Week 15: Writing Post

What did you like best about the writing for this class? What would you like to see more of?

I liked the storytelling posts and I liked having the option between Storybook or Portfolio. There's really nothing I would suggest seeing more of.

Did you choose the Storybook or the Portfolio? Are you happy with your choice? What information should I emphasize to next semester's students when they make that choice?

I chose the Portfolio and I am happy with my choice. I guess emphasize in the beginning of the semester that students may be using the storytelling posts for Portfolios.

Do you have suggestions for the commenting process: suggestions about commenting on blog posts? suggestions about comments on Storybooks/Portfolios?

I guess to suggest more feedback and for people to point out grammatical and punctuation errors.

What kinds of comments did you find most useful as you working on your Storybook/Portfolio?

I like comments when people give me suggestions or possible changes I can make to improve my story.

Do you think this class helped you to improve your writing?

Yeah, I think this class helped me with my grammar and punctuation errors.

What kind of writing do you see yourself doing in your future career? Will writing be important in that career?

The kind of writing I see myself doing is very technical writing that are based on factual evidence since my major is chemical engineering.

As you look back on your writing this semester, what advice do you have for students who will be getting started next semester?

You have more imagination and creativity than you thought and write something that you would like to read!

Week 15: Reading Review Post

What did you like best about the readings for this class? Are there any general suggestions you would make about how the readings are set up?

 I liked how each of the readings had a middle point where we could stop. It was very useful during busy weeks of the semester. I also liked the notes that were added to a few of the stories. I found them very helpful in units that were difficult to understand. I also liked how in the Table of Contents, there was a "pairing" of certain units with similar themes! I actually utilized that a lot!

Did you find some new reading diary strategies that you used in the second half of the semester?

During the second half of the semester, I tried to take the time to read the whole unit in a day instead of reading splitting the halves in two days. This helped me organize my thoughts and compare/contrast the stories or story throughout a unit better.

What did you think of the overall balance between reading - writing - commenting in the class assignments? Do you think I should offer a reading assignment extra credit option?

There was a good balance between reading, writing, and commenting in the class. An extra credit option would be nice. I'm not sure how that would be conducted. 

As you look back from the end of the semester, what advice do you have for students who will be getting started next semester?

 This class takes some time, but if you plan things out and work ahead, it will make your semester much easier!

I had an enjoyable experience with the Un-Textbook. It is very different from what I am used to, but it allowed me to personalize and adjust my reading to fit my interests. I think the most useful priorities would be to add more notes to units and to create "anthology" units. The notes I found more useful were the ones that were linked to Wikipedia sites where we could find more information. There were a few in the Psyche and Cupid unit. As for "anthology" units, these would be pretty helpful especially for Storybooks! I know I had trouble coming up with a Storybook idea so I would have liked this when I was thinking of topics for my Storybook. Also, it allows students to compare and contrast themes of different cultures and time periods.

Portfolio Guide

Week 6: Kai-Lan

Week 2: Venus and Psyche

Week 9: The Sweet and Sour of Love and Strawberries

Week 3: The Beggar Businessman

Week 4: The Man Who Thought He was a Fisherman

Week 14 (Reading Diary): Grimm (Hunt)

Grimm (Hunt)

Hansel and Grethel - I already read the original of this story before, but I still enjoyed it! It is a good first story for this unit! I am guessing that the overall theme of this unit is about children meeting obstacles and they have to figure out how to find their way home.

Thumbling - This is basically, the male version of Thumbelina. I found it interesting and I like how clever Thumbling is. This also has the theme of a child meeting obstacles as he finds his way home.

Allerleirauh - I feel like this story fits better with the Grimm (Crane) unit.

Snow White and Rose Red - I was expecting this story to be related or a sequel to the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, but it's not. I think I like this story a bit better anyway. I found it endearing, entertaining, and enjoyable.

Overall, I think this unit is a bit strange. I liked it at the beginning, but then the second half of the reading got very confusing.

Week 6 (Storytelling): Kai-Lan

 

(Laotian Wedding Tradition; source: Our Journeys Within)

January 7, 1707

“To my one and only Kaipo,

It has been many months since our last meeting. I constantly think about you and the past times when we were together. Remember when we used to gaze at the stars or when we found that lost puppy? I recently saw that puppy with its family and she looked very happy! I wish I could feel just as happy. I miss your handsome face looking at me. I miss your strong hands holding mine. I miss your calm voice steadying my heart. Ever since my father forbade me to see you, you are all I can think about.

I hate my father. He and his servants are constantly watching me. My father is frequently boasting to others how he drove you away. He invites many suitors into my home. He is expecting me to marry one of them. However, I refuse all of them. You are all that I want. No one can compare to you. Our love is stronger than any distance that keeps us apart. I will never betray our love or you.

We have been apart for too long. These past months have felt like centuries to me. Time moves so slowly when you are not around. I cannot wait anymore. My father is hosting a feast for all in the province tomorrow night. Please come. I must see you. I must be with you.

Love,

Your Dearest Aelan”

The next night, the feast was held. It was possibly grander than any of the king’s feasts. People from all over the province came to enjoy the festivities. They were everywhere and the room was filled with constant laughter and merriment. Everyone was enjoying the party except for one, Aelan. She constantly kept an eye out for her dear lover. However, she could not find him. Dismayed, she stepped outside into the garden to get away from the crowd. Suddenly, she heard shrubs shake and turned around to see her lover, Kaipo, standing there in front of her. She ran to him and they embraced. Tears filled her eyes and it felt as if they had never been separated at all. Kaipo looked lovingly into Aelan’s eyes. Right then, he pleaded her to elope with him. She did not think twice before complying. They both jumped on his horse and while they did that, a servant saw them trying to escape. He immediately told Aelan’s father and a search party was formed.

Kaipo and Aelan went far past the city limits and into the dangerous and rocky mountains. The two lovers came to a huge canyon and had nowhere to go. The search party was catching up to them. They were trapped. Kaipo and Aelan looked at each other and nodded. They both decided that they would rather die together than be separated again. So, they jumped. They were so close to making it to the other side, but their weight was just too much. The couple and their steed fell into the river at the bottom of the canyon. The search party saw this. The river was two hundred feet below the top of the rocky canyon, so there was no way the couple could have survived. They decided that there was no reason to continue and they returned home. However, by the will of God, the couple and horse fell into the river and survived the fall. They scrambled out of the river with a few bruises, but very much alive. The couple was so tired that they laid on the riverbank and looked up into the stars. They lived happily ever after.

Author's Note - The original storyline comes from Lovers' Leap in the Laos Unit. For my past storytellings, I usually do a modernization of the plot, but this time I did something different and tried a love letter style. In the original plot, the lovers do not make it over the cliff, but I wanted to have a happier ending than that. Then, in my original storytelling, I wrote that the couple made it over to the other side of the canyon, but I realized that it was a bit predictable so I changed it for my portfolio to the way it is now. I actually like my new ending a lot and I think it is more interesting. Other than that, I kept the story basically the same. For the title, I combined the lovers' names together. In Laotian, "Kaipo" is a male name meaning "sweetheart" and "Aelan" is a female name meaning "flower." I know that it is pretty cheesy. In fact, my whole story is pretty cheesy. I imagined the lovers to be around sixteen or seventeen years old so I figured that I could get away with it. This reminded me a bit of Romeo and Juliet as I was reading it so I added the detail about the stars. Star-crossed lovers usually have tragic endings because the stars controls people’s fates, but like I said, I wanted a happier ending. Therefore, in the end, I just had the couples stare at the stars as a triumph over what their fate should have been. 

If you are having trouble deciding what unit to read next week, I highly recommend the Laos Unit! It has some really good stories and many have surprising endings. The diction and wording are also easy to read! If you have any suggestions for what I should read next week, please leave a comment below!


Book: Laos Fairy Tales

Author: Katherine Neville Fleeson

Year Published: 1899

Web Source: Project Gutenberg

Week 13 (Essay): Grimm (Crane) Unit

This week I read the Grimm (Crane) unit. I actually really enjoyed this unit. It was quite interesting especially because of some of the unexpected endings. My favorite stories are King Thrushbeard and the Three Spinsters. I liked King Thrushbeard because I thought it was sweet how the King loved the princess so much, but he could see how arrogant and obnoxious she was. So, he disguised himself and went through all this work just to show her modesty. It was a bit heartwarming. As for the Three Spinsters, this story was very short, but I thought it was pretty funny! I originally thought it was going to be like Rumpelstiltskin, but it was not. In my opinion, it was better! My least favorite story was Snow White. This story was long and it felt like it dragged on a bit. All the stories were very straightforward so no background information or additional notes were needed. The overview gave a good description of the unit. It felt like the overall theme of this unit was about princesses except for the Fisherman and his Wife and the Robber Bridegroom. My overall goal for this class was to expose me to works of writing. This week, I did not choose something as obscure as I usually do. I choose something that I was a bit familiar with, but I had never really read. I found it as a fitting choice. I did not really learn anything from this unit nor did I have any expectations. However, something that surprised me was how gruesome the Robber Bridegroom story was! I remember have a few shivers and goose bumps while reading that story. Overall, I liked this unit! I recommend it to anyone that wants something easy to read. It has a good number of twists and turns that make it an interesting read!

Reading Diary (Week 13): Grimm Tales

Grimm (Crane)

Fisherman and His Wife - I found this story the most humorous out of the three. The wife is never content with what she has once she realizes that she can wish for whatever she wants. When she finally wishes for the power to control the sun and moon, she ends up back where she started in a small little hovel. This is probably why genies only give out three wishes.

Aschenputtel - I remember reading this earlier in the semester. I think it is in someone's storybook. Anyway, this is my first time actually reading the original and it was more gruesome than I expected. There is a lot of extreme actions taken. Nonetheless, it was an interesting story.

Robber Bridegroom - This was a very surprising story! I did not expect this to happen at all. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable reading it honestly. I don't know how people come up with this stuff.

Six Swans - This was a nice story. I had never heard of it before, but it is actually very popular. It was a nice story.

King Thrushbeard - This is probably my favorite story out of all the ones from this unit. I did not expect the ending at all and I thought it was really sweet! It kind of reminded me of the Beggar King from the Jewish Fairy Tales unit.

Three Spinsters - This story was super funny! I definitely recommend it to people! I think it would be a really good story to do a storytelling over too!

Snow White - I actually did not like this story very much. It was kind of long. I didn't feel like there was a really stand out moment in this story. It was so-so.