Berlin Memorial Activity - 2/3/16

Prompts: 1) What did you learn? 2) Why do you think this monument was built? 3) What did you notice about the number of laws passed in certain years? 4) Which restrictions do you think you would have the most trouble dealing with and why?

          From the activity we did in class I learned about many of Huremburg Laws put into place. These laws were put into place from 1935-1945 during WWII and effected the Jewish people. We learned got to see about 60 of the laws and when they we passed. As the years went on these laws got more and more strict. It got to a point were Jews could only shop at a certain time and Jews couldn't have any milk. The life for Jews also got worse as the years went on. Jews weren't allowed to work a certain job, buy certain products, or have certain possessions.

         I think this monument was built to give a feeling of a proper burial for all of the victims of the Holocaust. The victims of the Holocaust were just dumped into ditches and buried in groups. They were never buried in a proper way, so this monument was to at least give off a feeling of this. I think it is also a rememberence of the whole Holocaust and all of the lives taken from it.

          I noticed that more laws were passed in some years than other years. I also noticed that the years there were a lot of laws passed were the years with big events. The first year with a lot of laws passed was 1933, in this year Adolf Hitler came into power. The next year where a lot of laws were passed was 1938, which was the year Kristallnacht (The Night of Shattered Glass) happened. The final year where there were many laws passed was 1942. 1942 was a huge turning point in the war because Germany was finally defeated after a long streak of winning battles and it went all downhill from there.

          The restriction I think I would have the most trouble dealing with is the law that restricted Jews from joining any sports clubs. I would have the most trouble with this because I love playing sports. I have been playing sports for basically my whole life, so it would be way source of entertainment gone. It would also be a source of fitness taken away to, so it would harder to stay healthy.

2nd Quarter Reflection Blog

1/24/16

Prompts: 1) In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts? 2) What is something you have accomplished since the new year that you are proud of? 3) What has been the most challenging part of 2nd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

          The area that I think I made the biggest improvement in is essay writing. This quarter we had to write an essay about a theme in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which greatly improved u writing skills. The essay refreshed my mind about the "TIQA" format for body paragraphs and introduced me to the "ANT" format for the introduction. Along with writing my the essay this assignment helped with my revision skills. I now know what to look for when revising my papers, along with someone else's paper.

          The thing that I am the most proud of this year is doing good on my vocabulary tests and tests in other subjects. At the time I'm writing this I've only gotten threes and fours on my test in every subject. I'm proud of this because it wasn't just one class I did this in or one type of test. I hope I can say this again by the end of the 3rd quarter, even if it means I have to retake every test I take this quarter.

          The most challenging part of the 2nd quarter for me was time management. I can never tell how long it will take me to finish my homework, so I sometimes give myself to little time to complete my homework. Time management has been a big problem for me throughout the whole school year. However, I'm going to try to establish a time I start homework every day, but I have to see the amount of assignments I will get regularly in the 3rd quarter.

To Kill a Mockingbird Juxtaposition

1/21/16

Prompts: 1) What do you think is the most important difference between the written and filmed version? Provide evidence with specific details. 2) How would you prove or disprove that one version of To Kill A Mockingbird is more affective in delivering its message than the other? Be sure to provide specific pieces of evidence to support your opinion. 3) What is the purpose in having different versions of a story? Think about how different versions contribute to the overall understanding and interpretation of that piece of work. Use specific concepts to support your opinion.

          The movie adaptation of the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has several differences both major and minor. Out of all the differences I think the most important difference is Aunt Alexandra never is seen in the movie. In the book Aunt Alexandra affected Scout, Jem, and Atticus in different ways. For instance, Aunt Alexandra tried to make Scout more lady like by sending her to the other Finch's and having her join the missionary discussion. Aunt Alexandra was there for Atticus if he needed help with making decisions or just needed extra support.

          I think that the book version of To Kill a Mockingbird delivered its message better that the film adaptation. I think the book version is better because Harper Lee could explain settings, convey feelings, and character in a more clear way because she's using words and there's no limit. In the film to know how someone is feeling you have to analyze their facial expression, their actions, and their dialogue. Also, in the film not as many events happened compared to the book, so there wasn't as many times to convey a message.

          The purpose of having a two different versions of a story is to show different perspective of the story. The film had differences like not including some characters and having events happen in different orders. By doing this you can either understand a theme better or miss the theme in general. You can also see more of a characters behavior. For instance, in the film you can see how Bob Ewell acted when he was drunk. In the book you only heard of his actions while he was drunk.

TKAM Blog - 12/17/15

To Kill a Mockingbird 

Author: Harper Lee

Pages: 0-281 (End)

Prompt: Select a quote from your reading that you liked. What made you pick it? How

does it make you pause and think?

        They are many quotes throughout To Kill a Mockingbird that will make the reader stop and think, but there's one that I liked and related to the most. The quote I'm choosing for this blog is, "I sometimes felt a twinge of remorse, when passing by the old place, at ever having take part in what just have been sheer torment tom Arthur Radley—what reasonable recluse wants children peeping through his shutters, delivering greetings on the end of a fishing-pole, wandering in his collards at night," which was said by Scout.

        I picked this quote because I could relate to doing this. This quote shows how Scout reflected on what she has done to Arthur Radley, also known as Boo Radley. I seem to always be reflecting I did that day or something that happened months ago. I haven't tormented someone like what Scout, Jem, and Dill did, but I have reflected on what I have done with other people or to other people.

        This quote made me pause and think for two reasons. One of them being the fact I can relate to this moment. The other is it shows how Scout is growing up. When they were first doing all the things to Boo she thought it wasn't making tormenting him and was fine to do. From this quote you can see that she realizes that what she did was wrong and feels bad for doing it. This also shows one of the many themes of the book which is coming of age.

TKAM Character Relationship Blog - 12/3/15

Prompt: Think about the two characters in each pair below.  Note at least two ways they are alike and two ways they are different. From there, decide what relationship each has with Scout and what effect they have on her. You only need to choose one pair to blog about.

        In this blog I am going to compare and contrast the characters Miss Maudie and Calpurnia. These characters have similarities and differences. One thing that is similar about them is they both act like a mother figure for Scout. Since Scout's mother died when she was really young she didn't remember her mother she never had a mother. Calpurnia and Miss Maudie filled that gap and acted like a mother for Scout. Another thing the two have in common is they are both nice people to everyone. From what I read Miss Maudie and Calpurnia haven't hurt anybody in any way.

        Though these characters have their similarities they have their differences, too. One difference about the two is their relationship with the Finch family. Calpurnia considered family in the eyes of Scout, Jem, and Atticus. Miss Maudie is their neighbor and a good friend of them. Another thing that's different about Miss Maudie and Calpurnia is their race. They race affects how they are treated in the book and what they have. The church that Calpurnia goes to is poorer than the one Miss Maudie goes to. It's described as, "... was unceiled and unpainted within."

        Miss Maudie and Calpurnia have a good relationship with Scout and her family. Like I mentioned earlier Calpurnia is like family to the Finches and a mother to Jem and Scout. Scout can also go to Calpurnia is she feels lonely. Miss Maudie is their neighbor, but Scout can got to her, too, if she feels lonely. Miss Maudie is also a good friend to Scout's father, Atticus.

        Both of these character have effected Scout throughout the book. Both Miss Maudie and Calpurnia have been helping Scout when she had questions or was just lonely. For example, when Scout asked Miss Maudie about Atticus and what he can do. They also showed Scout what was right and wrong to do.  

TKAM Setting Blog - 11/24/15

 Evans, Walker. Sidewalk Scene in Selma, Alabama. 1935. Library of Congress, Selma, AL. 

 

Prompt: You will be selecting a photograph that represents your idea of Maycomb, AL based on Harper Lee’s description. Incorporating the different criteria from the Visual Literacy Guide, write a thoughtful, thorough, and well constructed response relating the photograph to Maycomb, AL.

        In class we started to read the novel To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM) by Harper Lee, which takes place in Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is described as,"...a tired old town," where,"...grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square." This shows that Maycomb wasn't like a big active city and that it was poorly taken care of. Scout, the main character, also said that her father, Atticus, knew everybody by blood or marriage. This means that the town was also a small town, once again showing it's not a city. I went off of these descriptions pick my photo.

        The first thing I noticed were the prices written on the grocery store. In TKAM they mention prices for food being in the cents. For instance, Miss Caroline insisted that Walter should take a quarter and said,"Go and eat downtown today," showing that the prices and time periods are close together. In the picture it looks like a sign is knocked over and the paint is chipping away on the wall. This can mean that the town isn't that clean and taken care of.

        I also noticed that the sidewalk and street is smooth. Scout said,"In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop," this shows that the streets are made of clay. From what I already know clay is a really smooth material, the street and sidewalk look really smooth in this picture, so it could be made of clay. In the picture you can also see that the men are just sitting around outside and nobody is walking by in this picture. I think this can be the town not being active or the towns population isn't that great, like Maycomb

Theme Blog - 11/19/15

The Eleventh Plague

11/19/15

Pages: 148-222

Spoiler Alert

        The book The Eleventh Plague has many themes throughout it, but there are two big ones survival and war. I will focus on survival because the theme of war doesn't show as much the further into the book you get. Since this focuses on theme there might be some spoilers. As you read the book you see the main character, Stephen, wants to survive and start a new life.

        At the beginning of the book Stephen wants to continue surviving with his father. He wants to start a new life. They have to survive the winter, injuries, hunger, and most importantly the disease, P11. His father later gets a concussion and they are helped by a settlement. Now Stephen has help from the settlement, but in a way he still has to survive. He has never had contact with other kids his age, so he has to adjust to their living style and he has to think about the future of him and his father when his father recovers.

        This theme was introduced from the plot. This story follows Stephen as he tries to survive after a war caused P11, a very strong and deadly strain of influenza. This caused many people to die and left others to survive in very harsh conditions. Stephen survived this becuase he was born after the war, so  he has to survive the aftermath not the war.