Compare and contrast

Contrast- hunger games	Same	contrast- us
- they have their children die because the government says so.	- government control	- government doesn't want our children to die
- in everyday life everyone in the village struggles to get food	- poverty	- most people in america are comfortable with their food situation
- the games (war) is shown on live television	- get training before they go to war/the games	- the war (games) is not put on live television
- before they go to games (war) they get a makeover and get awarded for their sacrifice		- no one except people close to them know what great thing they are doing for the country
- If you survived the games (war) you got great praise		- I you survived the war  ( games) no one really knows unless you are close to them

Can Change Really Happen

Prediction

Emily B.

 Authors note:

This is a prediction essay on the book Mr. Masons Jars . The purpose is to show what I predict will happen later in the book, and explain why I thought that would happen.

In the story “Mr. Mason’s Jars,” Mr. Mason is the meanest, smelliest, loudest, and strangest teacher in the whole school and everyone avoids him. Mr. Mason has these jars with an unknown substance in them, super bizarre. When Troy is the new kid on the block he went after school to Mr. Mason’s room to see the jars in person. People warned him not to go, and pointed out to him the other student who went and now is like a zombie but he ignored all the advice. He went to Mr. Masons room and before opening the jar of the mucky glowing purple goo he told Mr. Mason that he was the his favorite teacher, then he took one sniff and plop…fell right on the floor. I predict that Mr. Mason will turn Troy into a zombie but then I think he will change Troy  back. I also predict that Mr. Mason will start being nicer in class. There are many reasons to support these predictions.

During the thought-provoking story there were numerous things that I could predict and many more reasons to support my predictions.  If I am correct in my theory Troy will turn into a zombie because that is what happened to the other kid that went to Mr. Mason’s room after school to see the jars.  I also thought that after Troy is turned into a zombie I think that Mr. Mason will use some other goo in another jar to change Troy back because Troy said that Mr. Mason was his favorite teacher and I believe that Mr. Mason heart was touched when Troy said that. I also thought that after Mr. Mason changed Troy back he will start being more enjoyable to his class because when Troy told Mr. Mason that he was his favorite teacher Mr. Mason saw a glimpse of what it would be like if he started being nicer in class.

“Mr. Mason’s Jars” reminds me of the book Matilda by Roald Dahl. These two books are similar in the sense of when Mr. Mason comes around no one wants to talk or screw off because they know that children who misbehave in his class get do deal with the harsh consequences.  Likewise when Miss. Trunchbull, a mean principle who doesn’t like children at all,  comes near no one even thinks of misbehaving because she always has some sort of way to deal with them.   

My Ending:

Troy slowly woke up and he felt blank, kind of sleepy and a little odd. Mr. Mason in a creepy voice asked Troy how he felt. Troy blankly said “I feel like fallowing directions and listening to the teacher.” This made Mr. Mason very pleased and he was about to send Troy on his way when he had a change of heart;  because Troy told Mr. Mason the he was his favorite teacher and Mr. Mason liked that. So Mr. Mason grabbed another one of his extraordinary gooey jars, opened it up, grabbed a handful of green slimy goo out and rubbed it all over Troy’s arm;  swiftly Troy was rejuvenated and was himself again and from then on Mr. Mason was pleasant and almost everyone thought that he was the nicest, the most normal, and definitely not the smelliest teacher in the school.

Strong Impact

Character Analyses

Emily Becker

Authors Note:
This is a piece that analyzes how the main character, Lily, in the book The Secret Life of Bees changes when she meets August throughout the journey of a lifetime.

“I’d been kneeling on grits since I was six, but I still never got used to that powered-glass feeling beneath my skin. I walk toward them with those tiny feather steps you expect of a girl in Japan, and lowered myself to the floor, determined not to cry, but the sting was already gathering in my eyes.”(page 25) In the book Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd the main character, Lily changes from the inside out as she meets the right people to help her through her life.

As the story begins Lily and her "fill in mother" Rosaleen, run away from home to get away from her abusive and cruel dad and she wants to learn more about what happened to her mom who had died when she was four. After Rosaleen gets arrested for confronting three racists, Lily decides to break Rosaleen out of jail, and together they run away to a place Lily suspects once was a special place to her mother.

When Lily and Rosaleen run away they end up living with the Calendar sisters in Tiburon, South Carolina. All the sisters are super polite people but the one who had a strongest impact in Lily's life would be August. August is a strong person physically and emotionally, she is an exceptionally wise person whose words give you hope and fill you with knowledge. When Lily and Rosaleen showed up at the sisters doorstep they  were hungry, dirty, and tired; yet the sisters took them in with open arms. Since lily and Rosaleen were strangers, the sisters wanted to know some things first, but because Lily and Rosaleen needed to find a place to stay; they had to lie to Calendar Sisters about their past that were filled with crimes. As there connection grows,  Lily trusts August so much that she finally confesses the guilt she felt from her past, namely that she accidentally killed her mother when she was four and broke Rosaleen out of jail. After Lily told the truth August helps Lily confront her father and August convinces him that Lily should stay in Tiburon to live a joyful and free life.

In the book Touching Spirit Bear the main character, Cole, is in a bad place in his life. He has resorted to lying, stealing, and injuring innocent people. After Cole attacked someone on the street and nearly gave them life threatening brain damage he is banished to a remote Alaskan island. There is where he come to meet a white bear from the native american legend, and that bear transforms his inner soul and shows him the consequences for  his horrific actions. This is just like Lily because although Lily does not critically injure anyone around her, she does start to lie and steal but fortunately when she meets August her whole life changes. In the two books the white bear is like August, they both use the skills they have in different ways to transform a young person's life.

Once cole met the bear he was changed because he was surrounded by good people. In the book Secret Life of Bees, Lily changes when she meets the right people in life and that is true for anyone. Having good dependable people in your life can help you structure yourself so you can have a successful future. When Lily was living with her dad she was a mess, her dad wasn’t any help at all he was just mean to her, but when she moved to the Calendar sister’s house she was well balanced and better setup for success in life. The best people in your life are going to be the ones who help you through tough times and be with you all through life so you can live happily for many years.

An Exciting Climb

personal Narrative

Emily Becker

Authors Note:This piece is my personal narrative I wrote about my fun filled adventure with my family.

I could feel the cold moving through my body, as the temperature dropped lower and lower I put on all the layers that I had brought with me. As I looked up, I saw the 11,000 foot  mountain towering over me as if I was a little bug below it. Being only 12, I didn’t know how I was going to make it to the top and back, but I was going to try.  I will never forget the entertaining, joy filled day that took place when I hiked Telescope Peak with my family.

Because the mountain was so tall, we had to start hiking from our campsite that was already 8,000 feet up the mountain. To get there, we first had to drive up the rough road ahead of us. The road was incredibly bumpy and had sheer cliffs with 90 degree drop-offs; this road was extraordinarily difficult to get up. Once we got up to our campsite, we set up our camp and went to bed. In the morning none of us felt like sitting out in the 45 degree weather and eat breakfast. As a result, all five of us sat in an average sized SUV as we ate breakfast while the windows steamed up with condensation.  Once we finished breakfast and got the courage to face the cold,we got out of the car and we were ready to leave for the 14 mile long hike.

We left at seven in the morning for the hike. We were expecting it to be cold so we put on a ton of layers. As it turns out, we were facing the east so we were sweating buckets. Since the path circled around the mountain we were soon cold enough and the sweat had cooled, making us even colder. 

 

After the five hours of hiking, we reached the top of the mountain. I remember twirling around at the top and being amazed at how high up we were and how beautiful and breathtaking everything was. On top of that, it was a perfect day for hiking because of the bright blue skies, crisp air that is easy to breathe in and out, views as miraculous as you could even imagine, and all this time I’m spending with my family. When I stopped looking around at the view I saw a green box,  an American flag, and  a picture frame sitting at the top. Inside the box was a notebook and a pen where you could write your name and the date of when you made it to the top.  In the picture frame was a picture of a soldier who died in war. One of the solders good friends hiked up the mountain and put the American flag and the picture in his honor, which was really fascinating  to see. It was lunchtime, so we all sat on the top and ate lunch, and all this time we were soaking in all the beauty that was around us. After lunch we were really tired so we decided to take a nap, and now I’m one of the few people who can truthfully say “I took a nap on top of a mountain in North America.”

After refueling with lunch and  a much needed nap, we decided to head back down, which was very slippery because of the snow. It was also very tiring on our toes because as we walked down the steep incline our toes were constantly getting rammed into our shoes.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the most painful part. After walking down about one third of the mountain I tripped on a rock, my hand went out to stop my fall and I got a fistful of cactus.

After thinking about all the joy, fun, pain, and beauty that went on that day I realized that my family and I hiked a 11,000 foot mountain for a total of 14 miles in one day. Even though I was young when I climbed that mountain, I’m glad I did because that day was filled with a lot of family  memories that will last a lifetime.

Anne Frank

Conflict/Resolution

Authors note:

I wrote this piece as a re-do of my first conflict and resolution peice. While you read this please look for my use of text to text connection. 

Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl who lived and died during the Holocaust in the late 1900's. The Frank family hid from the Nazis for two long years in a Secret Annex at the back of a warehouse. During that time, Anne kept a diary in which she not only wrote about the horrors of war but the everyday problems of being a teenager.  In this book the main conflict is person vr. society . 

The conflict is that the Nazis wanted all Jews like Anne frank eliminated from this world. This story relates the book Among The Hidden because in the Among the Hidden any third child in a family isn't allowed, and they have to hid because of the government and this makes them feel like they "don't  belong." This reminds me of Anne Frank because she has to hide from the Nazis and as a result she feels like she doesn't belong.  When you read the book you will notice that it is through the eyes of her journal and as a result there is no defined resolution, because once the Nazis have her she cant write in her journal any more so the ending is mostly based off of research.

Appreciation and Gratitude

Patriots pen

Emily Becker

Appreciation and Gratitude

Authors note:
In this piece I was trying to show the importance that the founding fathers were to the formation of this country. Not just saying thank you but saying thank you for the incredible thing they did to build up our country.

The founding fathers wanted pure American liberty. The founding fathers wanted a properly limited government. The founding fathers wanted everyone to cherish that freedom and study what will be this great nation. If I could say anything to the founding fathers today I would have to say thank you for all the things they did to make the country what it is today.

One thing I do is appreciation for those who stood up to fight for the freedom of our nation. They acted on their beliefs to declare independence and lead the country through eight years of war to achieve freedom. I would thank them for wanting everyone to have freedom to be whatever religion they choose and to be able to stand up in public and express our ideas for everyone to hear.

After the founding fathers fought for many years to to achieve the gift of freedom, they formed the first government under Washington D.C. and served in the first Congress. Their legacy can be found in all aspects of the American government. They gave us a government that combined responsibility and accountability. This form of political practice gave us the responsibility to hold our government accountable for their actions, but every democracy has its problems. As president Thomas Jefferson once said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never can be.”

Talking to the founding fathers today would be impossible, but if I had the opportunity to, I would thank them for all the things they accomplished. A lot of people look at the economy today and grumble about what is going on in our government, but how many of those people stop to think about how much different the world would be without the founding fathers?

Anne Frank- Cause and Affect

Authors Note: 

I wrote this piece to show my understanding on how to talk about the cause and affects of the main conflict in a book or short story. 

Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl who lived and died during the Holocaust in the late 1900's. The Frank family hid from the Nazis for two long years in a Secret Annex at the back of a warehouse. During that time, Anne kept a diary in which she not only wrote about the horrors of war but the everyday problems of being a teenager.  In this book the main conflict is person vr. society. 

The main cause is that Anne Frank is a Jew and the Nazis wanted to eliminate all Jews from the world. With multiple other reasons one reason that the Nazis didn't like the jews is that with the start of World War two in September 1939 Hitler became obsessed with the idea that 'the Jews' had started the war. The affect of this happening is that a lot of the Jews were forced into hiding of fear that the Nazis would put them into a concentration camp to torture people till the death. Just imagine what if the story changes and the Nazis weren't against the Jew there might not have been the hundreds and hundreds of people that died as a result, may be World War two would have never happened. I think the Holocaust was a good way to open the eyes of people in the world because now a lot of people have a good idea of what can happen when two types of people turn against each other. 

Top Chicken-conflict/ resolution

Authors note:

This is a childhood game on the monkey bars. In this piece i talked about cause and affect and how the story would have changed if the climax would change.

This short narrative that I read is about a simple childhood game called chicken. How you played this game is when someone said go you would grasp onto the cold monkey bar and the main goal was to knock the other person off the bars without falling off yourself. The pressure for this young girl was amazing, her entire team was counting on her to pull off a win here and it all comes down to her. 

One Main event that happened in this story is when she wins because she was able to hold on to the other person and the affect is that her entire team is so proud of her and she is the hero who one the game now alot of people want to talk to her to see how she did it. Although she did win what if the story changed, what if due to the pressure on her to win and how strong the other person is she falls and loses the game for her entire team, now her entire team is disappointed in her, no one wants to even talk to her because she was the one who caused her team to lose.

Top Chicken- cause and affect

Authors Note: 

I read a short personal narrative called Top Chicken by Katie Jaques and figured out what the conflict and resolution were in the story. 

This short narrative is about a simple childhood game called chicken. How you play this game is when someone yells go you would grasp onto the cold monkey bar and try to knock the other person off the bars without falling off yourself. The pressure for this young girl was amazing, her entire team was counting on her to pull off a win here and it all comes down to this, who will win?

She had her legs around Julie Grovners body,  her legs pulling down on her with every bit of energy she had,  she knew when Julies hands fell from those cold monkey bars she new that she had just one the game for her team. At that moment she could feel the joy flowing through her body, she had just one the extremely important game of chicken.

Caring no Matter What

Authors note: When I wrote theis essay I wanted to show the importance of loving your family no matter what. As you read my essay please look for my use of a anaphora.

As she moves through the forest hunting for game, every move she makes she is careful not to get caught. The woods she is hunting in are forbidden by District 12. She risks her life everyday to support and provide food for her family, as she is their main source of food and other necessities. In the book The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen knows firsthand the importance of loving and caring for her family no matter what happens in the world around her.

A lot of families in the 21st century are going through rough times for many reasons.  You might be struggling with money. You might be struggling with marriage. You might be struggling with loss of a loved one, but the important thing is that throughout those times you support and adore your family even when times get tough.

At a young age, Katniss took on the important role as the mother when her dad died in a mining accident.  Mrs. Everdeen went into a time of sadness and depression and was not there for her kids.  So Katniss did what she needed to do, she went off into the forbidden forest everyday and got food to trade in the Black Market to feed her family. Trying to keep her little sister, Prim and herself presentable or the district would put them into a foster home because their mother is no longer in a position to care for them.

Even though Mrs. Everdeen was a widow and she didn’t have to worry about divorce, the divorce rate in the U.S.A is  still at 50%. This might be because a couple might be fighting about money instead of supporting each other’s ideas. All families struggling with one thing or another need to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. This meaning you should be wanting to listen intently and let it process through your brain before you say anything you regret. Instead of just shouting one hurtful thing after another at each other, because this doesn't help any problems. It just makes you feel alone.

Now you can see how Katniss learns the importance of loving and caring for her family during tough times in the book The Hunger Games. She, like other adults, probably felt like they were standing alone in a forest filled with wild animals circling around her, she can hear the sound of bushes moving around her, the animal inside waiting to attack you. This is how some adults and kids feel these days, alone and scared nobody around that you can lean on. I can only imagine what it would be like if every family in the world would be loving understanding no matter what situation they were in.

Anne Frank

Authoks note:
this a retelling of one of my favorite books Anne Frank to demenstrate the understanding of retelling.

As a Jew Anne frank and other were forced into hiding from the Natzies during the Holocaust, but unfortunately she and her family was found and taken the Auschwitz concentration camp. This book retells her life through the eyes of her journal.

Emotional

Authors note:
this peice started as a journal warmup that I made a publishable form. We had to write 3 facts and 1 ficton thing about us.Try to figure out if this is fact or  fiction.

Prim got picked for the games,

I saved her,

Judges weren’t paying attention,

I made them look,

Fire started right next to me,

I ran away,

Saw a hornets’ nest,

I cut it down,

Went into hallucination,

Rue saved my life.

Won the games,

Forever grateful.

Time of Your Life

 Autors note:

Please enjoy my piece but also look for my use of describing the beach with the five scenes.

When you drive up to the beach you can smell the water. You can see the pale as a babies but sand. You can hear the waves crashing into the break wall. You can feel the warm sand in between each one of your freshly painted toenails. You know you’re in for the time of your life.

Miraculous Creatures

Authors note:

Please look for my metaphor and my use of describing words.

I spend my days on the splendid flowers finding my mate. To mature I go into a little chocolate colored cocoon and a while later I emerge as a stunning colorful butterfly. People say that when I emerge as a butterfly I look as a small baby angle just emerging from the heavens.

Exciting Game

Authors Note:

Please look for my use of a metaphor near the end of my writing circle piece.

I'm Emily Becker and a fabulous soccer player for the U.S.A, although you probably already know that because you can hear my  name almost anywhere you go. You really want to see how good i am well you're in luck, it just so happens that i have a big game tonight against Brazil.

the kick off starts the game with a U.S possession but it quickly gets turned over to Brazil but we stop them again. Now it is half time and the score is 0-0. there has been a lot of shots at goal but none went in. Now it is still 0-0 with 2 min left we have to score. with 30 sec left I cross the ball right in the penalty area for a score. The game is over and we won 1-0. That cross and shot combination for the win was like a gift from the big guy upstairs.

semantic devices

Semantic devices

symbolsim

symbolism

A Peice to Die For

Authors Note:

I really wanted to do this piece because I remember this piece from when i went to the art museam and I thought it would be intersting to learn more about it. Please look formy use of A-B transitions.

Every 1 out of 800 live births end up with down syndrome. They live their lives with impulsive behavior, small ears, small mouths, and poor judgement. The list goes on and on, but there is no reason to feel bad for these kids because they live their lives just as good as every other kid in the world.

David M. Lenz is a Self-Employed Artist ,full time, in Shorewood, WI. He went to school and got his Bachelor degree in Fine Arts, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,in 1985. He got married to Rosemarie Feiza-Lenz  and had their son Sam. Sam wasn't a typical boy, he was born with down syndrome.

Although Sam does have down syndrome, he was still a silly 9 year old. According to PubMed Health, down syndrome occurs when there is an extra copy of chromosome 21. This form of down syndrome is called Trisomy 21. The extra chromosome causes problems with the way the body and brain develop. At the age of nine his father painted a oil painting of him standing in front of a scene in Wisconsin.  

Even as people see kids with down syndrome as children with special needs, many people don’t view Sam as a special needs kid because he lives a somewhat normal life. He is like other kids, but he has a special piece of him in the Milwaukee Art Museum. Before this piece was famous, it was entered in a contest with 4,000 other paintings. He was selected in the top 100 people. Then he was  selected to be in the top 7. Finally, after a long wait him and his family were flown out to Washington D.C. to be selected as the winner on June 23.

Life just lives on for this child who is able to live a not so average life. How tremendous would it be to know that a painting of you is being displayed at a museum. This little boy never let any sickness stop him in life so next time you see a “special needs” child just say “hi” to them because they are just another  person  like you and it just might make their day.

Reputation Competition

Authors Note:
I felt connected to this book in a certain way. Although no one in our school takes popularity to that much of an extreme, if you’re not careful you could end up trying to be like someone else. Please look for my a-b transitions, and my lurid use of vocabulary words.

Everyone backs away as the so called popular clique come through. They had on their Swiss-dot silk DKNY dress ($248), Marc by Marc Jacobs leather kitten heels ($265), a BCBG beaded clutch ($108) and a hair clip ($32) the grand total for just one outfit is $653.00. There is four of them and if I took everything out of their closets I would have enough money to buy a zoo.  The minute these girls walk through the doors, it creates a huge popularity contest. In the novel The Clique,  Lisi Harrison really paints a vivid picture about the difficulties in school popularity contests. Through small hints in the book she showed readers the importance in being true to yourself.



When there are people who are stuck-up in school, they make up things or act dramatic just to be “popular”; they’re the ones who end up without a career or drop out of college because of their grades. People take popularity all the way to a point where it’s a competition to gossip about someone or something they did. The juicer the gossip the more “gossip points” they got. They’re not focused on their grades, just getting those gossip points. In addition they are focused on being mean to innocent people who are just trying to live their everyday lives. According to Make A Sound For The Voice Unheard it’s estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. “Source: National Education Association.”



Although it may seem like the popular group is the only ones being cruel, but little do you know the “outcasts” have a devil side too. If you don’t read this book you wouldn’t be able to see the cruelty that can come out. You may have thought that Claire was harmless and sympathetic, but really she was sneaking into Massie's room at night to talk Massie's friends into liking her. It was like Claire was manipulating Massie’s friends into thinking she was cool. When Claire did these things she didn’t really mean to hurt them, but they were so mean to her and she was frustrated that she didn't have any true friends.



Although being an outcast is hard, it’s even harder to know people talk about you behind your back. If you're not in “the group” you're probably getting talked about and if you're in “the group” then people are still probably talking about you. We are all guilty for gossiping, it’s just our nature. When you talk behind peoples backs you get the feeling of being better than the person your talking about.

As the popularity contest sinks into your life it’s important to stay true to your colors. When you are young everyone gets along; as long as you get your cookies, life's good. Things start to get more complicated when you get older and the contest begins. When school life has lots of drama try not to get caught up in the contest because it will come back to hurt you in the end.