Final Reflection

       The three most important things I learned this you in ELA was, how to write blogs with correct grammar. For the school year  my teacher taught me to make sure that I have correct puntctuation  in my paragraphs. She has also taught me to annotate books so I understand things clearly. Lastly she has taught me to use my time effectively. I think the most valuablre thing I learned was to use my time wisely, I always procrranstine  or find a way to being off task. Knowing that my assignment is due the next day I try to do as much work as possible. 

           One thing I will always remember is our Holocaust unit. Reading the memoir of Elie Wiesel was very interesting to read about. I will never forget his story of how he survived a concentration camp. His heart breaking story taught me not top wait for things to happen and to fight for what is right me and for others. When we read the poems from the children in the camps, which led us to our butterfly projects. My poem "Terezin" was aboutt how the families were fooled to believe in something better, and that they were slowly dying. "Wanting a badge of blindness To be a proof for their own children." (Lines 5-6) "And the cannons don't scream and the guns don't bark And you don't see blood here. Nothing, only silent hunger." (Lines 12-14)

Out of all the books I've read this year I would choose "Notes From the Midnight Driver", I think it is a very relatable book for teens that are going through similar experiences. I think that the book funny jokes, and many great characters. Personally my favorite character is Solomon Lewis, he's my favorite because of. His background story and how he can relate to the main character. I would definitely reccommend the book to other students. 

This I Believe...

                                   "Making the World a Happier Place"
               Everyday, we see people smiling and joking with others about life. Passing through the hallway seeing my peers with grins on their face makes me happy. In certain places laughter isn’t an option, with violence and sadness in the air it is hard for people to laugh. For those who are in bad situations, that are able to smile, laugh, have kindness in their hearts, they’re the lucky ones.

               I was born into a world of happiness. My mother taught me to be a good person. Every Christmas my neighbor and I would make backpacks filled with necessities to live. The first time we actually delivered that backpacks to the homeless was in 2011, there was a surprising amount of people who needed these backpacks. I was sad to see people with children on the streets, this experience surprised me most.

               Since the world is now filled with anger and death, I feel that I should try my best to help others and to spread kindness to those who need it. I’m shocked that no one tries to help those that are in need, people should at least put some time and effort to help. I understand that many people can’t give money or food to others, but others who can don’t help. I think this experience will affect the future in a positive way for me and others by improving the way we treat others and have a little more laughter in the air.

             I believe in laughter and kindness. I think you should help improve the way we treat others, so that there is less negativity in world. If we do this we could add a little peace in our nation. If we work together we can help many on the streets have a future. If everyone were to donate money the world will follow, and everyone who isn’t in a good situation will have a better chance at life.

             People shouldn’t just think about themselves, they should recognize how others have a worse lives than they do. People shouldn't get mad over simple things, such as how they're low on money or how they can't pay for something they want.

"The Age-Defying Benifits Of Having (And Younger) Friends"

The book I am currently reading is Notes From the Midnight Driver  Jordan Sonnenblick.  While reading the book I wondered how Solomon will help Alex grow as a person.  So I chose to read an article that can help me understand why the judge chose an elder to be his punishment. "The Age-Defying Benefits Of  Havimg Older", talks about how having older friends and impact on you in a good way.

The author of the book tells a story of Alex Peter and Solomon Lewis. Throughout the book Mr. Lewis teaches Alex lessons that he would find out in the future. The author puts things in perspective when the characters start to bond. In the book Alex decided to have Mr.Lewis help him with playing his guitar. After the practice I can see that Solomon trusts Alex enough with his valued guitar. "You gave me your Telecaster, and you can't go up on stage next month an delay the washboard. So now you have a real jazz guitar." (224) this shows that Solomon wants to pass his experience onto Alex.


In the Article "The Age-Defying Benefits Of Having Older (And Younger) Friends" the author Meredith Melnick, talks about how having a more experienced friend. This connects to the story because Alex the main character is learning things from the old man, Solomon, which will help his life decisions that Solomon was incapable of making. According to the article, "'Friendships with older and younger people help broaden you perspective, which in turn allows you to have compassion and empathy in your day-to-day life." I think that this is happening in the book between Alex and Solomon. In the book Alex asked "Why don't you play guitar anymore? Why did you stop?". I think this is the point where Solomon starts to open up about his past. While explaining what happened to his wife he told Alex not to do the same thing he's done, he describes how he sees his deceased wife Ethel symbolizing that he sees himself in Alex hinting that he should take care of Laurie.

All in all, both the book and article shows how having someone who can teach you more than your parents will before your old enough to make your own decisions. The article list several ways having wiser and experienced friends will help you in life. The book slowly shows how the friendship between the two characters progress into a family like manner. The difference between the book and article is the article doesn't have more ways befriending elders will help in life.

Melnick, Meredith. "The Age-Defying Benefits Of Having Older (And
              Younger) Friends." The Huffington Post.
               TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 May 2014. Web. 12 May 2017.
               <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/06/heres-why-you-
               should-seek_n_5120705.html>.

Notes From the Midnight Driver

            The book I am reading is Notes From the Midnight Driver, Whcih is about a boy who was caught drunk driving and is now doing service instead of going to jail. While left home alone, Alex attempts to drive to his fathers house causing an accident with a lawn gnome and soon to be arrested. Which leads him to a memorial home to spend time with an old man named Solomon Lewis with a brewing friendship until a argument or confrontation at a holiday party with Mr. Lewis's peers. Alex is confused about the relationship between his parents after seeing them together at three in the morning. His best friend Laurie might be his potential crush or girlfriend after their sleepover. So far I have read 134 pages and will continue to read to 169.

            The character I would like to meet is Solomon Lewis. I think it would be very interesting to see him in person and hear what his side of the story would be. I would ask Mr. Lewis over 20 questions but I will choose 4 important questions I would ask. The first question I would ask is, "What do you think of Alex and how do you feel about him?". The second question I would ask is, " What made you the person you are now?". My third question "Can you tell me about your daughter and your family life?". Lastly " What would you do if you were in Alex's shoes?".

           So far, I enjoy reading  the book and enjoy the characters. I would recommend this this book because I believe the moral of the story is about friendship and how you make them in unusual ways. In the beginning I thought the book was pretty funny and I saw how each character go together well.  For the most part I think I could relate to Mr. Lewis because of his humor and his love for beautiful things like as music. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to read Notes From the Midnight Driver.

Quarter 3 Reflections

This quarter I have progressed in ELA. I am happy that I accomplished many things since quarter 1. The starting of the school year I didn't have the writing knowledge that I have now. I know I made little progress but, I know I can do better. I am doing better in my vocabulary and remembering my roots and prefixes. All in all I think my biggest improvement is in my writing this year than before.

     In quarter 3, I accomplished in ELA by reading more books that interest me than last school year.  I am proud to say that I am starting to read more and more just like when I was younger. The more books I read the knowledge I gain and better was to start writting better. Another thing I've accomplished this quarter is how I am starting to comprehend what I'm reading than blindly reading a book and not knowing what's happening.

 The most challenging part of 3rd quarter is staying on task. I noticed that I get distracted easily, when I get distracted I start falling behind in class. I am trying to pay more attention and trying to stop being absentminded by worry about my work rather than talking about things that are off task. Another thing I am having a hard time with is my time management. Since its the end of the school year I blindly start being lazy and procrastinate while doing my work. I know I can fix this putting my phone or removing myself from things that distract me. I can also set times where I can do my homework then have time to do other things.

Night

   
     The experiences that Elie witnessed while living in the camps, changed his perspective on his religion. In the beginning of the the autobiography Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie was very pious, he wanted to study is religion. In The Beginning of the book Elie described how dedicated he is to his religion, "During the day I studied the Talmud, an at night I ran to the synagogue to weep over the destruction of the Temple." "One day I asked my fathers to find me a master to guide me in the studies of the cabbala." (Page 1) These quotes show how devout Elie was compared to other kids and that he was seeking for a mentor, which is recapitulating his faith.

     However, Elie starts to question God when he was being chosen if he shall live or die. During the book Elie starts to question his faith in God,  "Why should I bless His name? The Eternal Lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible was silent. What had I to thank Him for?" (Page 31). This shows that his faith in God was slowly fading away. Another quote that  proves his faith is dying is,  "Never shall I forget those flames  which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul..." (Page 32). This quote shows that he has hit rock bottom and believes that his God is gone and is never coming back.

     While walking to a shed Rabbi Eliahou's son decided to leave him behind because he was falling behind. Later on Elie remembered and knew why he'd lost his son, because of this Elie decides to pray. "My God, Lord of the Universe, give me strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahou's son has done" (Page 87). This shows that Elie still has enough faith in God to pray that he doesn't betray his father.   "I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I was out of tears. And deep inside me, if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I might have found something like: Free at last!...(page 112 in Night PDF //137). This quote shows that everything is gone, the pious person and who he was before is now gone due to 1 year in concentration camps.

Wiesel, Elie. Night. New York : Bantam Books, 1982

Butterfly Project

                                             Terezin

The heaviest wheel rolls across our foreheads
To bury itself deep somewhere inside our memories.

We've suffered here more than enough,
Here in this clot of grief and shame,
Wanting a badge of blindness
 To be a proof for their own children.

A fourth year of waiting, like standing above a swamp
From which any moment might gush forth a spring.

Meanwhile, the rivers flow another way,
Another way,
Not letting you die, not letting you live.

And the cannons don't scream and the guns don't bark
And you don't see blood here.
Nothing, only silent hunger.
Children steal the bread here and ask and ask and ask
And all would wish to sleep, keep silent and just go to sleep again...

The heaviest wheel rolls across our foreheads
To bury itself deep somewhere inside our memories 

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Berlin Memorial

             During the Holocaust unit, I learned a variety of information on what jewish people had to go through.  On March 18, 1933 Jewish lawyers/notaries can no longer practice in Berlin. This means that only jewish lawyers are unable to work in Berlin. Another incident in 1934 Jewish actors and actress were prohibited from performing which took away many jobs and entertainment values. On November 15, 38 only Jewish children were not allowed to attend to public which resulted in homeschool. The Nazis main goal was to take away the things that people need to live or enjoy life.

             I think the monument was built out of respect of the people who died or experienced a tradgedy because of religion and example for us to reflect and not be in the situation that happened in the past. Currently, I feel with new the administration things seem to be leading us into another holocaust. I feel with "building a wall" and restricting certain countries enter the country, will cause a war between countries. I think this monument was to keep remind us to learn from the past and do better now.

              Over the years I noticed the laws became more irrelevant than before, from taking jobs away to taking freedom of the Jews. Later on many people were unable to get to work due to the take away of Jewish drivers license, which means they won't be able to get income to take care of their family. Another law that was passed in 1939 was "Jews can be thrown out of their homes without notice and without compensation and placed in appointed 'Jew homes'." Laws became more harsh towards all Jewish people. Their freedom was conquered everything they did was in the hands of Hitler and the Nazis. Many innocent people died because they were the scapegoat of Germany's broken economy

                 The restrictions i would have the most trouble with are the curfews , not being able to use a telephone, needing the police apporval to leave neighborhoods, not having pets or going to school. Without the things that I metioned I would be very unhappy. Curfews will restrict me for having more fun to explore. The only way to communicate is through telephone if I don't have that I won't be able to know what is going on with people that are important to me. I feel that having a police say yes or no to go somewhere would be unfair especially if a guardian approves. Not having pets would be a nightmare because I would very bored. Going is very fun for me because of the cool teachers and peers I have, and if I didn't go to school I would really have many friends.

2nd Quaters Reflections

  During my second quarter many assignments help me improve my work in ELA. My biggest improvements are being independent and not procrastinating. In the first quarter I always depended on others for helping me with things but now I can do more things I understand clearly than what others say. My ELA teacher, Mrs. Larson help me to move at a fast pace, this helped be stop being behind. I will continue using these methods for the rest of my school career.

  My new goal for this year is to try to get more 3's and 4's. I mainly want 4's because I know can push myself to do more work than I usually would. I believe that my ELA helps me a lot with pushing myself to do better to work harder. My new will encourage me to do bigger better things with my education.

  The most challenging part of this quarter was procrastinating. In ELA everything was due the next day which prevented me from doing things last minute. The thing that helped me the most was setting a time or finishing my work during class. I had to put in effort to do work on time or early. This will help me in the future when every little thing counts for something.

Book Talk

   The book I am reading is Plan B by Charnan Simon, the genre of the is realistic fiction. The book is about Lucy, a optimistic and ambitious seventeen years old is the intense character. During high school, she and her boyfriend Luke had gotten very intense and then things took a turn. After being peer pressured into things Lucy finds her self pregnant and has to make serious decisions about her life. After some issues have been fixed with Luke, they decided to be with each other no matter what happens. Later on, her decision changed throughout the was and came to a conclusion.

I like this book because these type of things happen many people, so this interest me to see what couples go through and how they feel throughout the process. I can not personally connect to this book but, I can know how to help a friend who could go through this type of problem.

I mostly remember the conflict about Luke and Lucy's relationship, which helped build the plot of the story to a more complicated feeling. I would recommend this book to all teens because this book tells what can happen in a teenagers life so they could imagine what would if they were in that situation. This book could change most adolescents decisions in like. This contains examples of complications in a relationship, it shows how to be responsible for what you do and teaches you to make decisions to help youself and others.

Investigative Journalism

"Hate Crimes"
By:Lael Bright

         During a Chicago’s Margarita Fest at the South Shore Cultural Center, on July 30, 2016, the 26 year old Jessica Sanders was charged with a hate crime and battery crime. When she shouted racial slurs and spitting on a black couple. Cassie Crimm was being harassed and her husband Ernest Grim started recording the incident while being spit towards. This is a problem because, a couple is being terrorized because, of their race which makes them feel unsafe where they live. Jessica Sanders talked to a reporter and said, “I haven’t slept at home since July 31st, I was afraid something was going to happen,” Sanders said. “I was depressed. I was upset. But I know myself. I know that’s not me, what was out there. I thought that it blew over a bit. I started to be out more, getting back to a regular life. Now it’s on the news and television, and it’s starting all over.”

This goes against many human rights. Some of the human rights that are being violated by is  We Are All Born Free & Equal, Don't Discriminate,The Right To Life, and You Have Rights No Matter Where You Go. These were violated because of a bean bag. During that time the couple did not fe
el safe or feel like they were able to do something about the situation. This couple was treated differently and was being disrespected by someone for no reason. People of a different race or religion should be treated as if there wasn't a difference none of the human rights laws should be broken.

Another Story of a of hate crime against a Muslim women. On July 4th 2015 Itemid Al-Matar was falsely arrested for being Muslim, the police officers thought that she was a “lone wolf suicide bomber,” according to the tribune the officers claimed to have asked Itemid Al-Matar questions but the surveillance camera. In the video Itemid Al-Matar can be seen walking up the stairs to a train, with about five or six police officers following behind her. About a minute passed and suddenly she was grabbed and thrown to the ground and was search and was exposed. Soon after she was charged with several counts of obstructing justice and was found not guilty. Later Rehab had spoken to the press and said, “There is a human at the center of this case… under this simple piece of cloth is a full and complex heart-beating human,” said Rehab. “We understand that for many people she may look like someone that they are scared of. But that does not excuse dehumanizing or demonizing her.”Itemid Al-Matar also said “I don't want that nightmare to happen again.” This shows that this racial profiling can lead to someone to be wrongly accused of terrorism

Nonfiction Book

         The nonfiction book I am currently reading is called "Cambridge Guide to Stars and Planets” by Patrick Moore and Wil Tirion. This is in the science genre of books about astronomy, while reading this book there are many topics such as the “Sun's Family and Debris of the Solar System.” In this book a few chapters I was interested in told me how other planets are always changing and describes how they change. Another thing is what nebulae are made up of.

         A passage from the book that interest me the most is,
“Many meteoroids move around the sun in swarms; each time the Earth passes through a swarm we see a shower of shoot  stars. The swarms are remains of dead comets. The most spectacular annual shower is known as the Perseids (25 July to 18 August). —Meteorite falls have been recorded, but major falls are rare and — meteoric bodies would prove a major hazard in space research but it is now clear that the danger is less than was originally thought.” This passage was interesting to me because I never really knew much about meteors and now I know they are not common and that it is not dangerous in space. I found out that meteors are caused by tiny grains of dust, also that the moving speed is 45 kilometers per second and become intensely hot from friction with the air and burn up. Overall this passage and book taught me more about space than ever.
,
After reading this book, I understand a little more about space. I learned about star clusters which are several dozen to several hundred stars that can be seen from the naked eye. I am most likely not to forget the things I learned because I may want to change my profession from actor to a space scientist because I really like to enjoy learning about planets or types of weather. Last year science, when we had to learn about space and I was dumbfounded on how interesting it was to me.

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Gratitude

       I am grateful for being able to have the opportunity to be in a good school. Unlike other children around the world I am privileged to have a school that allows us to have technology as a learning tool. Even though many of us take advantage of this, others people would die to be able to afford technology. I am also thankful to have brilliant teachers who are determined to help us grow as a student or leaner. I'm happy to have teachers who we can laugh and bond with throughout the school year with out going distant from others.

       I am also grateful for having my many many friends. Without my group of friends I wouldn't be able to be happy in school.  They help me when I need anything and I do the same. My friends are there in my happy or sad moments. Even though they can be a pain but I still love them anyway.  We bond when ever need especially when one of us aren't in the same school or state. My friendship with them are basically my family its like we know each other like the back of our hands.

       I am grateful for my family, the are the most important people in my life. I could not survive without them. They may embarrass me with old or recent pictures but,  I will always be ready with there embarrassing experiences with me. I am always told life stories even if I don't want to hear it. I can relate to most things they say to me but I never share. I never really show my emotions because I want to be seen as a strong person and not wimpy.  

Article of the Week Impression

To in ELA class we did a gallery walk on what students have learned about that is important for the world to know. In Canada Guinea pigs were possibly exposed to the deadly Ebola virus. Aworker noticed that her suit had a hole inside and could also be exposed to the Ebola virus and was quarantined for 21 days.

    Another thing I have taken in from the gallery walk is that the Late Blight Disease is communicable, if you touch it the disease will go into your body and affect you. You can get cancer by this chicken famine.

Another thing I learned was how there is air pollution in South America and South Asia. Children breathe in air pollution and 500,000 children die or receive irreversible brain damage.

Election Reflection

My thoughts on the election is that it was unfair and completely wrong. I think this because citizens of the United States are unthoughtful and people who don't know that the elector they chose to vote are going to affect everyone. My thoughts on the election results is that I was disappointed when I found there wasn't going to be a female president. Due to Donald Trump winning I was shocked much to the consternation of strikes around Trump towers. Although the nation was abrupt by the win in gut wrenching feeling that "The World is doomed."

I am excited to vote in the next election, because I want to get the opportunity to choose who deserves to be president. I am also excited to see what it's like to be in a voting poll how the process goes along. I am also interesting to see what the questions will be and if they try to see who you are or not....

The issues that the candidates attitudes or prombles, as an example Hilary Clinton emails not being confidential. Trump being racist sexist homophobic and rude to others. For example Trump was making fun of a person with Down syndrome. Also saying "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists." The people voting is another problem because citizens who decided not to vote influenced Trump to win but then decides to riot or the choose a business man without the experience as a democrat.

Soldiers Deserve

Thank you for fighting
Thank you for your heroism
Thank you for being strong and mighty

You deserve the world
You deserve everything in the world.

Even though you fight in a morbid and brutal war
You get a preset to of disrespect
Many of you are unknown
Many of you have no home

With all of the gory images
And raging PTSD
You try to celebrate holidays such as The Fourth of July or New Years

Instead your eyes fill with tears remembering
With all the cracking and popping and booming around you have a terribly frightening flashbacks of all of the horrors you’ve right before your own eyes

But a chance to be happy and to forget all the ghastly memories are very low
You deserve silence you
deserve happiness
You deserve a perfect life

News Observations

On October 22, 2016 at Steak ‘n’ Shake 2380 Sycamore Rd. DeKalb Illinois around 2:14 pm. A man appeared to be in his late 30s  wearing a green shirt with black pants losing a profound amount of hair, sitting alone watching two college girls around the ages of mid 20s short with blonde hair, for more than a hour. The reason why this man was watching them are unknown. When you are out in public make sure you check your surroundings for anything unusual.

1st Quater Reflection

My goal for the second quarter is to not procrastinate as much. I will set a time to do my homework or try to finish it class. I would also like to finish my 10 book challenge because I want to push myself to read as much as I used too to help me learn more things that I haven't known before. This will also help with me posting my blogs on time and in a better way like correct punctuations, verbs, adjectives and noun so I can be more articulate.

I think that trying to be more independent so I can pay attention in class will help, because I will often get off task and interrupt my peers. This will make me waste time and have more homework than I should have. I have learned that I won’t get anywhere in life without working hard and be more perseverant.

My writing has progressed because I know how to do TIQA’s in my writing to help me stop writing all over the place. I also learned a little about making a short writing powerful. By using specific details, grace notes, using a jolt at the end of story, and making sure there is a moral of the story. My Goal for ELA in the next three quarters is to make lots of a progress in my writings. I would also like to read more books in spare time.

Film vs. Book

One event from The Giver is when Asher was a assigned as director of recreation, and Fiona was assigned, The house of the old. But in the movie the difference is that Asher is assigned drone pilot and Fiona is a nurturer. The director changed the assignments so they can help out later in the movie by distracting guards and letting Jonas go, also to take Jonas.

In the movie was different from the book was the ending. Asher and Fiona help Jonas escape the community Fiona was assigned nurturer and Asher drone pilot. Another is in when he goes down the sled and in the book he doesn't and just crosses the line.


The film impacted my understanding of The Giver because I can get of a more visual Waylon look at and, can tell what time period it starts in. This also help to see what happen to others than just Jonas leaving it has more detail. The film compared to the book have differences but I believe that the movie is better it helps show how Fiona and Asher helps out instead of doing nothing. Another example is the sled in the book Jonas only saw a sled but it the book he rides the sled. This is why I choose the film over the book.

The Giver Theme

Jonas is a dynamic character because he grows throughout the story with different emotions and reactions to things the community won't understand, along the way building new relationships.“I don't want Pilot, anyway. If I get Pilot i’ll put in an appeal.” (41) this shows that he does indeed care for his job but is very picky about what he wants even though he can't pick his assignment. This also shows how he only cares about himself. In the beginning of ‘The Giver’ Jonas was very selfish and did not care for others because, the community is made not to take of others and to be independent.Close to the end Jonas is very offensive towards Asher when he was playing war, knowing what happens during war in a type of respect of others he changed the way he would have been if he wasn't the receiver. “But it’s a cruel game.” (134) this shows how Jonas feels about war after the flashback which now he recognizes it at cruel and thinks it's offensive to others. At the end he starts to be more observant about what others thought was ok and tries to correct them because has empathy towards others. Why? Because now that he has the memories he starts to feel pain sadness and anger and corrects right from wrong.


The relationship between pain and pleasure pain this connects to “The Giver” by Lois Lowry because it shows how Jonas progresses or grows throughout the story.When we are first introduced to Jonas he worries about the ceremony and his “assignment”, he says, “I don't want Pilot, anyway. If I get Pilot i’ll put in an appeal” (41) This shows how he only cares or worries about himself. In this community no has feelings so there is no need for empathy for others which means they only care for themselves. In this quote Jonas complains about not wanting to be a Pilot with his family unit only thinking about his well being. Towards the end of the story you can see how Jonas’s emotions changed.  “He no longer care about himself.” (174). This shows that Jonas finally has empathy for others. This connects to the story because now that he has had many memories he feels pain, happiness, love, anger and now that he understands things that the community know nothing about we will try to make them understand what's wrong and what's right.