Final Reflection: Years of Experience

1- What are the three most important things you learned this year?

        1. Different Formats of Writing an Essay
        2. Organization 
        3. Finding Key Concepts in Articles/ Books

I learned many things this year, but my top three have got to be the one's I wrote at the top. The first one we learned throughout the year. We learned it while we wrote are SeaWorld/ Blackfish paper,which we took half of third quarter to do. This essay was an argumentative essay, which taught us to write without using a biased tone. That meant we could only use facts we fought of of articles, videos, and the Blackfish Movie. 

The second one which was organization I learned throughout the whole year. I learned to keep many of my things organized, which might I add, I wasn't good at. Mrs and Mr. Larson would always tell us to keep our things organized, because it would help in the long run. It did help me in the long run and it helped me a lot. I was able to find my things quick and easy. When I didn't organize my stuff I wasn't able to find them as quick as I would of if I would have listened. Over countless times of them telling us though I learned to keep my things neat and tidy on my computer. Now I just have to work on my locker.

Finding Key Concepts in Articles/ Books this was developed throughout the entire year. This was developed through our blogs and the countless books we would read in class. We would right notes to keep us on track and blogs to help us understand the books more. After about a week we would start are socratic seminars, which were kind of like little book club moments in are class. This would help us find key concepts that some of us missed. Overall I learned many things in Mrs. Larson's class that I think I wouldn't have been able to learn in any other class. 

2- What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?

-Holocaust Unit
-Life is Beautiful 
-Night by: Elie Wiesel

I think the thing that had the greatest impact on me would have to be the Holocaust unit we had. This unit was one of the best units we had in class. We learned so much, got to watch one of the best foreign films, and read a true story of a man named Elie Wiesel. During this unit I learned of Hitler, Hitlers regime, and of the Jews pain. My class learned of Hitler through are research for are keynote in class. We also learned of Hitlers Regime and of his propaganda against the Jews through the keynote also. A really interesting thing that we found out in the keynote was that during the Olympics in Germany America had put many colored skin people on the team. The crazy thing was that many of them one gold medals.  

The thing that got me most involved in the is unit had to be the movie and the book. The book was were we learned about how someone that actually went through the holocaust though of it. We got to learn how they suffered through it in there eyes. The movie had to be the best of the three though, I believe everyone loved the movie. The movie was one of the best movies I have ever watched and I believe ever will watch. The film writer turned something that is meant to make everyone feel somber into a funny film and it worked. Overall this unit was one of the best that we had this year.

3- What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?

-Help With Homework

The nicest thing anyone in the class did for me this year was help me with my homework. Normally I have my sister help me with my homework, but this year my classmates helped me. I would like to thank Maria and Jenna especially for helping me in my homework. They would always be there for me to asked them to check my work or help me in a part I got stuck on. I would also like to thank them for helping me excel in my classes. Thanks Jenna and Maria!

4- What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year?


-Things turn out better in the end

This is a hard question I am not really sure what I taught my teacher or classmates this year, but if I were to think really hard it would be that everything turns out well in the end. I think I taught my classmates this because as long as you try even a little bit and show you care then everything will turn out good I end. In example would be with my graduation speech I didn't really know it until the day of. I tried to remember it a little , but when I went up there I just knew it. I think  I just knew it because I stared at it for a few minutes everyday in class that week.

5- In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?

-Punctuation

I think the proudest thing that I have done for me this year was to actually try, and make my punctuation better. Normally I don't put as much effort in punctuation, but Mrs. Larson has taught me that it is an important skill to learn. She has taught me that with out punctuation everyone would read things differently. They would read it as if they didn't know where to start or stop. This would eventually mess up every plot in books. When a monster or new person was revealed it would sound awkward. The person who was reading it wouldn't be surprised or scared. Overall I am proud of myself for learning the importance of punctuation, and for trying to fix my mistakes.

6- What was the most challenging part of this year for you?

-Finishing Homework on Time

The most challenging part of this year for me has got to be finishing your homework on time. I normally at the beginning of the year didn't finish my homework on time, because I would always wait till the last minute. It was really hard for me to do my homework on time mainly because I just wanted to play. Until Abdiel told me his secret, it was to work hard first then play. I never believed this when someone older told me, but when Abdiel walked in class finished with his project a week early I knew they were write. I would like to thank Abdiel for helping me finish my work on time.Overall the most challenging part this year for me was finishing my homework on time, until Abdiel showed me the way.

7- What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best?

-Blackfish Argumentative Essay

The best writing I believe that I wrote this year has got to be my argumentative essay. I really liked this essay because at the beginning I didn't really care about it, then people started to check it. They helped me to improve my writing and after they read it again they thought it was one of the best ones I ever did. 

8- Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

-Zombie Chasers

I read many books this year, but if I were to pick one it would have to be Zombie Chasers book 2. This is a book meant for 12 year old, but I really enjoyed it because sometimes you have to just chill. Usually my classmates in Mrs.Larson's class read big books, then when we grab a small book it's kind of weird because we are so use to the big ones. Once in a while you have to read a small book and once you read through it you feel so mellow.

9- What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?

If I were to give advice for the incoming 8th graders it would just be to work hard then play. The kids may hear this a lot, but it actually works. Once you do all of your homework and everything else you will feel much better than if you wait till like 9 o'clock. I would also tell them to have fun in Mrs.Larson's class once you loosen up your experience will greatly improve.

Tuesdays With Morrie: Aphorism Project/ May 7,2015

Date:04/13/201

Tuesdays with Morrie

By: Mitch Albom

"There is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it

isn’t the family. (p. 91)"

Explain the aphorism in detail. what was Morrie's main message?

"There is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it

isn’t the family." This quote is basically saying that nobody or anything will always have your back, unless if it's family. The only thing that will actually help you and in life is your family, because no matter what, you will always love each other. Morrie tries to say this in many ways while he is talking to Mitch, he mentions it when he talks about his family. Mitch also mentions it a little, because in his flashbacks he would sometimes talk about his family, and how he had so much fun in the good old days. I believe the main reason Morrie said this was because he knew Mitch wasn't close with his family. He thought that if he could talk about his family and how they always helped him, he would be able to get Mitch to open up. Eventually it ended up working and he got Mitch to open up more about his family.

Relate the aphorism to a movie, song, historical event, current event, personal experience, etc. and explain in detail how the example you have chosen relates to the aphorism.

This aphorism is just like an episode of Lab Rats that I have watched in recent time. It was all based on how these two brothers weren't friends anymore because he tried to kill his children. Until the evil brother that tried to kill the kids gave up his evil ways and helped save the kids life. The good brother wasn't ready to forgive him though, until they bonded again over something they both loved. Even though the good brother thought he could do it without out his brother helping him. He wouldn't have been able to save the kids without him .The moral of the story in this case was that family will always be part of you even if they tried to kill your children, then save them. I picked this example because even though the good brother thought he didn't need his brother, his brother was there to help him in anything even if they didn't want him to. 

Evaluate the aphorism by explaining why you agree/disagree with it. Give specific reasons for your position and specific evidence from the text to support your position.

I agree with my aphorism because in everyday life you have a family. Also You will never stop having a family, they might have died but you still have a family. They will always have your back no matter what happens. My aunt and my mom have been in a feud for awhile now, but they both still find the time to help each other. They find the time to help each other when they are in need because they are family.

Take a picture of your aphorism to use as your graphic.

My Aphorism: Family will always be the one thing you know will have your back. 

Which Tuesday did I like best?

Based on the 6 Tuesdays you have read about in Tuesdays with Morrie, choose which topic (The World, Feeling Sorry For Yourself, Regrets, Death, Family, or Emotions) that has had the most impact on you or inspired you. On your blogdiscuss the importance of this topic with your own opinions, including textual evidence (direct quotes) from the book. 

If I were to pick any of the 6 Tuesdays it would have to be the 6th Tuesday, because it taught me how to detach myself. I sometimes let out emotion, but other times I don't. I don't let people know me the way they should, when I should let them. To detach means to "you don't let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary you, you let it penetrate you fully. That's how you are able to leave it". What Morrie is a saying is that you have to let the emotion take control of you, but then you have to let it go. You have to understand the emotion fully to be able to let go of it.

When Morrie first talked about it I didn't really understand, but as you read more you begin to understand what it means. He mentions a part about envy "' That's envy, I'm going to separate from it now.' And walk away."' Morrie mentions it a few more times throughout the book, but once you understand it you start to think of it more. Then once you try it you understand that it works at it should be used. Morrie also learned that 

At the end of the 6th Tuesday there was a little talk about how Morrie doesn't want to leave this world in horror or in any emotion. Morrie wants to lave as peaceful as he can so he has to detach when he feels he might die. " I don't want to leave the world in a state of fright," This really shows that Morrie wants to lave the world as he came in it, peacefully. He wants to be able to leave with no thoughts, just himself.

Tuesdays With Morrie By: Mitch Albom / Week 04/23/2015

What are your initial reactions to what you have read in Tuesdays with Morrie thus far? One of the main themes developing in Tuesdays with Morrie is not to take your life for granted. Based on this premise, what is on your Bucketlist? You can write a paragraph leading up to a bulleted list of what you would like to do/accomplish in your life.

I normally wouldn't even be close to reading these type of books. I have always wanted to, but every time I go to find one I end up picking a fantasy book instead. I was really looking for word to this book when our teacher told us we were going to read it in class. Once we started reading it I was hooked, this book is so entertaining there is just something about it that makes it entertaining for me.

What I have read so far has taught me many things, it has taught me many different life lessons. One of the more talked about life lessons is that you shouldn't take life for granted. Everybody always has something they want to do before they die. What Morrie wanted to do was to tell people his story and help further research in ALS. They were many other simply things he wanted to do before he died, which was kind of his bucketlist. This brings us to my bucketlist.

Bucketlist~

Graduate from High school ,College, and University
Skydive
Street race
Run over roofs
Go hunting
Have a family
Go to Britain
Own a house
Play beer pong in college
Read 100,000 books
Work at google
Be homeless for a week

Life is Beautiful

Based on the Holocaust literature and poetry we have read, what connections can be made between Life is Beautiful and our reading?  What events, scenes, or situations are similar or different? What is similar or different about the mood or tone of the pieces?

Night by: Elie Wiesel and Life is beautiful both had a handful of connections and differences. These differences and connections help show the true nature of what the Holocaust was. In both stories there was a father son connection that was evidently broken by death, by showing these father son connections it showed how the holocaust can rip families apart. In Night it was the connection with Elie and his father that helped you understand how the holocaust can really break people down to just give up. In Life is Beautiful there were many instances were Guido risked his life to save his sons which showed the connection Guido had with his son. Guido helped show how the holocaust can make you do crazy things for your family. In both stories they showed how the holocaust affects families and make them do irrational things.

The two stories were also very different because in Life is Beautiful the story was trying to have a more happy but at times serious tone. In Night they had a serious and sad tone throughout the book. In Life is Beautiful they try to have a more uplifting tone with how Guido would protect his son Joshua. Guido would protect his son by making up a game that would protect his innocents and help him live with the little food they gave them. In Night the father wasn't really taking care of his son the son was taking care of  this father. Elie would take care of  his father by giving him extra food and giving him the will to keep going.

Lastly the biggest difference through both Night and Life is Beautiful was the connection that each family would have. In Night Elie and his family stayed together until they got to the concentration camp then they complete got separated and couldn't talk to each other again. Before they went to the concentration camps though there family would take care of each other, except Elies dad. Elies dad would always be working on religious things. In Life is Beautiful Guido and his family kept in touch. Guido would send signals to his wife any way he could. This showed that they cared for each other even if they knew they might not make it.

Night 03/23/2015

Title: Night
Author: Elie Wiesel
Pages:0-finished
Prompt: How do Elie's experiences during the holocaust change him as a person?

The book Night by: Elie Wiesel is about Elie's experience through the holocaust. He touches upon most of his experiences that truly left in impact on him. If you were to look at him from the beginning of the book, you would notice that he was very religious. Elie was a very religious as a child he would spend his time praying to God "one day as I prayed at dusk". This shows that he would pray everyday  to prove himself to God. Another example is that Elie would try to find a person to teach him the Kabbalah which he should not learn till he is around 30 years old. His father would always tell him he was to young when he would ask for a master to teach him, until Elie found one on his own. This also tells us that he was very religious as a young boy. Later in the book you notice that he starts to loss his faith in God drastically when he says "Why do I pray?", "Why do I breath?", and "Why should I bless his name?" This not only tells us he is losing faith but it shows he wonders why should he even live. He thinks living while he is being tortured is a waste.

Elie Wiesel does a good job staying alive in the concentration camps, but he still changes drastically in appearance. In the beginning he is a young health boy, but after he is a skinny teenager. Elie is also very changed mentally from the loss of his father and from all the deaths he witnessed. One that scared him was of his father dyeing slowly with no help from the other Jews or guards. The last words his father told him were "Eliezer.." and Elie had not answered him or even helped him. After the day his father was taken to the crematory. The only words he could think of was "free at last!"

This brings another change into the book because more then half of the book there were mentions of sons leaving fathers to die.Each time Elie heard one of these stories he would only hope that he would never do that to his father. He mentioned several times about how his father is the only thing that keeps him going. There were little parts were he would regret it though, he would hope his father would die so he could be free. Then when that day came that his father died he wouldn't even pray for his father. He wouldn't even weep, but it was because he couldn't. There were no more tears for him to shed for his father and "it pained" him. This shows us that in the end he didn't feel much for his father just pain and relief at the same time. Overall Elie changed physically, mentally, and religiously.

"Yes, That's The Way Things Are" By: Koleba ~Butterfly Project

Comments:
Citlalli, Steven, and Jesus

Night: The Beginning

Night
By: Elie Wiesel
Week: 3/26/2015
Pages: 0-45
Prompt: List the Major events




The first major event of the book is when Wiesel and his family move to the ghetto. I listed this as one of my major events because it sets the stage for the rest of Wiesel's terrible journey. It tells us that the Nazi's have arrived in his town and that they are taking charge of the town. This is also a major point in the book because it is were Wiesel first learns about the Nazi's cruelty.

The second major event in the book is when they are transported and are in the beginning of entering Auschwitz. This is a major event because it talks about the struggles him and his father went through in Auschwitz. It is also a major event because Auschwitz is  the most notorious place during the holocaust. In Auschwitz Wiesel also meet Dr. Mengele who would have experimented on him if Wiesel wouldn't have been warned.

The Last major event so far is when he and his family are separated then shipped of to different camps. I think this is a major event mostly for Wiesel and his father because the separation of a family is heartbreaking. Many of the men there were crying because they left there families.

AOW Impressions: Week 03/22/115

This week my peers picked some fascinating articles about the holocaust, two articles caught my eye. One of them was about the experiments some of the Nazis performed on Jewish women and children. This was a very interesting article because the Nazi's would crush the skulls of children. They would only take Jewish children that were twins to experiment on them. If they weren't twins they would kill them by crushing their skulls. Not only did this probably hurt, but they are killing innocent babies.

The second article that interested me the most was about Gena Trugel. She had an amazing survival story, not only was she at three death camps, but she survived a gas chamber. This is amazing because the nazis thought that the gas chambers were effective. I really enjoyed the article about her especially when she said that a nazi soldier told her " you just walked out of a gas chamber". This tells me that she is alive for a reason. Overall this weeks articles were great.

Berlin Memorial Activity- 03/19/15

1- What did you learn?

The Holocaust hit all people hard, but it hit the Jews the hardest. Not only because many of them were murdered because of Hitler's ideas but because his ideas took away their freedom. One way that Hitler did this was he put in laws to be set on the Jewish. In fact he set in more than 400 decrees that ranged from lesser things to many of the bigger things, like education, jobs, or even soap. Hitler did this so that the Jews would not have anymore hope or even be considered human. 

2- Why do you think this monument was built?

I think this monument as built so that people could remember the inhumanity that the Jews had to go through. It serves to show that there should never be anything like the holocaust again.

3- What did you notice about the number of laws passed in certain years?

I noticed that throughout the years there were periods where the amount of decrees got smaller, and the amount of decrees also larger. I also noticed that when the Nazi army won or triumphed in something then the amount of decrees would be greater that year. It didn't just happen when the Nazis won a war it also happened when Hitler got greater power.

4- Which restrictions do you think you would have the most trouble dealing with and why?

Two of the restrictions I distinctly remember was about was hat the Jews couldn't get any education and that they couldn't have soap. I would have trouble with both of these. I would have trouble with not having school because then I wouldn't have any education to get far in life. I would also struggle with that because that is the place where you meet  many of your friends. I would struggle with not having soap or being able to bath properly because then I would smell good, and I would have trouble focusing.

3rd Quarter Reflection

This quarter I have moved forward on my 40 book challenge. I am so far 27 books in, I am planing to finish this years challenge. The best book I have read this quarter is  The Testing by: Joelle Charbonneau. This was the best book I read because of the thrill that was in the book from the beginning to the end. One of the hardest things this quarter for me was the work. The work was the hardest thing for me because I would procrastinate a lot. I have started to keep up on my work throughout the quarter and I have a feeling that my 4th quarter will be my best.

This year I have improved on my blogger and my grammar knowledge. I believe my biggest improvement this year is in my grammar. My grammar has started to improve with the class and RedInk. This has also helped me be proud on my Argumentative Essay. It has helped me because with my grammar improving, I have been able to have less mistakes. Overall my third quarter I have improved a lot more.

Group Bio Poem

The Boy on the Wooden Box

Leon Leyson
    

Intelligent, Curious, Unbroken,Tired

A character in Leon Leyson's story

Lover of mother, father, Tsalig,Oskar

Who notices war isn't ending soon

Who feels much struggle,starvation, and loss

Who learns to stay sneaky and safe

Who says "the symbols of death that 'welcomed' us"

Who use to think he wasn't safe but now knows he isn't

Major character in The Boy on the Wooden Box

A book that will show you the true nature of WW2

AOW Impressions: Week 03/6/14

3/6/2015

This weeks article were all different, the two that I thought were the best were about how blacks have a lesser chance to get a job and about ISIS. Black's have a lesser chance at getting a job, this caught my eye because of how people pick their workers on their color. From this article I learned that  employers choose their employs on their skin without even noticing. I also found out that they still don't hire blacks even with there advanced degrees.

In this week ISIS was also one of the top topics. ISIS is not only trying to take teenage men from other countries they are also taking teenage women. Last week 3 teenage girls crossed the border to Syria. They crossed from the U.K trying to get on ISIS ground. They were recruited by a women named Aqsa Mahmood (a blogger). The teenage girls crossed so they could try to help ISIS.

Blog- 2/25/2015

Title: The Thief Lord
Author:Cornelia Funke
Date:2/25/2015
Pages:100-140
Prompt:What do you think will happen next?

In the few pages that I read this week so far there has been a lot. In the book these group of homeless kids take a job. That was given to them by the Conte who wants them to steal a lion wing for them. This is hard for the kids because even though some of them pretend they have stolen thing from houses, and pick pocket people. None of them have actually stolen from a house. When they decide to take the job, they take every precaution when ran sacking the house.

While they are in the house they think they are being as quite as possible. Little did they know the old lady that lived in the house was awaking and already going for her gun. When the children finally find the wing of the lion the old lady stops them with her gun. Till she notices they are just children. That is when she puts down the gun and starts talking to them about the story of the wing. The story goes that once a rich man gave and orphanage a carrousel with wonderful animals and pictures. After the carrousel was put in the orphanage strange things started to happen. Grown people started to turn into young children and young children started to turn into grown people. This started to go around till someone stole the carrousel. After the story the children ask if they could have the wing, but the old woman doesn't agree. Until they make her an offer that they will let her come along to see.

What I think will happen next is that the old woman will go with the children to meet the Conte. After they meet the Conte I believe in his house they will see that he will have the carrousel. When the Conte starts to ride the carrousel believing that it will turn him into a child he will find out that it didn't work. In reality it did work but it will turn him into a child from his heart not his body. The children will also find out that they were turned into older people by taking the Conte's job

Article of the week: Gallery Walk 02/20/2015

Gallery Walk Impressions

This weeks gallery walk was amazing, I learned about many new things happening in the world. Two of the more talked are ISIS beheading and how sicknesses are becoming stronger. These stood out to me because they were more world wide.ISIS has been getting bigger everyday they have also done many crazy things. One that was most recent is the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians. This has set a chain reaction of events. After ISIS released the video of the beheading Egypt bombed ISIS in Libya. When this happened many countries meet up and talked about stopping ISIS and how many other countries have become partners with ISIS.

In other news doctors are struggling to create new vaccinations for many of the new and old sicknesses. Which may lead to serious problems in the future. They have been talking about taking out vaccinations all together. I personally think that its not a good idea to take them out all together because some of the still work.

Thief Lord: 02/18/15

Title: The Thief Lord

Author:Cornelia Funke

Date:02/18/15

Prompt: What have you enjoyed about the book? What have you disliked?

Since the beginning this book has been great. It starts of with Prosper the main character telling his story on how they got to Venice, Italy. He talks mainly about how they rode on many train station with little money, so eventually had to stop eating so his brother could. His brother is Bo, which is mainly what I dislike of this book. I don’t like his brother Bo.

His Brother Bo is so irritating. He never listens to his big brother. His big brother has been caring for him since they ran away from their aunt. Bo never listens to what he says though, Prosper has been telling Bo to not let any body take pictures of him or talk to him. Prosper does this so they wouldn’t be separated from their aunt if she catches them in Venice. Especially since she sent a detective after them.

This detective is the best part of the book so far. I really like that they put a detective into the story. It puts Prosper, Bo, and the rest of the children in more danger. The children then have to escape them. Since most of them have lived on the streets for a while. In a part of the book one of the girls in their group pretends to be scared of being taken from the detective. Then the detective is beat up by 2 big ladies and their purses. Overall this book has been great.

Book Talk: Walk Two Moons

Written Transcript:

The book I am going to talk to you about is Walk Two Moons, By: Sharon Creech. This book is realistic fiction and is based on a young girls adventure. This girl is Salamanca Tree Hiddle we learn about her story not while its happening but when she talks to her grandparents about it. Well the story takes place in Euclid, Ohio. She and her father decided to move there after her mother mysteriously disappeared. While in Ohio she becomes friends with Phoebe Winterbottom a young girl with a vivid imagination.When Phoebes mother also mysteriously disappears Sal helps Phoebe find her which is another story inside of a story.Later in the story though Phoebes mother comes back home. After that they return to the normal tie that the story is being told at. They return to that time because at that point her grandmother was having a stroke and needed to be taken to the nearest hospital. While at the hospital Sal finds out her mothers died from a car crash. This resolves the major conflict in the book but when she gets back to the hospital she finds out her grandmother died in the hospital. The book ended at a tragic moment in Sal's life which is why I believe the book is a tragic story. 

The reason this book interested me was because of the lesson that it teaches. The lesson that is tough throughout the book which you find out after reading the whole book even the unimportant parts is. "Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins." This particular quote is said by Sal's father which reminds me of another wise character in To Kill A Mocking Bird (Atticus Finch). Since I first read this book that is the quote that has reminded me of this book and is why I chose this book to blog about. Overall this is a great book that should be read by all because of the countless lessons taught throughout this book, but also because its just a great book to read.

Icefall 01/28/15 *Spoiler

Title:Icefall
Author: Matthew J. Kirby
Pages:0-321
Prompt: What do you think will happen next?

Wow, up to now I didn't think that was how it was going to end. I had suspicions to who was the traitor in the book and they all ended up right. The traitors included Ole (the thrall of the king) which was the main traitor. Then their was Asa and Per. Asa is the beautiful daughter of the king. Per is the kings trusted soldiers. Both Asa and Per are in love with each other but they can't be together because the king (her father) needs to have new allies for the kingdom. Since Asa and Per can't be together because of the duties Asa needs to do to fulfill the king.

Since Asa and Per can't be together they end up coming up with a plan to get their way. This leads to the death of many of the berserk sent there to protect them. Not knowing that the one that they have to protect just wants to kill them. Asa and Per didn't work alone though. They got the help of Gullang (a ruthless viking) that said would help them go on with their plan. He in turn ended up deceiving them and wanted to marry the beauty Asa. Per didn't take this so well though, he burned a building to get the attention of most of the guards so he could take Asa and escape. This is part of the end of the book.

What I believe would have happened to Asa and Per. After all the discussion about Per and Asa leaving. I believe that Asa and Per will they were leaving found an Island were they stayed for awhile till the ocean completely defrosted. After a month or two they saw a ship coming their way and decided to ask for help from them. Little did they know that he father(the king) was on that ship and as they neared closer they noticed that it was a war ship her fathers war ship. Both Per and Asa were surprised but they couldn't run they couldn't do anything but wait till they came. Once her father was their he knew the trouble that they faced to get to where they were and decided it best for his daughter to live with someone she liked instead of someone she didn't... Two years later Per found out he was a long lost son of a very wealthy king and gave Asa's father something to like him for.


Comments: Citlalli, Jesus, Jenna

Icefall 01/15/15

Title: Icefall
Author: Matthew J. Kirby
Date: January 15,2015
Pages:0-
Prompt: List at least three problems the main character faced? Which was the most life

changing? Explain

The main character in my book is Solveig she is a the second daughter of one of the most ruthless king alive. This King also had another daughter and a son. The daughter named Asa is the most beautiful of all the lands. When ever her father wants to show someone his kingdom he shows his daughter and all are surprised at her beauty. The King also shows his son the next heir of his great kingdom. He always forgets his second daughter. He has to be reminded of the visitor about his second daughter because their is nothing special about her or so he believes.

The major conflict that Solveig is facing is that she and her siblings have to learn to live in the forage. The forge is a place meant to keep them save during the war. The forge is mainly to protect Asa the beauty of her fathers family. She is kept there because the war started because of her. Gunnlaug declared war on her father because he wouldn't give him her hand in marriage. Well back to the main point the major conflict with Solveig was that she needed to choose between becoming a skald or to not. This was very difficult for her because to become a skald you would need speak in front of a crowd of people and tell a story.Solveig was not very good at talking to a group of people. Then when she would talk to her family or friends and tell them a story. The thought she was great. That is why Alric (elder skald) decided to teach her how to better tell a story. From this she created a bond with him.

This takes us to her second conflict. The second is not as great as the first but it is also a major part of the book. In the book when Solveig was sleeping she had a dream, in the dream there were men that attacked the forge and took it over. There was also a wolf that would destroy the men that came to the forge but at a great cost she still didn't know. Then later as winter started to end she started to understand that her dream was coming true. At this moment Alric noticed that it was to they both had to keep an eye out for everyone. Especially since there was a traitor amongst them. As the story nears an end every thing in her dream has come true all that needs to happen is she needs to be saved by the wolf. Little did she know Alric was the wolf. He was also the one who gave up his life to save them. This hurt Solveig that Alric had to die to save  her and she had to come up with a story for him to tell others.

The last conflict is between her and Hake (the beserker.) Beserker are a group of people that are the strongest in all that land but they can also be uncontrollable. One night while they were dining a fight broke out between the other berserkers. It was so bad that Hake the leader of the berserkers and to step in and stop it. While he was stopping it the beserkergang (beserkergand- the beserker losses control of his body and has more strength then before. A.K.A-Hulk) When this happened Solveig new that he could hurt her bad but seh talked with him and called him down even with all the danger.

P.S. This book was one of the best I have read.

To Kill A Mockingbird: The movie or the book? #BookIsAlwaysBetter

1.  What do you think is the most important difference between the written and filmed version? Provide evidence with specific details.

I want to start of saying that that the movie was terrible, I don't want to say terrible but it wasn't the best. I imagined the movie being at least closer to the book but unfortunately that is not the case.It ended up to be way different.The actual case with Tom Robinson was great it stated the bases of the article and took enough time for it to be played, but they missed some key parts. What they missed was more important for the coming out of Boo Radley then the case.

When Boo Radley came out in the book to protect Jem and Scout he had another appearance when Scout was watching Miss Maudie's house burn down. She was watching it and didn't notice that Boo put a blanket around her until it was later revealed at her house. This ties in to another event in the story though, there first real feel of snow. Which explains why Miss Maudie's house burned down."Probably the flue in the kitchen. I kept a fire in there last night for my potted plants."  In the movie they didn't include either of these scenes. This was a Key part to the book because of Boo's first real appearance outside of his house.

For me this was a key part in the book and it disappointed me that they didn't show it in the movie. I would have really like to see Miss Maudie more and have the talk with Jem. Overall the movie wasn't as great as I thought it would be. Everyone knows the book is always better though so I shouldn't have put my hopes ups to high, but then again it was during school.






Comments: Citlalli, Jesus, Diego

Goals for 2015 By:Gustavo Guzman

My academic goal of 2015 is to get into a boarding school. At first my goal was to get a scholarship but now that I have the scholarship I can strive for something else. That something else is to go to a boarding school. The boarding school that I have chosen was The Huns. Which was my second goal(was to learn about a school). To get into a boarding school is a long process that I have already started but now I have to go to an interview with the school. Overall my goal is to learn as much as I can of the school so that I will be accepted and liked. If I do this it will help me in life to live better and have a family that I can care for in the future. 

My personal goal for 2015 is to compete and win a bronze or above medal for gymnastic. This is an important goal for me because then I will know I have improved from the previous year. To be more specific I would like to excel on the rings. The rings I believe is my strongest place to be in because since the beginning that have been pushing me there. Overall my personal goal is to improve in the rings. My second personal goal is to read all of the books my dad owns. This is important to me because then I can expand my word choice. The book that I most want to read is War and Peace By: Leo Tolstoy. Overall I want to read all my dads books to expand my word choice. 

To kill a Mockingbird 12/15/14

Title: To Kill A Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Date: 12/20/14
Prompt: Describe the similarities and differences between the a character and you.

In this book the character that I believe I am more similar to is Jem. I believe me and Jem are similar because Jem was always curious about Boo. It is normal to be curious but sometimes you may take it out of had like looking through someones window to see how they look. I am kind of like Jem in a way be because I have always wondered what some things are and maybe even hurt myself doing it. Sometimes you need to hold back and let things reveal themselves when the time comes. Like when Boo saves them.

The differences between me and Jem are many, but the one that stood out to me is that he is always giving Scout some advice. I wouldn't be able to be him and help someone out when there in a tough situation. I never have anything to say to someone but once I leave I know what to say by that time there gone. He is kind of like a mini Atticus Finch. There are many more reasons why we aren't the same but I don't have enough time to explain them all.

In this book there are many characters that are similar to me and are different from me. I chose Jem because he is the closest to are age. I believe that all the characters from the story represent something though. The good the Bad or the hunter and the mockingbird. They all represent something. The one thing they all come back to is Society and how it can kill.