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.