Final Blog Post: "We'll Always Have Summer" by Jenny Han

     In the book “We’ll Always Have Summer” by Jenny Han, the story about a love between one girl and two boys. Seems like a simple love triangle, But there’s a twist, the two boys are brothers. The main character Isabel has feelings for both brothers, Jeremiah Fisher and Conrad Fisher. As Isabel begins to take bigger and bigger steps into adulthood true feelings come out. Although Isabel agreed to marry Jeremiah she’s still in love with her ex-boyfriend Conrad. One question I focused on as I read this book was, What is Isabel’s coming of age experience?

       In the beginning of the book, Isabel and Jeremiah were truly in love. Isabel would do anything for Jeremiah and vice-versa. For example, “Burrowing my head in his shoulder, He kissed my hair ‘I can’t have my girl skipping meals left and right’” (Page 4). This shows that Jeremiah really cares about Isabel. That love suddenly changed when Isabel found out Jeremiah cheated on her. For example, “…’did you hook up with Lacie Barone during spring break?’...’Belly-‘‘I knew it’” (Page 17). This shows that Jeremiah tried to hide that secret from Isabel.

      In the middle of the book, Conrad and Isabel were at Cousins for spring break. As Isabel got closer and closer to Conrad she realized she still loved him. “Looking up at him, I had this sudden thought. Oh my God. I still love you.” (Page 44). This shows that Isabel still has the same feelings for Conrad as she did before they became exes. At the end of the book, Jeremiah and Isabel got back together even though Isabel loves Conrad. Jeremiah proposed to Isabel and she said yes. On the day of the wedding Jeremiah didn’t show up to the wedding. For example, “…Another thing that didn’t happened that day: Jeremiah and I didn’t get married.” (Page 287) This shows that Jeremiah didn’t really love Isabel like he did in the beginning of the book.

       All of these events led up to the moment where Isabel found true love, in Conrad. A few months after Jeremiah didn’t show to the wedding, Conrad proposed to Isabel. This also shows how adulthood is a serious thing. You have to be careful of what you do as you go into adulthood. Isabel also had some regrets as she came into adulthood, like saying yes to Jeremiah. This book showed that as Isabel was growing into adulthood she faced many challenges, but got through all of them and ended up happy at the end.

Non Fiction Reading Response #2

​        Based on the article "A Womens' Rights Push" by Karen Elliott House, Women in Saudi Arabia are taking jobs and challenging the ban on driving. In Saudi women are not aloud to drive, work, or go to any religious outings. Women are accepted to have a chaperone or they can't go any where. Some women are challenging this ban and are trying their hardest to work and drive. One woman named  Jawharah 35-years-old is working for the first time. Jawharah's husband inspected the store before she could take the job as a saleswoman. Jawharah says " It's nice to get out and work and get paid" Jawharah is a part of a new wave of women who are pushing the boundaries of what woman are allowed to do.

           The author included these details to show how women's lives in Saudi Arabia are. The author adds lots of specific detail about religion to show how women compare to women.The author added lots of information so we can get a better understanding on why women were being mistreated. The author provides all these examples to help explain the article and to help make sense of it.

          The author uses a quote to help convey her message. The authors message is, that inequality between men and women In Saudi Arabia is wrong. The author interviewed Jawharah a women who was challenging the bans against women. The author used the quote to express how women are trying to break free of these rules to feel normal. 

       After reading this article I realized that sexism still goes on around the world. This makes me feel bad for girls in Saudi Arabia because they have to have a chaperone to go anywhere. This also shows me how greatful I should be that I have the freedom to walk around without a chaperone. This was a very interesting article. I liked how this article showed a different side to different culture and religion.

   

Just Peachy

Just Peachy

 Roses are red, violets are blue

But,What about peach what does she do?

Dear PEACH,

The way you float in the sky

Mixed with an assortment of colors

Yellow, Red, Orange.

You’re a burst of color

A bright neon light

Streaming across

MY

New York City skyline

Perfect!

You glow bright and move fluently.

Some people may call you

Pink or Orange

Don’t pay attention to them,

Because you have a unique

Style and personality

You are a combination

Of pink and orange

You shine bright against a summer sunset

And reflect against the midday WAVES

Brushing along the shore

You’re sweet and kind

You’re PEACH

One minute you’re here

The next your there

Your all around

But most people don’t care

Just remember the most important thing,

You will always stand out

No matter how dull or bright

You seem!

Reflection

                    Writing my own poem was a great experience. Writing my own poem took a long process. The first thing I did was to get inspiration; I got my inspiration from a free write prompt. The prompt was to write a poem about a color. The second thing I did was brainstorm on my color. The color I choose was peach because it is my favorite color and has many different meanings. Thirdly I started writing out all my feelings and things that expressed peach. For example, during a warm summer evening as the sun sets there is a pretty peach color along the horizon. Lastly, I revised my poem and added some visuals to give an even better example of imagery.

              

             During this unit I have learned the fundamentals of writing poems. My understanding of poetry has changed by me being able to express more through a poem. My experience with poetry has changed, I have progressed in writing poetry. One memorable discussion about poetry was when we worked in a group and performed our poems. This was memorable because it made me see poetry in a different way. It also made me better understand poems. Another memorable lesson was the literary devices lesson because it helped with understanding poems. Poems have literary devices but it's up to the reader to figure them out and this help me focus on the core of poems. 

             

             

“Photograph of the Girl” Poetry Reading Response

“Photograph of the Girl” Poetry Reading Response

     By: Joselyn Rodriguez 808                                       

            In the poem “Photograph of the Girl” by Sharon Olds, the poet uses: allusions and imagery to show the pain and hope for the girl. In the beginning of the poem the poet shows sadness and sympathy. Towards the middle of the poem the poet represents pain in an interesting way. At the end of the poem the poet shows hope for the girl.

           

             In the beginning of the poem “Photograph of the Girl” I felt sad and sympathetic for the girl. Sharon Olds the poet adds some lines into the poem that show sadness or misery. For example: “… In the drought of 1921, stunned, eyes closed mouth open, raw hot wind blowing sand in her face.” This quotation sets the mood for the poem. This quotation goes along with the idea of sadness and sorrow because the girl has no source of water which can’t help her stay healthy.

           

               The poet used two main literary devices to help support the poem, one of them was imagery. In this poem the author used imagery to show the pain and hardship of the girl. For example, “Hunger and puberty are taking her together. She leans on a sack, layers of clothes fluttering in the heat…” This quotation gives an image of pain because as her body grows starvation is taking a toll over her body. This also shows pain for the readers because this girl could be dying and no one is really there that can help her.

             

                 The poet used two main literary devices for the poem; the second one was allusion. The poet used allusion to show the hope this girl has during her down side of life. For example, “Deep in her body the ovaries let out her first eggs, golden as drops of rain.” This quotation refers to a period females have. This gives hope to the readers by showing the girl may be able to provide life for another person.

             

                 Reading this poem reminds readers about their own personal pain and sadness. Many people feel pain and sadness and believe that things can only get worse. While, hope can come and save the day and help people get through all their pain and struggles. This relates to the poem because the girl experienced lots of pain and suffer that when she felt hope she knew things might be alright.

Poetry Writing

Just Peachy!

The way you float in the sky

Mixed with an assortment of colors

Yellow, Red, Orange.

You’re a burst of color

A bright neon light

Streaming across

MY

New York City skyline

Perfect!

You glow bright and move fluently.

Some people may call you

Pink or Orange

Don’t pay attention to them,

Because you have a unique

Style and personality

You’re sweet and kind

You’re JUST PEACHY!

Blankets By: Craig Thompson

        As I was reading the graphic novel Blankets by Craig Thompson I focused on one critical thinking question "Is the story fair? Why/why not?" The main character Craig and his brother Phil are mistreated by their family and other people. Craig and Phil were mistreated by their father. At school Craig gets beat up and bullied for defending his brother Phil.
       
         Craig and Phil are mistreated by their family. Craig and Phil have to share a bed and fight a lot about little things, If Craig and Phil fought they're dad would separate them. For example, "The cubby hole was the forgotten room of our house. Hidden behind the removable wood paneling in the playroom.." (Thompson 15). Craig was mistreated by other classmates and kids in school. For example, "Your little brother with his messy hair and stupid voice must be retarded!" (Thompson 21).
             
         As I was read this graphic novel Blankets by Craig Thompson one critical thinking question stood out the most, "Is the story fair? Why/why not?". The main character Craig and his brother Phil are being neglected by their family and bullied by others. Craig and Phil were neglected by their father. At school Craig gets beat up for defending his brother Phil from older kids.
   
   

Non-fiction Reading Response

               ​Based on the article ​Rethinking Juvenille Justice​ by John Schwartz "After years of moving in the opposite direction, many states are now making it harder to try teen offenders in the adult justice system." In Denver, 2008 seventeen year old James Stewart got into a car accident while driving drunk. When James Stewart was drunk driving he slammed into another car head on and killed the driver. James was arrested and placed under Juvenille offenders, but was charged as an adult. He was taken to the county jail, as he was left alone he took his own life by tightening a bed sheet around is neck.

         The author included these details so we understand the specific of how charging a teenager with an adult sentence can affect many things. This is a very sad and disturbing topic because teen suicied is not okay. This makes me wonder how many teens get sentenced to serious adult charges. I feel very sad for the victims family because if James Stewart wasn't charged with an adult sentence he would probably still alive. The author wants us to feel sad and sympathetic for James Stewart because of his death at such a young age.

        The author uses specific information like dates and quotes from important people to convey his message. I think the author could've used the Stewart family's perspective on the topic to explain more.  The author uses the officials in his article which helps broaden the article. For example, Marsha Levick of the juvinile law center in philidelphia said, " What we are seeing is a very stark and important rethinking of how we treat juvenile criminal offenders."

       After reading this article I realized that court orders are very firm and serious with their decisions. This article does not change my thinking about the unfair charges of teenage crimes. This article is serious because teen suicied is a very serious matter. Adult charges on teens can affect teen families and teens.

Revised blog post: CRANK

How does this book help you think about social issues you care about or causes you are committed to?

          In the book Crank by Ellen Hopkins the social issue is drug addiction. The main character Kristina aka Bree was persuaded by her boyfriend to try crack for the first time. Then Kristina began to use crack a tad bit too much. She then began to do things that she might regret later. After Kristina's first time doing crack everything went downhill.
               Adam (Kristina's boyfriend) persuaded Kristina into trying crack for the the first time. After Kristina meet Adam she began to do drugs. She smoke cigarettes and even smoked some weed. After using crack for the first time it affected Kristina real badly. For example, "Fire! Your nose ignites, flames kerosene (and, some say, Drano) laced with ephedrine you want to cry. Powdered demons bite through cartilage and sinuses,take dead aim at your brain, jump inside want to scream." (Hopkins 90). This shows that Kristina's body is not used to the drug so, Kristina is going through all this pain. This also shows that drugs take a toll on your body after you start to use it.
             Since Kristina did crack for the first time she began to use it a lot. After Kristina, Adam, Kristina's dad, and his girlfriend finished doing crack together Kristina's dads girlfriend jumped off their balcony. "...She's hurt real bad. Who? Lince. What? Fell (or jumped) off the balcony. When? Yesterday. Where? Right outside. I didn't dare ask why. Instead, I let him cry." (Hopkins 136). This shows that drugs can affect your mental state of mind and make you do crazy things. This also shows that doing drugs can affect others not just one person.
                After doing crack for the first time Kristina's life went downhill. Kristina was very high and  she left her house, and almost got raped by a group of boys. She started doing more and more drugs like smoking weed and smoking cigarettes. Kristina even began to drink alcohol.  For example, "...Ever done a three-fer? You gonna love it, baby... Covered my mouth, rough, held my arms, strong, ripped my clothes, vicious... No! I screamed into dirty flesh. Not this way! Buttons burst, zippers opened, I closed my eyes, braced for pain." (Hopkins 114-115). This show that when you have drugs in your systems there is no telling what might happen. This also shows that you should not do drugs what so ever because they can effect your life drastically.
           

C.T.Q -Crank

My critical thinking question was How does this book help you think about social issues you care about or causes you are committed to? 

            In the book Crank by Ellen Hopkins the social issue is drug use and drug addiction. The main character Kristina AKA Bree was persuaded by her boyfriend to try crack for the first time. She began to enjoy crack a little bit too much, she began to do things that later she might regret. After Kristina’s first time doing crack everything went downhill.          

The main character Kristina AKA Bree was persuaded by her boyfriend Adam to try crack. Kristina started doing drugs after she meet Adam, She began to smoke cigarettes and smoke weed. After inhaling crack for the first time it hit Kristina really hard. For example, “Fire! Your nose ignites, flames kerosene (and, some say, Drano) laced with ephedrine you want to cry. Powdered demons bite through cartilage and sinuses, take dead aim at your brain, jump inside want to scream.” (Hopkins 90)

            After Kristina did crack she enjoyed it a bit too much. She did a round of crack with her dad, her boyfriend, and her dad’s girlfriend.  Everyone was enjoying themselves. After everyone was finished Kristina’s dad’s girlfriend jumped of their balcony. For example, “… She’s hurt real bad. Who? Lince. What? Fell (or jumped) off the balcony. When? Yesterday. Where? Right outside. I didn’t dare ask why. Instead, I let him cry.” (Hopkins 136)

              After Kristina’s first time doing crack everything went downhill. After the first time, Kristina was so high that she left her house and almost got raped by a group of boys. She smoked some weed and made out with her “boyfriend”. Then Kristina began to drink alcohol. For example,”… Ever done a three-fer? You gonna love it, baby…Covered my mouth, rough, held my arms, strong, ripped my clothes, vicious… No! I screamed into dirty flesh. Not this way! Buttons burst, zippers opened, I closed my eyes, braced for pain.” (Hopkins 114-115)    

Crank by Ellen Hopkins-Critical thinking question

My critical thinking question was what really hard things are happening in this text? Are these things happening in the world now? Where?

            In the book Crank by Ellen Hopkins hard things are happening to the main character. The one major thing that has been hard on the main character Kristina AKA Bree is Drug addiction.  This all accrued when Kristina was visiting her dad in Albuquerque. When she was visiting her dad Kristina meet a boy and she instantly fell in love with him. The boy was sort of a bad influence but Kristina still wanted to date him.

            After Kristina meets Adam she wanted to get to know him better. They started dating after a while and became very close. One day when Kristina was with Adam he persuaded her into doing drugs. She started of by smoking a cigarette, then she smoked weed, and lastly she did crack. For example, “It will be like heaven. Used the blade to chop the chunks fine, draw two crooked lines. Make you want to fly all night. He held the mirror to my face, handed me a sawed-off straw, Make you want to make love to me.” (Hopkins 87)

            As soon as Kristina inhaled the crack it hit her hard: for example, “Fire! Your nose ignites, flames kerosene (and, some say, Drano) laced with ephedrine you want to cry. Powdered demons bite through cartilage and sinuses, take dead aim at your brain, jump inside want to scream.” (Hopkins 90) This shows that Kristina was feeling peer pressure. After that moment Kristina became very addicted to Crack. She began to do more and more and more. The monster inside her came out!

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Monday Muses

1.     What is your favorite picture book? Why? What are your specific memories of it? Why is it relevant to your life today? If you cannot think of a specific book, write about a children's movie. Or write about both.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! By Mo Willems

     

                               My favorite picture book is Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! By Mo Willems. One of my fondest memories of this book was in kindergarten. I t was time for the class to vote on our read aloud book and every one voted for this book. When my teacher Ms.Denizard started to read the book I really paid attention and enjoyed. This book is still relevant to me now because my mom is a Pre-Kindergarten teacher and they have this book as one of the class room favorites. I still enjoy this book now. Sometimes when I get a chance to sit down in my mom’s classroom I go straight for that book.

Argument Essay 1st Draft

          Should particular text be removed and banned from our classroom or school library? The appropriate audience for the book “Pretty Little Liars” by Sara Shepard is 7^th, 8^th and older grades because the content is more mature. In the book, “Pretty Little Liars” by Sara Shepard some things may seem objectionable because of inappropriate content and bad influences. In the article “Darkness Too Visible” by Meghan Cox Gurdon some reading material can be very graphic and inappropriate for young children. In both of my sources they show that books that have strong material should be read but only by older kids.

           . In the book, “Pretty Little Liars” by Sara Shepard some things may seem objectionable because of inappropriate content and bad influences. One example is peer-pressure on page 12, “Ali asked, ’Emily you want to do it right?’ ‘Um…Emily’s voice quivered, well…’” Another example would be having a sexual relationship with an older boy on page 186, “Spencer grabbed fistfuls of his worn T-shirt in her hand and pulled it over his head… They rolled over and now Spencer was on top of him (Her sister’s boyfriend).” In addition on page 70 underage drinking occurred, “Emily tilted her head and stared at the old iron railroad bridge above them. Trains didn’t use the bridge anymore, so now it was a place for kids to go and get drunk without their parents knowing.”

               In the article “Darkness Too Visible” by Meghan Cox Gurdon some reading material can be very graphic and inappropriate for young children. One example would be on page 2 from the book “Rage” by Jackie Morse Kessler, “’She had sliced her arm into ribbons, but the badness remained, staining her insides like cancer. She had gouged her belly until it was a mess of meat and blood, but she still couldn’t breathe.’” Another example on page 2 from the book “The Marbury Lens” by Andrew Smith, “ He finds himself facing a wall of horrors,’ covered with impaled heads and other dripping, black-rot body parts: hands, hearts, feet, ears, penises. Where the f*** was this?’” In addition on page 2 from the book “Go Ask Alice” by Robin S. Wagner, “A girl’s spiral into drug addiction, rape, prostitution and a fatal overdose.”

               In both of my sources they show that books have strong material and should be read only by older kids, but some parents believe this kind of stuff is too inappropriate. One example in the book “Pretty Little Liars” on page 65-66, “Aria’s Mouth instantly went dry. Standing in front of the class was Ezra from the bar… Standing at the blackboard and writing... Mr. Fitz, AP English. He stared at her, his face draining of color, ’Holy Shit’” Another Example In the article on page 4 from the book “Shine” by Lauren Myracle, “A 16-year-old girl and once a close friend of the victim, is herself yet to recover from s sexual assault in eighth grade; assorted locals, meanwhile, reveal themselves to be in the grip of homophobia, booze and crystal meth.”  In addition in the book “Pretty Little Liars” on page 186, “Hanna took the drink out of Sean’s hands and grabbed his sweet square jaw and started to kiss him.” 

           Should particular text be removed and banned from our classroom or school library? The appropriate audience for the book “Pretty Little Liars” by Sara Shepard is 7th, 8th and older grades because the content is more mature. In the book, “Pretty Little Liars” by Sara Shepard there are some parts that have inappropriate content and bad influences. In the article “Darkness Too Visible” by Meghan Cox Gurdon books can be very inappropriate or graphic for young children. In both of my sources they show books that have strong material that should be read only by older kids.

Childhood Memory

My New Nickname –Jossy Bossy

Warm sunny day

Kindergarten

Star student of the week!

All eyes on me
 Don’t know what to say or do

Just say hi I think

 Say a little about yourself anything something

 All I say is !HI EVERYONE, MY NAME IS JOSELYN RODRIGUEZ!

And sat down

Walk around the classroom checking everyone’s drawings of me
Everyone's thoughts

Correct someone’s major flaw 

They write down BOSSY sometimes

'Oh' how great now I’m the bossy kid!

Walk around  more

Then I correct some other  kids work

Start belting out orders on what everyone should write down and how they should draw me

Get caught being "bossy of coarse"

Then it hits me 
My new nickname is...

JOSSY BOSSY

Perfect now everyone knows who I am

Little miss Jossy Bossy!