Short Stories

I have enjoyed the short story work we have been doing. I think the stories that we read are interesting, but they can be hard to understand at times. I especially liked "To Da-Duh, in Memoriam". I loved the description of the characters and the setting the author created. I had difficulty understanding "An Old Man With Enormous Wings" because I didn't understand if the old man was an angel or not. Now it makes much more sense because we talked about it in class.

I have enjoyed annotating the short stories. I think annotating for character descriptions was the easiest to annotate for because I picture the character in my head when the author describes he/she/it. Annotating for plot was a little more challenging because I had difficulty identifying the climax. Annotating for setting was the hardest because I had to think a little harder to identify the psychological/social mood. The annotations that I have done for homework have helped me write my short story.    

Monsters of Men by: Patrick Ness

9/24-Tuesday- 30 minutes- pages 123-163
9/25-Wednesday- 35 minutes- pages 163-209
9/26-Thursday- 15 minutes- pages 210-227

Siddhartha by: Herman Hesse

9/29- Sunday- 22 minutes-pages 3-37

Short Story Work

9/24-Tuesday- annotation for "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings"- 20 minutes
9/26-Thursday- annotation for "Dry September"- 25 minutes

Total Time= 144 minutes
 

Plot- Love Is A Cruel Thing

Damian's Thoughts

I feel so guilty, but I had such a good time with Elizabeth. She was so pretty and we connected so well. Elizabeth listened to what I had to say and her eyes were so pretty. I really want to see her again, but I don't want Regina to find out. Regina would tear me to pieces if she found out and my career will be over. I am going to never see Elizabeth again and ignore her calls. I can't stand thinking about this anymore, I had to go to sleep.

Oh no, its Elizabeth. What should I do? Should I ignore her and block her? No, that would be very rude. I just need to silence my phone and go to sleep. No, I don't want to do that because I don't want to hurt her. I should pick up the phone and tell her how I feel."Hey, Elizabeth I had such a good time and I can't wait to see you." It slipped out of my mouth and I end the call quickly. I am such a bad husband and I can't see Elizabeth tomorrow because Regina will be back from New York tomorrow.

Harrison Bergeron Reading Response

I read the short story, Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Harrison Bergeron was very well written. It had all the elements of plot such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. I especially liked the climax. I found Harrison Bergeron interesting, but it was a little peculiar. I liked the futuristic world and how the author described it in the short story. The story was a little peculiar because Harrison Bergeron, a 14 year old, declared himself emperor and kissed a ballerina after he just met her.

The theme of Harrison Bergeron was equality is dangerous and impossible. The author showed us that people with an above average intelligence or talent were required to wear handicap bags to keep everybody equal. For example, the author created an announcer with a speech impediment and pretty ballerinas with ugly masks. Although the author showed us this theme in a crazy way, it is true. If we didn't have talented people, then our society would slowly decline. Overtime the average intelligence would also slowly go down if we were all equal.

The Ask and The Answer by: Patrick Ness

9/17-Tuesday- 55 min- pages 163-253
9/18-Wednesday- 47 min- pages 254-320

Monsters of Men by: Patrick Ness

9/19-Thursday- 40 min- pages 5-67
9/21-Saturday- 35 min- pages 68-122

Total Time= 162 min

We're Making a(n e)book!

I am very excited about making an ebook! I think that it will be really cool to put everyone's literacy narrative together. I am not nervous about people reading my literacy narrative, but I am glad that our class ebook will be semi-public. I am also very excited about reading my classmate's literacy narrative's because I find them very interesting. Although I am confident in my literacy narrative, I would find it helpful to have another proofreading round.

I think that I will add cool things to make portion of the ebook. For instance, I would change the font and make the title bigger. I also think that I would organize the writing in a cool way. I would make a wordle and maybe add some pictures of me as a kid reading. For the tittle, I think the class should put their title and make a wordle. I also think that the class should have groups of four; each group having a special job. Finally, I think there should be a contest between each class's ebook. The contest should be on look of the ebook. Dr. D and some other teachers should be the judges. I also think the class that wins should get bonus points as a reward.

The Ask And The Answer Reading Answer

This week I continued reading The Ask And The Answer by Patrick Ness. I think The Ask And The Answer is better than The Knife of Never Letting Go. The Ask And The Answer has a nicer setting than The Knife of Never Letting Go. The Ask and The Answer is also told from Viola and Todd's view which makes the book more interesting. The Ask And The Answer also has more characters than The Knife of Never Letting Go. 

I really like how The Ask And The Answer is told from Viola and Todd's view. The reader can see two points of view of the same event. The readers can also see the thoughts of Todd and Viola and what they think about each other. The two points of view gives the book a contrast which makes the book more interesting. I feel that the two points of view of Todd and Viola gives the book a special effect. 

The Ask And The Answer by: Patrick Ness 

9/10-Tuesday-30 min-pages 101-137 

9/12-Thursday-26 min-pages 137-162

Literacy Narrative Work 

9/10-Tuesday-30 min 

9/11-Wednesday-25 min 

9/12- Thursday-33 min 

9/14-Saturday- 20 min 

Total Time= 164 minutes 

The Car Crash

"Got to go Stephanie! Some bimbo hit my car from behind," Melissa said. She got out of her car and started to walk to the car that hit her. Then she saw who was in the car, Tom, the most careless person in school. "Excuse you, you hit my car and I was on the phone," Melissa exclaimed. 

"So, what does that have to do with me," Tom replied.

"You hit me from behind and I was having an important conversation with my friend," Melissa snapped angrily. 

"Maybe if you weren't talking on the phone, you could have seen me behind you and not hit the breaks all of a sudden." 

"You don't have the right to tell me how to drive, you ugly freak! Plus you hit my mini cooper and left a big dent. You are going to pay to get that fixed."  

"I am not paying for anything. If you can pay to get your nose done, then you can pay for the dent. That is not my fault."

"What did you say?"

"You heard me." 

"I can't listen to your ugly voice anymore! Bye-bye!" Tom drove off at 100 miles per hour, leaving Melissa enraged. 

Reading Response: The Ask And The Answer

This week I started The Ask And The Answer, the second book in the Chaos Walking Series. The book is set in the future in a city called New Prentisstown in a place called New World where all the men have Noise. The book is told from Todd and Viola's point of view. Mayor Prentiss conquered the New World and now he calls himself President Prentiss. President Prentiss separated the women from the men, including Todd and Viola. As a result they both miss each other.

I enjoy reading the Chaos Walking Series because I like the Noise that the characters have. I like this because I find the reactions of other characters in the book to each other's Noise is funny. I also feel that the author puts a good picture of the scene in his audience's head. I also like how the author misspells certain words, I feel that this gives the book a unique effect. My favorite thing about the book is how the author makes you think about what's going on in the book.

The Ask And The Answer by: Patrick Ness

9/3 Tuesday-30 minutes- pages 1-32
9/4 Wednesday-20 minutes- pages 33-55
9/5 Thursday- 40 minutes- pages 55-100

Literacy Narrative Work
9/5 Thursday- 20 minutes
9/7 Saturday- 35 minutes
9/8 Sunday- 15 minutes

Total Time= 160 minutes

Reading Response: The Mongoose of Monterrey

I read the literacy narrative, The Mongoose of Monterrey by Sophia Gomez. I felt that this narrative was very well-written. It has all the good aspects of literacy narrative such as a well-told story, lots of vivid detail, and some indication of the narrative's significance. I was also very interested while I was reading this narrative. While I was reading this narrative, I was very interested because I felt very connected to the author.

When I was reading the narrative, I felt connected to the author. I could feel how the author felt during the duration of this book. I could feel the excitement of the author learning English and the fear of going to a bilingual school. I especially liked how the author described the tutoring lessons with her teacher and her dobermans. When I was reading I felt like I was in the room with the author and I knew her thoughts and feelings.