Final Reflection

1- What are the three most important things you learned this year?

I think that the three most important things that I learned this year are. TIQA format because without it I would be able to write all of my blogs with it, vocabulary because I didn't know what some of the words meant at the beginning of the year, but now I started using words like discombobulated, befuddled and debacle. The final thing that I learned while being in ELA is, speaking in front of the class because when we did our butterfly project we had to present them in front of the class, but now that we wrote our speech for graduation we had to present those too.

2- What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?

The one thing that we did this year that I will never forget for the rest of my life is the butterfly project because there were so many great butterflies. I could tell that a lot of students put their time and effort while making their butterfly. Just like I did, but I saw some pretty amazing butterflies when I walked in that day in class. The whole room was covered in butterflies on the ceiling, wall, and whiteboard. I was surprised when I saw all of them.

3- What is the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?

The nicest thing that someone has done in this class is Dena, because she always helps me with my blog when I need help she is always there. She tells me what to add or what to take out. When I finish she spell checks it and she tells me if I need to add anything else she always gives me her honest opinion on what I need to do. That is the nicest thing that someone has done for me in our class this year.

4- What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year? 

Something that I taught my teacher and classmates were to always be positive because I would always walk in my ELA class with a smile and a positive attitude.

5- In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?  

The biggest improvements that I am proud of are my writing because before I was eighth I didn't know how to write anything, but now that I was in Mrs. Larson's class I now know the TIQA method and not I know how to write all of my blogs not that I am going to high school I will remember the TIQA method. 

6- What is the most challenging part for you this year?

The most challenging part for me this year was the vocabulary test because I used to study every night, but on Friday when I get the test I forget everything and end up getting a bad grade. But now that it is the end of the year my vocabulary has gotten a lot better than it was before.

7- What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best?

I think that my best piece of writing is the Giver vs Movie because I put a lot of detail about how the movie and the book are very different and how they are the same. I really liked The Giver was the first book that I looking forward to reading because I heard so much great things about the movie. That is why I think that this is my best piece of writing that I have done.

8- Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

Out of all of the book I read this year my favorite was After Ever After. I really liked this book because it talked about a middle schooler who had cancer and so did his best friend and they tried to overcome it, but then Jeffery one of the main characters got a girl friend, but Todd one of the other main charters didn't and he was really jealous. That is why After Ever After is one of my favorite books.

9- What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?

The advice that I will give the upcoming eighth graders is that don't lie to Mrs. Larson because she always finds out if you lie and she will make you call home to your parents. Oh yeah and also don't forget to do your IXL goals or else she will make you call home for that too.

This I Believe

“The Bite”
By: Christian Jimenez

I believe that each scar tells a story.

As you grow older, most likely you would've made a lot of mistakes, but now that you're more wiser than your younger self, you could learn from them. The scars on our bodies are apart of our lives and they each tell a story.

 It was a day I would never forget.

It was a sunny afternoon, the sun was shining so bright. I was at my cousin's house because they just got a new video game and I wanted to play it.
When I walked in, there they were. My favorite cousins Jason, Jonathan, and Brandon. They were chilling in their room playing their new video game, they had four controllers. Luckily, there was only four of us. I sat down, I turned on the controller, and I played away. Then two of my cousins got tired and went upstairs to go eat. It was just Jonathan and I left in the room. We kept on playing non-stop and his dog walked in.

I just looked at him waiting for him to do something then he just laid down. That's when I thought to myself “Okay, the dog isn’t going to do anything just keep on playing.” My cousin Jonathan yelled at me and told me to get the dog out of the room. That is when I put the matter into my own hands and picked up the dog. All of a sudden, it felt like a knife was repeatedly stabbing my arm. I looked at my arm and saw that the dog was biting me. Blood kept on gushing out and Jonathan didn’t know what to do. The blood kept rushing out so I started to cry. My cousin rushed me upstairs where my grandma was so that she could clean it up and put a band-aid on it. At that point, everything was okay, but I kept on crying. I didn’t know why, but I was still crying.

 When my mom came to pick me up my grandma told her everything that happened and that I was okay.

A few weeks later I got a scab just as my grandma said I would. The scab was getting on my nerves, so I decided to pick it off.

Weeks after weeks, I kept on picking at and realized that there was a scar.
At first I thought I was special, but then my parents showed me their scars and so did my cousins. They cheered me up and showed me that I wasn’t the only one with a scar on their body. My parents told tell me that each scar you get tells a different story about your life.

Literature Circle/Non-Fiction Article

     Will Jeffery change if he were to become closer with Lindsey? In the book After Ever After Jeffery and Tad are best friends and Tad tutors Jeff in math so that he could do good on the test. They both work out and help each other during hard times. Jeff tries to help Tad get out of his wheelchair and walk again, but Tad doesn't want to because of his weird limp and Tad helps Jeff run on the treadmill so that he could run further during gym. Their eighth grade graduation is coming up and Tad has a crazy plan before they graduate.
     The similarities between After Ever After and "Surviving a rare cancer, a teen helps study it" is that they both talk about kids surviving cancer because in the book it states that, "Me: Well, you see, I, uh, I'm a cancer survivor. Person #1: And how's that working out for you? Me: Well, you see, I, uh, I used to have leukemia. Person #2: Dude, how come you're not like, bald? Me: Well, you see, I, uh, I had acute lymphocytic lymphoma when I was five. Person #3: Whoa, that must'a sucked. I once had my tonsils out (Sonnenblick page 54)..." This quote shows that Jeff is explaining to the persons what type of cancer he had and he survived that cancer. In the article it states that, "First the teenager survived a rare cancer. Then she wanted to study it, spurring research helped scientists find weird gene flaw that might play a role in how tumor strikes." This quote shows that the young teen survived a rare liver cancer and now wants to study it so that she could help other people.
     Another similarity that I found in the article was that, "Simon was diagnosed at age 12. Getting an operation is the only effective treatment, but her tumor was caught in enough time that it worked. There are few options if the cancer spreads, and Simon knows other patients who weren't so lucky have caught the disease early." This quote shows that Simon was diagnosed at a young age too she was diagnosed at age 12 and in the book Jeff was diagnosed at age 5.

Sonnenblick, Jordan, and Marijka Kostiw. After ever after. New York: Scholastic, 2014. Print.

"Teenager helps scientists study a rare cancer that she survived." Newsela | Teenager helps scientists study a rare cancer that she survived. N.p., 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 11 May 2017.

After Ever After

     After Ever After is a book about a boy named Jeffery Alper, he had cancer, but he is worried that it might return. He also has a friend named Tad and he helps Jefferey with his math because after the cancer Jeffery head was messed up and he spaces out. Jeffery's dad gets mad when Jeffery comes home with bad grades because his dad loves math, but Jeffery doesn't that is why Tad is tutoring him. One time Jeffery got his report card and he showed it to his parents that he got a 65 in his math class his parents were very suprised and Jeffery was very proud of himself. Oh yeah and there is this new hot girl in his school named Lindsey, she has hot legs and she thinks that Jeffery is cute which totally freaks him out.

      After reading I wonder is Jeffery, every going to kiss Lindsey, because on page 145 it states that, "Guess what? Lindsey has a sprig of mistletoe over her bedroom door. Just sayin' (Sonnenblick)." This quote shows that Jeffery really really likes Lindsey thinks that he is cute. Another quote that's I found that relates to my topic sentence is that, "She looked at me like I was a cute kitten that had somehow wound up lost in her sock drawer, got up from the bench again, and held her hand out to me. We held hands-I mean, through mittens and gloves, but still- all the way home (Sonnenblick #136)." This quote shows that Lindsey and Jeff really like each other because Lindsey made a whole photo album about the two of them and it all of the photos show their best moments together and on the last page of the album it shows a picture of Jeff with a heart around him.
     I like what I am reading because all of the different book sounded pretty good, but this one stood out to me because after the teacher explained a little bit about the book I decided to look up the summary of the book and it sounded amazing. I think I put the book in first or second place because I really wanted to read it. The book it getting really good right now because I don't know if Jeff, is going to kiss Lindsey or not and I don't know if Tad Jeff's best friend is going to get with his crush. That is why I chose this book and Inmade a really good choice.

I commented on Dena's blog

3rd Quarter Reflection

     The area that I have made my biggest improvements is my blog's because since the beginning of the school year I already knew how to write them, but I never knew the TIQA method until now. Ever since I made it to eighth grade I've been writing my blogs all wrong then my ELA teacher Mrs. Larson showed me the TIQA method now I know how to write my blogs the right way thanks to my teacher who showed me how to do this.

     The thing that I have accomplished on and was proud of was getting good grades on my vocabulary quiz. At first I didn't know what any of the words meant, but then I started studying and studying until they stuck in my head, sometimes I forget what the words mean and I get really nervous when I take the quiz. Sometimes I get some wrong and the other times I get all of them right every week my teacher assigns new words for us to study I study them and then when we take the quiz I forget everything, but then at the end I get it right.

     To me the most challenging part about 3rd quarter was the amount of homework that we had. We had to write a lot of blog's for this class, but as we are getting closer to 4th quarter the homework has gotten a lot easier. The blog's that we had to do were a little challenging, but I managed to finish them  right now we are doing an argumentative essay about a topic that we chose it looks easy, but we need to add a lot textual evidence into it so that the reader can see what side they are on. That has been the most challenging parts about 3rd quarter I can't wait for 4th quarter to start.

Life is beautiful

     The similarities between Life is Beautiful and Night were the father - son relationship. For example in the movie the son never leaves the father's side even when he is working sometimes, he left him in the barracks to hide other times he tells his son to hide somewhere else so that they couldn't find him. Another similarity that the book and movie have is that the father dies. In the movie he tried to go see his wife and they caught him once they caught him the took him somewhere secret so that they couldn't see and they shot him. In the book Elie's father dies of a disease that he had and nobody was there except for Elie and the candles that lit up for his father in memory of him.

     The differences between Life is Beautiful and Night was that once the family got to the concentration camp the father told his son that is was all a game, and who ever has the most point wins. The son didn't fall for it at first, but then his dad said if they win they get a tank. Then his son looked very suprized, but his dad told him that he had to hide in order to get the points. If the SS officers couldn't find him then his dad said he will get the points. In the book it wasn't a game everything was real Elie and his father actually had to work they didn't get any points. Another thing that I think is different is that when the family arrives at the concentration camp and they go to their barracks the SS officers walk in and they wanted someone to translate German so the father stood up and explained the whole game to his son, so that he could believe that is was real. In the book I think once they got to the concentration camp they just started working.

     The suspense and humor in the movie was when the father couldn't find his son. In the movie the Guido just got back from work in the concentration camp and he came to check up on his son. He called his name a lot of times and he couldn't find him. Then he started asking the people in the barracks if they have seen him they all said no the father got really scared then he saw his son on top of the bunk bed he was very relieved to see his son and everybody in my class while we were watching the movie were gasping. A humorous thing that happened in the movie was when he went to the orchestra to see his wife, but she was paying attention to the music and she couldn't see him. So   Guido started moving his finger and saying, "Come to me princess look at him princess please." Then the lady stared at him and Guido said, "I can only hear from my left ear." The lady turned away and he did the same things with his fingers it was very funny to watch.

     The beautiful parts of Life is Beautiful was when Guido was looking for his wife and he couldn't find her because there was so many woman in carts. Once he couldn't find her he got caught by an SS officer and they shot him. In the book Elie's father wasn't looking for his wife because in the book it said that they only saw his mother and sister one time before they went to the concentration camp. Another thing that was beautiful in the movie was that he really loved him family. He never let his son go and he told his son were to hide so that they couldn't find him. This shows that he really loves his son very much. In the book Elie loved his father very much and I know he was devastated when his father past away. Those are some of the parts that I think were beautiful in the movie.

   

Night Blog

     Ellie's experience during the Holocaust has changed him as a person by changing is religion/ faith. In the beginning of the book he was very pious on page three it states that, "We talked this nearly every evening. We used to stay in the synagogue after all of the fateful had left, sitting in the gloom, where a few half-burned candles gave a flickering light (Weisel)." This quote shows that he is pious because he used to hang out with Moshe the Beatle and they always stayed after hours in the synagogue when everyone was gone. Another quote from the book that shows that he is pious is, "One day I asked my father to find me a master to guide me in my studies of the calaba (Weisel page 1)." This quote shows that Elise is very interested in his religion that he seeks out a guide to help lead him in his religious studies. This is why I chose these two quotes to show the reader that he was very pious in the beginning of the book.

     Later on in the book he starts changing. For example in the book it states that, "I too had become a completely different person. The student of the Talmud, the child that I was, had been consumed in the flames. There remained only a shape that looked liked me. A dark flame had entered my soul and devoured it (Weseil page 34)." This quote shows that when he was with his father he saw him change first then Eli's think about himself and now he knows that he has changed as well after everything that has happened to him. Another quote from that book is, "NEVER SHALL I FORGET that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky. Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes. Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned yo live as long as God Himself. Never (Weisel page 32)."  This quote shows that Elie hasn't forgotten anything about his experience during the Holocaust and how he feels about God. This quote doesn't just show how Elie lost his faith, but what is does show was that he was angry that this has happened to him. He lost his mother and his sister now he just has his father he is angry and disappointed.

     Another change that was caused by his experience during the Holocaust was his relationship with his father. For example In the book it states that, "My father's presence was the only thing that stopped me... I had no right to let myself die. What would he do without me? I was his only support (Weisel page 82)." This quote shows that Elie suddenly thought no longer about himself, but thought about his father. Him and his father are glued together and they don't have anything else, but each other. They don't want to lose sight of themselves and they kept each other going. Another quote from the book that shows that they have is strong relationship is that, "I listened to him without interrupting. He was right I thought in the most secret region of my heart, but I dared not to admit it. It's too late to save your old father, ... but I felt guilty. I ran to find a little soup to give to my father (Weisel page 105)." This quote shows that Elie was enduring a big problem. His father was sick and dying with every minute that passed Elie was confronted by the head of his block in Buchenwald. The head said to Elie to fend for himself. He said that his father was going to die and he should just take his rations due to his fathers condition. Elie knew that, but he couldn't bring himself to do that. He instead went to help his dying father.

Weisel, Elie. Night. New York: Bantam , 1958. Print.