Reading Overview

Nation, Lord of the Flies, Eagle Eye, The Wave, The Keeper, The Juvie 3

This year has been a challenging year reading wise. I started off slowly and I steadily increased my reading. So far this year I learned that I can be a strong reader and I can be one that has to work to just read a page of a book. When I am reading a book that I am interested in, I read non-stop and I fully understand what I’m reading. But, when I am reading a book that I have no interest in and I think is “boring,” I lose focus while reading, don’t understand, and sometimes I tend to not finish the book.

This second semester I plan to turn up my reading and stay on pace. During the second semester, I need to work more toward my strengths, but while doing so. I need to work on my weak nesses. I want to work on being able to read any book and not lose focus, and being able to understand everything in the book. By the end of the school year I would like to have read at least 12 books, and two more books than the amount I read this first semester. I plan to start reading more non-fiction books and mystery. Also, challenge myself and read a book from a genre that I never had interest in.

mon- Peer Reviews - 35 min.

tues-LOTF- Chap. 6-7 40 min.

wedn- Chapter 8- 30 min.

thurs.- chapter 9- 10 40 min.

sat.- chapter 11- 35 min 

 

Reading Focus

One moment during the story with Social Setting was in the beginning when Piggy found Ralph,
"What's your name?"
"Ralph."
"The fat boy waited to be asked his name in turn but this proffer of acquaintance was not made"(9)
This moment in the story was an example of social setting because Piggy's interference with Ralph set up his friendship with Ralph. They were starting to introduce and Ralph introduced himself but didn't let Piggy. Which was how their relationship is during the whole book. Ralph is the superior and Piggy never got the respect the others got, or he deserved.

Another moment of the story when there was an example of social setting was when the big kids and little ones were making rules and plans for them on the island. Ralph spoke,"That's what the shell's called. I'll give it to the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking."
There was different ides from the crowd, "But-," "Look-," "And he won't be interrupted. Except by me." "Jack was on his feet." Jack felt as he was also a superior and he can do whatever he likes to. That statement showed that Jack was not going to respect Ralph as a leader and he didn't.(33)

There was also another event in the story that showed social setting, "He says the beastie came in the dark." This was a little one, who was the first to bring up the beast. "Then he couldn't see it!" "Laughter and cheers."(36) They laughed at the little one while he was talking, but the beast came up to be a significant part of the book. More of the boys started to believe that there was a beast and there was no beast. This caused all kinds of trouble for the boys, it even caused one boy to be killed by the others.

Reading Time

Tues. - 30 mins. Literary Analysis
Wedn. 45 mins. Literary Analysis
Thurs. LOTF - 1 hour -Literary Analysis
Friday- 1.5 hours- Literary Analysis
Sat. LOTF chapter 6, 30 mins.

Reading

I read " Yummy" and went to the discussion.

Thur.  L.O.F. - 2hours. Pg 1-55
Friday. L.O.F- 30 MIN. 55-65
WED. L.O.F- 20 MIN.65-70
THUR. L.O.F. 20 MIN.70-80
SAT. LOF. 30 MIN. 80-94

Class Discussion

        While in class, having a discussion with the class about what would we do if the class' plane crashed with first graders and adults also on board, but sadly all the adults died. It was a very intense and interesting assignment. While doing this assignment our class had a very hard time and not being able to decide on one idea, hurt our discussion. One weakness that we had was not being able to decide on one whole thing, and that can hurt any group if they need to make any decisions. Although, there was some great ideas some of my classmates came up with. They had ideas on the government, food, shelter, and also how the kinds were going to be taken care of.
        The class' ideas on shelter were to have the men go off and collect things from the environment they were in and come up with the best shelters. According to the supplies they had to make shelter. Leadership would be a hard thing within my class because there was so many people trying to come up with different things and ideas at one time. There was a lot of confusion and it would be a long time for the class to come into one agreement about who was in charge. Survival wouldnt be a problem at all because students had good ideas for food and things that help with surviving. But, leadership would  be a problem. Everyone wanted to be in charge and have everything go their way. So, if this would happen to my class, everyone would be off doing their own thing, not working as one to survive.  

Reading Response

        "Why was he sentto a detetion camp?" The thought that went through my head while reading the return. "What did he do and how long was he there?" I thought The Return was a very good story, although it was very short. It was  very interesting and it was very easy for me to visualize the story. It's so nice that he is finally home from the detention camp, and he can remember where to go to back home. Will they who he is, will they be happy to see him? Different questions popped up into my head at every second while reading, and it made me keep reading.
        When Kamau got back to his village from the detention camp, I was expecting the people of the village to be happy to see him and, so did Kamau. But, sadly they didn't even know who he was.How can they not remember?" No one remembered, and that was so sad. Even his family though he was dead. All these questions appeared into my mind, then a big one came, "What will he do at the river?"

Tues. - The Juvie 3, 0-44 (1 hr.)
Wedn. - The Norton Chap. 14 (25 min)
Thur. - The Return (10 min.)
Fri. - Juvie 3 (35 min.)

Free Post : Football

        This year has been very good but it can defiantly be better, such as Football. Football is something that I really love and is very important to me, but the news that I couldn't play Varsity crushed me. But, I was able to play Junior Varsity and it was a fun experience. We had 8 games, but sadly I only played in 6, due to my A-C joint in my shoulder being sprained. Jv was fun and very helpful, it helped me a lot to get used to the environment of High School football games, while it was very exciting, we ended up with the best JV record ever, with 6 wins and 2 losses. Our team was full of different characters, we had serious players to childish players, and it was fun to be with my teammates. I scored 13 touchdowns through 6 games, which is very good, but I believe I can do even better.
        My JV season is all over, but I am still apart of a team and we are in the playoffs. Varsity is a level up from JV and I can't wait till next year so I can play Varsity. The varsity players are like 40 brothers to me and I really like our team, and I would say I love some of my teammates as brothers. We have a lot of fun, from practice and games to parties and LSU games. We do a lot together and I can't wait till I can get on the field with them. I have many goals for next year and I'm going to work very hard to reach them.

Story element

To build a Fire's plot as very interesting. There were all the different sections of a plot but the Exposition wasn't short or long, the Rising action as very long and it was about 70 percent of the story. Then there as the climax which as at the end of the story, and the falling action was the shortest part of the story, and there really wasnt a resolution. The exposition intrduced the setting and the character's actions first, then the actual characters. Rising actin was long and interesting and had many big events, like the fire and the tree.

The rising action as both scary and interesting. A tree had fallen and now the man as many mile away from the village falling and gasping for air. Is he going to die, what will happen? The story was getting more and more interesting, then there as the climax. He had fell twice already, then he fell again, but this time he couldnt get up or even gasp for air. He had died, the falling action was very fast and just the dog walking away. There asnt a real reslution because nothing was solved.


Times
Tues. annotating - 25 min.
Wedn. Eagle Eye- pgs. 170 - 203- 45 min.
thurs. annotating - 25 min
Friday - annotating- 25 min.  

Class Participation

This quarter wasnt too bad, I just have to make sure I stay on top of things. There were a few cases when i had to go back out to my locker to get my binder or book. I always check my emails everyday and throughout the day. Reading started off slow for me but I picked it up extremely well. I think I did a goos job of staying focus and not getting off task. I payed attention to the teacher, took notes ,and had a good attitude.

We had a few times where we had individual work, group work and things like peer review. Most of the time I was on task doing my work and in groups I was helping out and giving great comments. While on the computer I never took advantage of my oppurtunity on the computer, and did something i wasn't supposed to. Next quarter i plan on coming into class prepared, making sure im getting things done, taking out my things quickly, and staying focus.

reading
Tues. Short Story and annotating - 30 min.
Wedn.- Short Story and annotating - 15 min.
Thurs. short story and annotating-0 15 min.
Friday- Eagle Eye, pgs. 35- 60
Sat. Eagle Eye- pgs. 60- 100

response

          I just finished The Wave and it was a great book. It wasnt long, but the structure of the book was very unpredictable. As soon as the book started the exposition started and it wasnt long at all. the exposition was about 7 pages, and it told the setting and main characters as it started. then the rising action, rising action went on for a long period of time, from the Wave steaming up. Then there was the climax, which wasnt just one main event.
          The climax was a sequence of events, that all were big marks in the story. There were about 3 big events in the story and all of them were having something with the students in The wave attacking other student. The resolution came up out of no where, it was a long process in a short amount of time. Mr. Ross had to do alot of thinking to figure out a way to stop the wave, but he got it done.
Tuesday 2nd draft 40 min., Wed. (the wave 125- 163)  thurs. ( short story, 40 min, Final draft, 30 min) sun. (eagle blue, pgs. 1-20)

I am a Writer Who....

I am a Writer Who 

makes things fun and interesting.

Makes the audience keep reading,

Not to stop being confused but

Because the mind grabbing words and ideas.

The setting and actions pop up into your mind while reading.

You want to know what will happen next, and 

You cant stop reading. 

You feel as if i'm telling you the story, 

Face to face.

The reader reads and reads and then

They're hooked. 

Feelings good and bad begin to emerge. 

Then you read the last sentence and 

Realize you're done. 

Free post: Football

This has been a fun year so far entering a new school, and Football has been one of my favorite parts. I've been playing football ever since I was 5 and I've always been told and thought i was good at it. So, being able to play football in high school is a great opportunity. I've got to knowing everyone on the team and its a lot of fun practicing and playing with those guys. Although, i'm not able to participate in the best part of high school football, playing on Friday Nights, I get to play on Mondays.

JV hasn't been too bad though, we are 3-0, undefeated, and we have a good team thats getting better everyday. Through 3 games I have 4 touchdowns, and about 400 yards, which is great. Monday we had a comeback game it really showed that we were players that don't back down to any challenge. All of or games have been away so far, but Monday its home and we play or rival,u -high, and i cant wait. Lets go Knights.

Reading Response

The Wave is getting out of control, kids are fighting, they are having rallies for it, it's starting all kinds of problems, who's going to stop it. The Wave started off with a class of just about 25 and now it has spread all through the high school. Students are recruiting other students to join, but not in a good way, if a student doesn't Join or doesn't want to, they are getting bullied about not joining, and kids are being beat up if they criticize The Wave in any way. Why has it turned into this, parents are worrying about their kids dealing with The Wave, because they are having dramatic change and they don't think they are healthy. Students that were shy and independent are not apart of something that labels all people equal, but that seems to be the only good part. Students are doing things that they believe are orders and responsibilities of The Wave, but they never were. The Wave is about to be a disaster, and if no one stops it now, it's going to be a lot harder later on.                                         Reading : pgs. 65-125

Narrative: The Bet I Regret

It was the beginning of my 5th grade year, last year of elementary school. I stepped into Mrs. Creel's 5th grade gifted class, thinking that this was going to be a great year, and I was going to make the most of it. All my bestfriends since third grade were in the same class as me, and we established that we were going to learn and have fun this year. We came up and created different challenges and bets that we were going to try to beat eachother at. " Tj and Dedrick, I bet I will have more A.R. points than both of ya'll," annonced Ellis. "Nah, I'm goingg to have the most A.R. points and we all know it," I followed. A.R. points were a system where you read books and took test to get points. Dedrick just sat there and listened to me and Ellis argue about who was going to have the most points, then all of a sudden, " Won't you two just shutup !! How about we just see at the end of the school year who had the most points."

Reading Response

"The Nazis were horrible people, how did they torture and kill people like that. I would love to study  Nazis and try to find out why they did such things." My thoughts as Mr. Ross's class as they talked about World War 2, why couldn't my history class be as interesting as his. They are having so much fun in class."Class, I would like to introduce something we will be doing to help our understanding of world war 2," annouced Mr. Ross. The Wave seemed so interesting to be apart of, it showed unity and be apart of something of that sort would be great. But, how far will it go, The Wave is getting out of control, people are starting to argue and fight over a simple act in History class, that has been taken too far. Why are they have disagreements over something that was an act about a program that represented strength and community. Mr. Ross needs to stop the wave, while reading this book a lot of things popped up into my head, wondering why these problems are occurring, this was supposed to be something constructive. These students are out of control and it doesn't make any sense, The Wave was getting out. Of control, what will happen next.                                                                            Book:The Wave, pages 0 : 65 

Comment Response

To Nicholas Dragon: Yes it was a scary moment at once, but the storm wasn't too bad for me, it was just a lot of rain and strong winds. But I'm so happy it wasn't worse, but it was for some people. I wouldn't call myself brave that night, I would call those people in LaPlace brave because they got the worst of it. To see your house be destroyed and all your things be destroyed is horrible, I wouldn't have been able to do it. Now they have to start all over, I just thank god.    To Dr. D: Nation has been an interesting book and you to have complete focus to understand it. Writing blogs helps me keep focus and recap the part of the book I have read. Your comments on my post have told me to get even deeper into my thoughts and feelings about the reading, and I plan and will try to think more about my thoughts while reading the book.

Reading Response

       Will he make it alive will he die on the way. While reading the beginning of Nation, a lot of different thoughts came up in my mind. From how did the boys before Mau know what to do before they go off on the trip to will Mau survive. I was fascinated in the idea that every boy knew what to do, so they can prepare for their trip. They went to the same tree and found the same tool.
       Will Mau make it, will he die on the way. Or will he run and go back to his island, instead of continuing his trip to become a man. While reading this part of the book, a lot of different ideas popped into my mind,  I tried to imagine Mau's situation and ot was very interesting and had a lot of suspense, I plan on reading farther into the book.
Due Sept. 4th. Eagle Eye 0 to chapter 3, Approx. 30 pages.  Nation approx. 25 pages.

Hurricane Experience

         The hurricane wasn't bad at all for me and my family and I was very happy, our power didnt go out, and our dogs were fine. The most memorable moment of the hurricane was Thursday night. It was about eleven o'clock at night, I was laying up in bed and I  couldn't go to sleep. Then all of a sudden I heard a howl outside the window.  The wind was blowing so hard, it sounded as if someone was singing opera outside my window.
     It was very dark outside and the wind was  blowing hard, this was the only moment during the hurricane that I was nervous about the power going off, i was so worried. Then was blowing hard non-stop for ten minutes, then as soon as it stopped the rain came.

The Keeper (free reading)

Is he going to stay in his poor country with his family and work with his dad or will El Gato leave and go play soccer and get a life of his own. Gato was the tall long kid who was clumsy and horrible at soccer but one day while seeking the forest, a man appeared, the man who helped him turn into the best goalkeeper in the world. El Gato was the best soccer player ever, he had came from a poor city to the most famous person in soccer history.But while in his prime El Gato chooses to stop playing soccer and do something else. He was the best, and he just stopped because he didn't forget where he came from and he wanted to go back to the place that made him and that he loves.

My Overview Of The School Year

        Every year we make goals and try to accomplish them so we can be the best student that we are able to be. I don't mind making goals because they give me something to work and strive for. This year I want to accomplish many things in sports and academics. Sports have always been a big thing in my life and high school sports will be a big thing for me. This year in sports I'm  going to focus mostly on getting better and developing as a player, because I'm not eligible for varsity sports.                  Academics have always been a big thing in my life and I plan to succeed in academics throughout my high school years. I would like to have straight A's throughout the school year. I would like to stay up on my studies, homework, and get the best grade possible for all assignments.