Reflective Table of Contents

1. Multi-Genre Project: I choose to craft my project around Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God because of the immense passion I have felt for the story ever since reading it for the first time. I have identified with Janie on multiple levels throughout my life. Her experience with relationships and her quest for independence inspired me as a young woman.*
2. Student-Led Lesson: My lesson was inspired by chapter two of Linda Christenson's book entitled "Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us". The chapter spoke on the problems of media and how it can affect children through racist and sexist characterization. I decided to use shows and movies that "90s kids" are familiar with in order to explore these negative elements alongside our own experiences and understandings.*
3. Peer Writing: I chose to highlight Lauren Smith's personal reflection of her assigned show (Arthur) from my student-led lesson. I chose her piece because I loved the way she reflected on the show, including her previous experiences and the things she learned from my lesson. I appreciated her attention to detail and interest in the subject matter of the show itself.
4. Memoir: My memoir was inspired by the recent college football championship. Like myself, my dad was at the championship game in 1982, so I shaped my project around the events alongside each other. My dad and I have a lot in common, but I find that it is easier to feel closer when we share experiences and passions, so I wanted to go deeper and create a fun atmosphere through the interview process.*
5. Blog Posts: For my "best" blog post (5a.), I chose the very first one we wrote about our personal experiences with writing because I feel it represents my style and opinions honestly. For the blog I wish to revise (5b.), I chose the short story about our lives that we were assigned to write. I enjoyed this as an assignment and would like to revise because I am invested in the story and think it has potential to be entertaining but needs more attention. The last blog I chose to share (5c.) was on a short story of our choice and how we would craft writing assignments around the story. I chose "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury because it was one of my favorites to read in middle school, and I loved thinking of assignments that could center around the story.*
6. Poetry Slam Poem: I wrote a "found poem" for the poetry slam that only used words from our syllabus. I was inspired to write this poem because, especially as education majors, I believe we are often tied down to these mundane documents that seem to govern our lives and our future classrooms, as well as our current ones. I wanted to show a way in which we could break out of the confines of our syllabi by creatively using the words for my own purposes.
7. Essay: The essay I chose to share is an essay I wrote for my Shakespeare class on Titus Andronicus. Shakespeare has quickly become one of my favorite classes because, unexpectedly, the plays can be applied to modern social issues. One major issue we encounter in Titus Andronicus is race, as Aaron the Moor, the only black character, is chastised for his difference. I would like to revisit this essay and continue the conversation of racism in Shakespearian plays, possibly by adding an analysis of similar elements in another play, Othello, that centers around another Moor in Rome. Both men are in relationships with white women and are essentially the only black men in their respective environments, which can be easily applied to modern day situations that I would like to explore further.*
8. Rubrics: The first rubric (8a.) assesses the success of my reflective writing, which includes this table of contents, my blog posts and the reflections written by my classmates after my student-led lesson. The second rubric (8b.) assesses my memoir writing. The third (8c.) is an assessment of my blog as a whole.
9. Helpful Links: One of the most helpful sites I have found in my work is TeacherTube, a website similar to YouTube that includes videos of lessons, tutoring sessions and projects that can inspire and support teaching all over. The video I have linked (9a.) shows a teacher and a student discussing writing techniques (specifically Linking Sentences) and why they are needed. The teacher references his lesson from the previous day by asking the student questions and allowing him to practice the new concept with his own work. This is important because it allows the student to make the concept more concrete by applying it to his own writing, while also learning the significance of the new concept. I also included links to Powtoons (9b.) and Educreations (9c.), two sites devoted to creative modes of learning and exploration for students and teachers alike. I would be interested in scouring these sites for ideas and allowing my students to use their presentation and project tools.*
10. Creative Writing: I decided to include two pieces from our EDSC 3240 lesson on poetry from last semester. The first is a found poem from an article of women's suffrage. The second is a bio-poem we wrote about ourselves. Both types of poems were introduced to me in this class and I immediately loved them because they present poetry not as this scary, intimidating process, but as something simple and open to anyone. I look forward to exposing my students to this kind of poetry and allowing them to express themselves through it.

*Linked within portfolio

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10a. Found Poem

Keep life in women,

Inventor of the suffragettes.

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10b. Bio-Poem

Sarah Snickles Caroline Nickles

Encouraging Embarrassing Excitable Eccentric

Sarah Snickles

Flowers My mom Clemson

Excited Introspective Overwhelmed