The Lonely Road - A Picture Poem 2/27/15

    “The Lonely Road”

 
I drive out into the dusky night,

  on a lonely, abandoned road,

     surrounded by trees.

     It’s as dark as pitch,

as i go down the lonely road.

The black fringe of the forest,

        speeding past me

   and it’s all a blur of black,

as the trees brush their fingers

          against my car.

Breaking Dawn 2 2/23/15

Prompt - Think of a problem that a character had to face. Write the problem and how the
character solved it or is working to solve it. If you were that character, what would you do differently?

     A huge problem in this book was faced by all of the Cullen family. Their problem was the Volturi. The Volturi are a group of vampires that are 'vampire royalty' and they execute vampires when they do illegal things. The Volturi were going to come and visit them because they had done something that the Volturi assumed was illegal. 

     The thing that happened was that when Bella was still human, she gave birth to her and Edward's child. Right before she could die, Edward saved her by turning her into a vampire. The child was not immortal because Bella was still human when her baby was born. This had never (or very rarely) ever happened. One day, when Bella was hunting outside with her daughter, one of the Cullens 'friends' named Irina, saw them and went to Italy to tell on them. In the past, immortal children were a huge problem because, since they were children, they couldn't control themselves which caused them to kill many humans.

     Alice (one of the Cullens who could tell the future) saw in her head that the Volturi would come to visit them. What the Cullens did to work to solve this problem (because they knew the Volturi would fight with them) was to gather a lot of their old vampire friends. Then, they explained to them that the child was not immortal. Immortal children were a really big problem in the past, so even their visitors got scared. The child (Renesmee) had a special talent of showing someone what she was thinking by putting her hand on them. 

     Renesmee's talent is how the Cullens explained to their friends. They didn't want their friends dying because they we're fighting with them. That's why they just asked them to be witnesses. Although, most of their friends wanted to help. What the Cullens did to practice, was practicing their special talents and fighting. Also, hey were taking turns teaching Bella how to fight since she was a newborn vampire. Bella took a long time practicing her special talent as a shield. Her talent protected other people and herself from other's powers. 

     If I were Bella, I don't think I would do anything differently. i say this because I think that I would also use the whole time to practice; like she did. Lastly, I think that the Cullens were smart to practice there talents before the fight.

I commented on Justin, Rebecca, and Siari's blogs.

Global Collaboration Reflection 2/20/15

     My level of global awareness before entering seventh grade was not very good because I never even really knew the real definition of global collaboration. Now, I know that global collaboration is when you find out about other people's experiences from different places around the world, not just learning about the facts about places around the world. The simple definition would be: two or more people working together toward shared goals.

     The collaborations and projects that we (the class) did with our Swedish and Indian pen pals have changed my level of global awareness because they helped me learn about two other countries and people's lives there. Before we did these, I didn't really know about people's lives in other places in the world; I just knew major news that happened.

     My perspective on other cultures have changed through my collaboration because I have learned many new things. For example, some things that I've learned are about religion, hobbies, and traditions. One interesting that I've learned was that in Sweden, (in their school) they have to take off their shoes when they are walking around in school. I also learned that in India, they like to play sports. One sport that I never heard of that they play is Kho Kho, which is a game of tag.

     In conclusion, I learned many new things and I also found out that I have many things in common from people around the world.

A Series of Unfortunate Events 5 (book 5) 2/16/15

Prompt - What event could have happened in real life? What would be similar in real
life? What would be different in real life?

     One event from this book; "The Austere Academy" that could have happened in real life is the three orphans going to boarding school. Obviously; this can happen in real life because it's completely normal for kids to go to boarding school. Another thing that can happen in real life that happened in this book was that the children were nervous about attending the school. This is realistic because kids sometimes are nervous about their first day of school.

     I think that something that would be similar in real life is a character named Carmelita Spats. I know this because she is described as very rude and mean. People in real life could be mean, or bad people. I'm not very far in this book, but based on what I've read, she seems like a bad person. It even says directly in the book that she was rude, violent, and filthy. One example from the book that shows what kind of person she was, was where it said, "Move, cakesniffers!" the rude, violent, and filthy little girl said as she dashed by them again."

     One thing (or character) that would be different in real life would be Vice Principal Nero. He would be different in real life because a person can't be that ridiculous. Some of the things that he did was that he said Sunny (who was an infant) had to work as his secretary. Also, he said if the children were late for class, they would have their silverware taken away during mealtime and have their hands tied so they would have to lean down and eat like dogs. Their cups and glasses would also be taken away and their drinks would be in puddles. Lastly, he said that every day he would play the violin a for six hours and it was mandatory for everyone to attend. If they didn't, they had to but him a bag of candy and watch him eat it. In conclusion, none of these things would ever happen in real life and would be weird if they did.

I commented on Samantha, Siari, and Emily's blogs.

Poetry Reflection 2/16/15

Poetry Reflection on Loved Ones by Laura L. Lewis

     This poem is about trying to get through the pain when you lose a loved one. It also is talking about how i seems so fast when they leave and you realize they won't come back. I think that the author wrote this because she was probably going through a hard time of losing a family member or a friend that she loved. So, she probably wanted to express her feelings in this poem. 

     While I was reading this poem, I was picturing people at memorials or funerals. I also visualized people being sad or crying. This poem reminds me of when I was about eight years old and my great grandma died. I was really sad then; and I remembered this when I was reading.

   

I chose this picture of a candle because; since this poem is about loss, when you blow out a candle, it goes out so fast and quickly just like when a loved one is lost. Also, you know that it (the flame) just won't reappear.

                                                                        

<<< Poem

Breaking Dawn 2/9/15

Prompt - Pretend you get to create the music soundtrack for what you've been reading. What five songs would you include? Write an explanation for each song: why hold you include it, how does that song connect to the events.

*Spoilers*

     Breaking Dawn, as well as the rest of The Twilight Series, already had a music soundtrack because they were also made into movies. I think that they picked the very best songs that went well with the story. So, what I'm going to do, is pick the top five and explain why I think the songs went good with the story.

     My very first pick for a song is the song called "Eyes on Fire" by The Blue Foundation. This song, I knew for a while and I love it. I think that this one song went really great with the book/movie Breaking dawn because the lyrics just explain some of the parts of the book. For example, the part that reminded me of this book was where it said, "One more word and you won't survive". This represented all of the times that Bella could've done one wrong mistake and she wouldn't survive because of all the mess she always gets into, like with the Volturi. In the end of Breaking Dawn, Bella and the Cullens almost got into a fight with the Volturi (vampire royalty) and she wouldn't survive against them. Another part that went good with the novel was where it said, "And I'm not scared, of your stolen power." This was a lot like both the movies and the books especially because Bella was never scared that Edward was a vampire; but he was worried that he would hurt her.

     Another one of the songs that I think went great with Breaking Dawn was the song "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri. This was perfect describing Bella and Edward's love because it was two people who loved each other would forever. Bella always wanted to be a vampire, so when she finally got to be one, Edward and she would be guaranteed an eternity with each other as long as they didn't die from a fight with an enemy. The mood of the song also went perfectly with the book because it is a romantic song and it wasn't a fast song. Overall, I think that this song represented the whole Twilight Series, especially Breaking Dawn.

     The third song that went good with the book(s) was "The Forgotten" by Green Day. I think this because Jacob felt very forgotten when he saw Bella and Edward happy together and with their baby. He always has loved Bella and he felt very jealous and lonely when he saw them as a family. In the book, he was feeling betrayed by Edward because he didn't like the baby (it was half vampire, therefore it was destroying Bella's body) and Edward didn't either for the same reason. But, everything changed as soon as he could hear the baby's thoughts (he could read minds) and he loved the baby now. Previously, Jacob and Edward wanted to get rid of it but then it changed and Jacob felt betrayed and when he saw them all together, he felt very forgotten; exactly how all of the lyrics in this song described it.

     The next song, "Where I Come From" by Passion Pit, I picked because, first of all, one of the lines, "Where I come from, you say things will be well and fine though the world around you is crumbing" reminded me of all of the times that Bella got into trouble but in the end, they all seemed little when she was in all of the pain of becoming a vampire. Some quotes directly from the book that supported this were: "To wish that I'd embraced the blackness while I'd still had the chance.", "I wanted to raise my arms and claw my chest open and rip the heart from it - anything to get rid of this torture.", and "James, snapping my leg under his foot. That was nothing."

     The last song; (in no particular order) that I picked was "Fire In The Water" by Feist. I picked this song because it described the relationship between Edward and Bella. The first part that showed this was the part where it said "Love's the sweetest feeling". Edward and Bella loved each other so much and Edward always said that she was like a drug to him. Another part that stood out to me was the part where it said, "The lion's in the house" because of all of the times Edward and Bella were described as a lion and a lamb together (more details on my earlier blog Eclipse 12/15/14) and that when they were together, they belonged together, so the 'lion' would be where it belongs/in it's house.

*extra song*

The last song that I wanted to mention quickly because it was not part of the actual soundtrack, but a song that I think would go good with the while series is "Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey (I love this song). A line from the song is "Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful." I think it would be good with these books because Bella always was worried about turning older and Edward would never be with her if she was older than him. That's why she was always begging Edward to turn her (into a vampire).
   


I commented on Justin, Jared, and Rebecca's blogs.
   

Book Talk: A Series of Unfortunate Events 4 (book 4) 1/2/15

Prompt - Book Talk

                                                   *Sorry, I kept moving the camera!*

     The title of the book that I'm reading is "The Miserable Mill" which is the fourth book of The Series; "A series of Unfortunate Events". The author is Lemony Snicket and the genre of this book and overall series is mostly mystery and adventure.

     This/these book(s) are about three children that get bad news one day that their parents died in a house fire. They go from care taker to care taker and each one leads to bad things. In the first book, they met Count Olaf; a very greedy and mean man that wanted to take their fortune from them that their parents left. He follows them every where they go to live and always manages to escape. In this book, they go to live in a lumber mill and they have to work there everyday. There is many little bad things that happen to them there like having to wake up early to work, getting only gum for lunch, get paid in coupons, and a lot more. But, their real problem is when Klaus (one of the orphans) gets tripped; twice by one of Count Olaf's assistants but they do not know that it is his assistant yet because his assistants and himself disguise themselves. So, Klaus had to go to get new glasses where Count Olaf was disguised. He came back both of the times looking confused and doesn't say much. His sisters; Violet and Sunny think that something is wrong with him. Later on in the book, they figure out what happened. So, that's basically what this book is about which out giving away the whole ending.

     The setting of this book is in Lucky Smells Lumbermill and in an optometrist's office where Count Olaf is in disguise. There are three main characters in this book and all of the other books; which are the three orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny in order from oldest to youngest. Violet is 14, Klaus is 12, and Sunny is an infant. Violet has brown eyes and dark brown hair, Klaus has brown eyes and black hair, and Sunny has black hair and eyes. The conflict or struggle that the three orphans had to face was to escape from Count Olaf after he had tried continuously to adopt them to just steal their fortune. The mood of all of these books is unhappy. Even the author himself states in all or most of the books that he warns the readers to put the book down and read something else if they don't want to read about the unhappy lives of the children. In this particular book, the theme of "The Miserable Mill" is optimism. There are several examples of optimism in this book; mostly by Phil, an employee at Lucky Smells Lumbermill. He can find the good in everything even when he is in great pain, which makes Violet, Klaus, and Sunny try to be optimistic in their situations, and in the end of the book, they were positively thinning that they were lucky that they were alive even though many bad things had happened to them.

     I really liked this book; I liked the whole series because I think it was interesting and fun to read about all of their adventures and it was unlike most books. So, I enjoyed reading something that I haven't read before; that's what I remember most of it, it's uniqueness. I actually have read this series before in forth and fifth grade which is an example that shows how much I like these books. I would recommend this book to everyone because it's really good and if someone is not really into reading, it's a short and easy read while still being interesting. I think that someone would want to go out and get this book if they wanted to read it for entertainment. In conclusion, I liked this book and I would recommend it.

Gallery Walk Reflection 1/30/15

Prompt - What impressions are you left with after our gallery walk?

     The impression that i am left with after the gallery was is that I learned a lot of new things. Some of the topics, I've never heard about. Over all, they were very interesting and I definitely learned something new. One (or two) of the articles that stuck out to me were the articles on ISIS. 

     Saul and Sonny had this (ISIS) article for their aow. First of all, this stuck out to me because it was the only one that I saw two people had; also, this is still going on. The articles were about Japan's ISIS hostage crisis. A quick description of ISIS from the article "About ISIS - A quick summary of what I've observed" is: "The ISIS is a very radical Islamic organization whose stated objective is to use force and military conquest to reestablish the caliphate and to impose their idea of strict Islamic rule in the Middle East." Basically what happened was that ISIS captured two people from Japan and are holding them hostage.

     ISIS also wanted money, so they made a video of one hostages holding the other's dead body. I found this very shocking and I think it's also disturbing. In conclusion, this is only one of the many things I learned from the gallery walk and my impression of it was surprised (at how much I learned),