Course Evaluation

         Overall I thought the course for American studies freshman class was very interesting. I really liked how it was actually about American history. I really liked how we did projects that connected to history, and to English. I also liked how the whole class was not just history or English, I liked how they were tied together. I enjoyed the projects that we did I liked how they were projects that were different, and allowed you to explore and use different resources. I also found that the class was very hard to follow, like if you missed one day you missed a lot, also it was a lot of different things and topics that we would talk about and learn in just one day. I also did enjoy that we had to do poetry recitations, but I would have preferred if we did them only twice a year instead of four times. I also wish that we would have done more projects that were in groups, or even in partners, but we would need more in class time to work on them. I feel like I learned a lot in this class, but that I could have learned a lot more, if we would have focused more on one topic at a time instead of skipping around, and doing several at one time. I am also very glad that we have learned how to write several different types or poems, and learned how to write sonnets. I believe that the class syllabus was very productive, with having to transition to high school from middle school.

Add a comment May 24, 2010

Book Critique

          I chose the book Goddess of the Night by Lynne Ewing. This book takes place in California. It is about a girl named Vanessa who is able to completely disappear. Her best friend also has a power, she is able to travel back in time. Her friend Catty and her have no clue why they have these powers. Vanessa was given a moon amulet when she was just a baby by a woman at the hospital, and Catty is adopted and has no memory of her life up to age six when she was adopted. But Catty’s mother told her that she had the exact moon amulet around her neck when Catty’s mother adopted her. I really liked this book because there were lots of adventures, throughout the whole book there was a mystery, and there was a lot of suspense.

          At the beginning of the book Vanessa was being followed while she was walking home at night. So her and Catty decided to go back to see who it was. When they don’t see who it was they decide it must have just been someone that likes Vanessa. Then when Catty mysteriously goes missing, the real adventures begin, including Vanessa discovering that her and catty are goddesses of the moon. Vanessa then has to try to stop the shadows, and save her best friend Catty. 

          The book was a mystery, because for the majority of it you did not know who was following Vanessa. Then when Catty went missing the reader had no way of knowing what had happened to her. When Vanessa finally was told that she was a goddess of the moon, and that she was the only one that could save Catty, as a reader I didn’t know what Vanessa would do. Towards the beginning of the book the main character also has a boyfriend, but because of her disappearing uncontrollably it is a mystery through the whole book if they will ever stay together, of break up.

          Finally there was a lot of suspense. In the book someone had broken into Vanessa’s room. No one knew who it was, and why they would go into her room. They never took anything they just simply turned over all of her clocks so they were facing down. Also it was also very suspense full when Vanessa went to save Catty, because the reader didn’t know if she would succeed, of if the shadows would over power her and Catty and take over.

          I really enjoyed this book, because there was never a time when it was boring, or when there was no adventure. Every page I turned held a new mystery, of adventure. It was full of excitement, and anticipation, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who likes romantic-fantasy’s. Ewing, Lynne.

Add a comment May 2, 2010

TKAM Questions

              The most difficult thing about writting the review was having to pick parts of the book that I liked. I thought that it was hard to find a certain part of the book.The part of my review that is the strongest is the introduction, because I describe an overview of what I liked about the book, as well as backround information. As I wrote the review I did not connect to my life at all, I didnt think that any of the book connected to me in anyway.I read 100% of the assigned reading from the . I liked that the book was interesting, while it taught the reader something about history, because it was not as boring as reading something from a text book. I did not like that the book dragged out the begining asnd backround information, it should have been shorter, so the trial could be longer.The most challenging part for me to understand was about who killed Bob Ewell. If I was a teacher I would teach it again, because it is a an interesting way to learn about history.

Add a comment March 24, 2010

TKMA Review

To Kill a Mockingbird Review

          I would give the book To Kill a Mockingbird a rating of 3 out of 5 stars, because I liked how there was a twist at the end, the character Arthur Radley was mysterious, and the end was truthful. The book was about a lawyer who was defending a black man in a trial were the black man was accused of raping a white woman. The book is told from the point of view of the lawyer, “Atticus’” daughter “Scout”. Scout is 6years old, and is a big tom-boy. She has an older brother, Jem, and they have a summer time friend named Dill. Scout goes through all the adventures the three of them have together, eventually leading up to Atticus’ trial.

          In the book I like how the author added a surprising twist to the end. After the trial had ended, and the man Atticus was defending “Tom Robinson” was shot, and killed, I personally thought that the book should end, and that there was nothing left that could be added. The author lead you on to thinking there was nothing else exciting in the book by having Atticus tell tom Robinson’s wife rite away that he had been killed(262) then at the very end a major event occurred, that changed the whole book.

          Another thing I liked about the book was that the character Arthur Radley was mentioned throughout the whole beginning of the book and then sort of just disappeared. They described who Arthur Radley was, and the adventures that scout, Jem, and dill had while acting out his life. Then you didn’t hear about him until the end, and it gave the character a mysterious vibe.

          I also liked how the book had a real ending. It didn’t end how you wanted it to; it ended how it really would have happened in real life during that time, even though it was horrible how blacks were treated. By the author making the ending truthful, it gave the book more dimensions.

          I overall liked the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, I believe like the author was able to take a big part of history, and incorporate it into the book, while making it both interesting, and descriptive.

Add a comment March 24, 2010

Progressing

          During the last school year, I have progressed as a reader, writer, and thinker. I believe I have progressed so much, because of writing in my writer’s notebook. At the beginning of the year, Mr. Sass would write things in my notebook like “Okay, but make more connections.” And Mrs. Scow would say things like “Good job, just focus more on your variety or writing.” Which made me start to think about what they were telling me, so I started to write a wider variety of entries, and I started to make more connections, as well as start writing more in my entries. This helped me to start thinking more about what I was writing, causing me to become a better thinker. Then me actually having to write down all my thoughts about school and connections, in about 15minutes made me become a stronger, and essentially a stronger writer. In one of my journal entries I wrote a great summary about To Kill a Mockingbird, which helped me to understand the book better, and to be more focused, making me a better reader. I very strongly believe that I have become a better writer, thinker, and reader.

Add a comment March 1, 2010

Childhood Memory!:)

                 My childhood was a lot of fun. One thing I remember the most was when I was 7 and went to Las Vegas. My great-grandma and grandpa lived there so we went to go visit them. It was me, my mom, and my grandma. It was my first time being in an air plane, and I was as scared as a rabbit being chased by a fox. I didn’t get anything to eat, l because the flight was not long enough. When we finally reached our hotel we went up to our room and just hung out for the rest of the night. We stayed at Circus Circus, so in the morning we had a breakfast buffet. I ate so much I thought I would pop! Then I raced down to our room and got dressed at lightning speed. I was ready for a day full of excitement. We were going to go to my great-grandparents house, and have a BBQ. By the time they started cooking the food I was so hungry I could eat a horse. When we finished eating I had a total of 2 hotdogs, chips, and 3 slices of watermelon, which was a lot, considering I was only 7. It was great when I got to go get my great-grandparents a grilled hotdog. Then for dessert I got a cherry popsicle, which was very refreshing, considering the burning sun beating down on my back. Then my mom gave me a Barbie disposable camera and told me I could take as many pictures as I wanted to. I was so excited I started taking pictures of all or us! The next day was the most fun I had during the whole trip. While my grandma caught up with her parents my mom took me to a mini amusement park that was inside the hotel. They had a ride that looked like a bus, and went in circles, they also had a ride that looked like mini hot air balloons, and they went up and down in the air, and you could spin them around. Then my mom bought me a pink teddy bear. Then the two of us went to a fancy restaurant. When we walked in you had to go down a long hallway that was like an underwater tunnel. Then inside the restaurant it looked like a rainforest. After we finished eating we went home and my mom and I talked about how much fun we had.

Add a comment February 1, 2010

End of the Year 2009!

        There are many things that I know, and many things that I could talk about,  but the one thing that I can always remember is that I should always make the choice that I think is the best. My mom told me this a few years ago, because even if people tell you to or not to do something you usually will make the right decision. My mom told me that no matter what your decision is it will always be the right one, even if you think that you made a mistake, you will learn from the mistake and become a better person. She told me not to do something because my friends are, or because they are not. She told me.” This applies to everything in life, and how it can be for a small thing like weather or not I want to buy a shirt, or big things like if I should take a job if it is a good job, but not something that I want to do.” In sixth grade I made the mistake of wanting to focus on school so much, that I didn’t even really get to experience middle school during the first year. I remember how I got very good grades but I didn’t get to enjoy sixth grade. in seventh and eighth grade i got good grades and i had a good time in middle school and got to experience what it is like when you are more focused on other things other than grades. i know you still need to focus on grades but it is important to be able to have the experience that a person would want to have in high school.

Add a comment January 20, 2010

Homecoming Game!

        Chilly crisp air, grasping your voice as you speak. Wind blowing your hair up in your face, covering your eyes from seeing. Noise all around; cheering, yelling, friends talking. The smell of hot pretzels and cheese, popcorn flying every where. Cheerleaders jumping into the air. I was with all my friends, new and old,tlking, and catching up.
         The lights are brightly shinning, everyone is waiting with anticipation. A giant banner is held up that has navy and sparkeling gold words on it. All of a sudden the music starts and you get a rush of excitment, as Legacy runs out.The impatient crowds, band, and players wait. There is a chilly breeze and you can see your breath puff up like a fluffy cloud when you blow out. The bleachers are overflowing with cheering fans. The scoreboard has bright red glistening numbers showing in our favor. the players are running back and forth across the field, I can’t even keep track of who is who. The final buzzer goes off.
        The game was fun, and exciting, I felt like my voice box was cracked from screaming so much. My toes felt like they were about to fall off from being so cold. But it was all worth it. Legacy had played a great homecoming game.

Add a comment December 7, 2009

Second Month!

 My second full month of high school has been great! I have meet so many new people, and learned so many new things. Not only have I learned things academically, but I have also learned many things about myself. I have had many difficulties to overcome this month, and many things that I wish I would have done differently.
        I have learned so much in this second month. A lot more than in the first month of high school. I have learned four more sheets of vocabulary words in Spanish, along with all the pronouns. I have learned how to write an eight sentence paragraph, and we are now moving on to an eleven sentence paragraph. I also have learned lots more equations in math. The second month of high school has also told me a lot about myself. Like that I need to continue to be myself, instead of being someone that I’m not  . I have made so many new friends, and still have lots of my old friends I think that high school not only helps you get ready for college or to go out on your own, but it teaches you a lot about yourself it helps you know what you want to do with your life, and what you want to be. I have realized that what I thought I wanted to do when I was younger might not really be true anymore I’m not even sure what college I want to go to much less what I want to be.
        I have not really had any difficulties this past month. I just have been very overwhelmed with all the tests and quiz’s I have been having in my classes but hopefully I can get all my grades back up to all ‘A’s’.
        I don’t wish that I would have done anything differently I believe that people make mistakes so that they can learn from them and do things differently in the future. Not to dwell on them and want to change them I have been applying strategies I have learned in class a lot more this month.

Add a comment November 5, 2009

First Month!

My first month of high school has been great! It is so different from middle school. The first month has been hard since there is a lot more homework, and so many new people. I’m trying to go to lots of games, and get involved in activities. I’ve been really tiered and burned out of school the last two weeks. It is hard to adjust so quickly.
          I have learned many things academically and about myself. I have learned so many things already. In American Studies, I have learned how to right an eight sentence paragraph, about reconstruction after the civil war, and about what happened to slaves after they were freedmen. I have also learned many new things in math like matrix, how to graph a matrix, how to graph equations, and many other new skills in math. I also have learned a ton of Spanish! I’m only in Spanish 1, but I have learned a lot! I learned all the classroom supplies, how to say what your name is and ask someone what their name is. I learned all different activities that you can say that your doing, learned all the colors, days, weeks, months, numbers, and learned a lot more.
          There have been many challenges about high school so far. Luckly I had at least one person in everyone of my classes that I knew, so I was never alone at first. It was hard to make new friends, and have to sit with people that you don’t know. It was also hard to have so many tests early on in the year.
          I have overcome not knowing people, by being more outgoing, and making new friends, and meeting new people. I also study a lot more, when I know a test is coming up, because I really want to keep my grades up. I always want to get an ‘A’ but last year I didn’t study for every test, as much as I would have liked.
          Many things have been surprising about high school so far. Like the fact that you can take your backpacks to class with you, and that you can chew gum in class. Little things like that have been surprising.
         If I could have done anything differently I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t change anything that I have done. So that answers the next question, that I would do everything again. Except go to a CU game on the day of the homecoming dance and get heat exhaustion and not be able to go to the dance.
        Overall I love high school so far, and wouldn’t change anything I’ve done.

Add a comment September 30, 2009