Reading for this week 12/9

LOTF Project: 1 hr 20
chapters 11-12: 45 mins
Journal entries: 30 mins

TOTAL: 155 mins

Last Blog Post

1. Describe what you learned from visiting the writing center this semester and what changes you made to your paper as a result.  If you did not visit the writing center this semester, please just indicate that.  Remember to avoid last names in your description, and only use names at all if your comments are positive.

During my trip to the writing center, I learned a lot about myself and the writing center. I learned that nothing is included in writing for no reason. The writer always has a purpose and has a point he or she wants to convey. Being confident in the choices I made to put in my literary analysis are really important. I learned you have to make strong choices. I was second-guessing myself and wasn't giving my paper 100% because I wasn't confident.

Sara Alice and Ms. Spate helped me find the direction I wanted to take when starting my paper. I went before I started my paper so I did not technically make changes to my paper as stated in the prompt. However, they were very helpful and I liked how even though they were helping me there was some sense that they still left room for me to fill in the blanks. 

Mary Beth - Write a Letter to younger me.

The assignment is to write a letter to a younger version of your self trying to help them through tough times or giving advice. Write about whatever you think a younger you would need.


Dear young Katherine Ann, 

Here is some advice that comes from experience that you should take advantage of. Do not drink hot chocolate when you know how hot it is no matter how much you want to drink it right when you receive it. Secondly, don't judge a book by its cover. Making new friends is so important, especially in middle school. Thirdly, always be confident and be yourself. Everyone is unique in their own special way, don't try to be someone your not. 

Always make choices because it makes you happy life is too short to do things you don't love to do. Take piano seriously it will become so useful when you start doing musicals. Also, learn your conversions in math because they are so important throughout the rest of the math classes you will take. 

Reading Times 12/2

No posts for 12/2

Just post your reading / work times since 11/18.  Don't forget to update your LOTF Reading Focus Journal in Blackboard!

Short story final draft- 20 mins
Drafts of Journal entries (have not posted yet, still in the process) - 1 hr
Literary Analysis- 45 mins

Total- 125 mins

Reading for this week 11/18

Lord of the Flies Annotating, Reading, and Journaling chps. 4-7- 240 minutes
Short Story Final Draft- 30 minutes

Total: 270 minutes

Free Post 11/18

When I was younger, I watched a man steal my mother's wallet out of her purse. I was on a subway in New York City on my way to have tea with my grandparents at the plaza hotel. I love Eloise and wished that my life could be as exciting as hers. Anyways, I was on this subway and this tall, slender man with dark hair kept staring me down. At the time, I was ten years old. I found this very creepy and suspicious. Who wouldn't?

As I was thinking this in my ten-year old brain, the subway stopping without warning created a lot of havoc from the passengers. Because this was so chaotic, it made it easy to get distracted from the man who was staring at me. When the subway finally came to our stop, almost everyone got off. Then when we turned to walk out of the door I saw the man reach in to my mom's purse, and take her wallet. Before I knew it, the suspicious man was running full speed with my mom's purple wallet.

Create your own prompt

If you had one week to live, what would you do? 
On the first day, I would spend the day in Disney World with my friends riding all of the rides and meeting the Disney characters. On the second day, I would go to Brazil to watch the Olympics. After the game was over, I would go to the beach for the rest of the day. On the third day, I would fly to India to ride an elephant and take a private tour of the Taj Mahal and then have dinner with a variety of Indian dishes. On the fourth day, I would go to Switzerland to snow-skii. After I got tired, I would go and eat as much chocolate as my stomach could hold. On the fifth day, I would fly to Peru with my cousins and climb Machu Picchu. Then I would adopt a llama and name him Franklin.

On the sixth day of the last week of my life, I would travel to Australia to see the Sydney Opera house. Then, I would hold a Koala and a baby kangaroo. After that, I would go surfing and then swim and snorkel through the Great Barrier reef. On my last day, I would fly to Egypt. There, I would ride a camel and tour the pyramids. After that I would climb to the top of Mt. Sinai and Jesus would take me to heaven from there. 

Reading Times For This Week

Working on Rough Draft of Literary Analysis: 1 hour 10 minutes
Reading Lord of the Flies: 70 minutes

I read 140 minutes.

Free Post 11/10

Thanksgiving is close-by and I am so excited. I am going to Key West, FL with my cousins for the whole week. We will probably go snorkeling, parasailing, and drive jet-skiis. My favorite thing about Key West is the key lime pie. It is the best ever. My family just bought a house there and the renovations should be done by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. I just hope the water isn't cold. Even if it is you can still see straight to the bottom. The water is always crystal clear. I have seen things from, sharks, sea turtles, sting-rays, dolphins, and barracudas swimming in the water. 

I haven't seen my cousins in nine months. I miss them so much. They are eleven and twelve. Both of them love adventure and have huge imaginations. There names are Andrew and Stewart. Andrew is the oldest. He was born in Breckenridge, CO, but he lives in Shreveport, LA with my aunt and uncle. He plays soccer and was an extra in "Playing For Keeps," that stars Gerard Butler. Stewart plays tennis and enjoys playing video games. Both of them are so sweet and know how to make me smile.  

Deserted island simulation experience

In real life, it would have been a lot more chaotic trying to survive with so many people including first graders that don't understand what is going on. I thought it was difficult in class on Friday trying to decide what to do; I could not even imagine being in that situation in real life. Honestly, I don't think we would survive for very long before turning into cannibals. Because we live in America, skills aren't important to learn such as survivals skills. I don't even know what poison ivy looks like much less how to start a fire without a lighter. If I was in that situation I would be making alliances with the people that have the largest knowledge of the outdoors. 
The hardest thing for our class would be working as a team to survive and not trying to only fend for ourselves. In that regard, I could see our class being very selfish. The first graders would need a lot of guidance, but I believe if they had one of us as a leader they would be very helpful. For the first graders, it would be very hard for them to realize that there is a little to no chance that they may ever see there parents again. In addition, living on this island may be permanent unless we are rescued. 

Reading Times 11/4

Writing Center- 30 mins
Meeting with Dr. D- 75 mins
Reading in class- 10 mins
Working on outline at home- 30 mins

Reading Times OCT 28

In class reading (2 days last week)- 20 minutes
Annotating 3 short stories- 1hr and 40 minutes

Reading Response to 3 Stories

I read three short stories: "Araby" by James Joyce, "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty, and "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty. I liked "The Sniper's" plot the best. It was intense and captivated my attention. The ending was brilliant. I would have never have guessed that the sniper shot his brother who was the enemy. Out of the three stories, I found this one to be the easiest to understand. With that being said, there is not really anything that could be placed in my literary analysis that hasn't been interpreted before or wows the reader. I don't feel like I could get into enough depth about this story to make a really amazing paper. It is pretty straight forward.

"Araby" by James Joyce and "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty on the other hand have more depth than  "The Sniper." Out of the two, I feel like "Araby" is the best choice for a literacy analysis. It has a lot of mystery and is open ended for interpretation. "A Worn Path" would not be a bad choice either, but I do not feel that it has the complexity that "Araby" has. I am still a little bit confused on the ending of "Araby" though as to why it read, "Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger."If there is no right or wrong answer for why this is here, it could be a great addition to a literacy analysis because it is an open-ended interpretation. I also found it very interesting the author of "A Worn Path" would chose to narrate the story in third person limited, as a opposed to first person. This could be an addition to a well-writtien literacy analysis if I chose to "A Worn Path" to do my literacy analysis on.

Free Post October 28

I don't know who Miley Cyrus is anymore. She used to be my role model. Hannah Montana was my favorite show on Disney Channel. Because of my obsession, I went to four concerts, and my favorite song she sang was "Best of Both Worlds." We had so much in common. She was from the south, she was christian, and she loved to sing and dance. I remember so vividly going to my friends' houses and playing her soundtrack repeatedly and jumping on a bed singing our hearts out to the words of her songs. We could watch "Hannah Montana: The Movie" over and over again and never get bored. When the Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert in 2008 3D Movie came to theaters I saw it 6 times on the big screen. I couldn't get enough. 

As I got older, so did she. She was taking a break from her acting and singing career and was going to find her true identity. This however, was a surprise to everyone including her fans. Her craziness became a reality when she bleached her hair blonde and got her first tattoo. At first, I refused to believe that she had changed and who she was becoming. My fear became a reality the night of the MTV music awards this year. It was clear evidence that Hannah Montana was just a memory. Miley had grown up and lost her innocence. She had finally taken the wig off and shocked the world of who she has become. 

Personal Questions and Reading Log

Reading:
10/8-The Return- 45 minutes
10/13- I Am Number Four- 75 minutes

Personal Questions:
How can I be a better editor of my own writing?
What genres of books do I like and why?
Why did so many people follow Adolf Hitler? 

Reading Times 10/7

Reading Times for this week:

 

9/30-Monday- "And of Clay We Are Created"- 40 minutes 

10/1-Tuesday- "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses"- 40 minutes 

10/2-Thursday- "The Waltz of The Fat Man"- 40 minutes 

Mapping Out The Plot

Reading Times for September 29th

9/23	A&P	John Updike	30 mins
9/25	A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings	Gabriel Garcia Marquez	30 mins
9/27	Dry September	William Faulkner	30 mins
	In-Class Reading 3 days: I Am Number Four	Pittacus Lore	30 mins

Short Story Response

I have noticed that each story we read corresponded what we needed to annotate for. Like for example, in A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings: A Tale For Children by Gabriel Garcia Marquez had a lot of details about the setting in the story and that night for English homework our class was assigned to annotate specifically for setting. This was the easiest story to spot for setting. In other stories, I felt like it was a lot harder to annotate for specific things such as characteristics. I also found myself feeling like I understood the plot of the stories and then coming to school figuring out that my understanding of the story was completely wrong. I found that discussing the stories in class made my understanding of the stories a lot easier. If we would not have talked about them in class I would have been completely lost. 

A&P by John Updike was my favorite story for sure. It was easy to understand and the characteristics of each character were clear if you read the story. I found the story so interesting. I did not realize the class difference until Dr. deGravelles pointed it out to me in class. The jar of herring snacks that the three girls were buying immediately hinted that they were in a higher class than the 19-year old who lived with his parents and worked as a cashier. I still don't understand why the three girls would go out of their way to a grocery store that was located far away from the beach in which they were, just to get a jar of herring snacks in their bathing suits. If they have so much class why couldn't they put on a cover up.    

Reading for 9/23

9/18	I am Number Four	Pittacus Lore	10 mins
9/19	I am Number Four	Pittacus Lore	10 mins
9/17	Short Stories 1 & 2		40 mins
9/22 9/22	Short story 3 I am Number Four	Pittacus Lore	45 mins 20 mins

Reading Response to Short Stories

1. Reading Response - same guidelines as always, and you may write about short stories if you'd like.

Don't forget to include your reading/working times, including time you spent reading short stories this week.


Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is by far the weirdest story I have every read. I think the purpose of this short story was to show readers that being different and unique is very important. Although the story was weird, the characters were clearly developed. Hazel was very comical. Most of the things she said were just so ignorant, it was hilarious. Harrison Bergeron was also an amusing character. He is fourteen and perceived as a juvenile delinquent, declares himself emperor then made out with a girl on national television, which resulted in his murder, is humorous. Who would have thought?

A&P by John Updike is also a unique short story I read this week. The character's were very clearly described. For example, the main character, Sammy, is nineteen and works at a grocery store called A&P. He makes an impulsive decision to quit as a result of how his manager treated three three customer's, although they were breaking store policy. He most likely had a crush on one of them, as well. The three customer's described as "fat", "the queen bee", and "striking, but never quite makes it." The distinct characteristics of all of the character's in this short story makes it interesting and vivid. 

Write in the voice of the character

Tomorrow is a big day. Remember to project your voice and annunciate clearly. Walk in with courage and positivity. I need to show them what I am made of and that I am one of a kind. Don't eat a breakfast burrito. That always makes my stomach hurt. I might blow chunks in front of the casting agent. I had to ask for a lot of favors to get this audition. I can not blow this. This is my reputation on the line. Am I sweating? Why am I getting so nervous? I have been on a million auditions before, and I choose this one to be nervous about? I moved away from my whole family in Spain in which my whole life was planned out, but instead I choose to live in the U.S. at a women's shelter? No. I would have been miserable back home

My parents did not understand me. I want to perform more than anything. It is my dream. They did not support me. And no one can tell me I am not good enough. I want to prove them wrong. I am smart, ambitious, a hard-worker, and most of all, talented. I can sing, dance, and act. Right on the spot if need be. I want this so bad. I have to stay true to myself and give my dream all I have or I will never have any respect for myself. How could I live knowing I never tried? But, I am not backing down now. I have nothing to lose. They will love me. They will see that this is my life and nothing and no one can take it away from me.

EBook

I think it is really cool that we are making an ebook. It's going to be an interesting experience. It's pretty cool that the class of 2017 is compiling all of our work into one big book. Although I am confident in my personal literacy narrative, I feel that every student should have a one on one chat for 3 minutes or so with Dr. deGravelles about their writing if the student gets below a C on the assignment. It's important that everyone makes a significant contribution to the ebook. I don't really care who reads my essay because I am proud of my hard work and want people to read it!

I think it would be pretty cool if everyone got to put pictures of themselves in the ebook to make the narratives come alive. It would make the ebook more personal and memorable. This is like a yearbook documenting only us freshmen if we could include pictures too! We would keep them forever and look back on them to remind of us of all of the fun we had. I'm really excited to see what Dell designs for the cover page. I wish I was artistic.

10 minutes in class reading
2 hours total editing and revising Literacy Narrative Essay

Reading Response 9/16

Out of all of the literacy narratives I read in English class, Brooke Dillon's was the best. Her heart-braking story of her and her grandmother's relationship was vividly written. I felt like I was there. It was clear that reading and writing were significant in her paper. Them two emailing back in forth was a key aspect (which is writing and reading). My favorite part was when her grandma asked her how many toilet paper rolls she used because she was concerned that they might run out. It really makes me sad that they are not closer. I can relate because my grandma died before I was two. I wish I could have met her.

My second favorite paper was Mary Beth William's.  It was so funny. She talks about her experience on being the only freshmen in her journalism class. She doesn't know any of the upper-classmen, but finds them to be quite the characters. My favorite part was when she made up nicknames for some of the student's that stood out the most. The first being: "the hulk."She described him as tall, masculine, and scary. I found it so funny because it only took me one guess to figure out who she was talking about. The second being: "country boy." He had a thick southern accent, and wasn't the smartest. Turns out, he dropped the class and was never seen again.

Dialogue Post

"Hi, Mrs. deGravelles. I have a couple of questions about homework last night. Are block fours' blog posts due tonight?" 

"Yes, Katherine Ann. All blog posts are due by 11:59 PM on Monday nights." 

"Okay, thanks. Also, my literacy narrative would not post to turnitin.com because my computer crashed in the middle of my submission. I printed out the final draft before it crashed. Will you accept this as full credit?" 

"Sure, Katherine Ann; because you are my favorite student, I guess I could make an exception." 

"Awesome! That is so sweet. You are pretty cool yourself. That's my last question for today I promise."

Two days later. 

"Dr. D, I am really struggling on this one word, alacrity. I still don't know understand what it means." 

"It is a noun and it means promptness in responding or eagerness. For example: At the end of the school year, the students ran out the doors with alacrity." 

"Oh I understand now. Thanks. I think I am ready for my quiz. When are wordly wise vocabulary cards due for chapter three?" 

"They are due September 16th." 

"Okay, great!"

Reading Log :)

9/5	Dollhouse	Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe Kardashian	68 mins	209-277
9/8	I am Number Four	Pittacus Lore	60	1-49