12/10 LOF reading focus update

             Jack starts to change some after a while. In chapter five, Jack is really mean to Piggy. They are all talking about the beast and how they feel about it, and when Piggy tries to talk Jack interupts him by saying, "Who cares what you believe-Fatty" (90). This really upsets Piggy, and makes him sad. Piggy does nothing wrong to Jack and he is just mean to him. Later on, in chapter seven Jack starts to change a little, and for the better. While they are out looking for the beast Piggy is left to watch the littluns. They all notice that it will be a while until they get back to Piggy, and Jack says "we mustn't let anything happen to Piggy, must we" (117).
            Then, we start to have another change, but this time for the worst. Jack and his people go onto Ralph's side of the island and steal stuff. At first Ralph and Piggy think they took the conch, but they soon realized they took Piggy's glasses. Ralph and Piggy go onto Jack's side to talk to him, but he doesn't really care about them. Piggy makes Jack made by calling him a thief repeatedly. Piggy starts to hold up the conch so that everyone will listen, which didn't end too well. All of the sudden, "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee" the conch was now broken. "Piggy said nothing, with no time for even a grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the rock, turning over as he went." (181).  Jack has now killed Piggy.

12/10 books read

            So far this year I have read Lord of the Flies, the shorts stories, Before I Fall, If I Stay, Somebody Everyone listens too, Uglies, and The Five People You Meet In Heaven.  Reading these has showed me a lot. It showed me that one of my main weaknesses is reading around people. When I read in louder environments, I realized that my mind will start to drift off. I have to make sure that I am in a quiet place while I read.  I also noticed that I usually try to take my time when I read, so that I understand what is going on better. 

           Whenever I read, I like to read books about people around my age, or people going through the same thing as I am. That's one reason I pick the books that I read. When I get really into a book I notice a lot more things, and start to relate myself to the book, and put my self in the situation. One of my goals for the end of the year is to read about 12 books. I think I can accomplish this, if I keep on the same track that I am on. 

Reading times:

Lof ch. 8-12

160 min total 

10/22 reading times

Uglies byScott Westerfeld
10/18- 80min
10/19-80min
p.1-157  total-160 min

11/5 free post

   At this time, most of us were probably thinking when is Thanksgiving going to be here. I'm ready for a break, and I don't want to be at school anymore. Then, before we knew it Thanks giving was here and it was time for our break. We start our break, ready to do stuff, but before we knew it our break was over and it was time for school to start back. The First day is always the hardest, no one wants to be there.
   As I get to school i notice that a lot of people weren't there. Some of them a little late, but a lot were sick. I felt like everyone around me was either sick or getting sick and I just wanted them away from me. Before I knew it, Everyone started getting better again, and now all we want is our Christmas break. It's so close, yet so far away

12/3 reading times

150 min. Ch.5-7
LOF

Focus track

    So to start you off, I have my focus track on Jack. He is a very interesting character, and I feel like he has been changing so far, and will continue to change through out the book, since we aren't that far along in Lord of the Flies. Starting off the book, Jack wanted to be in charge because he pretty much thought he was the best choice out of everybody. He didn't really care what the others thought, he just did what he wanted to do.
   When it is time for Jack to step up and kill the pig so that they would have food, he isn't able to do it. Jack came from school not really knowing or having the courage to kill an animal. He only has the excuse that he will do it next time. He realizes that he messes up, but he doesn't like to admit his errors. Then, Jack soon starts to become overly obsessed with killing a pig, that he doesn't care about building shelter.

midterm&reading times

   As we get closer to the midterm, I think that we need to go over the things more towards the first quarter. The beginning of the first quarter especially. I feel like the things that we learned then aren't very clear in my memory any more. I feel that I'm just forgetting the things that we learned specifically. I think that going over the things from the first three or four weeks will really help me, then just refreshing on the later things learned.
   One main thing that I think we definitely need to go over is the summer reading. The summer reading is something that I don't remember too much, since it seems to be so long ago. Then, I also think that we should go over the short stories that we read, so that they are back fresh in our memories. I think that we will remember certain things about the short stories, but probably not enough to fully answer the questions that could be asked.


Reading Times:
Lord of the Flies- Ch. 1-5; 3 hours

LOF response

  Our group had a lot of weaknesses, because most people didn't want to listen. Everyone wanted everything their own way, not thinking of ways to help everyone else. No one had a chance to talk without being interrupted by someone else. We tried to vote for a leader to help, but no one wanted to vote, so we never picked one. After a while of argueing, our group split up and everyone went and did what they wanted too.
   If this were to happen to us, I don't think that most of us would make it. Due to the fact that there was no set leader, and everyone wanted to do what they wanted. Most of us didn't have any set plans, causing us not to know what we would do in this situation. If this really did happen, I think that we would all have to come together quickly to prepare, and have groups of people to do certain things, including watching the first graders, making food, and finding shelter.

reading times

Lord of the Flies
11/11- 50 min. ch.1

Somebody Everybody Listens To- Suzanne Supplee
11/7-  60 min p.1-51

Total- 110 min

Response and times

  This past week, I have read extra short stories that I liked and that I didn't like. One of the stories that I read was Hills Like White Elephants, and that story was pretty good, but was almost all dialogue, and I felt like there was not really a theme to it, it felt as if the story wasn't going anywhere. It was almost point less. Another story I read was the Cathedral, which I really liked. It was a story that was kind of sad, yet happy, and I wanted to read it again, because of how much I enjoyed it.
  There were other stories that I had read and enjoyed, and there were stories that I had stared and couldn't finish them because I couldn't read anymore about them. Normally, I would be able to finish the short story that I was reading, but after I started reading, and didn't finish it in the first time I started reading it, then I never wanted to go back to finish it.




Reading times-
Short Stories-
10/29- 20 min 10/30- 25 min 10/31-15 min 11/1- 20 min
total- 80 min

Short Stories

  The three stories that I read were Araby, The Sniper, and The Endless Streetcar Ride into the Night, and the Tinfoil Noose. I feel that The Sniper, or Araby has the most importance out of the three, even though they all could have a lot of things to right about, and make an argument.  In The Sniper, I have noticed that Characterization and Setting are really important in the story. These are important because  the sniper was out at dark, on top of a roof top hiding and trying to kill the enemy. It explains how he was acting, and what he was doing on the roof. The setting was really big in the story because he was in the middle of war, on the roof late at night. Characterization was important, because I tells us that he was hungry, then made a bad decision about smoking, then he was really smart in the decision he made about escaping. It also shows how he was curious, because after he escaped and killed the enemy, he decided to go see who he killed.

  In Araby, I think that setting is also important to this story. It takes place on North Richmond Street, In an uninhabited house that had two stories. Then it turns into short winter days, with dusk falling early, before they would eat there dinner. The sky was violet, and cold air stung the the boys while they played outside. I think that setting is so important in this story because it shows where each thing is happening, and it changes throughout out the story, going from out side to in a quiet room, to the dinner table. Also, I think that you could argue that the father forgets about his son easily, just because he doesn't care that much.

reading times 10/15

10/9 Dry September- 30 min
10/10 Before I Fall- 35 min
10/10 And of Clay We Are Created- 25 min
10/11 Before I Fall- 45 min
10/12 Harrison Bergeron 20 min
Total- 155 min.

literary elements

   In To Built A Fire, I found literary elements like man vs. nature, which was pretty obvious.  This was obvious, because he is out in the cold snowy nature with only a dog, trying to get to his camp before he freezes and dies.  It is extremely cold outside, and it just gets colder and there is nothing he can really do. He tries to start a fire, and snow falls from a tree and puts the fire out. By the time he tries to start another fire after moving, his hands are too cold and he tries to use his mouth. He burns his hand with the fire, but can't feel it because of how cold his hands are.
  I also found man vs. self in this story. One of the examples in the last paragraph seems to fit with both themes, when he burns his hand on the match trying to light the fire. This fits with man vs. self also, because he just can't light the fire, but he is determined too. He want to light the fire, but nature is just working against him. His hand is freezing cold, yet he burns himself. That is also an example of irony.

Participation

  This quarter, I think I did pretty well. I usually had my stuff with me, but there was the occasional time where I had forgotten something, or other things. I tried to have the best attitude that I could, but I know there were days that I could have done better than what I did. When it was time for group discussions I payed attention, and usually took notes on somethings, but I didn't always talk. Sometimes there would be questions that I had that before I got a chance to raise my hand someone else would ask, or say, and I did't have anything else. I know I did participate some but I also know I could participate more.
  When working in groups, I say what I need to say, try to do the work that I need to, and give my share of the information. I tried to say on task as well as I could, and tried not to distract others. On individual work, I found my self kind of wondering away from the topic not wanting to do the work as much, because my work wasn't affecting anyone else, and I know this is something that I need to work on more. Also, I felt like I wanted to talk more during those times. During the second quarter I am going to work harder on making sure I have everything I need, being more focused, and trying harder in my work.

reading

Before I Fall
9/25- 40 min., 9/26-30 min., 9/27-50 min
To Da-Duh
10/2-30 min
 Total- 150 min

I am a writer who..

  I am a writer who tries do to what I can to make everything clear and interesting.  When I write, I want readers to be interested in reading it and not just reading it, because they have too.  Writing is something that is pretty easy right now, and when I write I try to add the detail that needs to be. Also, I try to make a vivid story that will keep the readers into the story, and make them want to know what is going to be happening next. Using details and strong word choices and sentence structures help make the story that way.
  The writer that I am today, is because of my past. If I wouldn't have taken a creative writing class, then I probably wouldn't be where I am today. Creative writing changed the way that I wrote, and helped me get to where I am today. My teacher was the main reason, he kept me interested, and most likely without him I wouldn't be the writer I am. The class showed me to be more vivid and detailed, so that the readers will stay interested.

Reading Responce

  As I get farther into the book, it gets better and better.  It is such a good book, and I am really enjoying it. Everything is picking up, and I hate putting the book down. I just get so into it. I would really recommend reading this book, because by far it is one of my favorites. It is more of a girly book, so I would recommend it to more girls who are looking for a good book. I am really glad that Gabrielle talked me into reading this book, because I love it.
  It is a little repetitive, but having her relive that day over and over again, was great. It is a fast read, if you want it to be, but as I said last time, I am taking my time so that I can understand everything better.  If you are going to read this book, which I recommend that you do, its up to you on how fast you want to read it, depending on how fast you want to be done. When I read this book, I don't even notice the things going on around me, I can only concentrate on the book. I really recommend reading this book



Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
9/18- 50 min,. 9/20 50 min,. 9/22-30 min,. 9/23- 20 min
Total pages 1- 210

Free Post

 Well, I guess my free post should go to my free time. If I had any. Most of my time has been spent cheer, or being at the gym. If I'm not there, I'm probably sleeping or doing homework.  I usually go to the gym just about everyday of the week even if I don't need to go. I sit and do my homework or watch what ever is going on. When I get bored I try to work on the things I need to get, but it doesn't always happen. Some times though I get stuck on something on my homework, so I can usually get help from someone there. It's usually either a coach, or Gabrielle who can help with anything.
  Being there is a big stress reliever for me. I feel like I can just escape from everything else, until it's time for practice. I really enjoy being there, because it's a fun place, and I always have friends there. When I go there, it's like nothing else matters to me. If I need to get something done, I can get it done there. I can usually escape from most of the stress that I have, and being there calms me down.

Outside reading

  Reading Before I Fall, was probably one of the best choices I've made on reading a book. I am so glad that Gabrielle told me to read it. By far, it is one of my favorite books, even though I haven't even read that much of it. Every time I pick this book up, I get so into it, and don't want to stop.  I have been taking my time on reading this book, because I have been enjoying it so much. I like to read books like this slow, so that I make sure I understand everything, and so that I get all of the details.
  Gabrielle helps me with choosing new books all of the time. She has given me a lot of good books to read, but by far this is the best and my favorite of all the books she has given me to read. As I get more into the book, it gets better and better, and keeps me going back when I need something to do. It is an easy book to read, and can be a fast read for most people.  I am just really enjoying this book, and I don't want to be finished with it, but I can't wait to find out the ending results of the book.




Outside Reading- Before I Fall by: Lauren Oliver
9/11- 30 min,. 9/13- 30 min,. 9/25- 30min,. 9/16- 60 min
Total- 150 min p.65- 137

literacy narratives

  I am starting to write about the reason I like to write so much. It starts towards the end of one school year, how I hated to write. I think starting like that is a good way to show a flash back, nice of detail to the rest of the paper. It starts at the end of 6th grade, skipping through the summer between, starting of the next school year with problems. I used no not like to write, because I thought I had problems with it.
  After I start to have to face my problems more and more, and I start to get really nervous about it. Mainly, that is most one what I have. I am trying to make sure I have good, vivid details in what I am writing.  Making sure everything is clear and understandable to the reader. I still have a good bit left to write of it, but I feel that it is coming along. If any one has any suggestions of things that I need to make sure of, let me know.

Blog comments

  So far, I have been having pretty good comments. On a few of my blogs I don't have comments, but the ones that I do have are helpful.  Reading the comments that I have will help will the blogs that I will later write. The comments are helpful, and will help make me have better blogs. They will also help me be a better writer over all, know what I need to do to improve my writing.
 So far the comments are just about me being more descriptive, and thinking as a reader. By that I mean going back and making sure that what I have written is understandable, and is clear. Making sure that I don't leave main details out, to where readers have questions about my writing. Also, not only being more descriptive, but being more organized in my writing, so that it is easier for readers to understand.

Outside reading

  I have just started reading a new book, Before I Fall.  The beginning of the book is kind of slow, but it is so far a pretty good book. Before I Fall , is a book that I am glad about starting. It is very interesting, and is the kind of book that I like to read. As I continue to read, it gets better and easier to read. I want to keep reading it every time I pick it up.  So far, it is about a girl with great friends, and a good life. The main character is a popular girl who usually gets what ever she wants, but it will soon change.

For the other part of my time I read The Norton Field Guide of Writing.  The three things that I read were very well written, and easy to read, but it wasn't something that I enjoyed. Reading this was very tedious, and I couldn't wait to finish what I had to read. Once I was done, I was relieved, knowing that I finished that assignment, and could also use part of the time for a different. I took my time reading it, so that I understood it better. Each of the three things I read were different, but easily understood. In each thing, i learned something new and different, but I know it will help me with my writing.





Outside Reading Times
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver-
9/5- 10 min., 9/6- 30 min. 9/9 30 min. total 70 min. pp. 1-65
The Norton Field Guide of Writing
9/8- 30min  9/9-50min total 80min. p.26-37, p.564-570, p.577-582

Hurricane Isaac

   Here comes the wind, here comes the rain, here comes no power, no school, or no driving around town.  The hurricane is coming everyone prepare. Buy more water, more food, and a generator, stock up on anything we need, because before we know it Isaac will be here. Everything around us shuts down, oh no, there goes the power. The wind is blowing, the rain is pouring, no one is driving, no where to drive to.  Waters start to rise, the wind blows harder, before we know it places are flooded, people are stranded in the deep waters, no where to go. Help is on the way, Isaac go away.

   As the wind keeps blowing, and the rain keeps pouring, all I'm thinking is when will this be over. Nothing to do, no where to go. What should we do? Should we try to dive somewhere, jump on the trampoline, or even swim during this storm, decisions, decisions. I think the trampoline sounds fun, getting dressed in rain jackets and hair nets, we take our chances and go jump. The wind keeps blowing and the rain still coming we have as much fun as we can until the storm gets worse. We decide to go back inside, watching more and more rain fall out of the sky, what should we do now? Now, we shall eat!

Reading Responce

  Reading the last part of The Five People you meet in Heaven was pretty easy. This book just getting better and better, and I didn't want to put it down after a while. As I got about half way through the book I always wanted to read it, so that I could find out what happened at the end of the book. As Eddie meet each person, his knowledge would grow. It would teach him where he was, and why he was there, also it would show him what signification each person had in his life.   He soon realized this is where he was suppose to be, and that everything happens for a reason.

  Start the book Of Mice and Men, was a really good choice that I made.  It is about to men, George and Lennie, who were displace ranch workers. During the Great Depression, they are vagabonds, searching for work to do.  So far, what I have read from this  book is pretty good, and is an over all pretty easy book to read.  These two characters have to deal with trying to find new work during this Great Depression, having to travel to a new place.  They go through hard times, and once you start to read, you want to keep reading this, and find out more and more, until you finish the book. It may not seem like the most interesting book, but once I started to read it, it opened up and ends up to be a better book than I thought it would be.



The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom
9/2- 10 min., 9/4- 40 min.
Total 50 min., p. 150-194
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
9/4- 100 min.
Total 100 min., p. 1-87

Outside Reading Responce

  "The Five People you Meet in Heaven" is a really good book.  It is really suspenseful, and made me want to keep reading more. It is a book that I didn't want to put down. It has a main idea that everything happens for a reason. We feel that when people die they have no reason, but it shows us that there is a reason for death.  Eddie they main character, feels that he has a meaningless life, working at an amusement park. He died, trying to save a little girl.
   Eddie meets the first person, and doesn't know what to think. He is confused, but it leads up to a good story, once he starts meeting people, the book starts to get more interesting, and you just want to keep reading more.  This book was well written, and and fairly easy to read. There was only a few small parts of this book that I had a little bit of trouble reading. There is a lot of supporting details for each main event, which helps it be even easier to understand. Over all, i felt like it was a great book, and really easy to read.


     The Five People you Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom
8/20- 10 min., 8/21 10min., 8/22- 10 min., 8/24- 35 min., 8/26- 95 min.
Total- 160 min., p. 1-150

In Defense of Cheerleading. A cheerleaders manifesto

    Cheerleaders usually don't get a lot of credit for what they do. Most people think that all we do is stand on the sidelines of football games or basketball games, but it's really a lot more than that. We have to work really hard to get what we want, and try our hardest to be the best there is. We workout really hard and have to push ourselves to be the best we can be. Some people think that it looks really easy, but it's usually because they have never tried it. Cheerleaders deserve a lot more credit than what we get, because we work just as hard or harder to get to be better and better every practice. Most cheerleaders are in the gym any where from 2-6 days a week, as long as we can be, working on more things than we can get better at.  We don't always have a coach in front of us telling us what we are doing wrong, sometimes we just have to know, and teach ourselves the right thing to do, so that we can get better, and be a better cheerleader.
     Most of my free time is spent in the gym trying to get better, and working on the things that I need to get better at. When people see cheerleaders at their school they usually think that's what every cheerleader is like, but it's usually not. Competitive cheerleaders usually work harder and longer than most school cheer teams. One of the hardest things is to work so hard to get the tumbling that I have, and the other skills like jumps and stunts, and people to tell me that cheer isn't even a sport. Cheer is as much of a sport as football is, and is even a more dangerous sport. There is usually a lot more injuries in cheer than there is in football, and when we are competing, and we get hurt we don't stop in the middle, we have to tough it out for the rest of the time, and do our best even being hurt. We also only get two and a half minutes to show how good we are, and how hard we worked to get where we are. More people need to try cheer, to realize that it truly is a sport, that involves lots of work and technique, and realize that cheer really is as much of a sport than any sport out there.

Reading responce

   In Defense of Food was a good book over all, but it was hard to read. I felt like when I read the book I couldn't read it for a long period of time. I had to read it in small sections, because I would start to catch myself thinking of other things. throughout the book there were a few confusing parts, and parts that were hard to read. This book was really written more for adults, so that they buy the food that is better for us to eat, and to stay away from the bad food.  While I was reading, I felt like I was reading a lot of the same thing over and over, because the book was very repetitive about us eating better foods, and more greens than what we are eating today.
      Also, a  lot of what it was trying to keep us away from the bad foods. They are trying to tell us it is the companies fault for us eating it, when it is our choice of what we eat, not theirs.  The companies are making it so that they make money, but we have a choice of what we buy to eat, so we can choose what we want to buy. Another thing is, is that this book was written more for our parents, or almost for another generation, especially, because our parents are usually the ones buying the food, and deciding a lot of what we eat. Then, most of the food that we buy is usually processed, and it's sometimes hard to stay away from that. Over all I felt like it did teach me a lot though, about healthier eating habits.

English goals and expectations

   I have many goals and expectations in English this year. One goal I would like to accomplish would be to make the best grades that I possibly can, by using all of my other intentions that I have set myself for this year. I would also like to stay as organized as possible. It would be great if I could always stay on task during class,by always making sure that I am doing the right thing. I would also like spend at least thirty minutes or more a night working on my homework, studying, and doing anything else that I need to do. These   ambitions are simple ambitions, but they will help me do better in class, understand what I am learning better, and help me make better grades in English.

   My expectations would be that this class will have me working harder than what I am used to, so I need to maintain all of my work and studies. I expect myself to work hard and diligently in everything that I do. Also, I count on myself to study harder than usual, work harder, stay more organized, and do all of my homework, so that I can make the grades I want to make.  For class, I assume that I will learn many more things about grammar and literature. I also imagine that I will expand my reading capacity, by reading more books, and trying to understand them better.  Although I do have many expectations other than these, I feel that know these few things that it will help me later on, and will let me know what I need to do, to do as good as I can do.