Right now, including the books from August, I am about 3 books into by 40 book challenge. Over the sumer I read two books and I am currently on my third book. I read "The Fault in our Stars" and the Kind of Friends we used to be". I started reading "If I Stay" in the beginning of the year but then I didn't feel like reading it so now I am on "Go Ask Alice." I hope to either reach 40 books or come close to 40 books. So far I am doing better than last year and already have a few books done! I have improved with my reading a little as well because I have been reading more often, not a whole lot more but enough. I struggle with time management sometimes especially with reading. I either get too tired because I don't fit everything in at a decent time, or I am not in the mood. I personally like writing better then reading but that is my opinion. If you asked be last year what my thoughts were on reading I would say, "eh", "it's okay I guess." The year before, "not a huge fan but I mean maybe?.?" Then if you asked me now I would say, "I like to read, it isn't my favorite thing to do but if I have the right book I love it!" I am not always one to read but when I do it is pretty enjoyable and a good thing for me to do on a bad day or when I am having a tough time with something. Sometimes I even get the same feeling when I right, the feeling of escaping the area just for a moment and letting everything out and letting it all go.
My blogs have been getting a little better recently. I have been adding more content and writing better content as well. I used to not like to write blogs but now I am starting to like them more but usually when I get to write about anything. Don't get me wrong I do like to write blogs but not always about my books. I like writing short stories and other little entries but I guess it is all just the same and I should write just as good. Also, my quality of the blogs over all, I think, are improving a lot more. One strategy that I learned when writing blogs was that it is easier for me to work on one paragraph at a time and make sure it is one of the best that it could be. I don't like to work on my blog all at once because then I feel rushed and I do rush it so the blog is not as good as it could be.
Over this quarter I learned about ISIS, Ebola, and about things happening in other places around the world. It is really cool that we get to learn about all these different things happening in our world because if it has to do with the U.S. it is good to know. Even if it didn't have to do with the U.S. like Ebola when it first started. This was good to know because we didn't know that it was back or if it could spread over to the U.S. When we heard that Ebola came to the U.S we knew exactly what it was and how it was spread, etc. Many people didn't know and we were prepared to know everything.
My research skills have gotten much better. I learned how to properly cite everything and the proper format as well. Instead of looking for a cite and just grabbing a quote and putting it in my own words, I now use textual evidence and quotes while putting my own words/ responses into the paragraph/s sentence. Did I improve? I think so, I think that I have been improving and have been doing much better than what I thought was my good effort, now I am doing my best work. I usually thought I was doing almost my best but not anymore.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Friday, October 10, 2014
Reflective Blog (MAKEUP ASSIGNMENT): Go Ask Alice Week of 10.06.14
In last weeks blog I made a few grammatical errors. This week we focused on run on sentences and sentence errors. So I took that knowledge and applied it to my blog. In the first paragraph I had a run-on sentence that really stood out. It said " Now, "Go Ask Alice" was written by an anonymous author, it's a real diary, so the writing techniques were pretty much the same throughout the pages that I have read." I find it a little embarrassing on how long that sentence was. Another thing I noticed was that I put extra information like "The author uses words that show her feelings for that day and it is frequently noticed. " I didn't need to put the last part of the sentence in there. I also was a little repetitive when it came to stating the writing techniques that I had found. I always said the same thing and added the same details.
Looking at my blogs from last year I can see a huge difference in my writing techniques. For example, I used to write with a lot of grammatical errors and to write with a whole lot of repetition. I still use some repetition but I got better with it. Now I write better, longer, and more complete. I think that my content level has also exceed more because my blogs are a little longer and better.
Looking at my blogs from last year I can see a huge difference in my writing techniques. For example, I used to write with a lot of grammatical errors and to write with a whole lot of repetition. I still use some repetition but I got better with it. Now I write better, longer, and more complete. I think that my content level has also exceed more because my blogs are a little longer and better.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Go Ask Alice Week of 9.29.14
Pages Read: 1-54
Prompt: How many different writing techniques can you find in your book?
When I was reading this book I noticed that there were a few writing techniques that the author followed. Now, "Go Ask Alice" was written by an anonymous author, it's a real diary, so the writing techniques were pretty much the same throughout the pages that I have read. Some of the writing techniques that I noticed were the tone and the style of the "entries". The style is shown throughout the book by the word choice. The author uses words that show her feelings for that day and it is frequently noticed. The words she uses goes with not only how she feels but how the setting is or how the other people she is with feel. The tone is showed through the story because there is a lot of times were she is feeling a loss of self worth or feeling depressed about a situation and this is how I can define the type of girl that Alice is. Not only can I define who she is but I can tell what the story will be like from here on out.
Since "Go Ask Alice" has a difference in the way that it was written, the writing techniques are always the same because it was her personal diary. This really helps me to believe the story is true and to sometimes relate to certain situations because of the way that she write since she sticks to a specific pattern. By sticking to a specific pattern it becomes easier for the reader to understand and read the book easier, at least for me. I would not mind reading more books like this one, journal entries, because I find that the story is more relatable because it is coming from a real person, or a realistic character, that has more realistic personality than someone from a book like "The Hunger Games".
"Go Ask Alice" is about a girl who goes to a friends party and at that party her friend had a few friends spike drinks with LSD, a drug. The drinks were mixed up and 10 out of the 14 cups had LSD in them. After that night she wants to get that feeling inside her again and she ends up doing different types of drugs. When she describes the feelings she has and the "cravings" that she has for it, she uses specific wording and phrasing to make herself seem like she isn't doing anything bad. She writes questions and writes in the diary as if she were speaking to a real person. This helps the reader understand what they are reading and helps them with connecting to the character.
Prompt: How many different writing techniques can you find in your book?
When I was reading this book I noticed that there were a few writing techniques that the author followed. Now, "Go Ask Alice" was written by an anonymous author, it's a real diary, so the writing techniques were pretty much the same throughout the pages that I have read. Some of the writing techniques that I noticed were the tone and the style of the "entries". The style is shown throughout the book by the word choice. The author uses words that show her feelings for that day and it is frequently noticed. The words she uses goes with not only how she feels but how the setting is or how the other people she is with feel. The tone is showed through the story because there is a lot of times were she is feeling a loss of self worth or feeling depressed about a situation and this is how I can define the type of girl that Alice is. Not only can I define who she is but I can tell what the story will be like from here on out.
Since "Go Ask Alice" has a difference in the way that it was written, the writing techniques are always the same because it was her personal diary. This really helps me to believe the story is true and to sometimes relate to certain situations because of the way that she write since she sticks to a specific pattern. By sticking to a specific pattern it becomes easier for the reader to understand and read the book easier, at least for me. I would not mind reading more books like this one, journal entries, because I find that the story is more relatable because it is coming from a real person, or a realistic character, that has more realistic personality than someone from a book like "The Hunger Games".
"Go Ask Alice" is about a girl who goes to a friends party and at that party her friend had a few friends spike drinks with LSD, a drug. The drinks were mixed up and 10 out of the 14 cups had LSD in them. After that night she wants to get that feeling inside her again and she ends up doing different types of drugs. When she describes the feelings she has and the "cravings" that she has for it, she uses specific wording and phrasing to make herself seem like she isn't doing anything bad. She writes questions and writes in the diary as if she were speaking to a real person. This helps the reader understand what they are reading and helps them with connecting to the character.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
"If I Stay" Week of 9.15.14
Pages: 51- 101
Prompt: What is the point of view in the story? How do you know? Was it hard to find the point of view, why or why not? What is the theme of the story?
In the book If I Stay, the story is told in first person point of view. I know that it is told in first person point of view because the author uses words like "I", "me", and "my". The story is told by Mia and she goes back and forth from when she is in a coma and before she was in a coma. First and Third point of views are most common in books. This book clearly uses first person point of view because Mia talks all about her feelings and what she sees throughout the book. First person point of view is told by the main character and they use the pronouns that describe them and the life around them.
When looking for the point of view in If I Stay it was not hard. I didn't think it was hard because the word choice made it obvious. Like I said in the previous paragraph, the author uses words like "I", "me", "we", and "my". It was also easy for me because the story is about the main character and how she is explaining what happened that day and all the days leading up to it. I immediately could infer that the story was told in first person point of view because of the storyline and how it is supposed to be told.
The theme of this story is "just keep fighting no matter what." I chose this week's theme based on how I saw it. I think that this book shows that even if you wake up in a coma and you don't know what is going on or if you will have anyone left when you get out of it, you just have to try. You never know if someone is there waiting for that minute you get up. It is just like when life get's tuff, you have to push through the dark days to get to the sunny days. Even though I am not finished with the book I do believe that this will be the theme for the book. I am inferring that the theme will be very similar to my prediction.
Prompt: What is the point of view in the story? How do you know? Was it hard to find the point of view, why or why not? What is the theme of the story?
In the book If I Stay, the story is told in first person point of view. I know that it is told in first person point of view because the author uses words like "I", "me", and "my". The story is told by Mia and she goes back and forth from when she is in a coma and before she was in a coma. First and Third point of views are most common in books. This book clearly uses first person point of view because Mia talks all about her feelings and what she sees throughout the book. First person point of view is told by the main character and they use the pronouns that describe them and the life around them.
When looking for the point of view in If I Stay it was not hard. I didn't think it was hard because the word choice made it obvious. Like I said in the previous paragraph, the author uses words like "I", "me", "we", and "my". It was also easy for me because the story is about the main character and how she is explaining what happened that day and all the days leading up to it. I immediately could infer that the story was told in first person point of view because of the storyline and how it is supposed to be told.
The theme of this story is "just keep fighting no matter what." I chose this week's theme based on how I saw it. I think that this book shows that even if you wake up in a coma and you don't know what is going on or if you will have anyone left when you get out of it, you just have to try. You never know if someone is there waiting for that minute you get up. It is just like when life get's tuff, you have to push through the dark days to get to the sunny days. Even though I am not finished with the book I do believe that this will be the theme for the book. I am inferring that the theme will be very similar to my prediction.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
"If I Stay" Week of 9.08.14
Pages Read: 1- 51
Author: Gayle Forman
"If I Stay" uses a lot of imagery and figurative language throughout the book. Even though I just started reading this book, I noticed multiple examples of the different types of imagery. In this book Mia gets into a car accident with her family causing her to go into a coma. The author switches up the events for every "chapter". One chapter is about the state that she is in while in a come and then the next chapter is flashbacks of before the accident. This is an example of sight. They are using sight by describing what she was seeing in that period of time. Another way that they use sight is by describing what she sees at the accident seen. (She is in a state that she is "out of her body" while in a come) They also use the imagery device of sound. They use sound when describing the music she is playing on her cello. One other imagery device I noticed so far it of feeling. They use feeling when describing the clothes she was wearing or how it felt when hugging a family member, etc.
My prompt for this week is: How would you feel if you were in your characters position? If I was in Mia's position I would feel scared and depressed. I would be scared because I don't know if I am dead or not, or if I even have a chance at living. Being in the state that she is, I would be wondering why this happened and if it was my fault. Knowing that your family was in the crash with you and you can't find them is really scary and depressing. If I were Mia I would just try again and again to wake up and concur the battle. I wouldn't want to e stuck there and give up because I know that everyone would want me to fight.
Gayle Forman wrote this book in a really interesting way. Instead of having actual chapters she uses time. Every time section switches from at the hospital to a flashback of previous days and months. I like this because you know how long she is in a coma and how long she is going though surgery and or other medical problems. It also helps me follow what the plot of the story better than if she were to put chapters that switch up every time. This is an amazing book already and I only am 51 pages in!
Author: Gayle Forman
"If I Stay" uses a lot of imagery and figurative language throughout the book. Even though I just started reading this book, I noticed multiple examples of the different types of imagery. In this book Mia gets into a car accident with her family causing her to go into a coma. The author switches up the events for every "chapter". One chapter is about the state that she is in while in a come and then the next chapter is flashbacks of before the accident. This is an example of sight. They are using sight by describing what she was seeing in that period of time. Another way that they use sight is by describing what she sees at the accident seen. (She is in a state that she is "out of her body" while in a come) They also use the imagery device of sound. They use sound when describing the music she is playing on her cello. One other imagery device I noticed so far it of feeling. They use feeling when describing the clothes she was wearing or how it felt when hugging a family member, etc.
My prompt for this week is: How would you feel if you were in your characters position? If I was in Mia's position I would feel scared and depressed. I would be scared because I don't know if I am dead or not, or if I even have a chance at living. Being in the state that she is, I would be wondering why this happened and if it was my fault. Knowing that your family was in the crash with you and you can't find them is really scary and depressing. If I were Mia I would just try again and again to wake up and concur the battle. I wouldn't want to e stuck there and give up because I know that everyone would want me to fight.
Gayle Forman wrote this book in a really interesting way. Instead of having actual chapters she uses time. Every time section switches from at the hospital to a flashback of previous days and months. I like this because you know how long she is in a coma and how long she is going though surgery and or other medical problems. It also helps me follow what the plot of the story better than if she were to put chapters that switch up every time. This is an amazing book already and I only am 51 pages in!
Thursday, September 4, 2014
10 Book List Challenge: Week of 9.02.14
1. "The Giving Tree" By: Shel Silverstein
"The giving tree" is one of my favorite children's books of all time. I love to read this book because it teaches you very good life lessons. I also love this book because it was one of the first few books that my parents read to me when I was a little girl. The giving tree is about this little boy who loved the tree and would play with her. As he gee older and older, he wanted more and more. Finally when he needed something, the giving tree had no more to give. I think that this is a good lesson to teach children, you can't always get what you want because when you need something, you might not get it.
2. "The Lovely Bones" By: Alice Seabold
"The Lovely Bones" is a book about a girl who gets kidnapped, rapped, and then killed. She talks about her journey to heaven and how she can't see why no one suspects the killer. This book has an impact on me because it made me realize that you have to be cautious and you can't always trust people tat you aren't that close with. This book was almost like a wake-up call to me. I also liked how this book was written and how the story line was told.
3. "Where the Wild Things Are" By: Maurice Sendak
"Where the Wild Things" are is my favorite children's book of all time! This book is so special to me because my mom would read it to be almost every night before I went to bed. Not only is it my favorite book but it is also my mom's favorite book. One of the lessons that I learned from this book was to always be yourself but obey your parents. I also learned that it is okay to be different. Something that really made me like this book was that I learned that even if you don't think any is listening or no one cares, they do and you don't have to be worried that you are forgotten.
4. "Walk two Moons" By: Sharon Creech
"Walk two Moons" is a about a girl names Sal who lives with her dad. Her mom recently left them. Sal is telling the story of how everything has happened to her and when she tells it, she is at home with her dad and her grandfather in the summertime up at their ranch. So in the story that Sal tells, she is traveling across America with her grandma and grandpa. They are traveling to all the places that her mother has sent post cards from. This book means something to me because I can feel all the different emotions that Sal feels in this book. I am able to connect to them by the way that Sharon Creech has written it.
5. "The Fault in our Stars" By: John Green
"The Fault in our Stars" is a very good book and it was written so beautifully. I chose this book for my list because there was a meaning to it. My mom went to the doctor one day and said that they found a type of cancer in her body and that they could remove it because it was an early citing. She is all good now and has no problems. Another one of my close family friends has cancer right now. We don't see her as often anymore but I keep her in my thoughts hoping she will be ok. Reading this book made me realize that we need to cherish what we have and who we have because sometimes it doesn't last forever. The little things still count. I read this book over the summer.
6. "If I Stay" By: Gayle Forman
"If I Stay" has impacted my life is a good way. I can only imagine how hard it is to be in a coma and not knowing why you can't wake up. It also must be hard to wake up and not have anyone from your family alive. (Your intermediate family) This shows you that love and support can keep someone you love hanging on. It also shows you the serious effects of a car accident. I have been in a few car accidents myself but I was never injured. I can somewhat relate to the book though because I know what it's like to not know why something like this would happen to you. I am currently reading this book but it has already impacted my life.
7. The "Chicken Soup" Series (Chicken Soup for the Preteen and Teen Soul) By: (A group of authors)
The "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series has taught me so many different lessons and made me think a lot about everyday life situations. The Chicken Soup for the soul series has multiple little story's inside the book. Every book talks about different topics. For example, The Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul can talk about things o bullying, growing up, people, and more. It taught me how to treat certain situations the right way and it made me a better person. I read The Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul, and The Chicken Soup for the Kids Soul.
8. "The Kind of Friends we used to Be" By: Fances O'Roark Dowell
"The Kind of Friends we used to Be" is about two girls who were the best of friends and then they got to 7th grade. They lost their connection when they found out that now they have different styles and a different group of friends. They lost interest with each other when they thought that they had nothing in common. Kate and Marilyn try to regain their friendship again but it just is not working out. I read this book in 6th grade and over this summer. I learned that even if you are polar opposites with someone, you can still be friends. My friends and I don't always have the same interests of tastes of music, clothes, etc. but, we always find something in common, each other ourselves. It's not always about being friends with someone who is exactly like you, it's about them as
a person.
9. "Rainbow Fish" By: Marcus Pfister
"Rainbow Fish" is another one of my favorite kids books. I love this book so much because it is cute and it teaches so many good lessons. One of the lessons that I got from this book was that sharing is caring. (Cheesy, I know) The other lesson that I learned was that being different is ok but sharing your differentness is just as good. This book is very special to me because my mom read it to me when I was little and I was able to read it to my sister when she was little. Over the past few years I was also able to read this book multiple times to my moms 3 and 4 year old class. By reading this book to the children I knew that I wanted to become a teacher.
"The Wild Girls" is a great book to read. It's about how a girl named Joan moved to a new neighborhood and she went exploring in the woods behind her house. She met a girl in her "home", it was the circle of trees. They talked and became friends. Joan and "Fox", her friends nickname, were the best of friends. They would be themselves are each other and enjoyed the same hobbies. Fox and Joan, Newt, were very adventurous. It showed me that it is ok to be different when you are with other people. It also showed me to be myself when around new people and to take chances with new ideas and traditions. When you meet someone new and they are different you should take a chance on them. You may find that you have a lot in common and maybe you might become really close friends that hangout with each other every day.
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