Fractured by Teri Terry 5-18-15

     This book was incredible! I would definitely rate it a ten. Although, there was so much confusion. Kayla would want to tell Nico everything, but then she wouldn't trust him. It was like something that happened to her life in the past was telling her to not trust him. And guess what, that feeling was right! In the end, she found out that Nico killed her father, and he turned her into a fighting machine with two personalities(creepy).
     I was upset whenever Cameron turned out to be a bad guy. I was hoping that she would forget about Ben, and go for Cameron. Cameron turned out to be a spy for the lorders. I hated that he ended up like that. And the fact that Ben got his memory taken away from him. That just made me so upset. This book brought me through many feelings. I was happy whenever she found out where Ben was, upset at the fact that Cameron was a spy, and terrified that she was going to get caught by the lorders.

Quickwrite 5/18/15

Many people are gathering to listen to the president’s speech. All of the people that are in the crowd seem to be dressed formally. In the man on the left's glasses, there seems to be a person standing on a stage ("What's Going on in this Picture?", The Learning Network). If there were to be a person on stage talking, then all of the people in the audience would be looking towards the stage and paying attention. The man's glasses show that there is a person on a stage, and so the people in the crowd would be paying attention to the person on the stage.

Debate Reflection

In the debate tournament I believe that I performed really well. I gave 100% of my effort during all of the debates I performed in. I say this because I searched day and night every single time we found our topic. I always tried to make sure that we had citations, and evidence for each point. The best part of the tournament was finding rebuttal points. I always thought that it was funny that I could make what someone said and turn it against them.(I know, this is really mean but most of the points I found were ridiculous). The hardest part of the tournament was going against my best friends. I wanted them to win more than I wanted to win myself. I didn’t want to hurt my friends whenever I went up there, but whenever I was up, I forgot we were friends, and I tried my best. I learned that I don’t like it whenever people don’t make things credible(like if someone said that they heard that a friend punched the other friend in the face, I would ask them if they were there themselves). I also learned that my friends can’t cite worth a dime! I even told them before the debate to make sure they cited, and if they didn’t, I would turn their words on them(Guess what?! They didn’t cite!). I do believe that I was fair/unbiased during the time I was judging. I say this because I didn’t want to chose the people I like the most( I was always looking for the people with the greater argument).

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson(April Fantasy)

This book would probably be rated (in my opinion), a 10/10. Elisa was supposedly chosen by God to make a major change in the world(she had a god stone in her naval). She got married off to King Alejandro, and she had to move over to his palace. She got captured by her maid and she became the leader of an army. She met this boy name Roberto and they fell in love. Sadly it was forbidden, but before something bad happens, they found a way to be together. Elisa went back to her husband, and they had a battle with the enemy. End the end, she won the battle with the right hand of God(her god stone, and four others).
I really liked this book. It started out slow, but then it just kept getting faster and faster! My favorite part was that she started out sort of heavy in the book, then she turned into a thin and beautiful person. It's not everyday that someone goes on a journey with kidnappers, and choose to be on their side(also have a bonus and end up thin in the end). Elisa would be  the person every girl strives to be in life. I really want to read the next book in this series, but the library here doesn't have the whole series! They only have the first book. Well, anyways, thanks for reading my blog post!

The Star-Spangled Banner

"The Star-Spangled Banner" should be kept as the U.S. national anthem. "In times of crisis, the Star-Spangled Banner is a rock for us, a symbol of our grace under pressure and our determination to succeed no matter the odds, the very virtues that have led America to become the richest and most powerful nation on the planet" (The Case Against the Star-Spangled Banner). When there is war, many people look to the "Star-Spangled Banner" for hope and courage to keep going. Without the "Star-Spangled Banner", all the hope and courage it already built up would be gone. "The lyrics are inspirational and speak well to the resilience of our nation–Francis Scott Key wrote them after witnessing the American forces survive the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812" (The Case Against the Star-Spangled Banner). Francis Scott Key wrote this song to share what happened on that day, and to give the U.S. the feeling he had of the flag waving at the end of the battle. The U.S. fought hard, and he is showing that in times of crisis, America can(and will) do their best(and have victory).

Quickwrite 4/20/15

An immigrant is taking a test for being a citizen of a country, and he is taking a selfie of the test and himself. Everyone seems to be studying something on the tablets in-front of them. Also, the people seem to be at desk ("What's Going on in this Picture?", The Learning Network). Since there are a bunch of people, and they all look like they are studying something, they must be taking a test(or studying for a test. Everyone seems to be Hispanic, I believe they must be taking some sort of test to become an official American.

Graphic Novel Reflection 4/15/15

1. What were the successes of your group project?

All of the group members understood what the other wanted, and we got a ton of information to use.

2. What were the failures of your group project?

The artist of the group couldn't finish all of the work on Tuesday night, so whenever she got to school, we had to finish the project as quickly as we could.

3. Did you like working in a group? Why or why not?

I really enjoyed working in a group(especially this group). We all sort of understood each other. We also got along really well. I feel like if I were to be in a group alone, then I would have been crowded by stress. I would have felt like I couldn't finish it in enough time, so being able to split parts and do one thing instead of many would be a lot easier than having to do it by myself.
4. Explain the role (writer, layout, artist, researcher) you had within your group and how you specifically contributed to the creation of your graphic novel.
I was the first researcher. I researched mainly on the second and third websites. I told the layout person what scenes she needed. I also helped the writer figure out what was needed to be said and by who. I informed the artist who all was involved, and what everyone believed so that she could draw the right expression for the right people.

CC Panel Debate Reflection

1. Is compromise essential for an effective government and WHY???  Use ONE piece of cited evidence from the debates to support your position and then provide commentary. Citation example: (CC Panel Debate)
2. What did you do well in the debate?  Give 2 areas where you excelled.
3. What do you need to improve upon (in terms of your debating skills) in preparation for the debate tournament in May? Give 2 areas of improvement.

1. Compromise is essential for an effective government. "... the states come together to create a plan..." (CC Panel Debate). The states need to be able to come together at a crisis, and a compromise will help the states agree on one thing that will benefit all sides of an/the argument.
2. I feel like I did a good job on gathering information to backfire on the other team and I feel that I was good at the counter argument.
3. I need to improve on my convincing skills and how I form my starting argument.

Quickwrite 3/30/15

This picture is placed in the 1980's and the children are having baby stroller races. As you can see in the picture, these children look as if they are running, and there is a man in black with a microphone thing in his hands. Almost everyone in the picture seems excited, and they look as if they are cheering on the kids. Also, one of the adults looks like he is helping a child start out ("What's Going on in this Picture?", The Learning Network). The children running represents the race that I described, and the man in black represents the person that is announcing the events. I can tell that the picture is placed somewhere in the 1980's because of the way that the people dressed. All of the woman and girls are wearing dresses, and the men are all wearing suit like clothing.

Slated by Teri Terry (mystery) 3-16-15

     Slated is about this girl named Kyla. She was supposedly a villain, so the government arrested her, and they erased her memories. This is called being slated. They kept her in this hospital and taught her how to be a normal kid. They told her that in order to be able to go outside and live her own life, she had to follow all of their rules until she is 21. They let her go to her "family" after about 9 months. She met this guy named Ben, and they end up loving each other. (Ben was another slated.)

     They soon figured out that the government was taking innocent people and slating them. They also figured out that the terrorist were trying to give freedom back to the people, but with violence instead of peace. Kyla didn't want to be on either side, but Ben wanted to be on the terrorist's side. Ben tried to cut off his levo(The thing that keeps him from feeling anything on his own) and he got caught by the government.

     Well, in the end, Kyla gets her memories back, and she doesn't know if Ben is alive or not. I would rate this book an 8. I think it deserves an 8 because it was an incredible, interesting book but it didn't have as much information as I would have liked. Like in the end, all it says is that she remembered. It never explained what happened in her past, or who/what she was. The thing that frustrated me the most was that Kyla wouldn't trust her mom fully. I feel like if she did trust her new mom, then her mo would understand what she was feeling, and what was going on. Other than that, it was a really good book, and I'm exhilarated to read the next book.

Quickwrite 3/10/15

These people are probably from Israel, and voting for the Americans to win a war. The man in the background is holding an American flag, and he also looks like he is from Israel ("What's Going on in this Picture?", The Learning Network). In Israel, there was a war for their land because the Americans gave the Jewish people the land that they thought was rightfully theirs after WW1(I think). In this case, the man is supporting the Americans.

Quickwrite 3/2/15

     These three people(counting their baby) are going camping. The man and the woman are both carrying bags. The man is also carrying a blanket to cover his baby ("What's Going on in this Picture?", The Learning Network). They both have bags to carry the supplies for the camp site.

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls(Western 2-19-15)

This book is extremely sad(and happy in the beginning). The part that I hated the most was when the dogs died. I wouldn't have cared if they had died fast, and not brutally, but their deaths were terrible! One dies of loss of blood, and the other dies because they can't fit their intestines back into the body. I just couldn't believe it. Now I know that I should never take animals out hunting(or camping). I would give this book a 10 because it makes people feel for the animals, and angry at some kids. It's just an emotional book. Writers that are able to make the readers cry(sadly, or for joy) needs a pat on the back!

Quickwrite 2/23/15

This wasp is carrying its' baby somewhere. The wasp is holding something between its' legs that looks like another wasp, but it is also smaller than the one that is holding it ("What's Going on in this Picture?", The Learning Network). Since the wasp is wrapping its' legs around an object that looks like another wasp, while moving, it seems that it is bringing the object to a place.

American Revolution Project Reflection

     My group was cooperative in the end while we were getting the information. Beau would get the information paper cut and ready, I got the game and the delegates match-up ready, and Clint helped put the board together. In the beginning, Clint wouldn't really do anything, and it was hard to communicate because we were misinterpreting one another's opinions and ideas. This is such as whenever  Beau would say live exhibit, I didn't know what he really wanted to do. I honestly think that the idea of people from different blocks/periods coming together to do a project was awesome. The only thing is that we needed a little bit more of an explanation on how to get the email thread ready. I know that some people would get the idea right off the bat, and other people would forget how to do it right as they were put up to the task. I think that the emails were fun to use, but I would have liked to just share a document with other people and just use that. It just seems simpler to me because people would do their work on their drive, then they would forget to copy and paste that information back into the email thread. I think that if there would have been no teacher monitoring our discussions, then there would have been a lot of joking around on the email. The teacher also helped with making sure that each student got his/her work done throughout the project. I feel like I have learned that being in a group project definitely need some communication. Some of my group members wouldn't communicate throughout the whole day. If they don't tell their members how they feel about the project, then the project won't have 100% effort from all of the team members.(just like when a member doesn't like something and doesn't want to do what the other members are doing and they don't try to work because they don't want to.) I feel like I gave my all and worked really hard to get the project perfected. In this instant, I would say that I would get a 10. I know that Beau and I did A LOT of the work throughout the project. I also know that Clint was playing games through class, so to be honest, I think that Beau and I did try to get the project nice and clean so that the whole group would get a good grade.

Quickwrite 2/10/15

The woman is being surrounded by the bomb squad due to a bomb attacked to her upper torso. They are also filming the event, as if they are putting it on the news. The picture shows a group of people dressed in camouflage, surrounding the woman. One of the people seems to be trying to calm down the woman with the bomb looking thing strapped around her chest. One of the people that is surrounding her is holding a device that looks like a camera, but he is also holding a shield in front of himself. ("What's Going on in this Picture?", The Learning Network).

Mid-Year Reflection

     Most of my goals were to become a nicer, better person, so in a way, I am better. I wouldn't say that this project helped me become nicer(or meaner), but like I said, I did get better at some things. I would say that I got better at being able to search up things, and find good, precise websites. Before this school year, I wasn't able to find reliable sources and it didn't come easy to me. After the big NHD Project, I was able to find reliable sources like the snap of my fingers.
     I think that I have accomplished making people think that my sister and I are two different people. The only thing that I need to accomplish out of my goals is to let people know that I am a nice and generous person. Other than that, I don't think I need to ditch any goals, or even come up with other. I feel like I have been successful, and that is good enough for me!

National History Day Reflection

     I feel like I have accomplished so much from NHD. My sister and I worked incredibly hard, and we were able to go onto regional. I also have learned a ton about how I work and cooperate with other people during big projects like this one.

1. I figured out that I tend to want to do things my self. I would always say, "Hey, don't put that there" or other things like that.

2. I'm also a freak of neatness. If the project looks a little bit messy, it would be okay, but I would prefer it to be really neat and appealing to the eyes.

3. This isn't my favorite habit, but i also tend to want to do things extremely fast. I wanted the project to look neat, but I also wanted to have it done fast, so that we wouldn't have to worry about if we were going to be late to a practice because we were finishing our project.

Stung by Bethany Wiggins 1/17/15(Science Fiction)

     Fiona, the main character, is a level 10. The deadliest level beast you can be. She wakes up randomly one day and doesn't remember what has happened to her. Her clothes are clean, but her room, her house, is a disaster. Anyways, she goes outside to see if it was only her house that was lifeless. Apparently, the whole world was lifeless.
     Well, in the end she finds out the reason why she just randomly had a tattoo on her hand, and the fact that she looked older that the last birthday she remembered(13th). She found out that the scientist were trying to find a way to keep the bee's from going instinct. In order to help the bees, the scientist made this new type of bee that was resistant to every harmful disease out there. Although, there was one bad side effect. These new bees were eating the old bees. Also, whenever people got stung by the new bee, they would get a virus that will make the humans like the bees. The only difference between the bees and the humans was that the humans were a lot stronger! These infected humans basically turned into wild animals.
     The thing that got me was that these scientist would create something this crucial to the society. I know that if the bees went instinct, then the whole society could die. Just the extinction of  one small species could destroy the whole world. Isn't that ironic?