Valery's English Blog

  Prompt Response: The learning method that I enjoy the most is hands-on activities. I prefer this method the most because it does a good job with grabbing my attention which allows me to understand things better. I also think that using this method, I can get more involved in doing work instead of getting distracted. Additionally, I believe that this is a good way to get people to collaborate and share ideas as they try to do the activities. With hands-on activities, I feel like it allows me to retain information better as it’s easier to think back to something I did instead of just reviewing things all day.  Summary: Today in class we looked at an FRQ from 2013 and practiced setting our position and making claims. Reflection: We learned how to plan out our response to the FRQ in the AP English Language and Composition Exam. This is important because the more we practice it, the quicker we’ll be able to do it during the exam. 

  Prompt Response: Something I will never fully understand is how some children of immigrants don't care about their education. Their parents made so many sacrifices so that their children would have better opportunities than they did, yet so many children throw that all away. I've seen it with people I've been close with where they just tanked their grades and rarely went to school when their parents put so much on the line so that they could get there. I get that sometimes people may get overwhelmed with school or sick of it, but I don't think that justifies throwing it all away for temporary fun when it could determine your future. As a child of immigrants, I want to be able to get further in life than my parents did and be able to do the things they weren't able to do because of their lack of opportunities which is why I'll never understand how some people can just put their education to the side.   Summary: Today in class we took notes about how to format a...

 Prompt Response: One thing that makes me different from other people is my compassion. More times than I could count, I've been in a situation where I've felt alone and sad and I've learned the feeling all too well when it feels like you only have yourself. Among my friends, I've been able to notice how they feel the same way and I always try to go out of my way to make sure that they don't feel alone when they need something. Even if I'm going through something, I always like wanting to help them through things because I know how much that can make the difference. This goes not only for friends, but also people who have been part of my life before. Even if they were the reason we stopped talking, I feel compassion towards them when I hear they're going through something because at some point, they were still a big part of my life and I think that sets me aside from a lot of people. I'm not saying that all people nowadays don't care about others...

 Prompt Response: Living around Atlanta has influenced the way I see my community, culture, and identity as it's allowed me to meet people from various different backgrounds as well as people who have the same background that I do. By meeting people who share my background of being a Mexican American child, I've connected more to my culture and it's helped me develop who I am as a person and the things that I like such as my music.  If I was speaking to someone unfamiliar with Atlanta, I would want them to understand how diverse it is. Whether it's somewhere like Buford Highway, that has different restaurants that represent various cultures, or even Lakeside High School that has people from all different types of backgrounds, you'll always see different types of people. Anywhere that you turn, you'll see a different type of person which is incredible.  Summary: Today in class we practiced rhetorical situation by looking at Keisha Lance Bottom's "Go Home...

 Prompt Response: The most creative thing that I've ever made was flowers made out of ribbons for a friend. I had seen them all over my for you page on TikTok and I wanted to make them for her so I did. It stands out as my best work because I'm not usually so crafty. Also, I used different colored ribbons in each flower which I thought made them unique. While they started off pretty bad, they started coming out better the more that I did them and I was very proud with the end result.  Summary: Today in class we learned about rhetorical situations and SPACECAT, using it to analyze President Trump's Boarder Security Speech.  Reflection: SPACECAT explains why decisions are made in texts by analyzing various different components. Practicing this skill can help us be quicker at using it when the AP exam comes around in May. 

 Prompt Response: A time that I felt completely lost was during open house leading up to freshman year. I remember I had gone with one of my friends, but for some reason I got separated and I had no clue where to go. I would walk up and down the halls, taking random turns yet it felt like I was getting nowhere. I couldn't find anyone that I knew and my mom started texting me asking where I was but I didn't know the answer to that myself. I eventually found my mom but I remember that I was completely lost for around 20 minutes, just wandering trying to find anyone that I knew.  Summary: Today in class we read an article, identified the claims in the article, put them under a category, and identified what type of claims they were.  Reflection: We practiced identifying types of claims which is important because if you practice it, then you'll be able to do it quickly during an exam. Additionally, by seeing examples we can learn how to create different types of claims ourselv...

 Prompt Response: When I was younger, I thought that the tooth fairy was real. Every time that I'd lose a tooth, I'd put it in a small cushion my parents had bought me to put under my pillow. As I got older, it started clicking in my head that it probably wasn't actually the tooth fairy who was leaving me money under my pillow. I remember there was one day I asked my mom if the tooth fairy was real and she had no words, she couldn't crush her daughter's dreams. Eventually I found out that the tooth fairy wasn't real, but my mom and I still laugh about how speechless I left her when I asked her about whether or not the tooth fairy was real.  Summary: Today in class we talked about the different types of claims and practiced claims of values.  Reflection: We learned about the differences between claims of fact, claims of value, and claims of policy as well as figuring out whether or not something is actually arguable. I can use this knowledge in the future to make...

Prompt Response:  An argument that I wish I had handled differently is when I got into an argument with my dad over him not feeding our guinea pig. He said he was going to go feed her and never did which got me upset because had he told me sooner, I would've just done it myself. My goal in the argument was to get him to feed her on time as he had been feeding her late those past few days or to have him communicate that he couldn't do that I could feed her on time. However, I messed up as I immediately blamed him and didn't stop to think about how he would take the blame which ended up worsening the situation. Something that I would do now after reading Chapters 1-3 of Thank You for Arguing is switching the tense from past to future so that instead of arguing, we would've talked about about what we can do to feed her on time moving forward as that was the goal.  Summary: Today in class we discussed the first three chapters of Thank You for Arguing and we talked about th...

  Prompt Response: One time I had to persuade someone to do something was at the beginning of this school year when I was trying to convince my parents to drive me to and from school. I used pathos to try to convince them by explaining to them that I would stress in the afternoons over running to my bus to try to get a seat and explaining how bad it was sitting at the edge of a seat which made them feel bad for me. Additionally I added that if they drove me to school, I could sleep in more which is something that my mom wanted me to do since she thinks I wake up too early. Using pathos was very effective as they now drive me to and from school every day. It was effective since they didn't want me to have a hard time with the bus, especially since I've been complaining about it for the past 2 years since my bus is incredibly crowded. Summary: Today in class we spoke about the origin of our names, reviewed our argument notes, and practiced using rhetorical appeals.  Reflection: ...

 Prompt: One topic that I think I'll have to stand up and debate most often is immigration in the United States. This topic has become very controversial in the past few years and it's very important to me as my parents are immigrants. In school, I've met people with different viewpoints and there's no doubt that I'll continue meeting people who have different opinions on the topic which is why I believe that it's something I'll have to debate about often. Growing up, I've seen and heard the stories of my parents, family, and friends regarding immigration and why they had to make certain sacrifices. I've also done large amounts of research on the topic as I used it as it was one of my topics during AP Seminar last year. This leads me to believe it's something I'm fairly educated on and could debate about, which I'll definitely have to do as the topic continues to be talked about and argued over.  Summary: Today in class we took notes abou...

 Three goals that I want to achieve this year are getting my license, minimizing how much I procrastinate, and creating new friendships. To begin, I would like to get my license as I want to be able to drive to school instead of riding the bus since it's always very crowded. Additionally, I want to avoid procrastinating as I always get overwhelmed with school work when I do and I want junior year to go as smoothly as possible. Finally, I want to create new friendships as I really want to branch out to new people this year as sometimes the most unexpected friendships can end up being the best ones. I'm going to push myself to reach these goals as they're things that I think could make this year a lot easier on me.