Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Analysis


Well guys, we have come to the end of the road. I would like to hear an evaluation from you as to which unit you enjoyed the most. Tell me what, specifically, made that unit your favorite and what you feel that you will carry into your educational future as well as your personal life applications from that particular unit. (I am going to have you do an extensive evaluation on the last day of class that will enable you to discuss the negatives as well as the positives. However, those are anonymous since they have a place for constructive criticism. This blog posting will cover only the positive, since you have to put your name on it.) I am anxious to hear your comments!

The units, in case you don't remember, are as follows:
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Inferno
History of the English Language
The Iliad
Julius Caesar
The Essay
The Holocaust (and Night)
Arthurian Legends
Vietnam Literature (The Things They Carried)
Debate

By the way, this is the posting you will receive a grade over. The next post by me is just to all of you. You are welcome to comment on it, but it will not be part of your grade.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

My favorite by far was the Holocaust unit. We've always learned about the Holocaust in school and how horrible it was but no teacher i have had has ever taken that much time to go indepth to where you get a glimps at how they felt and what went on. I'm really glad we read the book night it showed a true story from the Holocaust so it made it real. I also loved the butterfly book being able to read from a childs point of view made it so sad but once again so real.

Taylor Crumbley

Anonymous said...

I agree with Taylor's comment. The Holocaust Unit was my favorite and I'm glad you waited until the end to do it because it definately was the finale. Like Taylor said, we've always heard about the Holocaust and how bad it was, but we never really learned much about it. And making a video on it was a lot of fun because even though we didn't feel their pain, we had to pretend like we did.

Esha Rock.

Anonymous said...

Like the previous comments from taylor and esha, I would have to say I enjoyed the Holocaust unit the most. From having Mr. Dorris come and speak to our class to reading night, this unit changed my perspective on life. It made me think about all the luxuries I have in life (even this computer I'm using right now), and how these were all taken away from the victims of the Holocaust. It made me look at the big picture instead of every little problem.

Colton Ward

Anonymous said...

I think as each unit passed the class became more fun and exciting. My favorite part so far is the debates. I love it, and I have so much I want to say during my debate. It's the people, the pressure, the cause, and the glory that a debate conveys. I also loved doing "The Things They Carried" video during the Vietnam unit. I was an acting sensation from start to finish, as were my partners who starred alongside me during the course of the film. I also got a chance to write some great journals, which involved me as the main character and I would pull some great stunts. The journals helped me write better. I can barely put English II into words, because so much happened in 18 weeks, I can't even begin to give a recap. All in all, it was a great semester and a great class.

- Jake Hartline

Anonymous said...

Suprisingly, one of my favorite units may have been the essays. :) Yes, it was a pain at times to have to write them, but then again, i love writing! I also loved writing those in class poems that day where sweet little Payton surprised you. hahaha. I know there will be a ton of papers to come in my future, and I think I'll be well prepared for them. Of course the Holocaust Unit was amazing, but I thought I'd change it up a little. Thank you for all you've done for us this semester!

-Payton Tipton

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed most of this semester. With me being so opinionated, there were things about all of the units that I didn't really agree with, but all in all, it was a good semester. I really think that I enjoyed writing the most. The Holocaust unit was pretty cool, expecially getting to talk to someone who was actually there. However, I think I did well in the essays, and I love to write about stuff that means a lot to me. I'm not sure that I liked all the rules that had to be conformed to in the essays, but especially with the creative essay, I loved putting my thoughts down on paper, not having to worry about what anybody else thought. It was kind of a refreshing change from all the war stuff.

Madison Vaught

Anonymous said...

Like many have said before, my favorite subject was the holocaust unit. It was amazing how horrible it was. There wasn't anyone else that has ever went into depth and thought some of the things about it through, such as bodies preserving on railroads. It was also really saddening at the same time.

Anonymous said...

The Holocaust was also my favorite by far. I have always been interested in it and I really love learning about it. Like Taylor said none of my teahcers really took time to go indepth with the topic so I really enjoyed the unit. I think the Holocaust unit has inspired me to think about taking Holocaust lit. or another Holocaust class.

Amber Ballew

Anonymous said...

My favorite unit was definitely the Holocaust unit, and I can't really put what I got out the unit into words. As for the things we have read, Julius Caesar and The Things They Carried tied for being my favorite. However, I enjoyed my outside reading, Schindler's List and Catch-22 more than both of those. Additionally, the poetry and creative writing was fun to do.

-Kent Connell

Anonymous said...

I would also say the Holocaust unit because it was a unit I was already interested in before this class. It also gave me more information on the subject.

Adam Spivey

Anonymous said...

I have to say that the second nine weeks was a lot easier than the first. It was just really busy and I felt like we always had so much work. I think my least favorites were probably All Quiet and The Essay unit. Other than that I really enjoyed everything else, and stopping vocabulary half way through really really helped the work load. My favorite units were the holocaust and debate units. I am always excited about any information I can obtain about the holocaust. The way I look at it is that there is always more to be learned about the holocaust. Over all I think your class has helped me a lot and I learned a lot. I think that everything we did in your class had a purpose. I also think that this is more of a guy class because it is so history based. I enjoyed your class. :)

Hayley Brewster

Anonymous said...

It was a big toss up for me, i loved the Holocaust unit, but i really enjoyed All Quiet. I would have to lean towards the Holocaust unit simply because i've always been interested in it. Night was definitley one of my most favorite books, also for my individual reading assignment, Resistance was definitly my favorite book of all time! I would recommend that to anyone and everyone. The poetry that the children wrote definitly made me realize, the adults were not the only ones who knew what was going on. For a young child to be able to think so deep and create such a grafic, yet beautiful poem made me feel like i have it easy. These children had to fight for their right to live, and right now only simple tasks comsume my life, nothing lifethreating. Also, the speaker was very influencial, and he made everything, yet again, so real to me. So overall, i loved the Holocaust Unit and everything about it.

Brooke Muller

Anonymous said...

The Holocaust unit and the debate unit were my two favorite units by far. I enjoyed both of them and learned so much from each. The Holocaust unit was awesome. I think I might love learning about the Holocaust, actually. I have been interested in certain aspects of the Holocaust since the eighth grade when I read The Diary of Anne Frank. Reading that book was like eating Pringles: once you pop you just can't stop.
The debate unit, on the other hand, gave me a brand new outlook to public speaking. I thought I was going to bomb it, but when I got up there behind the podium, I wasn't very nervous at all- a huge step for me. I loved getting up there and debating about something I believe in. Mrs. Davis, thank you so much for taking me into realms I have never been before.

Jenna Stewart

Anonymous said...

Well.. I don't want to be cliche but.. I'm going to be. I liked a lot of the other units but the reason I liked the Holocaust unit the most is because that is what you went into more detail with. The Vietnam unit was also one of my favorites. I'm sure I would have liked that more but we didn't talk to much about it but oh well.

Anonymous said...

Oh yea the reply without a name is mine sorry, Levi Long

Anonymous said...

My favorite unit would have to be the holocaust unit. Not because we had less work though but because I really learned alot about it. I always thought I knew what it was all about but after studying this unit I learned that I really only knew the brief stuff and that is it. But I look forward in taking your class my senior year. Chao
Sheena Lewis

Anonymous said...

The Holocaust unit was by far my favorite that we did in class. I have never really been taught much about the unit, but your knowledge about it really made me think a lot different about it. The book "Night" was one of my favorite books that we read in class, even though it was really sad. The puzzle piece activity was really cool also.

Ben Kimball

Anonymous said...

My favorite unit was the Holocaust unit. I agree with you Mrs. Davis, that is your "thing." I really hope to take your Holocaust Lit. class because of this unit. You made it very interesting and I really hope to learn more.

Will Hearn

Anonymous said...

I think my favorite unit was the Holocaust unit just because I love learning about everything that happened at the time. I'm definitely signing up for Holocaust lit next year too. :) I really did love your class because I learned so much. Thanks for being a great teacher.

Brooke Miller

A. Davis said...

Perhaps we should have titled this posting: Analysis of the Holocaust unit! :) You know what's interesting about these replies, though, is the fact that an excited teacher makes excited students. The Holocaust unit is also my #1 unit in the semester and my enthusiasm is probably contagious. Imagine how great ALL high school classes would be if ALL of us teachers were that excited about EVERY UNIT! :)

Anonymous said...

My favorite unit by far was the holocaust unit. Learning about the Holocaust is just so interesting to me. And actually getting to talk to Mr. Dorris just makes it even better because he was actually there. All in all, this has been one of my favorite classes and i am looking forward to taking holocaust lit next year!
Meryn Evans

Chaz said...

I have to say that the Holocaust unit was pretty great. However, I have to say the best unit was Vietnam. My favorite thing was making the movie for The Things They Carried. If you didn't think it was funny then you need to get your brain checked. To get the full funniness of it you had to have been there. Also, my grandfather fought in the Vietnam war. Seeing the way he was treated 35-40 years later made me hate it. We all have to remember that he was forced to go. However, he still fought for our country and no matter how you look at it, that is a great deed.

nataliya said...

well i guess im the odd one in the bunch.. my favorite unit had to be the all quiet unit.. I loved that book! i don't know exactly why, but that was my favorite book that we read the whole semester. I guess because we were just starting out and we talked through it in depth and i read every single line of it and enjoyed it very much. I also felt that this was a really emotional book and that it provided me with something that i could really imagine. i loved the author and how he described every scene... but the other units were great too. don't get me wrong, i loved most of the class. i really also liked the ceasar unit.. it was great with all of the old leagends things.. but all quiet still prevailed to be my favorite unit.. :)

Anonymous said...

Its been decided: the Holocaust unit was the best we've ever had. You taught it in such an emotional way that we had no choice but to enjoy it. Not only did you teach us about the Holocaust, you taught us something about ourselves. You made us think: are we going to continue to play the role of the "helpless" bystander, or will we stick up for what is right?
After hearing the stories of those survivors who faught for what was right and made it out to tell their story, I had to express my appreciation for them. Thats when I decided to write my letter to Mira Kimmelman. Thank you for teaching so well that it inspired me to actually contact a survivor. This really was one of the best units I've ever had. Thanks so much.

Emily Hill

Anonymous said...

My favorite was the Julius Caesar unit. It was a unit I really payed attention to (but I did pay attention to the holocaust unit as well) but I just had fun and enjoyed reading and studying this unit. It was easy to relate to the characters and it was a good unit.
Dustin Shelton