Work/Reading Details

Monday: 26 minutes reading Burned
Tuesday: 31 minutes writing cover letter
Wednesday: 17 minutes writing cover letter
Thursday: 35 minutes writing cover letter
Saturday: 21 minutes revising Morgan's paper
Sunday: 23 minutes reading Burned

Total: 49 minutes reading Burned, 83 minutes writing cover letter, and 21 minutes revising Morgan's paper

What I Want

What I want
is for 
the kids from
Sandy Hook to
hug their parents one more time.
I want innocent watchers
to be alive one more minute after 
the Boston explosions.
I want the planes to be 
turned back before they hit
the twin towers.
I would give my 
life for the lives of
others to prevent the
grief of loved ones.  

Reading/Work Times:
Monday: 17 minutes reading Burned
Wednesday: 33 minutes at the Writing Center and 14 minutes working on paper revision
Thursday: 29 minutes working on writing remix
Saturday: 21 minutes reading Burned and 18 minutes on writing remix
Sunday: 23 minutes working on paper revision

Total: 38 minutes reading Burned, 33 minutes at the writing center, 37 minutes on paper revision, and 47 minutes on writing remix

Free Poem

She woke up
relieved from her dream
to the pitter patter of rain
on the rooftop.
Sweats covered
her shaking body 
like a blanket. 
The night before
she didnt want to
go to sleep.
But couldnt
help but fall into
sleep's beckoning arms. 
She knew what would
happen if
she closed her eyes.
She knew her fears
would take over her mind.

Devices used:
1. onomatopoeia - "pitter patter"
2. simile - "like a blanket"
3. personification - "sleep's beckoning arms"

Reading Response

   Over the break, I finished reading the book Crank, by Ellen Hopkins. I read this book so I could be apart of the reading lunch so I can get a week off blog posts. I wasn't really sure what the book was going to be like or what to expect. Crank surprised me because I didn't expect the book to be about drugs, because I didn't know anything about it. But after reading it I realized I really enjoyed it, so I am now reading the next book of the series by Hopkins.

   When I was reading the book, I was surprised by some of the things that happened, like some of the things that the main character did. But I still think this is a book people should read because it is very informative. Hopkins does a great job explaining the consequences of drug and the choices you make, which affect the rest of your life. I really enjoyed the book and hope other people will read it too.

Reading Times:

Saturday: 51 minutes reading Crank

Sunday: 62 minutes reading Crank

Wednesday: 21 minutes reading Burned

Sunday: 15 minutes reading Burned

Total: 113 minutes and 178 pages in Crank and 36 minutes and 44 pages in Burned

Song Analysis

   The song I chose to analyze is a commonly known children's song. I chose "Itsy Bitsy Spider", by Mary Ann Hoberman. I chose this song because I thought it would be a simple song to analyze. The first technique i saw when I was reading the song was a rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme goes a, b, c, b, c, a, b. This technique was easy to spot. The next one i found was the tone of the poem, which i found was it started off sad because the spider couldn't get up the water spout, but the song ends happy because the spider is able to crawl up the spout after the rain dried up. 

   The next techinique i found was consonance. I found this between the words spot and out, and the words rain and again. After looking at the song deeper, I found the technique connotations. I realized what the implyed meaning of this short story meant. I found that it describes the way people try to reach their goals, but are sometimes knocked down and have to try again. I think this is the main point and what the song is trying to get across to the listener.

My link: http://www.babycenter.com/0_lullaby-lyrics-itsy-bitsy-spider_6729.bc 

Jane Goodall plagarism

   How serious is plagiarism? Plagiarism is a serious offense for someone in school, and can cause a student to be expelled. It also can ruin someone's career if they are someone like a jounalist. Even though plagarism is not a real crime, it still has serious consequences. I think that Jane Goodall's plagarism is not very serious beacuse she apologized. She told people how it she didnt mean to and that she is very sorry if this hurt anybody. The information I needed to evaluate the situation was her background, like if she had plagiarized before, and if she had said anything publicly about it or not. 
   I think that she should fix her book and give credit where credit is due, but she should not be ridiculed because of it. To fix this situation, I think Goodall, her co-author, and publicist should revise the book and make new copies instead of selling the ones where she plagarized. I think that plagarisim is not a right thing to do, but there are some exceptions to whether or not the person is guilty. I think that Jane Goodall should not be treated unfiarly because of her mistake.

Revising

   After looking at my comments for my papers, I noticed what most of my errors were, and wrote down a list of things to correct. after looking at my list for each paper, I decided to revise the paper that i thought could benefit the most from me revising it. I chose my paper for the literacy narrative. I feel like even though i got the best grade on this paper, I could add more and add more detail to my writing. 

   The two traits I chose to focus on while revising my paper are word choice and voice. For word choice, I would like to add meaningful, engaging, and effective words that really bring my paper to life, instead of just a story being told. I need to work more on my voice so i can make the story clearer. I want to make my story unique and exciting for readers to read. I think that the comments will help me revise my paper and make it turn out even better than before.

Reading Times:

Wednesday: 38 minutes reading Crank
Thursday: 97 minutes reading
Saturday: 49 minutes reading

Total: 184 mimutes and 193 pages reading Crank

Nervous Conditions Review

I think that Nervous Conditions should be part of the syllabus next year, but with a few changes. The reason I think it should be is because the book associates itself with the main question for this year, and isn’t as boring as some other books. It helps answer our question and makes students wonder about the question and how it relates to the story in the book.
   I think that the book isn’t too much to handle itself, but the projects were a different story. I think that the choice we had to decide which projects we anted to do was nice because we had some freedom with our work. The only bad thing was that everything was due really close together. I think if Nervous Conditions is on the syllabus for next year to maybe spread out the due dates by a few more days. I really appreciated all the work days, because I knoe I probably wouldn’t have been able to finish my projects with out them. 
   Even though this book has a few awkward situations, it includes life lessons. It also includes several issues that are worldly known. These issues include race, gender inequality, and progress versus tradition. The book connects to questions we ask several times in class and discuss as a class.
   I think that if Nervous Conditions would not be included in the syllabus next year, to replace it with a different book. A suggestion I give may be A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, because it raises similar issues and helps answers our year long question for English I. Another book could be Maru by Bessie Head, which is a book that focuses on gender and community and their affects on everyone in their village. Even if Nervous Conditions is not on the syllabus next year, there are several other suitable books to replace this book with.

Work Times: 
Monday: 27 minutes working on Playlist
Tuesday: 17 minutes working on playlist
Wednesday: 28 minutes working on paper
Thursday: 22 minutes working on playlist
Saturday: 39 minutes working on paper
Sunday: 22 minutes working on paper

Total: 155 minutes working on playlist and paper

Expectations

   In Nervous Conditions, the differences in the way Tambu acts at different places is easy to see. Like Tambu, I think I act differently sometimes depending on where I am and who I am with. I feel I act differently because of the setting, like serious or playful, wherever I am. I think two of the places I am most different in is Church and at my house.
   The atmosphere for my Church is serious, so nobody really makes jokes during the service. We are there to praise God, and doing things like that are deemed as unacceptable and rude to other people around you. On the other hand, at my house my sisters and I love to joke around and play with one another. So I feel more comfortable to be crazy and have fun with my family. There are several places where I act differently, but these two stood out most to me.

Free post

   Over the past weekend, I did many things. Most of the time I spent working on my layered projects, because I knew I wouldn't want to do them throughout the week and the next weekend, because it is St. Patrick's Day. On Saturday, my family and I woke up and had to get ready for my little sister's soccer game. Anna Scot is on a club soccer team, and the season just started back up. They have already had a few games, but this one was in Lake Charles. Anyway, we had to get up relatively early, because it takes about three hours to get there. Before we left, my mom told us to bring some snacks, because they wouldn't stop when we got there. Of course we forgot to bring snacks, so we were hungry the entire ride there. At the game, it was rainy and muddy. I really wanted to just stay in the car the entire game, but my parents wouldn't let me. So I had to stand out in the mud for a little over an hour. During the game, Anna Scot's team played very well, but some of their players weren't able to make the game, so they didn't do as well as they could have. Even though they lost that game, it was fun to go and support my sister. We got back around five and then my parents and Anna Scot went to the LSU baseball game, while Kate, my other sister, and I stayed home and did some homework.
   On Sunday, Anna Scot had another soccer game, but this time it was in Baton Rouge, so we didn't have to wake up as early. We went to the field and I had two sweatshirts on. It was so cold and windy outside I was sure that I would blow away. But thankfully, I didn't. Anna's team won this game, so it was exciting for her and her team to have another victory. While at the game, we saw some other teams with people we knew and got to watch some of their games too. Then, when we came home, I did more homework. So basically, my weekend consisted of soccer games and homework.

Reading Times:
Monday: 46 minutes reading and annotating Nervous Conditions
Tuesday: 36 minutes reading and annotating
Wednesday: 41 minutes reading and annotating
Thursday: 35 minutes reading and annotating
Saturday: 83 minutes reading and annotating
Sunday: 51 minutes reading and annotating

Total: 292 minutes reading and annotating 86 pages in Nervous Conditions

Character View: Nyasha

   My life is terrible. My parents don't understand anything about me. They try to get me to behave the way people from this country are like, but I am accustomed to the English ways. They think everything I do is rude or disrespectful. I guess my mother, Tambu, and Chido don't understand why I stood up to my father when he beat me. But I swear that he was so mad he was going to kill me that night.
  I am very thankful for my new friend Tambu. Even though she doesn't know much about our lifestyle, she is adapting pretty well. I think it is funny to joke with her about the things she doesn't know much about. Even though Tambu I get along well with Tambu, I don't have many other friends. It is hard to be the headmaster's daughter at my school. Sometimes I just wish my family was back in England rather than here.

Reflection

   The projects that we just finished were not as difficult as i anticipated. Now that I have finished one layer, I feel confident I can finish the others. The only thing i will adjust for the next layers is how I use my time. For the first one, I didn't really do the assignments early. For the next ones, which I have already started on, I will not procrastinate. 
   The most useful assignment I have completed are the reading guides for each chapter. The questions help me understand things better, by giving me a reason to go back and reread the sections I was confused about. They also give me an opportunity to write my own questions and examine the chapter throughly. The least useful assignment, because I haven't done many yet, was the Menu. I only think it was the least useful because it did not require any understanding of the book, or knowledge about things we have already learned in English this year. 

Reading Times: 
Monday: 48 minutes annotating and reading18 pages
Tuesday: 61 minutes annotating and reading 2 pages
Wednesday: 56 minutes annotating and reading 17 pages
Thursday: 45 minutes annotating and reading 17 pages

Total: 210 minutes reading and annotating 74 pages

Reading Times

Monday: 29 minutes reading and annotating 13 pages in Nervous Conditions
Tuesday: 34 minutes reading and annotating 15 pages
Wednesday: 22 minutes reading and annotating 10 pages
Thursday: 39 minutes reading and annotating 19 pages
Sunday: 28 minutes reading and annotating 11 pages 

Total: 152 minutes reading and annotating 68 pages in Nervous Conditions

Work Times

Monday: 44 minutes writing paper
Tuesday: 36 minutes reviewing quotes and making sure cited properly
Wednesday: 40 minutes writing and adding works cited
Thursday: 24 minutes revising paper

Total: 154 minutes working on my research paper

Work Times

Monday: 14 minutes on book and 27 minutes writing outline

Tuesday: 19 minutes on book and 38 minutes writing outline

Wednesday: 15 minutes on book and 21 minutes revising outline

Thursday: 22 minutes on book

Total: 70 minutes and 66 pages reading You Have to Stop This, and 86 minutes working on my research paper outline

Research Topic

  Paragraph 1: My research topic for this paper is mainly about real versus artificial sugars. My question as of late is : What are the difference between artificial and real sugar and which are safe to eat? So far, I have found some different explanations to what they are and examples of each that are useful for my paper. I have also found some health risks and effects from sugar to humans, and why some artificial sugars that are approved by the FDA can be harmful. I have learned that sugar is basically any substance that consists of sucrose used as sweetener. Artificial sugar is just a type of sugar that is not natural, unlike real sugar. Examples of each include cane sugar, sugar beet, aspartame, and commonly known artificial sugars like Splenda. 
  Paragraph 2: There is a massive controversy about sugar in this time period. There are debates about whether real or artificial sweeteners are better for you, and about some of the sweeteners that have been approved by the FDA. In my research so far, I have learned several things about sugar that I had not known before. For example, I have learned that sugar is simply any type of caloric sweetener. And artificial sweeteners can be described as any man-made non-caloric sweetened. Even though there are benefits and disadvantages to both types of sugars, it is generally agreed by most sources I have found that the best choice is to avoid sugar in your diet to remain healthy.

Reading Times:
Monday: 18 minutes on book, 36 minutes finding 1 source and annotating
Tuesday: 33 minutes annotating 2 sources
Wednesday: 17 minutes finding and annotating 1 source
Thursday: 15 minutes on book and 48 minutes annotating 2 sources
Sunday: 12 minutes on book

Total: 45 minutes reading You Have to Stop This and 117 minutes on research 

Free Post

  On Monday, America celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. day, and we didn't have school. Martin Luther King Jr. was affronted several times when he was alive, but still was militant for what he believed. He had a calm demeanor and preached wherever he went. In lower and Middle School, we all provided our erudite on the subject through papers and projects. We know him to have been very adroit around difficult situations and was a leader of the civil rights crusade. Back then, black people were known as pariahs and it was tacit that white people weren't very fond of them and thought of them as raucous. But, thanks to many people like Martin Luther King Jr., it is definitive that the world is not the same as it was back then. 
   Also, this weekend, Obama was inducted into his second term as president. I didn't watch the inauguration so I am not sure if there were any lapses. This event was a prodigy, because we now have a black president serving fro two terms.

Research Update

   The topic I chose for the project we are doing right now is artificial sugar versus real sugar. In my paper, I plan to describe what each sugar is and how they both affect your body. I am continuing to research which is better for you to eat, because there are arguments for both. I want to include types of artificial sugars, like aspartame, and explain the makeup of the sugar and it's significance to the sugar industry. I think I will have enough to write about for this paper. 
   I am very thankful for the databases we have for research because they are really useful for my research paper. The databases have worked super well for me and I use them often for my research. I am still a little bit confused on how to make an annotated bibliography, but I'm pretty sure I have it right. Other than that, I don't have any questions or concerns.

Reading Times:
Monday: 27 minutes on book
Tuesday: 10 minutes on book and 33 minutes finding and reading sources
Wednesday: 19 minutes on book and 22 minutes annotating
Thursday: 24 minutes on book and 27 minutes reviewing and finishing annotations
Friday: 10 minutes on book and 35 minutes reading and annotating a source
Sunday: 12 minutes reading my book

Totals: 102 minutes and 93 pages in You Have to Stop This and 117 minutes on project

Free Post

   My Christmas break was very calm and laid back. I had a great time being able to sleep in late and be with my family. On Christmas morning, my sisters and I were very thankful to recieve all our presents from Santa. We were very excited to see what we got and pleased by what there was. The next day, we left for Georgia to visit our family. It was fun to be able to spend time with the rest of our family because we only get to see them twice a year at the most. 
   When my family got back from Georgia, we had a fun New Years and finished the rest of our break enjoying our presents. My break wasn't as exciting as it has been before, but I enjoyed having time off from school.

Reading Response

This week, I have been reading You Have to Stop This, by Pseudonymous Bosch. This book is part of a series I have been reading for a while. The main characters are Cass and Max-Ernest, which are a part of a secret society trying to find The Secret. This book starts off with Cass waking up from a long coma where she travelled back in time to talk with her ancestors. After she wakes up, she finds a message she was told about while she was sleeping and found the final clue to finding the Secret. While on a school field trip to a mummy museum, Max-Enest and Cass find a portal back to ancient Egypt and are stuck there.
I would feel scared if ll of a sudden i was transported back in time to place i didn't know. I'm sure thy will find a way to get back, because they always come up with great plans to fix everything. I am excite to see if they find the Secret in this book and how they get back. 

Reading Times
Monday: 44 minutes and 48 pages
Tuesday: 32 minutes and 37 pages
Wednesday: 35 minutes and 38 pages
Saturday: 26 minutes and 27 pages
Sunday: 30 minutes and 39 pages

Total: 167 minutes and 189 pages