative language. Making a poetry book and making visuals, made me develop motor skills. I drew pictures and scanned and acquired the pictures in a software called ACD See 7.0 which is a software that helped me edit the picture, I drew as while scanning there was no true color in some of my pictures and also purple scanning lines also appeared on the scanned picture which needed editing. I used my imaginative skills to draw and color. The writing of the poems enhanced my thinking skills as I had to imagine various imaginary situations, develop emotions and feelings and then use vocabulary and figurative speech that would make my work very impressive and generates the same feelings in the reader’s heart. The reader should become a part of my poem. The writing of poems gave me a chance to accept the challenge of learning on my own. I could manage my time and organized myself with the best of my capabilities. I even tried writing ballads which was a new experience and writing color poems where I had to feel for a particular color and express my feelings in a way that would evoke similar emotions. In this way, I feel that I was a good risk taker to take up the challenge.
The poetry night was a great experience. I had a chance to mingle with people from a diversified community. The participation of the whole community made the poetry night a great success! During the poetry night, the work of all students was displayed and everybody had the chance to read other fellow students’ work. It was encouraging to see how the parents devoted time to go through our poetry books. It was indeed a great motivation. The parents also participated by writing poems. We all got a chance to present one of our poems. Each one of us walked up to the podium and read our poems. I could effectively communicate by reading my poem clearly and by communicating directly with parents. The group clearly showed that we at M’KIS are responsible citizens by showing our warmth, hospitality and respect for the audience. I communicated my ideas and feelings with my peer group and the parents during the poetry night.
In the poetry unit, we made a combined movie which was a movie that consisted of poems written by us and by talking about who we really are. The photography of the scenic view brings out the poet in me. It taught me how to plan a movie and edit it while also teaching me how to use a camera more efficiently which can be used as a skill in newspaper in which we are currently doing a news broadcast.
The teen life project, increased inter-community interaction and made me think critically how to handle situations, mental trauma and anxiety arising from the cowardly acts of terrorism. I know how to handle people or fellow students who actually witness these acts. I could to a great extent counsel them. For example, by switching off televisions and other media which could enhance the mental anxiety of the victims, talk freely to the victim and answer their queries, support them and try to help them get over their fear, anxiety and insecurity. I can also now understand my parents’ point of view when they stopped me from hanging around at crowded malls or cinemas or to stay late out at night.
If I am given a chance to make another poetry book, I would not use an A4 sized paper as it does not look very distinctive. Rather, I would use a book with a different shape because it attracts attention. Rather than using spiral binding, I would use paperback binding. I would use calligraphic writing rather than a normal font. I would try to write more poems and design the all the pages with different page borders.
If I were to organize an event like a poetry night, I would increase the parent student interaction by designing activities that would involve active parental participation. We could divide the parents and children in two groups each comprising of both parents and students. The group would be chosen by asking the parents to pick a number and the students to pick a number. The numbers would then be divided into two groups, like one to ten in one and ten to twenty in another group. Mr. R would become the host of the show. He can show a picture or give a phrase to a group. Students and parents from one group would make a poem and present within the given time. If they are able to present, they get a point otherwise the picture or the phrase is passed to the next group. Another activity would be where a student or parent from one group recites a poem in response to another group’s poem. It will carry on till one group has no words to reply. This would increase participation of parents and students as well as increase communication skills and literary skills. It will increase vocabulary and thinking skills too.
If, I were to do a teen life project about terrorism, I would try to make a movie with live interviews with people who have witnessed terrorism or were affected by terrorism (like losing a dear one, losing property or wealth during terrorist attacks or have become disabled during an attack). A live interview would have greater impact on the viewers and students and they would understand the urgency of bringing about peace and harmony to make this world a better place to live in. A live interview would also help people understand what the others go through during a terrorist attack and it will create awareness for the community. A talk with the victim might also affect the thinking of young teenagers who get influenced by various terrorist organizations and indulge in crime. They can understand the rights of others and the importance to live in harmony.
I feel, if I was given more time, I could have written better poems but as I joined school in the middle of term, I had to speedup. I still feel I have written poems to the best of my ability and when I read them, I can’t believe that there is a hidden poet in me. In writing poems, I used my critical thinking skills the most as I had to analyze the situations and then develop a feeling which was a tough task and then use figurative language to write a good piece of poetry. I also used management skills and organized my work during the given time.
The poetry night helped me develop my responsibilities towards the community. I interacted with the parents and my peer group and learn t to appreciate the work of my peer group and develop new ideas. I warmly welcomed the parents and showed respect and hospitality. Another skill that was use by me during the poetry night was communication. I was a good communicator as I could express my work through written poems and visuals. I could answer queries of the audience Reading my poem to the audience, helped me orally convey my ideas. I could work well within my group and the community as a whole.
The teen life project helped me develop concern for a serious problem faced by the world today. As a good citizen of the community, I wrote the causes, the effect and how to tackle terrorism. It also gave me a chance to interact with students from other schools and to work efficiently together with them. Another skill that was enhanced was that I learnt on my own. I took the risk of doing a project independently and demonstrated that I could manage my time and work efficiently. It made me a risk taker. It helped me learn and respect the emotions and feelings of others who have been victimized by terrorist attacks.
The poetry unit and the teen life project helped develop the ESLR’s in a subtle way but when I look back, I realize and value the skills I have learnt during this project. Learning does not mean to achieve high academic goals like getting an A+ but learning means to develop a person as a whole. One should learn to be a risk taker, develop motor skills, think critically and solve problems arising from various situations, effectively communicate one’s ideas and learn at one’s optimum level of learning and most importantly to serve the community and take care of the environment.
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