Reading Response

     Out of the many short stories I've read in the past week or two, I would say To Da-Duh was one my favorite. I would say this one was one of my favorites because it includes tons of descriptions and comparisons between New York and Barbados that help contribute to the theme or plot of the story. Also, I really liked how this story included different adjectives and descriptions that help add context and a  visual idea of certain characters. In the beginning of the story in the first couple of paragraphs the author includes certain descriptions that helps me to picture of what certain characters look like.
     For example in paragraph three it states "Her face was drowned in the shadow of an ugly rolled-brim brown felt hat, but the details of her slight body and of the struggle taking place within it were clear enough- an intense, unrelenting struggle between her back which was beginning to bend over so slightly under the weight of her eighty-odd years and the rest of her which sought to deny those years and hold that back straight, keep it in line." Those coupe of lines tell the readers that she was over eighty years old, she was skinny and lean and she had a slight bend in her back from previous
struggles.

Reading Log:
September  Monday-Friday: Read & Annotated four short stories- 75 minutes
September 25th- Grace, Gold and Glory: 188-205 pages- 20 minutes
September 27th- Grace, Gold and Glory: 206-222 pages- 15 minutes
September 28th- Siddhartha: 3-30 pages- 15 minutes

Short Story Outline

Exposition: My exposition will introduce the characters and settings.
My characters will include:
-Jessie Ashford (the protagonist and main character)
-Jeanine Ashford (Jessie's mom)
-Robert Ashford (Jessie's step dad)
-Austin Levi (Her best friend)
-Dustin Levi (Austin's twin brother)
-Edward Davis (Cleveland Hills High school principal)
-Sarah (a new kid)

Rising Action: Jessie won't get arrested but she will encounter a multiple amount of battles or situations that could result into her getting arrested. She learns to control her anger and power better as well as being able to make a new friend, Sarah. They become really close throughout my short story. Dustin, Austin and Sarah will help keep Jessie's secret safe.

Climax: Jessie will have a major blow up at school but it won't be because of her. A couple of students, including herself, will have to go to boarding school from the mishap at school. When she reaches boarding school she'll encounter more battles but she won't have her close friends (Dustin, Austin & Sarah) to her. She'll meet some fellow demigods as well as discovering the real reason why she is in boarding school.

Falling Action: The boarding school will have an "attack" and will have to evacuate.

Resolution: Jessie and some other demigods will discover the reason for the random "attacks" towards this particular boarding school. They will contribute to the ending of these "attacks." And Jessie will be able to return home.

Reading Response

      Last week I finished the book Insurgent so I had to choose a different book to read this week. I chose to read Grace, Gold & Glory. It was written by Gabrielle Douglas,  2012 London Olympic women gymnastics all-around gold medalist. This book is a biography consisting of Gabby's struggles and victories through out her life. It also includes tons of detailed information on her journey to the Olympics. She describes some of the sacrifices her family and coaches had to make for her to have the opportunity to go to the Olympics.

     I chose to read this book because a major part of my life relates to the things Gabby had to go through, just not as extreme. Gabby also explains how she overcame fears and struggles and how she would pray certain scriptures based on her situation. This relates back to me because all gymnast experience fears when throwing new skills and trying to accomplish new goals. I think if I try some of her approaches towards fear maybe I could have some better results when overcoming them or controlling them.
   


Reading Log:
September 17th: Grace, Gold and Glory- 40 minutes
September 18th: In class reading- Grace, Gold and Glory- 10 minutes
September 19th: In class reading- Grace, Gold and Glory- 10 minutes
September 20th: In class reading- Grace, Gold and Glory- 10 minutes
September 21st: Grace, Gold and Glory- 60 minutes

Total Time: 130 minutes Total Pages: 180 pages (7-187)

Character's Voice

     Today was a crazy day at school. My teachers tried to arrest me and one of best friends is dating the meanest girls in school. Okay, I know what you are thinking. Arrested? For what? Fighting? Drugs?But no I'm a good kid, except when someone makes me mad. I'm just a fifteen year old demigod. What damage could I cause? And if you don't know the answer to that then I'll tell you. A lot. I'm fifteen meaning my powers are starting to kick in, full effect. And me being only fifteen I don't really know how to control my powers,so I have to stay as calm as possible. Which was really difficult stating the fact that practically every girl in my school hates me and they'll do anything just to tick me off. Why does every girl in school hate me? Good question. I am best friends with probably the smartest, most attractive and most athletic guy at school. I mean we're like two peas in a pod and we do almost everything together. And girls at my school drool over him, when I just think he's just like every other guy (not counting our relationship). Every girl wishes they could just say one word to him but their huge egos and non modest pride gets in the way, every time.

      Okay back to my story about my crazy day at school. Like I said before every girl in school HATES me and so they decided to egg my car, flat my tires, nail my locker shut, and they replaced my chemistry chemicals, which resulted in an explosion in my face. Great first day, right? Horrible. I know what you're thinking. Evil. And why don't I just report them to the principal and get them all expelled, but obviously I can't or I'll be the only girl in school. But who cares cause I don't. Also, I couldn't contact the principal or bring my mom into this because that could possibly result into the exposure of me being a demigod.

      Those horrible girls doing those horrible things resulted in me to blow up. I was so ticked off I couldn't control myself. I punched every single girls locker in the school making huge black dents and creases that couldn't be fixed unless you brought another locker. I put chemicals in every girls school drinks and luckily it didn't kill them because they noticed the unusual bubbles coming from the glass. I even glued all of the girls bathrooms' door shut. HA. Best pranks ever. I was then called to the office and my punishment was replacing everything that was damaged and suspension. Not bad it could be completely worse. I was only suspended for five days and replacing the damaged lockers and bathroom doors were super easy since my dad was basically rich.

-Jessie Ashford

E Book

  For my E-Book I plan to make a few of changes to my literacy narrative. I plan to change some names in the book, particularly the name of the teacher I mention in my literacy narrative. Also, I may change some formatting. I will hope to change the font and maybe add some pictures as well. I would also like to add video or audio to our class E-Book that relates to everyones' literacy narrative. And I would like to add pictures that relate to the title of our class E-Book.

  My concerns for my E-Book is that I've never written one or participated in the creation of one. Is an E-Book like one big book with different stories separated into chapters or is it more like a magazine where each story is like an article? Or does the formatting even matter and you get to format it any way you want?

Reading Response

   This week I finished Insurgent. Throughout the book of Insurgent the tempo and plot changed. The tempo changed from calm and patient to exciting and action packed. The character's goals also changed throughout the book. The goals may have changed from wanting to earn someone's trust to collecting information to save a faction. Also, the relationship between Tobias and Tris becomes stronger towards the end of the book. They get out all of their secrets out and they learn to listen and trust each other more often.

    Tris also takes some new sides and lies a little to get to the things she wants. Along with the bad she comes out with some good. She is able to rebuild relationships and make some new ones. She is also able to learn and discover new things about herself and her life. Tobias learns to listen to Tris and her decisions. He also learns to respect her a lot more. Their relationship grows a lot stronger, mentally and physically.



Reading Log:
September 11th- Literacy Narrative Editing and Revising- 20 minutes
September 12th- Insurgent- Pages 341-417- 80 minutes
September 15th- Insurgent- Pages 442-525- 90 minutes

Total Time: 190 minutes

Reading Response

  I chose to do my reading response on the literacy narrative we are writing in class rather the usual book summary. I considered blogging on this because I can't really give much information on Insurgent without being totally bland or spoiling the book for future readers. Anyways my literacy narrative has come along pretty well, but I' not doing so well with the vivid language part. It's really hard for me to add vivid language particularly because when I write or type I usually do it in an informative way. Literacy narratives are informative but also like a story as well.  In my literacy narrative I tried to include as much dialogue as possible because that was the easiest way for me to use vivid language.
  I based my literacy narrative was based on writing and how it has changed over the years from a particular event. The event including me writing a thoughtful essay to a book. I did pretty well on the essay from the help of my previous teacher. I'm most excited about just the basic story line of my narrative essay and the direction it's going in. My biggest concern is obviously finding a way to add more vivid language in my essay without making it sound natural, not cheesy.

Reading Log:

Insurgent- September 7th- 75 minutes
Insurgent- September 8th- 60 minutes

Dialogue

"Hey, My name is Stacy. What's yours?"
"My Name is Leah."
"Oh! That's a nice name. Are you from here?"
"Umm... No I'm from Wisconsin."
"Oh. I've never been there. Is it pretty?'"
"I guess. There's lots of mountains and forests, nature stuff."
"That sounds really nice. I've always wanted to visit there. What's the capital of Wisconsin?"
"Madison."
"Cool. How long do you plan on staying in Baton Rouge?"
"The rest of my life, I guess. Well, until my family has to move again."
"Why does your family have to move around so much?"
"Because of my dad's job. He gets stationed in different places from time to time."
"Oh, sounds fun. Is it?"
"No. I mean not too bad, but every time we start to settle down we have to get up and move again. So, I usually have to leave my new friends behind which sucks."
"Yea I bet. So what do you plan on doing all Summer?"
"I think I'll do the usual: swim, tan, relax, go on vacations, sleep, etc."
"Sounds fun. What grade are you going in to?"
"I'm going into the seventh grade."
"Really? Me too! What school are you going to?"
"Northwestern Middle."
"Oh. One of my friends goes there. What's your favorite school subject?"
"Umm... I'm a real big fan of books, so probably English and Literature."
"Ugh. I hate reading. I'm a math fan. Do you play any sports?"
"Yea. I play soccer and softball."
"Oh. That's cool, I'm a gymnast. What positions do you play in both?"
"I play forward in soccer and second baseman in softball."
"Oh. You seem really fun. Do you want to hangout sometime this Summer?"
"Sure, except I can't hang out on Saturdays because I have to babysit my younger siblings."
"That's okay. How many siblings do you have?"
"I have one younger brother and sister and one older brother."
"Oh. Well I have to go to practice. We should talk again sometime. Do you want my number?"
"Uh. Yea."
"It's (225) 123-4567. Talk to you later. Bye."
"Bye."

Literacy Narrative Response

  My response is on the literacy narrative I read for homework. The literacy narrative I read was Mother Tongue.  The main topic of this literacy narrative was about how knowing the proper English language effected a child's life. The child was Amy Tan. She explained throughout the story that how the English  language effected her relation with her mother, her relationship with others, etc. Amy Tan also uses examples from her life to explain these situations. She includes some particular examples where she would have to speak for her mother in business interview over the phone because her mom's English wasn't as precise as hers. She explained how her mother not being fluent in English limited her. It limited her vocabulary and exposure.
 
  Amy Tan also describes how at home she would speak English the way they did, as she described "broken" English, and when she was away from home she would speak sophisticated, precise English. She even described how her family spoke English. She stated that they spoke English without articles, such as the or a. She changed her vocabulary and English depending on her surroundings. All the events Amy Tan describes leads back to event where she finally spoke proper English in front of her mother.

Reading Response

   I am still reading the book Insurgent and I am still loving ever minute of it. In this book so far ,from the last reading response, many violent events have occurred. Also a multiple amount of conflict are beginning and are continuing to uprise between the factions including Candor, Erudite, Dauntless, Amity and the factionless. Also tons of alliances are being built and are starting to come closer or deactivate from attacks. Divergents are being either killed or kept for their use. And all this intense action is being caused by Jeanine Matthews, Erudite leader.
  Tris has become really helpful with figuring out what the Erudite's next move is with the attacks and stimulations. Everyone trusts her information or thoughts towards Erudite because she is the only Divergent that tested three factions in her aptitude test, including Erudite. Also in these past chapters Tris and Four's relationship has been more and more on the edge, being tested within themselves and with others. Four tries to stay clam and trust Tris but it gets harder and harder each second, with Tris not valuing her life.

Reading Log:

August 28th- Insurgent :35 minutes- 163-195 pages
August 29th- Insurgent :40 minutes- 196-238 pages
September 2nd- Insurgent :80 minutes- 239-340

Total Minutes: 155 minutes
Total Pages: 163-340 (177 pages)