The two hardest lines that I read through and actually managed to figure out are as follows;

• “Tell your piteous heart there’s no harm done“(line 16/17), this line actually means, don’t worry they won’t get hurt, this is possible to figure out if you keep reading down the page.
• “who was so firm, so constant, that his coil would not infect his reason“(line 244/245), this line actually means, who is so steady that a disturbance couldn’t effect him.

Two lines that weren’t actually hard, but just tricky to figure out;

• “It was a torment to lay upon the damned, which Sycorax could not again undo“
• “Thy nerves are in their infancy again and have no vigor in them”

Here is a few questions that were a mystery to me throughout this scene;

• Did Shakespeare believe in magic?
• Is this scene based on a myth or is it just a made up story?
• Where do most of Shakespeare’s stories come from?

In our class we have recently done a unit on poetry and something called the “Teen-Life Project”. The poetry unit included us doing a research project on famous poet, making a poetry book of over twenty poems that we wrote ourselves, and having a poetry night where we all read a poem. The “Teen-Life Project” included us choosing a category for the project we wanted to work on (from a list of around twenty), and then creating a short video with five other kids from all over the world.

By participating in and completing the “Teen-Life Project” I believe I was definitely showing the skill of being an Involved Citizen. By being an Involved Citizen I mean I interacted respectfully with people of diverse cultures, basically I worked together with different people from places all around the world. To be one of these Involved Citizens while doing the “Teen Life Project” I merely had to participate cooperatively which becomes very easy when the people you work with do the same, which they thankfully did. To complete my part of the project all I really had to do was write one poem and take one picture, however you see I over achieved on this by writing five poems and taking two pictures. This means I wasn’t only an involved citizen while doing the “Teen Life Project”; I was also an Academic Achiever. One thing I must say about my previous contribution to this ESLR is the fact that I have always been an Involved Citizen; however, in past years I have touched the part of the ESLR that states demonstrates to care and take concern for your environment which indicates that this is maybe the first time I have conquered the part of the ESLR I did with the “Teen Life Project”. If I were to go back and start the whole “Teen Life Project” again the one thing I would do is set up a schedule for times in which the entire group could chat on MSN about the topic. All in all I believe it is finally time for me to cross off being an Involved Citizen from my list of things to do with a high rating, maybe a 9/10.

While creating my poetry book I think I was a great Self Directed Learner. By being a Self Directed Learner I demonstrated competency in goal setting, time management, and organization skills, basically I was organised and used time wisely. Something else I must add to this ESLR’ is the fact that there are many ways to do this by being creative with your time table and organization. I feel I drove right through this ESLR with ease, all I had to do to complete this ESLR was I made a time table the first day we got the project and then once I had done something I crossed it off the list I also made to make sure I didn’t forget to add one single poem. I believe if I were to compare my Self Directedness from last year no one would believe me. You see last year I was horrible, I was always doing projects the day before they were dew, a paradigm of this would be the “Medieval Fair” last year, I was supposed to make a model and I didn’t do it till the night before the fair. To improve on my self directedness for next time I think I would maybe pay more attention when creating my time table, for you see there was actually one mishap I never put any time in my timetable for editing which means when I was reading through my final product I found typos but it was to late to fix them. If I were to grade my self on being organized on this project I think I would do well, maybe an A- or an A.

Throughout the poetry unit I realized that as you’re writing a poem you are effectively communicating. This means when you write a poem you are touching the ESLR Effective Communicator. To be one of these I demonstrated my creative talents to convey ideas, or I gave my own ideas in my own creative way. To complete this ESLR I merely had to write the poems to put in my poetry book. You see the reason this is, is that every poem that someone writes is saying a message wether it be a story, some kind of moral, or even a joke, every poem communicates something to someone so by writing over twenty poems I was definitely an effective communicator. By writing poems to convey a message I was also an Academic Achiever. I think this because for our poetry book we were to write twenty or so poems that each have meaning and since I was being an effective communicator I was automatically doing this which meant I was also being an Academic Achiever because that was what we were supposed to do to get a good grade. I believe if it were possible to go back in time I would tell my self to write my poems while thinking of something that was close to me, this is because by doing this you would create a message that would get across to you audience even more effectively. Over all I believe I now have the chance to tick the Effective Communicator box with at least an A- if not an A or A+.

In many more ways than one I was an Involved Citizen while participating at “Poetry Night”. I was an Involved Citizen because I was able to improve the lives of others in my community; basically I helped others around me. To complete this ESLR all I had to do was teach adults and children how to write poems for a half hour shift at the “Poetry Night”. I believe this as a way of improving others lives because I think being able to write a poem does in fact improve your life in many ways. Another view of how I accomplished this ESLR is the fact that no one wanted to sign up for a half hour shift and I did which meant that people who did not want to sign up did not have to. By teaching people to write poems I was also being an effective communicator because I was successfully teaching them which meant I was successfully getting my message across to them. In my mind being an involved citizen is very easy and looking back at last year, the year before, and the year before that I have actually managed to maintain my role of an Involved Citizen throughout my life. If I were ever to go back to that faithful night of poetry then I would definitely sign up for more than one shift and instead of just teaching people to write haikus I would sign up to teach them sensory poems as well. To conclude I think I have conquered this ESLR and if I were to grade my self on how well I did it I would give myself an A.

In conclusion of the entire poetry unit I would like to say that it was a terrific experience I would love to do again. The entire quarter was full of fun with the “Poetry Night” and the poetry books making it even better. Over all the poetry unit is over and I hope the next unit is just as spectacular.