Brian's Winter 10/29/14

Prompt: List at least three problems the characters faced? Which was the most life changing? Explain

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     This book is about how Brian survived in the Canadian wilderness. In this book Brian is stuck through the winter. He had to create new tools to survive through the winter. One of the problems he faced was that the winter is very cold. He had to make a warmer shelter by improving his wall. He also stitched together animal furs to make cold weather clothing. He made a vest, coat, boots, gloves, and a rug. Finally he built a fire inside his shelter. These things kept him warm and helped solve the problem of cold.

    Another problem Brian faced was that he was threatened by large animals. He did two things to solve this problem. The first is that he built a larger bow. This was a problem on its own. He had to find the right wood for his bow but the biggest challenge was finding larger arrowheads. He figured out that he could chip pieces off of flint to make sharp arrowheads. He also made a lance for if large animals charged at him. He used this lance to save his life from a moose.

     The last problem Brian had was that it was hard to move around in deep snow. He made snowshoes to help him move around without getting stuck in the snow. He also used furs to make a back pack to carry food in. These helped him move around even better than before winter and he explored the land around his camp. The most life changing problem that Brian solved was movement. This resulted in him exploring the area around his camp much more. It ultimately lead to him finding a trapper's house that was how he was rescued.

Montresor Police Interrogation

3- Imagine that it is fifty years after Montresor's crime against Fortunato has been committed. Montresor believes that he has gotten away with this crime, but suddenly new evidence has come to light. Another festival attendant recalls seeing Fortunato leave the party with Montresor. This witness hasn't come forward until now because she was afraid of what he might do; however now that she is old, she has decided that there is nothing to gain by continuing to hide his secret.

The authorities have picked up Montresor and brought him to the local police station for questioning. Write one page dialogue that illustrates Montresor's conversation with police. 

Police: Do you know anything about the disappearance of Fortunado?
Montresor: I was with him and we were tasting wine. That was the last time I saw him. I must have lost him after we met in the excitement of the party.
Police: A festival attendant saw you walking away from the party with Fortunado. What were you doing?
Montresor: I was going to taste wine with Fortunado. We went back to the party after that.
Police: That was the last time anyone saw Fortunado. Do you know what happened to him?
Montresor: No. The last place I saw him was when he was tasting wine.
Police: Did Fortunado leave the house with you after tasting wine?
Montresor: No. Fortunado stayed behind in my house after I left for a while. A long while. He did not want to leave.
Police: Do you know if Fortunado left the house?
Montresor: No. I have not seen him since we were drinking wine.
Police: Where in the house were you drinking wine?
Montresor: We were drinking the wine in the catacombs.
Police: Where in the catacombs were you drinking specifically?
Montresor: My family's catacombs are vary large. I could not remember now. We were drinking in multiple places.
Police: Do you know if Fortunado leave the catacombs?
Montresor: No. If nobody saw him after it is possible that he got lost and died in the catacombs.
Police: Could we possibly find his body in the catacombs?
Montresor: My family's catacombs are very large and have many people buried in them. You may not be able to find him. Also his body would have decayed before now.
Police: Thank you.

Brian's Winter: 10/22/14

Prompt: Summary
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     In this book Gary Paulsen tells what might of happened if Brian was trapped in the forest through the winter. He introduces this by telling about how readers had asked what would have happened if Brian had been stuck in the winter. He then tells how the winter started from a narrator's point of view that knows Brian's thoughts. He says that Brian began to feel cold winds and feel better by a fire or in his sleeping bag but did not notice these signs. He finally realized that winter was coming when it was cold one night and his sleeping bag was a relief.

     Brian realized that he needed to prepare for the coming winter. He had no warm clothing and his shelter was not warm. He found a deer that had been killed but not fully eaten by wolves and dragged the remaining meat. First he made a bigger bow because he had been attacked by a bear and barely been saved by a skunk. Then he made his shelter watertight and warm by packing the wooden wall with mud and making a door. He also used rabbit skins to make a warm vest. He found a deer that had been killed but not fully eaten by wolves.

     He began practicing with his bigger bow and realized he could hunt larger animals with it. He killed a moose but was almost badly hurt. It took him all day and most of the night to drag the meat back to his camp. He then thought he heard gunshots but when he went to see where they came from he saw a tree explode. He then made snowshoes to move around easier in the snow. He killed a deer and decided to go explore the area around his camp. He put food in a skin pack and took a lighter and his hatchet. While he was on one of these hikes he saw tracks that looked like human footprints. He followed these to a hut and was rescued.

Time Travel Interveiw

Format: Interview
Q: Where would you go? 
A: I would go to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Q:To which year or period would you travel? 
A: I would go to November 19, 1863.
Q: Who would you want to meet or what event would you want to witness? 
A: I would want to witness Abraham Lincoln give the Gettysburg Address and meet him.
Q: Where would you find this person or see this event? 
A: I would see this event in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Q: Why would you want to meet this person or witness this event? 
A: I want to do this because Abraham Lincoln is an important figure and this is one of his famous speeches,
Q: How might YOU change history?
I wouldn't because I could create a butterfly effect that could have bad effects.

Quarter 1 Reflective Blog

Where are you in your 40 Book Challenge? How have your blogs been progressing since August? What strategies have benefited you? What have you learned about the world? How have your research skills improved?

Make sure to include a topic sentence and supporting details that fully support your main idea.

     My blogs have progressed a lot since the beginning of first quarter. At the beginning I had trouble writing about some prompts. It took me a long time to think about what to write and it was still not very good. Later in the quarter I got better at this. A strategy that I used to write my blogs that worked best was writing a topic sentence that I remembered a important point from the book. I than came up with supporting, specific, details from the book. This helped me write better, more organized, blogs.

     I have learned a lot about the world. In this class I learned about Malala getting the Nobel Prize. We researched why she received the prize and her achievements. I also learned about Ebola. We learned about how it started and what it is and we have talked about current Ebola news. Finally I have learned that traditions are hard to change in the world. The Lottery introduced this and we had to write two paragraphs about the traditions in the story. The story of Malala reinforced this by showing that women's rights were hard to change because they were tradition.

      My research skills have greatly improved. I did not know how to make a bibliography before this year. I learned how to correctly format and collect information.

The River: 10/12/14

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     This book is a sequel to Hatchet, where Brian has to survive in the wilderness when his plane crashes. In this book the government asks Brian to go back to the wilderness and do it again. This time he will have Derek from the government coming with him to record what he does. He will teach what they learn to help people from the military who may be in a survival situation. When they arrive at the lake Brian decides to leave all the survival equipment on the plane to make the situation more realistic. During a lightning storm Derek and Brian are struck by lightning. It destroyed their radio and put Derek in a coma. On the map Brian has he can see a trading post that he can get to by going down a river. He builds a wooden raft and goes down the river for help.

     Brian's character is developed by talking about his decision to return to the woods. This shows that he wants to help people and will even risk his own life to do it. He says, "I learned something there. About how to live-I mean how to live. And if it could help others, I have to do it." The author also develops his character by telling how he reacts to arriving back in the woods. He writes, "Then, instantly—in just that part of a second—he changed. Completely." This shows how accustomed Brian has become to the forest. This develops his character by showing a unique trait about him.

     Derek, who is surviving with Brian, is developed by how he copes with the wilderness. The author writes that when it started raining really hard "Derek had time for one quick joke." This shows that Derek makes jokes when he is in a bad situation. Brian's mom is developed by telling her reaction when Derek suggests that Brian goes back to the forest. When Derek suggests it she says, "I think it's insane." She does not want Brian to go back because she does not want him to get hurt. She also says, "We were told by experts Brian couldn't possibly be alive. And now you're asking me—his mother—to send him back out there?"

Reflective Blog

     I have progressed a lot since I began writing blogs. When I began writing blogs I wrote short, unspecific paragraphs. I would only write about very nonspecific topics. This resulted in my blogs being very short and not very interesting. They almost resembled the summaries on the back cover of books. I think I wrote like this because I did not know how to write a good summary. Whenever I did a prompt other than a summary I wrote two paragraphs of summary and one based on my prompt. I think I did this because I thought I could not write more than one paragraph on a subject other than a summary.

     This is very different from my current blogs. As time went on my blogs got longer and more in detail. I think this is because I learned more about writing and learned that other people's blogs with more detail were better and more interesting. This helped me start putting more detail in my blogs and making them more interesting. Now I use better writing form. When I write an use a topic sentence and supporting details to prove it. I have greatly improved my blogging.

Messenger: 10/1/14

Prompt: Choose a section of what you have read in your book this week and analyze the writing techniques used by the author. Explain the affect the technique has on the writing. 
Pages: 1-169 (end)

     This book is about a boy named Matty who carries messages for the people of his village. He is one of the few people who has not gotten a warning from the forest that is between each village. The people of his village have traded parts of their personality to the Trademaster in exchange for things the want. This has caused them to want to close the village to outsiders. Matty wants to tell someone who lives across the forest that the village is closing and that they must come back with him to her father. The village is becoming evil and once you receive a warning you could be killed by the forest.

     One of the writing techniques the author uses to develop the theme and meaning of the story is style. She uses words with negative connotation when she is describing the forest and Trade Mart. When She is talking about the Trade Mart she tells about what a woman who used to be very kind did to her crippled husband after she traded. The author says "She made a sneering face at him and she imitated his way of walking. She made fun of him." Negative word choice helps to describe the effects of the Trade Mart. Also when the author is telling about how Leader described the forest she writes, "I was going to say like a clotting of blood. Things turning sluggish and sick." Words with negative connotation help to better describe the forest. Both of these quotes show how word choice with negative connotation develop the story. 

     A technique the author uses to develop the feeling of the story is tone. The author uses a dark tone when she is talking about the forest and Trade Mart. An example of this is when the author is writing about the Trade Mart. She writes "There was an intentness to everyone, and odd seriousness, and a sense of worry-unusual in Village-pervaded the atmosphere." This gives a dark tone to Trade Mart. This makes Trade Mart seem like a bad thing and affects the story. Another example of this is when the author is describing the forest. She writes, "Once clear and cool, the water was now dark brown, clogged with dead insects, and it smelled of kinds of filth he could only guess at." This gives the forest a dark tone and helps provide imagery.