Letter to Obama

About this piece of work ! During the unit on pollution, Year 9 students watched Al Gores famous documentary An Inconvenient Truth. When I was watching this documentary in class, I took notes on some of the key points and powerful words Al Gore mentioned in his movie. After learning about some of causes and effects of global warming on us, I wrote a short and concise letter to US president Barack Obama, arguing the case for reducing fossil fuel emissions. In the letter, I wrote to him as a teenage girl that wants a better future. Instead of only writing formally, I added a bit of humour in the letter. I chose to do it this way because I thought that if I were Obama and read thousands of long letters persuading him to take major action right away, he would just not be bothered, but if he saw a short letter written to him by a young girl who was just simply worried about her future and the future of others around her, he would maybe take this letter into consideration. Why I chose this piece of work ! I chose this piece of work to indicate that I am caring, as I wrote this letter because I care about the environment and the future of myself and the future of everyone around me. Although Al Gore mentioned a lot of key points in his documentary, I only chose two main problems to discuss about, as they were the two main factors which I believe have had a significant impact on global warming and should really be concentrated on. Reflection on the piece of work ! Although there was a 250 word limit for this letter, I was still able to clearly explain the problem of pollution and fossil fuel emissions that all humans on Earth are facing. Hence, I think that I did a pretty good job for this task. The two main points I chose were the drastic rise in temperature and disastrous storms both caused by global warming and the increase in fossil fuel emissions. This unit inspired me to take small actions such as switch off the lights in my home when they are not in use, use less water and use natural sunlight more often. I think that this letter is really beneficial to others but also to myself, as I not only gained more knowledge, but I also had a think about ways to care for the environment. To further develop this piece so that others would be aware of the seriousness of global warming, I think that I should choose 2 more political leaders from different countries and write another letter so they might consider making a change.

Monologue
About this piece of work ! After starting the unit on Individuals in society, our class focused on feral children, specifically learning about the story of the feral wolf children which Mr. Singh adopted. After working in groups to produce still images and small pieces of drama on 5 key moments in the story, we each created a piece of monologue of the story. We were given the choices of telling the story from either Mr. Singhs or Mrs. Singhs perspective. I chose to be Mrs. Singh, introducing the whole story with an ashamed expression, leading up to the string of events which happened when Mr. Singh brought the two feral children from their home in the wild to his orphanage. In the end of the monologue, I added in my opinion, concluding that I really regretted the decision of taking those children in, as they didnt adapt to the type of civilized life and died in an unfamiliar environment. When I finished writing the script, I used one weekend to fully memorize the script. During the self practices at home, I added in different emotions and actions to emphasize the change in my mood. Why I chose this piece of work ! I chose this piece of work to show that I am a risk taker, because it was my first time ever monologue piece which I had to create and also perform individually. Although I have taken part in a few English Speech competitions, I was still quite nervous performing in front of my fellow classmates. The teacher gave us a choice to perform this monologue either with a partners accompaniment on stage, but I decided to show more courage, take a step forward out of my comfort zone and perform individually. Reflection on the piece of work ! I think that my monologue piece and performance was pretty good and I was able to gain a valuable experience. I was able to express my opinions in a creative and unique way, as I told the story from Mrs. Singhs view. I believe that telling the story of the feral children from Mrs. Singhs view was a good choice, as it was an alternative and certain parts of the story could be altered to fit the flow of my monologue, including certain reactions and feelings that I felt when I first met the two feral children. From this task, the experience I was able to gain was about writing scripts, performing live in front of an audience and working individually. This is really useful, as a lot of presentations we have to do in various subjects is done in front of an audience, and working individually is very important, as it develops us to learn not to rely on anyone else. I also reckon that being a risk taker, working and performing individually was really important when I worked on this task, as I didnt rely on anyone, and I was able to come up with more original ideas.

Body Composition
About this piece of work ! After recording the results for 6 track and field events, our whole class rated ourselves according to the Australian sports star awad. This was done by choosing the 5 events out of the total 6, adding them up, and referring the total score to the specified star award chart. We then wrote a report on the types of body composition needed to complete certain events. Although my star rate was quite good, there were some skills which I needed to work on, and I reflected this in the explanation of three different events, describing how several factors affected my performance. I then chose a classmate who had similar results to me and another classmate who had quite a few different results from mine, describing the similarities and differences between the three of us. I also thought of how certain body components affected the performance and results of all of us. Why I chose this piece of work ! I chose this piece of work to show that am I balanced, because in this piece of work, I learnt about several body components, understood them, and was able to reflect the certain body components needed for me to complete the track and field events. I believe that it is important to understand the factors that can impact the performance of my body, this way, I would be able to find ways to improve or enhance my performance and know my body even better. After this task, I found out my strengths and weaknesses, and knew some possible ways to enhance my body performance. This is really useful, as I will be able to improve my skills in a variety of ways, so I would be more balanced. ! Reflection on the piece of work ! I think that I did well in most areas of this task, including the track and field events, and the written report reflecting several body components. When I was comparing the results between the three of us, I encountered a problem, as I didnt know enough about the two students, the training they have undertaken, and their experiences in several track and field events. I overcame this problem by asking them some questions so I had a better understanding of certain factors that led to the similarities and differences between us. I think that this task is really beneficial, as I am able to learn more about myself and also about other students in my class, to find out how minor factors can cause a major difference. To make this task more challenging for me, I should have chosen two students that had more similar body components to myself but quite a different result, this way, I would have to think more in depth to find how our results have such a difference, to further understand how one or two of the body components could have such a drastic change.

In the middle of a see-saw

About this piece of work ! After the unit on moral choices, I wrote an essay about an event regarding a moral choice that I had to make in my daily life. In the essay, I started off with the event of the argument with my dad, because he forced me to do piles and piles of math problems, I smashed the timer that was in my hand onto the floor, and rushed back into my room. I then wrote about the discussion with my parents, finding out the moral choice of choosing between studying at a local school and working on the math questions my parents requested me to do. This story is one hundred percent true, but there were certain descriptions which I exaggerated, adding to the persuasiveness and interest of my essay. I added in some metaphors, similes and lots of adjectives. During the unit on moral choices, I slowly realized the amount of choices we are facing in everyday life, when I was given this task to write about a previous event regarding a moral issue I had to face, I quickly linked the essay to this event, because when I reflected on my life, this event was a major turning point, having a great impact on my life. Why I chose this piece of work ! I chose this piece of work to show that I am reflective, because this essay was written when I looked back into my past and reflected on an event that was about making a moral choice. In the beginning of the incident, I was really angry and fed up, so I destroyed the timer, luckily, my mum saved me from getting hit. After staying in my room and slowly calming down, I listened to my parents describe a local school students life, then faced the moral choice which I had to make. By reflecting on the event, I was able to think of the moral issue that I encountered, and rethink my actions, knowing that I made a mistake. This way, the next time I have to face this type of problem again, I would be able to make a better choice. Reflection on the piece of work ! I think that I did quite well in writing up the moral issue and choice which I had to face. Although it was generally good, there were several parts which I have to improve on. I wrote this essay with as much description as I could, and it was totally based on a major turning point in my life. The major error that I made when writing this essay was that the paragraphs werent grouped as well, and I didnt use enough adjectives as the teacher required, therefore, my essay wasnt as interesting and varied as it could have been. After I reflected on several moral issues I faced when I was young, I found out that not everything can be taken for granted. One day, I could be studying in a local school, in an environment just as my parents described to me, preparing for tests everyday and working on piles and piles of homework paper, instead of learning in a fun way and being all rounded. From this task, I learnt that it is really important to reflect on my actions, to determine the wrongdoings I made, to think of possible improvements and adjustments.