English II Students Busy with Survival Unit

Kailee Ammons
Staff Reporter

                Over the past month, the sophomore English classes have been working on a survival and thriving unit. The students were asked to read two books, one fiction and another non-fiction, and were assigned various projects about them.

                The first assignment was a theme project. The students were supposed to choose one book and figure out a possible theme to that novel. Then this theme was supposed to be supported by direct quotes pulled from the book. There was also supposed to be a visual aid to represent this theme. Some students did a collage of pictures, made posters, and many other ideas.

                The second assignment was to write an extended definition essay. Students were to choose one word and explain how that word relates to their novels and a video that the class previously watched. Some of the words included love, forgiveness, resilience, etc. The third assignment was to explain the purpose of the novel being written, the intended audience, and the choice of words that the author used.

                It seemed like the only problem that students had with these projects to be not having enough time to finish these books and work on three essays. Another issue was the miscommunication between the students and the teachers. Some students had different ideas on what was required on each paper and what the teachers expected.

                 “They are asking a lot out of us,” said Megan Stevens, sophomore at Southeast Polk.