For these past two years, 7th and 8th English has been very fun and exciting but also difficult. It has been so fun to learn about the new topics such as Irony, or Quote Blending and many other things. Sometimes understanding these topics can be difficult but once you start practicing more and more you feel good that you have a skill. The reason I am writing this blog post is to show how I have improved since 7th to 8th. To show how I have grown, I chose two assignments that are were my personal favorite throughout the year which were the Performance Task Essay from 7th and the Performance Task Essay from 8th, now they were both about the same topic which was water.

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This is my first assignment for 7th grade which is the Performance Task for water. In this assignment, we were supposed to explain which water we chose either tap water or bottled water and which one is convienent. For my first annotation in paragraph 2, I was explaining how I couldve went further in depth with my quotes and explained them more. My second annotation in paragraph 3 explains how I didnt explain how tap water could save money, I could’ve stated one reason. My last annotation says that I could’ve stated why they to pick bottled instead of a reason. I feel that I did an amazing job with writing my topic sentences and my hook in the first paragraph,but I feel that I can definitely work on explaining my quotes more.The FLAGS outcome that I demonstrated by completing this assignment was Effective Communicators because I took information from other articles and explained my own ideas. Another reason why I feel like I demonstrated this outcome was because I learned how to express my opinions by using evidence.

 

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This is my first assignment for 8th grade, and it is the second Performance  task. The Performance Task is very similar to the one I completed in 7th grade. It was about water but the only difference was that it was based on recycled water or regular water since we are in a drought and which one is the cleanest and the best idea. We were supposed to write about which one we felt was the best and give evidence and explanations on why we chose it. My first annotation in paragraph 2 explains how I didn’t explain to my audience what certain phrases mean and how it helps my claim. My second annotation in the last paragraph says that I should’ve just left that first sentence as a statement and how I shouldn’t have added why. I believed that I did an excellent job with grabbing the evidence and connecting it to my claim. I feel that I still need work on explaining my quotes to my audience. The FLAGS outcome that resembles this Performance Task the most would be Global and Civic Minded because not only did I look at the evidence and find what the authors opinion was, but I thought about San Diegans and what is the best decision for health benefits and expenses. While I was completing this task, I was involved with what was happening around the world and that is what Global and Civic Minded reflects.

 

 

I feel that since 8th grade is coming to an end, I can reflect on how I have improved in English from 7th to 8th grade. I have improved in many ways from 7th to 8th but I feel like the main points are in the ways I use my words and how I have learned to word things in different ways and use higher vocabulary, not only inside of school but outside as well. I have also improved in explaining my quotes in essays and how they connect to my main claim. I have taught myself to learn from my mistakes such as my weaknesses in 8th grade English, this will definitely help me in high school by taking English to the next level and pushing myself little by little. Some things that I can remember that were my weaknesses this year in 8th grade that will help me grow, were explaining myself more in sentences and essays. I feel that if I work on that, I will be able to achieve anything and all it takes is perseverance and determination.