Final Reflection Blog

                 End of the Year Reflection                   

          The most important things I've learned this year was how to properly right a paragraph, how to make sure I have no errors in my writing and all the different kinds of poetry there is. How to right a paragraph now is what I will for sure remember for the rest of my life it is one of the most important thing in my opinion. It's important because without knowing this I would not be prepared for my future years in school. It is a great life skill that is really good to know. Also what Mrs. Larson taught me was how to proof read my own work. I use to just write something and not read over it thoroughly but, she gave me a knew perspective on it and showed me how important it is.

          The nicest thing that someone did for me in class was guide me throughout the class because I was a new kid in the class when I came. The person who helped me out was Devin he basically explained the whole class to me and the way it works. I really remember that day too, I was so shy to be in a new class but with Devin's' help he changed my thoughts on the class. I actually taught some people things coming into this class. What I taught someone was that if you are using a picture and it isn't coming out clear you have to drag it to your desktop and then insert it to your work. This helped them a lot because none of the picture looked as well as iit was suppose to.

          Where I really made improvements in was test taking. I was terrible at tests and I never really did to well on them because i never knew how to properly study. However, once I came here I have never got a lower grade than a B, except for one time because I didn't study but I retook it and got an A. It is all thanks to Quizlet because the studying methods that it uses helps me out a lot and is a fun way to do it. Therefore, I use it all the time for every test I take and I do a lot better and my confidence is increasing. I am proud to be in this class because I wasn't in it for the first two quarters but for the last two. It isn't to come into this class and stay above a B in it. I shrived through it and started to feel comfortable. That was the biggest challenge too to keep up with all of these amazing kids and their talents. I am not the brightest but I still try my best and I believe if I keep on believing I will succeed. I overcame that challenge and it feels like I made it.

           The best piece of writing that I did was the "Nonsense Poem" because I could really take out my humor and put it into a poem. I also was able to make up words in the poem which was amazing because I always make up words and it basically fit my style of writing. My goofy yet effective type of writing. My personal favorite thing we did while reading this year was reading "Of Mice and Men" it is the best book that I've read ever. It is my favorite because the whole book is left in suspense and the book really requires you to think. I'm not going to spoil anything but the ending is the craziest ending ever I honestly didn't expect that. 

           My advice to the kids who come into Mrs. Larson's class is good luck. It is one of the toughest class I've ever took and to have two classes with her! I mean but, you've already made it this far into her class so why not "Just keep swimming." The class isn't as bad as I just explained it is as good as you make it because if you make it a bad time then that's on you, but if you make it a great time it'll eventually be your favorite class. After a lot of people told me it is really hard and it is difficult to get an A in her class, I just ignored them because that is only their opinion. The first month in her class was rough because I was still being taught the way her class works and other things like that but after that it was all uphill from there. Three key things you need to follow in her class is always be prepared. What I mean is have your homework done at all times and study for all tests. The last and final thing to do is HAVE FUN! The class is only as fun as you make it. My final advice for you is GOOD LUCK! :)

What Symbolizes me

                  A Basketball 

           What Item symbolizes me is a basketball, not only do I like to play it but I also relate to it. A basketball symbolizes me because I love to bring joy to others, play around and be there for someone. A basketball brings joy to others because when people play it with it they have a very enjoyable time with it. A basketball also is there for anyone in need of it. If you are bored or not in the mood for anything you can pick it up and have a great time. This relates to me because I have those similar qualities all day everyday. This the only object that I have special connection too as weird as it sounds. This why a basketball symbolizes me.

I commented on these blogs: Jared's , John's, Devin's, Omar's and Sam's

Of Mice and Men: The Movie

Analyze the ending of the book versus the ending of the movie 

What are your general thoughts, feelings, reactions of Of Mice and Men? What had the most profound impact on you or your understanding of the novella? Who would you recommend this book to and why? 

              What the flashback shows in the movie is that even though George shot Lennie he still did it out of love. That shows the whole mood of the movie and to let us know that George did the right choice. Also to remember how much he truly loved Lennie as much as he treated him badly he did it to keep Lennie safe. The way that this flashback changes the mood for the is really smart. They added that part to basically say we may have killed Lennie but we did it to make sure he didn't suffer.

              At the end of the book the feeling or mood was set in suspense and sadness. I say sadness because Lennie ends up dying and no one really care about it. Then I say suspense because it ends at a point that a new book might be able to start. The director chose that to end the movie to show some sort of twist in the audiences mind. If you end it the same way they wouldn't be able to see the different sides of how the characters reacted to Lennie's death. This makes the audience even more emotional if they read the book because they wouldn't actually be expected the ending of how lonely George was going to be and how other characters felt. The director did a great job also by allowing George and Lennie to have alone time at the whole end of the movie to express their true friendship.

              The line at the end of the book is "'Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them to guys?'" What this line tells us about the speaker is that he is trying to make a different mood and make it seem like no one cared that Lennie died except for George deep down. Also it leaves us in confusion and awe because we didn't know as an audience what the ending meant. That is why they made the movie to basically explain to us what the ending meant to us and it left us in sadness and happiness. 

               I really enjoyed this book overall and loved how it was set up. I really wasn't all that excited to read this book because I knew nothing about it at all and I never read a novella before. I was surprised with the outcome of my reading and how much enjoyment I had when it was over. I really got into this book and wanted to keep on reading. I would definitely recommend this book to other people with similar interests towards this book. The thing is in order for them to enjoy the book in my opinion is if you don't tell them anything about it and explain things. If you explain things to them they wouldn't want to keep reading to find out. What had the most profound impact on me was the love hate relationship between Lennie and George. It makes me connect a lot to this world and to myself. I say it connects to myself because that is how I am with my brother after all we've put each other through we still love each other. Then I say this connects to the world because almost everyone has this kind of relationship with someone.

AOW Impressions Blog

Topics: Baltimore Mother, Nepal Earthquake



           Jeremiah had an article about the Baltimore riot but it wasn't just about the riot it was about a caring mother. It was about her son  being involved in the riot. Once she had found out he was involved she went to go look for him and punish him and tell him how stupid it is to be involved in that. What I got from this is that we need a lot more people just like her who actually care about their kids. It is terrible to see parents who don't care if they are involved with trouble. Some people don't care about their kids but she did and she made a big impact all by herself. Not many people can say that.

           Sam had an article about the Nepal earthquake. He told me about how dreadful it was and how many casualties that happened. At the time he told me that there were 5,800 confirmed casualties but, that was on April 30. It was confirmed on May 5 that there are 7,500+ casualties. It a terrible all around event. We need to better prepare for these type of natural disasters. Also we need to help each other out even that this earthquake happened far away from us we are still finding ways to help them out and help them because it is not only the right thing but, if this happened to us I am almost positive they'll do the same for us.

           These AOW's that we read helped us to be better people and know what is going on all around the world. Without all of these blogs we wouldn't be able to know or understand our current events. If we don't learn about this we won't be able to contribute towards anyone or anything such as, Nepal. 

 

Weekly Blog "Dreams"

                                Dreams and Goals

Based on your brainstorming via Edmodo, write a short poem elaborating on your dream and/or why dreams or visions are an important part of life.

Always have at least one goal or dream

It is not as hard as it seems.

You must always strive to achieve something big,

It can be about basically anything even a pig.

Without a goal or a dream we wouldn't try our best,

If you do succed your goal or dream you should feel blessed.

Anything is possible with confidence and hard work.

Once you know you're hard work is paying off make a big smirk.

It is reallly big  complete a goal or reach a dream,

with other people as a team.

Don't ever let anyone stop you from reaching your goals,

Some people think of that as their roles.

Just keeping dreaming.

And that very dream may becime a reality.

Of Mice and Men (OMAM)

                Of Mice and Men  

Describe the atmosphere of the ranch and bunkhouse. Be sure to include characteristics of different characters that were formally or informally introduced to us in this chapter. Support your choice with textual evidence and interpretation.

Why doesn't Curley's wife have a name?   What message, if anything, is John Steinbeck  trying to send by not giving her a first name?  Support your choice with textual evidence and interpretation.

        The atmosphere of the ranch and the Bunkhouse is welcoming but tense. I said welcoming because ever since George and Lennie got their they were welcomed really well. For Instance, Slim is a good friend to both of them and that is because they probably made a good first impression. I say that because Curley made a bad impression on George and Lennie, so now George say he hates his guts and doesn't like him. Then I sad tense because their is always people yelling and those people are George and Curley. They argue back and forth because they both have temper issues, you know what happens when you mix those kind of people, conflict. However it seems to me that Curley is beginning to like George but George hates him. "Ya know, Lennie, I'm scared I'm gonna tangle with that bastard myself. I hate his guts. Jesus Christ." That was just showing how much he truly hates Curley.

       I think Curley's wife does't have a name because she never actually said what her name was. What I mean by this is that all the characters were introduced with their names or nicknames, she wasn't. That happened because she was never introduced properly or no one knows her real name. Their can be many different possibilities but, these make the most sense to me.

      The message John Steinbeck was trying to give by not give Curley's wife a name was because of how women were treated back then. They didn't have they didn't have Women's Suffrage yet and it was difficult for women to actually be treated as an equal. In the book they call her terrible things like "Tramp.." and don't really care about her. The thing is Lennie really likes her and Curley hates Lennie because he is big and much stronger than him. 

Weekly Blog

A Dog's Life By: Ann M. Martin

           In this story "A Dogs Life" the title goes perfectly with the story line. I say this because this book is basically about a dogs life.  However, to get in more detail this book is about how hard it is being a stray. For instance, in this book Squirrel (Main character) losses so many people along the way. People such as her mom, brother and dearest friend, even if dogs may not seem like they feel the same like us but they do Squirrel went through traumatizing life experiences.  Seeing her best friend get hit by a car, seeing her brother taken by humans and being thrown out of a car unwanted. As I was reading the title I knew what it would be about what it said but, that isn't the point because the author followed the title perfectly and overall did terrific.

           The quality of the writing was really good but it could've been better. It is nothing against Ann Martin it is just that I feel like she could've explained better. However, it wasn't just the story she should've added a introduction of why she is writing it from a dogs perspective. I understood why but, what if other people didn't. She explained it well throughout the story but some people might not understand. However, this is only my opinion people might've think she did amazing or even terrible but she is in the middle for me.


           Is Squirrel worthy of my friendship? Heck yeah she is I don't know if I am worthy of her friendship. Even if she is just a dog she has an amazing personality and is a loyal companion. I am kind of wishing that squirrel was a person and I could meet her and ask so many questions and hopefully become friends with her. Even though she lost many people along her long & suspenseful journey she never did just forget about the others, she kept on thinking about them and tried to look for them. Though she didn't succeed she at least put in all the effort she could as a dog. To be honest this is one of the best friends I would want to find someday that is how much I enjoy her character.

                             I commented on Sam's