Maus Presentation

Reflection

How can I improve my work next time? 

• I don't think I spoke fluently enough when I am presenting. Next time, I can practice my speaking before the presentation.

• My presentation doesn't meet the expected length (5 min). I would add more pages to the presentation next time to extend the length and provide more supporting information on the topic.

• I should have added more of my personal experiences to the presentation to make it closer to life and easier to feel what it’s like to be living in another era.

How has this project helped me with my study habits?

• This project helped me build up study habits, like finishing the work before the deadline. My mom decided to go on a trip on the weekend before the presentation. Fortunately, I had already planned what should be on each page, so I could finish editing the slides smoothly on my phone during the trip. 

• This habit helped me in other subjects by making me start working sooner, giving me time to react to any problem.

How am I able to find the themes and find relevant textual evidence?

I can find themes by:

1. Identify what the conflict teaches

2. Notice repeating symbols/elements that build up the text

3. Think about links in characters’ development and dialogues 

I can find relevant evidence by:

1. Take notes (briefly about what happened in which pages) when reading the first time.

2. Ask questions about the claim to myself, and think about what I expected to find

3. Check if the evidence I have found makes sense in my presentation

4. Quote the dialogues or paraphrase the main idea, and site the page 

Midterm Research Paper

Reflection

How does this project help you in your study habits?

This project helped me build up my study habits of taking notes during research. I also found out that recording the things I researched for fun can help me remember them for a longer period of time. I also separate my notes in different subjects into different notebooks, so I can find them whenever I need them. I can improve on organizing my notes so others could understand it. My notes were quite messy, maybe because I wrote all notes in only one color.

How did peer-feedback help you in your project? Describe the feedback. 

My classmate told me that my sentences are fragments, and told me how to improve the sentence structure to make the sentence flow better, also encouraged me to add more information and extend some parts. The feedback made my paper more formal and interesting.

What problems did you encounter while you were working on this piece? How did you solve them?

One of the problems is that I thought I had written all my thoughts in, but the length was not enough to reach the required length. I solved this problem by adding more description and information about the theme and the summary of both historical events, such as psychological concepts that cause discrimination.

Another issue in the process is that I suffer from looking for relevant sources, because some websites give me good reasons to suspect their authenticity. I overcame this problem by asking AI to generate and recommend some reliable sources. 

Original Short Story

Reflection

What changes can you make to your own study and work habits to improve the quality of your work?

I should have started working on the short story at home earlier, because I didn’t remember I had some unfinished math homework due the same week, so I had to rush over the homework in both subjects, which made me sacrifice some of my sleep. I could further improve on this area by setting an exact schedule for working and recording all the offline and online work in a notebook.

How did peer-feedback help you in your project? Describe the feedback and the changes you made. 

I received feedback that the transition between stages wasn’t clear enough, so　I placed blood drops to separate the scenes, making it easier to understand.

We have read multiple short stories in this unit. Which one was the most memorable? 

The “Sound of Thunder” story is the most memorable to me. The ending was shocking, emphasizing how one butterfly is vital to the future, and I like the moment when Travis killed Eckels. Also, I enjoy sci-fi stories in general, probably because they make me feel smart.

Final Reflection

Choose three pieces of work- assignments or essays. What improvements have you made?

1. In the process of finishing the NoRedInk assignments, I learned to check the unfinished homework category on Google Classroom, so I can check all the homework assignments without forgetting, and submit all of them on time. 

2. In the midterm research paper, the researching AI (a special AI trained to find information on websites)helped me a lot. I only needed to ask it to look for a few sources about Japanese-American Internment Camps and the Holocaust, so I could save time on finding sources.

3. During the final short story assignment, I found the use of sticky notes (I draw on them when I am bored in class originally), I used them to record the ideas I had before sleeping, and stuck them on my laptop, so I can type the ideas in my story the next morning.