Collaborating Constructively in Literature Circles

One of the benefits in working with a partner is that each one can help the other get along, explain, or make comments so that we do better on the Literature Circles. If one person comes up with a level two question, then their partner can comment and both of them can work on it and improve the question so it becomes a level three question. Another benefit is that we can get the assignment done in less time, or with the same amount of time, come up with a higher level quality of work.
However, on the other hand, working with a partner might cause some problem, or disagreement between each other. One of the problems that I had was that I didn't agree with everything that my partner thought, and also, we kept on coming up with the same ideas. For example, when we wrote our connections, we both came up with the idea that we didn't think Zachariah would die of just 50 whips. Another problem was that we had to wait for one another, so that we can go over the document and improve it. That means that we need to make an appointment so that both of us are online at the same time, and to do that, both of us have to be free at the same time. For this, we might have to spare some of our own time as well.One of the new understandings I learnt was exactly how cruel and unreasonable Captain Jaggery could be to such innocent people. I also learnt more about Charlotte's personality. I learnt that she was a very brave young lady who doesn't care about the bad things people would say when they knew she had joined the crew. As long as she is not doing any harm or wrong to anybody, and that what she is doing is right, she would go for it. And as soon as she had stepped forward, there was no turning back.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Group discussions really did help me understand this novel better. This is because every time I go to discussions, each person in the group would have questions and thoughts about the book. As we share our ideas, we get deeper and deeper into trying understand the author and the novel. I think that is is actually why we have Literature Circles and group discussions-to help each other to learn. Some of the subjects we talked about were why Zachariah was the one who was treated quite badly compared to the rest of the crew, especially when he was chosen by the captain, a white, to be beaten up. This could be a reason for the captain to have done that. I think that this is important because it is one of the conflicts that would have an effect in the story. We came up with an answer that during those times, racism was still a big issue. In the first group discussion, we also made predictions of who was the good and the bad in the novel, and what would happen next in the story.
Some of the connections I made during the group discussions were actually connections within the story. One of them were about when Charlotte overheard some sailors that were in the forecastle. A brief summary of what she heard is that these men didn't want her on board the Seahawk. I connected it with an event that happened early in the story when Charlotte first set foot on the ship. One of the sailors, Barlow, came to her cabin and told her that she wasn't supposed to be on this ship. I thought about the his purpose-keep Charlotte off the ship. I also thought about Barlow's role in the forecastle and the issue of the round robin. The other connection was just about when I traveled to Japan and also went on ships.


My predictions for the rest of the novel would be rather a happy ending. I think that Captain Jaggery might die eventually. Maybe the hurricane would put his life to an end, or he might die of killing another member of the crew-the crew might judge him and take over his place. Also, another prediction is after this voyage has ended, I think somehow Charlotte will find another opportunity to sail with "her" crew again. My last prediction is that Charlotte's father and mother might be quite angry with her since she did so many 'unlady-like' things.

Symmetrical Objects

This is an image of my glasses. It has one line of symmetry, that is located in the middle of the picture, from top to bottom. This line of symmetry cuts through the bridge.