Andrew Tran
09/28/2018
Reflection
This project asked us to choose a book that had been banned in the United States at least once and expand upon it. The research on why the book was banned, where it was banned, the creation of a bookmark and a selection of food to represent your book were all required in this project. This project integrated reading and making products to form a cohesive project that could and would be represented at Barnes and Noble. Deep thought and meaningful connections were used to make the products which added reasons that mattered. Overall, this project had us follow the curriculum in a fun and inventive style.
Every project has its ups and downs and this one was certainly full of hardships. The only hardship that I faced was motivation to read my book. The author was very detailed when it came to military life and experiences but that dampens the excitement and motivation to continue reading. I don’t want to ever force myself to read a book as it’s very painful and the kind of resolve it requires is very hard to keep.
I feel as though the creative portion of this project was relatively easy as it was fun and how you wanted to go depended on you. The bookmark creation was something that different for everyone as someone’s creativity and effort showed in the final product. I wanted my bookmark to be more than just something to place a marker or remind you of the place you were in the book, I wanted it to be visually appealing while making it obvious of the book it represented. There were many routes to the final product and I think I chose the one where it was the best it could be.
I know that I asked for critique several times from different people. I asked for critique and suggestions from my teacher, Mrs. Heller and from my sister about the illustrations and what I could add or improve on. The feedback and suggestions were really helpful as they improved the way I expressed my thoughts when it came to the censorship and whether it should be censored or not.
The journal was not a place of critique but it did allow us to learn about the books that our classmates were reading which really interested me. The prompt for the comments towards the journal entries weren’t really feedback to improve the writing, they seemed to be something to get out of the way. Whether it was lying about the interest in the book or asking questions that could be answered by simply reading through the journal. My comments revolved around the questions the reader could answer to gain a deeper understanding or leave them in thought about how the book is going. Overall, my suggestion for the comments on the journal would be to be clearer about what the comments should have.
The book that I read was “Fallen Angels” by Walter Dean Myers. The book is good for people that want to learn about life in the military or army and what to expect. If you are expecting something exciting and interesting, then I wouldn’t recommend the book to you as the character building and actions in the majority of the book are mundane. The ending was satisfying to read as it gave an exciting scene with the tides of war. The true tactics used and the actions that most of the squad takes are what I would think are most realistic in a real life situation.
I am very proud of my bookmark as it didn’t follow the traditional style of bookmarks and was instead a page corner. The illustrations or drawings were refined and improved over the period of time that was presented to us and the things it represents are followed by a strong connection to the book. For the first time, my skill in drawing has grown and I think that I’m starting to like what I can do with it. The bookmark had a clever representation of strong and foul language as I drew an f-bomb(grenade).
The exhibition at Barnes and Noble was certainly a very crowded and veered off course for a while until the teachers arrived but I gave some meaningful and interesting conversations in that time of chaos. I gave my pitch after introducing myself and told them about the book and why it got banned/challenged. I stated that the book had been challenged and banned in many states in the United States and showed them my representations of why the book got banned with my bookmark. After pointing out my illustrations and what they stood for, I gave them time to question and if not, then I just said goodbye and handed them my bookmark.
A grade that I think I deserve or the most logical grade would be an A+. The whole process and all of the products, I’ve tried my hardest, putting the most effort I can muster. Whether it’s the journals, the research task, the artist statement, the design pitch, or the bookmark, I worked to the best of my ability, even trying to go further. Going in depth with some of these topics required great understanding and making connections from the book to reality. These products should show that I deserve the grade that I chose.
This whole project has been a rocky roller coaster but I think that I’ve managed well so far. Of course, there are things that I want to change but no matter what I think, I believe that I chose the right route to get the best product with the amount of effort I put in. If I were to change something, then I would probably change the book. Finding a book to gain an even deeper understanding in it would be great and being invested in the book would help my motivation greatly.
09/28/2018
Reflection
This project asked us to choose a book that had been banned in the United States at least once and expand upon it. The research on why the book was banned, where it was banned, the creation of a bookmark and a selection of food to represent your book were all required in this project. This project integrated reading and making products to form a cohesive project that could and would be represented at Barnes and Noble. Deep thought and meaningful connections were used to make the products which added reasons that mattered. Overall, this project had us follow the curriculum in a fun and inventive style.
Every project has its ups and downs and this one was certainly full of hardships. The only hardship that I faced was motivation to read my book. The author was very detailed when it came to military life and experiences but that dampens the excitement and motivation to continue reading. I don’t want to ever force myself to read a book as it’s very painful and the kind of resolve it requires is very hard to keep.
I feel as though the creative portion of this project was relatively easy as it was fun and how you wanted to go depended on you. The bookmark creation was something that different for everyone as someone’s creativity and effort showed in the final product. I wanted my bookmark to be more than just something to place a marker or remind you of the place you were in the book, I wanted it to be visually appealing while making it obvious of the book it represented. There were many routes to the final product and I think I chose the one where it was the best it could be.
I know that I asked for critique several times from different people. I asked for critique and suggestions from my teacher, Mrs. Heller and from my sister about the illustrations and what I could add or improve on. The feedback and suggestions were really helpful as they improved the way I expressed my thoughts when it came to the censorship and whether it should be censored or not.
The journal was not a place of critique but it did allow us to learn about the books that our classmates were reading which really interested me. The prompt for the comments towards the journal entries weren’t really feedback to improve the writing, they seemed to be something to get out of the way. Whether it was lying about the interest in the book or asking questions that could be answered by simply reading through the journal. My comments revolved around the questions the reader could answer to gain a deeper understanding or leave them in thought about how the book is going. Overall, my suggestion for the comments on the journal would be to be clearer about what the comments should have.
The book that I read was “Fallen Angels” by Walter Dean Myers. The book is good for people that want to learn about life in the military or army and what to expect. If you are expecting something exciting and interesting, then I wouldn’t recommend the book to you as the character building and actions in the majority of the book are mundane. The ending was satisfying to read as it gave an exciting scene with the tides of war. The true tactics used and the actions that most of the squad takes are what I would think are most realistic in a real life situation.
I am very proud of my bookmark as it didn’t follow the traditional style of bookmarks and was instead a page corner. The illustrations or drawings were refined and improved over the period of time that was presented to us and the things it represents are followed by a strong connection to the book. For the first time, my skill in drawing has grown and I think that I’m starting to like what I can do with it. The bookmark had a clever representation of strong and foul language as I drew an f-bomb(grenade).
The exhibition at Barnes and Noble was certainly a very crowded and veered off course for a while until the teachers arrived but I gave some meaningful and interesting conversations in that time of chaos. I gave my pitch after introducing myself and told them about the book and why it got banned/challenged. I stated that the book had been challenged and banned in many states in the United States and showed them my representations of why the book got banned with my bookmark. After pointing out my illustrations and what they stood for, I gave them time to question and if not, then I just said goodbye and handed them my bookmark.
A grade that I think I deserve or the most logical grade would be an A+. The whole process and all of the products, I’ve tried my hardest, putting the most effort I can muster. Whether it’s the journals, the research task, the artist statement, the design pitch, or the bookmark, I worked to the best of my ability, even trying to go further. Going in depth with some of these topics required great understanding and making connections from the book to reality. These products should show that I deserve the grade that I chose.
This whole project has been a rocky roller coaster but I think that I’ve managed well so far. Of course, there are things that I want to change but no matter what I think, I believe that I chose the right route to get the best product with the amount of effort I put in. If I were to change something, then I would probably change the book. Finding a book to gain an even deeper understanding in it would be great and being invested in the book would help my motivation greatly.