Final Reflection blog

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


The Holocaust
My belief
What I want to do to leave a mark on the world.

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

Going into the Holocaust Museum was such an interesting experience. It showed me the lives of people trying to survive in concentration camps and trying to flee from the Nazis. The best part of the museum was the train car. The fact that it is still intact was quite surprising.

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

Helping me when I missed a class. Whenever I missed a class someone would make sure that I was up to date. When I needed supplies for my butterfly some friends offered some items to me. They are very generous and I thank them for their kindness.

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

That everybody, no matter who you are, can be happy. I showed them that happiness can come even in the worst situations. Happiness will always come to those who want it

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

Finishing my work is my biggest improvement and my accomplishment. I had 1 phone call to my dad saying I was missing work. After that I decided to turn in every single thing that was assigned to me.

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

The butterfly project was the toughest project I had to do this year. I'm no artist so I couldn't really draw anything. However I did use symbolism as my main focus on the butterfly, but people didn't really notice it at first so I had to explain everything about the butterfly which was hard because most of the time I didn’t know what it meant.

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

The investigative Journalism piece I did about the murders and growing crime rate in Chicago. I think it was my best because of all the time and detail that i put in to make it great. I was so interested at what goes on in chicago so I always checked for new statistics and new pieces of evidence.

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

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was by far the best book I've read this year. It was so amazing that I couldn't put it down. I ended up finishing it in 4 days and it was pretty upsetting to be done with such an amazing book. I've always been a fan of the Harry Potter series and the cursed child was just an amazing addition to the series.


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


Always do your work and turn it in. Mrs. Larson doesn't fool around with that stuff. If you don't want an awkward phone call to your parents saying you didn't do your work, then I suggest you should always turn in your work on time.

This I Believe

“Smile”
By: Robert Salas

I believe that everybody can be happy. Happiness is such a major part of life. Happiness is what drives people to do what they love. I am always happy when i’m in science class which pushes me to chose a career in science in the future. Michael Jackson made himself happy by singing his songs and now he is the King of Pop, even in death. Stephen Hawking enjoys his life as a theoretical physicists, even though he is disabled. Happiness can have such an impact on someone's life that they could be changed forever. Everybody has something that makes them happy. Some people use what makes them happy as a way to be successful in life.

    When I was about 6 years old I went to a White Sox game with my family. It was on a pretty dull day, the clouds were gray and it was very cold. On our way to the stadium my uncle gave me $20 to spend in the park. On the sidewalk there were these homeless men that held out cups that they used to put money in. I’ve seen them before and it was always the same guys, no matter what the weather was our how many people were drunk and rude to them, they stayed there and kindly asked for a donation. I went over to one man who seemed to be the oldest and pulled out the $20 that my uncle gave me and gave it to the man. He was so happy and surprised. At the end of the game my family walked back out and saw the man smiling and continue to smile the entire time we were by him.

This really changed my view on happiness and it has stuck with me since. It showed me that the smallest acts of kindness can improve a person's emotional state, mainly into happiness. I will do my part in making others happy by helping those who feel like they can't.

I believe that everybody can be happy. If there is something that makes you happy, then do it. It's better to live life poor and happy than go through life rich and miserable. Kindness, Gratitude, and thankfulness are all components of making someone happy. So go and use what makes you happy. Everybody can be happy, no matter who they are.

Lit-Circle and Non fiction blog

EQ: How is the outcome going to change?


The Year of the Hangman is a What if scenario. It's the outcome of America losing the revolutionary war. However, the main character Creighton was meant to change the fate of America. The reason that this EQ stands out is that the answer isn't clear. The outcome itself is obvious that America loses the war, but it's unclear on how they lose the war. On the book preview on the back it says “Creighton must decide where his loyalties lie. . . A choice that could determine the fate of a nation.” His choice however doesn't seem to affect the nation at all because America already lost the before Creighton even went to the colonies. So this EQ made all the other people who read this book, go back and read it again and again to find the answer.

Nonfiction article

The topic that both my book and the article have in common is the events before and during the revolution. The article I chose was “American symbol returns from obscurity: Boston’s Liberty Tree”. The article states that “Throughout these early years before the revolution, the ancient elm tree across from the distillery became Massachusetts’ most important symbol of revolt. In the decade before the Revolutionary War, images of the Liberty Tree, as it became known, spread across New England and beyond.” This tree is a major part of the revolution because it's a part of what starts the patriots to rebel against the British.

Paragraph 14 states “In August of 1775, four months after the first battles of the Revolutionary War, British troops and loyalists cut the tree down. After the British evacuated Boston on March 17, 1776, revolutionary Bostonians tried to reclaim the site. They erected a “liberty pole” there, and in the following years newspapers occasionally mentioned the site of the Liberty Stump.” The battles that happened during the war were all in my book, which gave it more accurate detail. Although, you never see Boston or the Liberty Tree itself, there is a newspaper called Liberty Tree which was printed by Benjamin Franklin. Liberty Tree still makes an impact on Creighton and it pushes him to finish the decision on where his loyalties lie.

Blackwood, Gary L. Year of the hangman. New York : Turtleback , 2004. Print.

"American symbol returns from obscurity: Boston's Liberty Tree." Newsela | American symbol returns from obscurity: Boston's Liberty Tree. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2017.

Lit-circle blog

The Year of the Hangman is a “What if?” Book. It shows what could've happened if America lost the revolutionary war and follows the life of Creighton Brow. Fifteen years old British boy named Creighton Brown who is very selfish and rude is sent to the colonies with his uncle as a disciplinary action. The plan backfires as Creighton gets separated from his uncle and Creighton ends up living in the house of Dr. Franklin and his housekeeper Sophie. His uncle is a British officer and decides to use Creighton as a spy to find the author of The. Liberty Tree, a rebel newspaper. Creighton must choose which side he lays his loyalty on. America or England. Whichever he chooses will decide who wins the revolutionary war. 

Interpret (Which characters would you interpret to be ‘good’? Which would you interpret to be ‘bad’? What has the author written that leads you to those interpretations?)

Since this story takes place during the time when the British had rule over the colonies, the antagonists are obviously the British. However, an entire country is hard to pin as an antagonist. So to narrow it down, there is one officer that deserves the role of antagonist. Hugh Gower (Creighton's uncle) is a terrible man who is persistent on making sure that Britain wins the war, even if it meant hurting his nephew. He claims to other people of authority that everything must be done with honor, even though he will play dirty and has almost no respect for other people's lives. His partner in crime and friend of Creighton is Hervey Hale a lieutenant for the British Army.  

The protagonist of the story is Creighton Brown. In the beginning of the story Creighton is shown as a boy who loves his homeland and is fascinated with hangings. When he arrives at the colonies he lies about himself and ends up making friends in the rebellion such as Pete a giant man, Benjamin Franklin, Benedict  Arnold, and Sophie. Though he is used as a spy and currently despises the rebels, he is starting to grow a liking to them. Other protagonists are of course, the other rebels. 

3rd Quater Reflection

In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts?

I have improved in writing my blogs especially now that we've started our argumentative unit. So in a way my biggest improvement was writing in particular and pulling out text evidence. My blogs in the beginning of the year were not the most detailed or grammatically correct. Now my blogs are the best they can be and I have made sure to add whatever is needed into my blogs. Another improvement is getting my IXLs done. I am now able to understand what the questions ask me in IXL.

What is something you have accomplished this quarter that you are proud of?

I am very proud of finishing my butterfly and creating the thinglink to go along with it. My butterfly was purposely made to be ugly so I spread dirt on it and cut its sides to make it look edgy. So long story short, my favorite accomplishment was me being able to think outside the box while under pressure.  

What has been the most challenging part of 3rd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

The most challenging part of 3rd quarter was creating the butterfly for our holocaust unit. I'm definitely not an artist and I did not have a lot of time because I was not able to get the supplies I need to make it. When cutting out my butterfly I made a bunch of wrong cuts that made my butterfly look all choppy and edgy. I thought I would have to start over and then it hit me, everyone else's butterfly was neat and clean and very beautiful. These butterflies represent the holocaust and that was a time of death and terribleness. So I purposely made my butterfly an eye-sore so it can represent the horribleness of the holocaust.

Of the books you have read this quarter, which was your favorite? Why?

My favorite book was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (movie script). I love this book because it had so much action and drama. The book was based in 1926, New York, and followed a wizard from London named Newt Scamander, he has a case full of magical creatures that he hopes to protect against other people. In New York there is a group of people known as The Second Salemers. Meaning that they believe that witches and wizards live among them and hope to end their entire way of life. The book also doubled as a script for the movie that came out the day before the book's release. Since it was the actual script, not a single thing was different in the movie. Which made it very interesting.

Life is beautiful

Similarities
There are many of similarities between Night and Life is Beautiful. Such as, the father and son relationship between Guido and his son, and Ellie and his father. In both stories they started off as everyday happy people who go through life normally. Then near the middle they both were shipped to a concentration camp where the father ends up dying. Another similarity is the fact that both of the fathers were paranoid about being captured but they didn't really express it or prepare for being taken.

Differences
Although there are similarities there are still a lot of differences. Such as the mothers, throughout the entire movie you see the Dora in various places and eventually she reunites with her son. In Night the mother only lasts for the first couple chapters. When Elie and his father reach the first camp he saw his mother and sisters go to a separate location and he ends up never seeing them again. Both the fathers die however they die in very different ways. Elie’s father was taken to a crematorium while Ellie  was asleep, and Giosué’s father was murdered in an alley of the camp on the night the Germans lost the war. One final difference is their liberation. America liberated the camp that Giosué was in, and Russia liberated the last camp that Elie was sent to, therefore setting Elie and Giosué free.

Suspense or Humor
From the very beginning of the movie you could see that this movie was going to be humorous. At the very beginning of the movie Guido and Ferruccio are driving their car down the road and they don't realize that the car's brakes are gone. This causes them to drive right into a parade where there are tons of people who believe that Guido is Mussolini because he raises his hand as if he was hailing Hitler while telling people to move out of the way. One of the most notable pieces of Humor in the movie is Guido constantly falling for Dora, literally falling. He firsts meets her when she falls out of a chicken coop and into a haystack with Guido. They then fall on each other again when Guido tries to escape Amico and crashes right into Dora again. Then when Guido impersonates an inspector he meets Dora yet again and asks her out right there on the spot.

Life IS Beautiful
In the middle of the movie Guido announces his love for Dora and takes her out of a party on a green horse. They then have a child named Giosué and live happily together. While Guido and Giosué get shipped to a concentration camp Dora insists on staying with her family and demands that she be sent on the train as well. Within the concentration camp Guido and Giosué find a PA which Guido uses to tell Dora how much he loves her and exposes himself and almost gets themselves caught, but he did it so his wife doesn't give up hope.

Night Blog

How do Elie's experiences during the Holocaust change him as a person?

Elie definitely goes through tons of changes. Many of them affected his personality, morals, and faith. His physical appearance was also changed because of the poor conditions in the camps. Before the Holocaust Elie is a very religious and innocent child. However, during and after the Holocaust we see Elie become a emotionless man who strives for survival. Wiesel says “Our first act as free men was to throw ourselves onto the provisions. We thought only of that. Not of revenge, not of our families. Nothing but bread”(109) In the beginning of the book Elie is a well fed and normal kid with a love for his family and had no enemies. Now he only cares about filling his starving stomach and his survival.

Beliefs

In the beginning of the book Elie is a very pious boy and does everything he can to learn more about his religion. Wiesel says “We talked like this nearly every evening. We used to stay in the synagogue after all the faithful have left, sitting in the gloom, where a few half-burned candles still gave a flickering light” (3). This is the part when he explains his time with Moshe the Beadle and shows so much interest Ginto his religion. He takes the time and effort to study and gets help from Moshe because he wants to know as much as he can. Then as the book goes on there is a huge change of his perspective on his religion. Wiesel says “But these men here, whom You have betrayed, whom You have allowed to be tortured, butchered, gassed, burned, what do they do? They pray before You! They praise Your name!” (64). Here he realizes that God is silent. He believes that he is just letting all of this happen. Elie is now understanding the negative that God has done.                                                      
             


Morality

Elie’s morales aren't explicitly shown in the book, however it is easy to find them within it. Most of his morals come in while he’s already in the concentration camps with his father. Wiesel says “A terrible thought loomed up in my mind: he had wanted to get rid of his father! He had felt that his father was growing weak, he had believed that the end was near and had sought this separation in order to get rid of the burden, to free himself from an encumbrance which could lessen his own chances of survival” (87). This is when he realizes that the son of Rabbi Eliahou wanted to leave his father to better his chances of survival. That destroys one of his morals to protect his family.

Wiesel, Elie. Night, Elie Wiesel. New York: Spark Publishing, 2014. Print

Butterfly Project

   

"Night In The Ghetto"

Another day has gone for keeps 
Into the bottomless pit of time. 
Again it has wounded a man, held captive 
by his brethren 

After dusk, he longs for bandages, 
For soft hands to shield the eyes 
From all the horrors that stare by day. 
But in the ghetto, darkness, too, is kind 
To weary eyes that all day long 
Have had to watch

 Dawn crawls again along the ghetto streets 
Embracing all who walk this way. 
Only a car like a greeting from a long-gone world 
Gobbles up the dark with fiery eyes 
That sweet darkness that falls upon the soul 
And heal those wounds illuminated by the day...
 Along the streets come light and ranks of people 
Like a long black ribbon, loomed with gold.

1943 Anonymous

Anti-Jewish decrees

What did you learn?

I learned that the discrimination against Jews only increased between 1933 and 1945 during the war. It took so many rights and privileges from them. They took their food, transportation, friends, family, pets, and entertainment. It ruined their lives and changed it so dramatically that people could hardly cope with it.

Why do you think this monument was built?

I think it was built to show that it wasn't only things that were needed for survival such as food and water that was taken away from the Jews. They also took their entertainment which is shown in the memorial with the decree that took their music. Life is so much more than just survival. Living life and having fun is what makes life worth living. So when someone takes that away it takes a toll on people.

What did you notice about the number of laws passed in certain years?

Well in 1933 the number of laws just kept increasing because Hitler had just risen to power in that time. Then in 1934 he slowed down to calm people. He only did this to stop a revolution or rebellion. He didn't do it to make himself look good he only did that for the olympics and only the Olympics. His patter went up and down and up and down and just kept on continuing.

Which restrictions do you think you would have the most trouble dealing with and why?

It's hard to choose which would be worst between losing music and losing pets. I love dogs and I know how to take care of them. The dogs I have are one of my best friends and it would be terrible to lose them and never have any pets. Music is one of my many passions. I love making music. I love the great beats and how it changes how you feel. Getting that taken away would be like losing a part of me.

ELA 2nd Quarter Relfection

Of the books you have read this quarter, which was your favorite? Why?

My favorite book was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It was a very entertaining book to read because of all of the adventure and magic. This was actually the first Harry Potter book I’ve ever read. However, my older sister is a huge fan and always watches every movie so I know the story of each book. This book inspired me to read the other books within the series and even outside of it like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts?

I believe I made my biggest improvement in the IXL’s. In the beginning of the year and we started to do IXL I had trouble finishing them on time and would end up in working lunch. Nowadays, I haven't been in working lunch for IXL in a while and they have gotten a lot easier for me.

What is something you have accomplished since the new year that you are proud of?

I am very proud of the robot that my team has built for a competition tomorrow. It was very tough and we put a lot of effort in it and I think it has payed off and now my team is ready to go to the competition and win. The point of this robot was that it had to throw stars and cubes over a fence so it was tough to get the right kind parts and designs that brought my team to where we are now.

What has been the most challenging part of 2nd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

The most challenging part of 2nd quarter was the Illinois Constitution test. I was very afraid of the it because I want to be able to graduate and I was hearing bad things about it from people who already took it such as my sister. I made flashcards for every question i thought would be on the test and studied every day before school, during school, and after school. I put in a lot of effort and I then passed with 100%.

Book Talk: Black Widow Forever Red

The book I am reading is called Black Widow Forever Red. The genre of this book is Action and Adventure mixed in with some mystery. The main setting of this book is Brooklyn, New York, 8 years after the main character Black Widow saves a little girl from a terrible incident.

The main character, Natasha Romanoff is trained at a very young age to become the world's most lethal assassin and is given the name of Black Widow by the man that trained her. You may recognize this character when she is played by Scarlett Johansson in 2012 Avengers movie. She decides she doesn't want to be used for evil so she joins S.H.I.E.L.D. Which means Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate. Now children in Eastern Europe go missing so Black Widow must find a way to save them with her new ally Ava.

The mood of this book was very ominous. It kept me on the edge of my seat and wondering what happens next. I really enjoy reading this book and I best remember the beginning of the book because it shows you Black Widows way of strategic analysis when under pressure and i think it's really cool and plus the didn't give you Black Widows origin story because they assume you know it already.

I would recommend this book to fans of Marvel Comics because this book captures all of the detail just like a normal comic book. I am very excited to read the other books in the Black Widow series and other books like it.