Reading: Semester 1

     This semester I have read a variety of books for outside reading and in class reading. From most challenging to least, In Defense of Food, Nation, Lord of the Flies, Carrie, Dear John, A Walk to Remember, and Pretty Little Secrets. All of these books are really different. They vary in genre drastically. Some are love stories others horror, survival, and manifestos.
     This semester in English I have learned a lot about myself as a reader. I learned that one of my weaknesses is not being able to read and see the symbolism in words and phrases in the text. For example when I read a description of colors or something the character says I don't know if it is symbolizing something with a deeper meaning or if its just what it says and nothing to it. I learned this from reading Lord of the Flies. However my strengths come in reading books that interest me. I can read a love story or another book that might interest me and never stop reading it. However this can also be a weakness because I never read anything else of other genres unless I am required.
     Next semester I want to try and read books I usually would never pick up to read. I want to try and read genres outside my reading comfort zone. I could try reading a documentary about running or another non-fiction book. Another goal of mine is to turn my weaknesses in the previous paragraph into strengths by the end of the year.

Lord of the Flies:
Chapter 6- 31 min.
Chapter 7- 54 min
Chapter 8- 1 hour
Chapter 9- 27 min.
Chapter 10- 1 hour 7 min.
Chapter 11- 32 min
Chapter 12- 49 min

Fear

     Lord of the Flies by William Golding, has been very intense these last few chapters. Everything is happening at once and its all very important. My reading focus, fear, comes up in the book very often especially in these last few chapters. Three big places in the book where fear is shown is the boys terrifying fear of the darkness, fear of never being rescued, and the heartbreaking fear of Piggy when he couldn't see right before his death.
      In Chapter 10 on page 157 you can hear the fear in Ralph's voice as he cries out aabout wanting to leave. "I'm frightend. Of us. I want to go home. Oh God, I want to go home." (157). Everyone on the island really does want to be rescued but Ralph shows it the most. Piggy cries for protection, "Ralph! Don't leave me!" (176). Piggy is scared and helpless becaus of his loss of eye sight and fears for his safety. Through out the book they talk of darkness and the fear of the night, "Ralph stood up,feeling curiously defenseless with the darkness pressing in." ( 164). During the night the boys can't see what is lurking in the forest, they hear strange noises, and the nightmares lurk in their dreams, they are truely defenseless.

Reading Log

Tues- 2o min. thesis

Wed. 47 min LOTF

Thurs. 1 hour 16 min thesis

Sat. 14 min. LOTF

Lord of the Flies Focus

     So far in The Lord of the Flies characters are starting to show their true characteristics. For example Ralph, who was voted leader, is really starting to show and assert himself as chief of all on the island. He is cracking down on the lazy people and other kids on the island that have failed their jobs. Another example is Jack. I still don't understand why he is so obssesed with pigs and killing them. Jack is a little bit crazy if you ask me.
     I believe the focus so far in this book is to get rescued and until then survive. Ralph built shelters and Jack finally killed a pig. These are both examples that show the boys know they aren't going to get rescued tomorrow. Another thing is the fear in the book, all of the littluns are so terrified of everything and these few chapters the author really points that out.

Review for Exams

     From the beginning of the year we have learned a lot of new important things in English class and will soon learn even more. I will most likely need to do a quick review over the summer reading because we worked on that a long time ago in the first few weeks of this school year. Secondly I also might need to review my notes on literacy narratives, short stories, and literary elements. All of these topics had a lot of notes I need to know.
     I will start reviewing this material over the weekends so when it is time to study for the exams the knowledge will be fresh in my mind and make it much easier to review. I am very nervous about the English exam because from past test, I can definitely determine there will be a lot of writing.

Plane Crash Activity Reflection

     I think if our class was stranded on a deserted island we would survive and work well together as a group. We would have a couple of leaders to guide us in our daily tasks to stay alive and we would form different groups to do each task. When we had the class discussion on this activity we all listen to what others had to say and didn't all just say everything all together.
     Our class would most likely develop a government or some sort of leadership to start off with but from there we would probably all work together in doing what was necessary to stay alive. Our group would find food, water, and shelter quickly and jump onto the next task. We would all work well together!

Reading Times:
Sun.- LOTF 38 min., 31 pages
Wed.- Carrie 55 min, 49 pages
Thurs.- Carrie 1 hour 21 min., 67 pages
Sat.- Carrie 26 min., 21 pages

Reading Response

Wed.-"The Sniper" By Liam O’Flaherty; 11 min.
Carrie By: Stephan King; Tues.- 1 hour, 51 pages
                                           Wed.-28 min., 23 pages
                                            Fri.- 42 min., 36 pages
                                            Sun.- 17 min., 11 pages

     This week when we had to come up with our thesis I had no idea what I would write about. Then in one of my comments someone recommended the short story "The Sniper" for me to read. Once I read it I came up with a possible thesis. Basically the story is about a sniper in war that kills an enemy and finds out it was own brother. Therefore he sees the hatered of war and fighting.
     I think war and fighting is wrong because it makes people we are close to and love hate each other and grow apart.This story is a good way to portray and tell other people this.If we all just get along there would be no fighting or war and there would just be world peace.

Free Post- Cross Country

                This week in cross country is the most important yet stressful time of the season. On Monday we have the Metro meet, which is the second most important meet besides state. The Metro meet determines everything for the upcoming state meet. Only seven people run in the state meet and there are two alternates. All of this will be decided at Metro.

                On the day of the state meet, November 12th, we will leave before school starts because we have to ride the charter bus up to Natchitoches, where the state meet is held. The state meet shows who’s the best out of you division. This meet is the final meet of the season and a great way to end a fun cross country season.

Short Story Reflection

Hills like White Elephants By: Ernest Hemingway; 12 min.
The Endless Street Car into the night, and the Tinfoil nose By: Jean Shepard; 23 min.
The Return By: Ngugi Wa Thiong'o; 17 min.
Carrie By: Stephen King; 48 min., 36 pages
                                          1 hour 32 min., 69 pages
    
     Last week I read Hills like White Elephants, The Endless Street Car into the night, and the Tinfoil Nose, and The Return. All of these short stories had very different topics. Although, they all had to do with relationships among a man and a women. Reading these stories nothing really stood out to me or intrested me in making a thesis. The short stories were boring and bland.
     To make my thesis I am planning on reading some more short stories until I find something that really pops out to me in the text which will make a good thesis. I want to write about something that I have an intrest in so I can write a well written long essay.

Reading Times

Carrie by: Stephen King- 1 hour 30 min; 62 pages
                                          24 min.; 17 pages
                                          48 min.; 33 pages
                                          total= 162 min.; 112 pages

"Waltz of the Fat Man"

     In the short story "Waltz of the Fat Man" by Alberto Alvaro Rios, the main literary element portrayed is setting. In the psychological aspect of setting the whole story has a sad mood to it. As in the text, "though he tried not to be, in the people's minds he was simply and irritation...he was always alone, always at the same place outside of town, by the river reeds.", you feel the desperation and sadness of the the man.
     As you read the story you feel sorry for the fat man. The short story is depressing because no one likes him because he is fat even though he tries so hard for someone to notice him as a sweet guy. He is very uncomfortable in his own skin which makes him awkward and unsocial.



Reading Times:
Monday- Dry September; 28 min.
Tuesday- And of Clay We Are Created; 23 min.
Wednesday- Harrison Bergeron; 11 min.
Thursday- Waltz of the Fat Man; 18 min.
Friday- Pretty Little Secrets; 31 min.; 22 pages
Sunday- Pretty Little Secrets; 1 hour 15 min.; 57 pages

1st Quarter Evaluation

     This past quarter went by very quickly. Overall I think I was well prepared and focused in English  class for first quarter. One day I did forget my free read book, but besides that I brought my binder, books, and all materials necessary for English class everyday. I was focused in class almost all of the time and waited for your dismissal before I started to pack my things. Throughout  our lectures and discussions I was well prepared by taking notes and listening cooperatively. My computer use was appropriate and need for success in class activities. In group work I need a little help by staying on task and topic. Sometimes I got distracted and talked about other things than English when we had group work. Although I need work in a few areas I think the first quarter was excellent.
     During the second quarter I am going to try and improve a lot of things to make English class better and easier to learn. First off I want to stay more focused on what your teaching rather than my peers around me. I want to make better grades on my blog posts and my wordly wise vocabulary quizzes. Most of all I want to engage in the class discussion and make a better use of group work. I believe second quarter will be awesome!

Reading Times

Monday- To Da-duh; 35 min.
Tuesday- A&P; 15 min.
Wednesday- A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings; 18 min.
Thursday- Pretty Little Secrets; 42 min. 34 pages
Saturday- Pretty Little Secrets; 1 hour, 46 pages

I am writer who...

     I am a writer who takes the easy way out. In my writing throughout my school years I have been a horrible writer. I never really think about things and take them to the next level in writing. I usually have boring ideas and nothing to write about. I usually just write what I'm thinking and it doesn't come out to be good. Expressing my feelings on paper rarely ever happens.
     Being a boring writer is boring. I never am truely confident in any of my writing, however I don't know how to fix this. I don't enjoy writing because I think I am not good at it. I hope in the near future or this year I can get out of this habit and learn how to be a better writer and then I will like it a lot better.

Reading Response Pretty Little Secrets

Thursday: "To Build A Fire", By: Jack London; 30 minutes, 18 pages
Saturday: Pretty Little Secrets, By: Sara Shepard; 1 hour and 16 minutes, 44 pages
Sunday: Pretty Little Secrets, By: Sara Shepard; 2 hours, 72 pages

     In Pretty Little Secrets the setting takes place in more of a rewind to the characters previous years and what happened during this time. It actually takes place in between two other books of this series. The plot is basically the four girls, Hanna, Aria, Spencer, and Emily, as they are tourchered by A and what they did on that winte break which is now uncovered. The protagnist are probably the four girls and the antagonist is A, the mysterious person who is blackmailing them.
     I think what A does to the girls is wrong. Even though they made a huge mistake a couple years back doesn't mean they should suffer they way A makes them suffer. People change and they should not be held against for something they did when they were younger. I hope to keep reading this novel to find out more about the secrets and mystery of A.

Reading/Writing Response

     This week we were assigned to write a literacy narrative. On Tuesday night I spent thrirty minutes at home working on my paper, on Wednesday I spent twenty-five minutes, and this weekend in total I spent twenty minutes. My literacy narrative is about how I started to read The Hunger Games and how the books changed me. I have enjoied working on this piece of writing because it is about my personal experiences.
     I also read more of my book, Pretty Little Secrets, this week. On Thursday I read forty-seven minutes and on Sunday I read thirty-five minutes. In total I read fifty-five pages out of my free read book. This book countinues on with the series mystery about the four girls, Aria, Spencer, Hannah, and Emily, and their story after there "so called" bestfriend was murdered.

School work

     The last few weeks in school have been very stressful. I have had geometry honors quizzes and tests almost every other day, a major biology honors test to worry about, and a paper due. Not to mention all of the other homework I have to do every night after cross country practice. I never really have any time to do anything but study, homework, and run.
     Academics are not the only stressful thing nether. Every Saturday we have a cross country meet and they stress me out because I am always afraid that I will do bad or run really slow. Hopefully as the year goes on all of this will get better and I will have more time on my hands to do other things that aren't stressful.

Literacy Narrative Ideas

     To be honest when Dr. D told us that we were assigned to write our own literacy narrative I had no clue what I could write possibly write about. I've never really loved anything particular about reading or writing. As I thought about this I thought about the books I have previously read and how they have changed my overall reading experience.
     The books that have changed me include the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard, the popular Hunger Games trilogy, and the other books that we were required to read through our middle school career. The topic I have now decide on is the Pretty Little Liars series because it is the longest series I have ever stuck with and I absolutely love the books.

Reading Response: Dear John/Pretty Little Secrets

     This week in Dear John I read thirty-nine pages in an hour on Thursday and thirteen pages in thirty minutes on Saturday. I actually finished Dear John this week and now I am reading Pretty Little Secrets by Sara Shepard. In this new book I read thirty-two pages in an hour. All together in total I read for two hours and thirty minutes and sixty-four pages.
     I finished Dear John this week and towards the end the book got depressing with all the death and sadness. I"m so happy that i decided to read and finish the book because it was an amazing read that left you smiling and crying as you flipped the pages. On the other hand I started my new book called Pretty Little Secrets, which is another book in the series Pretty Little Liars. I chose to read this book because for about two years I have been reading this series and every time Sara Shepard comes out with an addition to the series I have to read it to find out more. 

Reading Response: Dear John

     This week I have read seventy-seven pages in two hours and thirty minutes. This is including my current free read, Dear John, and also the personal narratives from The Norton Field Guide of Writing. In Dear John the story has twisted because Savannah has broken up with John because she has fell in love with someone else. I think she shouldn't have written him a letter to brake up with him she should have waited to do it in person or at least call him on the phone. I can't wait to read more this week to finish the book.
     The personal narrative that we were assigned to read this week were surprisingly interesting and simple to read. I especially enjoyed the narrative about Malcom X and how his time in prison helped him learn and how to read. I want to read more of these narratives and maybe even write my own.

Response to comments on Dear John

     I have actually watched the movie Dear John before I started reading the book. Therefore I know what is going to happen. Even though I saw the movie the book is still quite different in many ways. A major difference is that John didnt come to stay with Savannah for a long time in between his army duties.Also Tim's kid in the movie is actually Tim's brother in the book.
     Although the differences are minor they still contribute to the story.Even if you already have seen a movie you can still read the book because in ways it's always going to be different and the books give you more vivid discriptions.

Reading Response: Dear John

     This week I read ninety-six pages in two and a half hours. I am now on page one sixty in my book which is about half way. In the book John left for the army leaving Savannah behind and now he is back on his leave being reunited with Savannah after many months. To make his time in the army go faster they wrote letters to each other all the time telling each other what they had been doing and counting down the days until they saw each other again.
     I think this way of passing the time is efficient because they won't forget about each other and letters are more sentimental rather making a phone call every night. When John comes back while he is on his leave I think Savannah is acting suspicious and is keeping a secret from John. I can't wait to find out what happens next in this love story.

Hurricane Issac

     As I sat in my room staring out the window at all the limbs and leaves gusting through the air, all I could think about was when was this storm going to stop.We were already prepared with flash lights, batteries, and food awaiting the power outage. The TV was blaring updates on the destruction and news on Issac. The pitter patter of the rain hitting against my window as the backyard flooded. We were all stuck in the house bored out of our minds just itching to do something besides sit around. But the wind and rain kept coming.
     During most of this event I stayed in my room reading or watching TV or spending time talking with my family. That was probably the only good thing about the hurricane was that I got to have that time with my family, that I usually don't have during the school year.

Reading Response: Dear John

     Right now I am currently reading Dear John by Nicholas Sparks for my free read. Last week I read a total of two and a half hours and sixty-five pages. I started reading this book because I have seen the movie before and I really enjoyed it, so I have been wanting to read the book. I also am very interested Nicholas Sparks books as I said in my Walk to Remember review.
     So far in the book they have introduced the two main characters John and Savannah, displayed the setting, and started the love story between the two. The theme in this book is love, like most Nicholas Sparks books. I can not wait to read more of this heartwarming story and finish this book soon.

In Defense of Barefoot Running: A Runners Manifesto

     Barefoot running is good, but not all the time and not for everyone. When you run barefoot different muscles in your body are being worked, which are usually not worked when you have shoes on. Therefore many runners are sore after running barefoot if they are not used to doing so. If you are injured you should run with your shoes on because sometimes running barefoot can hurt you even more.
     However, for some people barefoot running is just not for them. Everyone has different feet that have different needs. Some feet require extra cushion, arch support, etc.
     Now that more people have done research on barefoot running, many companies are creating shoes that simulate barefoot running but still protect your feet. Examples of this are the five finger shoes, which actually have a compartment for each toe, and other shoes which have flat soles and no cushion.
     If you think barefoot running is right for you, you should try it out and see if you like it because barefoot running is good, but not all the time and not for everyone.

A Walk to Remember

     In the book, A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks, Landon Carter falls in love with a girl, Jamie, the ministers' daughter. At first, he never expected to fall for her. Jamie teaches Landon how to love and be grateful for everything in the world. Throughout the book, Landon narrates this bittersweet love story from when he was younger.
     I chose this book as my free read because I have read many other books before by Nicholas Sparks and I truly enjoy them.

Summer Cross Country

      During the summer most of my time was taken up by cross country. We had practice every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday and occasional races on Wednesday. We run about two to three miles every practice. My favorite part about it is that I got to see my friends every week during the summer.
     At the end of the summer the team took a trip to Pensacola, Florida for cross country boot camp. It was really fun because we ran  everyday, but we still got to go to the beach all the time. Are team bonded and became a lot closer after this trip. Now that we are back in school we are ready to start a great cross country season!