I Survived: The Destruction of Pompeii, A.D. 79 (Summer Reading Blog #2)

Sonny S.

I Survived: The Destruction of Pompeii, A.D. 79

Prompt: What surprises you in this story? Explain why.

 

     The thing that surprises me the most was that they weren't aware that the volcano Vesuvius was active. This surprises me because there are definate signs that are shown when a volcano is active, and scientists today study those signs for a better understanding of why these events occur. In the story, it does seem like people didn't really know what a volcano was. They said thing like. "The world is ending!", and, "The gods are punishing us!". This is very odd to me.

 

     Did people back in the day not know what a volcano was. By those quotes I used from the book in the last paragraph, they seem like they don't understantd what a volcano is. This is odd to me because we know what these signs are, and what is happening. This shows the difference between the olden times, and today's modern world.

 

     There were definatley signs, and one of them is rumbling. Why did the civilians living by the volcano ignore the rumbling coming from the mountain? I have no idea why, but rumbing is one of the most obvious signs that a volcano gives. These question make me want to research more. Today... scientists preserve the area to do research there, and record the data... as it's known, Mt. Vesuvius was by far the worst eruption in history ever recorded... and one of the most fascinating.

I Surived: The Destruction of Pompeii, A.D. 79 (Summer Reading Blog #1)

Sonny S.

I Survived: The Destruction of Pompeii, A.D. 79

Prompt: Why did you choose this to read? Give at least 3 reasons why.

 



     The reason why I chose this book was because I was really interested in the destruction of Pompeii because of the aftermath. People were changed into statue like thing because of this volcano (Vesuvius). This was very interesting to me because these days when a volcano explodes, people are normally aware, and eventually start to flee.

 

     Another reason why I chose to read this book was because I was curious to why people were unaware that this volcano was active. Now, I know that they didn't have the technology that we have in todays era, but still... shouldn't they've known that there was a giant volcano next to them. Volcano's do give signs when they're active. Were they unaware of these signs?

 

     The final reason why I chose to read this book was because I was curious to see if there were any survivors. I also like the I Survived franchise, and how they put together the storyline. So I was thinking that they would probably have an ending where the main characters were escaping and said something like, "Their weren't many survivors after the volcano erupted, but at least there were some."

End of the Year Reflection Blog

Sonny S.
5/18/15
End of Year Reflection Blog

Prompts:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     There have been many important things that I've learned this year. One of which was annotating. This is a very important life skill that I will need. Although I knew how to annotate a little already, this class really helped me develop some more advanced annotating skills, along with some more critical thinking skills. I think those were the most important parts that I've learned this year.

     Something that I would remember for the rest of my life in Mrs. Larson's class would be the parties. Mrs. Larson had good parties and that was the best part of the year. I mean, I really wouldn't say that homework was the best part of the year, but it really was that first party. All the memories with my friends was really good.

     One time... Bianey gave me brownies, that was one of the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me in the school year. Normally we just experienced a learning experience, and we were always concentrated, so I really can't say that anyone has done anything more nice for me other than being very kind in general.

     I taught the new classmates to the accelerated class how to do everything, and to catch up. People really normally don't talk because everyone is so concentrated. This is a really good class, that once you're in, you want to stay in.

     I improved in so much this year, that I can't even list all the things in this very tiny paragraph. But isn't that a good thing how I learned so much. I mean, when I say it's a serious class... it really is a serious class.

     The most challenging part of the year was really everything. I mean not everything was hard... I just took everything as a challenge. I normally do better like that anyway. I can really get really really really competitive.

     My favorite book this year was A dog's Life. This was a really good book because of the detail in the book. I did this one of my blogs... you should read it.

Something that Symbolizes Me

Sonny S.

5/15/15

Something that Symbolizes Me

     Something that symbolizes me would be baseball. Baseball is a huge part of my life. It keeps me athletic, keeps me eating healthy, and brings me outside. Baseball also reminds me of a quote that my life revolves around. "You try you fail, you try you fail. The only true failure is when you stop trying... try again."
     People say that music can help block out many things, and can set you free... no stress at all. Well, baseball is my music. Baseball is everything to me, I would still be playing if something were to happen to me. If I broke an arm, or even lost an arm... I would still find a way to play. I will become the best that I can with baseball. That bat, and that ball, and that glove that you see in the photo above, you are looking into my life. That grass, the dirt in the background, everything... everything you see in that photo... you see a huge chunk of my life.

I commented on the following blogs:

Diana A.

Rebecca T.

Of Mice and Men: The Movie (5/12/15)

Sonny Soto
5/12/15
Of Mice and Men: The Movie

Spoiler Alert!
This could spoil the end of Of Mice and Men (book and movie) if you didn't already watch or read it.

   Section III
Although the plot has the same ending in both the book and the movie, the actual ending moments of each piece are different. The movie ends with a flashback; the book ends with dialogue.

     In the movie, there is a flashback. The flashback is George and Lennie finishing their work for the day, and walking off into the sunset. This means to me that maybe, they got the money and their going to go achieve their dream. George and Lennie always had a dream together, which was buying a little ranch. They looked happy, and they seemed like they were finishing their work. This could've been an imagination too. A flashback of the future, or just an imagination, if he chose the other choice.

     This ending may have made the reader in one of those moods like, "They look very happy together, and they accomplished their goals, although the time were indeed rough." Personally, this left me in one of those moods like, that was them. They could've did that, they are extremely happy. This may have made some people tear up because it was a very powerful ending. I think that it was powerful, although I didn't tear up. Very powerful ending... I personally rate the movie and book 10/10.

      
  

AoW Impressions (5/05/15)

Sonny S.
5/05/15
AoW Impressions

World News Impressions

     Today, I learned about many things that have been happening around the world recently. Some of the things that have been happening would be the Baltimore Riots in the U.S., and the Nepal Earthquake in Nepal. Those are the topics that popped up the most during the gallery walk that we did today.

     In Baltimore, there was a man arrested, who later died in the back of a cop car when his neck snapped. May civilians say that cops are to blame, and are starting to fight against the authorities in Baltimore. Civilians say that cops are really bad people, and shouldn't be the people with guns and handcuffs.

     I think that people shouldn't be reacting like this because, it could have been suicide. There is no evidence on what had happened. The person probably did something bad in the firs place, there is a reason why he got arrested, maybe he killed someone, got caught, and decided he doesn't want to live in jail. There is no reason why people should be rioting with no evidence of what that person did.

     The Nepal Earthquake was pretty serious too. With 7.8 magnitude, and over 7,500 people dying. This was not a good scene. People started throwing bodies into rivers because they were literally surrounded by bodies. There are six-teen different countries that are chipping in to help with aid, and that are sending workers to help trapped.

     I think the Nepal Earthquake is pretty depressing. There was a story of how someone's daughter went to go get a drink of water, and a roof ends up on her head! Luckily she survived, and many others have survived, but there were 7,500 deaths. I am happy though because, that these people are receiving aid from other countries, and it's not just one. Six-teen countries helping one country recover is just amazing. Seeing all of these kind people being generous and lending one country in current need aid and workers.

Dream Poem (5/04/15)

Sonny S.

5/04/15

Dream Poem

     Dreams can influence people to do things. Dreams can make people do or choose certain things, based on what the person's dream is. People can choose to get an education and job immediately, or drop out of school and take steps for an athletic career.

     Perseverance is something that people have when they have dreams. They keep on pushing through, they want to live out their dream. They want to get that far because it wouldn't have to be a dream anymore, it can be reality. Then this can be something that a person lives out, and can look back and say, "I made all the right choices." This can cause people to be really proud of themselves.

     When people fail their dream, they can feel depressed, and they won't try hard to accomplish that dream again, or they just won't try again. Dream can cause different levels of their self-esteem. A low self-esteem can cause attitudes, but a high self-esteem can cause people to keep their head up, and persuade others to try harder, because it worked for them.

OMAM Conflicts (4/27/15) SPOILER ALERT

Sonny S.

April 27, 2015

Of Mice and Men Conflicts

Spoiler Alert!

Spoils if you haven't read page(s) 62-63

     A conflict in the story is when Curley picks on Lennie. Curley thinks he is the big tough man, and hates big guys for some reason. So when Curley sees Lennie in his own little world, Curley points all the attention onto Lennie. Curley picks on him, and goes at him. Once Curley starts a fight with Lennie, George yells at Lennie, to fight back. Despite Lennie not wanting to beat Curley, he had to defend himself, and George also said to (he always listens to George). The reason why Curley picked on Lennie, was because he was looking for his wife, and didn't know where she was... and just seen Lennie in his own, little, vulnerable world.

Spoils if you haven't read page(s) 91

     Another conflict in the story is when Lennie talks with Curley's wife. This may not seem like a big idea yet, but their conversation sparked something to happen. Lennie was discussing on how he likes soft things. Curley's wife said that her hair is soft, and she put Lennie's hand on her head. Then Lennie started pulling, Curley's wife didn't like this because she didn't want her hair messed up. Then Curley's wife started to yell, and Lennie already did one bad thing, he didn't want to do another... so he stopped her from screaming by covering her mouth and nose. While Curley's wife was struggling, Lennie moved her, and snaps her neck.

    

   

   

 

     

OMAM (4/21/15)

Of Mice and Men

Book by: John Steinbck

Blog by: Sonny S.

4.21.15

Pages read: 37
Prompt:
What is the atmosphere of the bunkhouse? And why might Curly's wife not have a name?

     In the story, "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, there are two men trying to use their perseverance and get through the hard times around the time period of the Great Depression and Dust Bowls. There are these two men who are migrant workers. Migrant workers are people who go from place to place looking for jobs. Most of the time, the jobs the migrant workers get are some sort of farming job, but that's only most of the time.

     Two men named George Milton and Lennie Small go on an adventure looking for a job. George is normally the person to take charge. George kinda like the boss of Lennie. Lennie on the other hand, is useful for other things. He's a big man, buffer than his last name, but he has a mental-illness that makes him lose track of things.

    George normally tells Lennie what to do, and on the part of the book I'm on now, George also speaks for Lennie. At the beginning of the book, George and Lennie walked 10 miles south of Soledad to reach an area where they can work and gain some money. They meet the boss, and many other people along the way. These men try to get through the hard times together.

     The atmosphere of the bunkhouse is a little bit more negative. Lennie also wants to leave because he doesn't like it there at the bunkhouse. Everyone is has a negative attitude. The person who seems to be the rudest in the book so far would have to be Curley. He is describes as a "short fighter" because he is a short man and always wants to start a fight. He also always wins the fight because the Boss of the ranch is his father. So technically, Curley owns the ranch, he is the boss of everyone else. He has special privileges, he is a higher rank than everyone else. George and Lennie, already dislike him, meaning they dislike the ranch. On page 33, George says,  "...if we can get jus' a few dollars... go up the American River and pan gold."

     I think Curly's wife doesn't have a name because it could be a sig of disrespect. Maybe she doesn't want to be known as someone in case something goes wrong. She just want to be a lady. She wants to be a lady that only people can describe, but no one will ever know who she is. She can also flee if something goes wrong, she doesn't have any form of identification, so no one can know of her if something goes really wrong, she can just make a name too, change her identity and leave.

Battle of the Books

Battle of the Books

4/15/15

Books read: 3

     Battle of the books is a opportunity for trivia. People form teams, and read to become the team that know the book the best. There are a certain amount of books for your team and you to read. Your job is to remember what happens in those books, and eventually answer questions about the books you read. There can only be a maximum of five people on your team, meaning that everyone has to read more than one book if you wanted to split up the books evenly.

     Today is the 15th of April. This is the day of the trivia. I read books called, Zebra Forest, A Dog's Life (An autobiography of a Stray), and Trouble. My job was to remember the main parts of the book, and battle against my peers until the challenge is over. Whoever has the most points, wins. There were two rounds, and there is a possibility of scoring 30 points for each round. If you were to do the simple math, that would be a total of 60 possible points.

     The first question for our team was about a book that we didn't have much knowledge about. It was mostly my responsibility to read and understand it... but I didn't get to read the entire thing because I was taking my time or reading a different book. The plus side though, was we got one point because I knew the author (1 point for author and 2 points for answering the asked question correctly). We scored a perfect score for the rest of the round. We ended up with 28 points for the first round.

     The second round was harder for us because we got the more, difficult/advanced questions, but we still pulled through. We ended up tying for second place... until we settled it with a sudden death. It was a very nerve-racking moment. If you were to count up all the points we had, it was 51 (58 if you were to count the sudden death). We took first place! We were so happy, and we will soon be going to the next part of the battle.

"The Mighty Beetah" Nonsense Poem

"The Might Beetah"

By: Sonny S.

Nonsense Poem

Poetry Reflections

Poetry Reflections

By: Sonny S.

    In the month or so, my class and I have been focusing on poetry. This was a unit we did in our Literature/Language Arts class. It was a really fun unit, and I have personally learned many things about poetry. I actually didn't know that there were so many different types of poetry, until we focused on this unit.

     In the poetry unit, we've read different types of poems and how they can affect people. Personally, poetry is really not my thing, but that's okay because poetry is not everyone's thing. It's really just a fun thing to learn. I've also learned that people don't really just, come up with these ideas to write a poem. They write poems because maybe they need to let it out. It's just a matter of experiences.

     I've actually really enjoyed this poetry unit, and I thought it was really fun to see and hear all this different poems, and learn all these other genres of poems. I will be honest, but I think that poetry was a good part of the year. I may not enjoy it as much as other people enjoy it, but I certainly enjoyed it. It was a good way to teach us on how experiences can affect peoples daily lives.

My past blogs involving poems:
- Bio Poem
- Where I'm From Poem
- Spine Poem
- Two Voice Poem
- Follow Poem

Follow Poem

"Never-Ending Nightmares"

By: Sonny S.

     I think this poem to me symbolizes a nightmares. I think this because it felt like the darkness was consuming the women. "Frightening dreams... nightmares... daylight... not welcome." I honestly tried to make the poem as suspenseful as possible. And that's what I did.

Two Voice Poem (3/17/15)

Two Voice Poem

By: Sonny S.

Pages read: 94

3/17/15

Squirrel                                                              BOTH                                                                  Bone

I've been hunting for days,                                                                                    
trying to make a shelter

I've been stolen from home, and

can't find a way back

We fight for each-other

I'm lost in this open world

I'm trapped in this closed world

It's hard in the outside

I need a challenge on the inside

We're lost in the world

There are people here,

I was told to stay away

I was taught how to hunt,

and now I have to use it

Kidnapped and wounded

It's tough out here, not knowing

where to go

The stairs are my challenge,

but escaping is my destiny

We need to know where to go

Claustrophobic inside this place,

it feels like I can't breathe

There's too much space for me to

see

We need moderate, cant's have

too much, nor too little

They took my brother while I was

there

I hope my sister is alright,

I need to find her, need to fight

We worked together,

now apart

We must keep going, accept

our losses

I need to find him, I can't accept it

We are physically moving,

but not mentally

In the darkness, fear awaits

I can not do this, it's not my fate

But we need to just have as much faith

Hope

We keep moving

My life depends on my senses,

on my reflexes, on my skills

I get everything I need, empty and filled

I need a friend by my side

I need to run and just go hide

I have the courage and

determination

I can't find where my strength is

We keep moving forth

We try

We fail

We fly

We drown

We jump

We fall

We run

We walk

We live

We die

And it all comes back to us

All depends on us

Creates us

Creates out future

We try and fail, the only true

failure is when we stop trying...

try again 

  

Spine Poem

"Faith is Key"

By: Sonny S.

     This poem to me means that all people have control, are ancient people, we're artifacts. Sometime we go down and "out of control," but you just need "...a little faith... hope." Everyone can just be who they are. That's what I think of when I see this, be yourself.

Where I'm from Poem

3rd Quarter Reflections

Third Quarter Reflections

By: Sonny

     In the third quarter, I have done many things. Like... the big tests and everything like that. One of the big test is the test like the constitution. There were also other tests like PARCC and other smaller test. I mean it was a good quarter overall. I have been learning more and more throughout the way. Which I'm assuming that that is a good thing.

     I've learned many things that involved astronomy, which is probably the thing I like the most. I also like the thing we are doing in Social Studies. We are learning about the Presidents and how the Constitution is used today. This is actually a very interesting project. We are also doing a presentation on how we can change the Constitution.

     In my Lit./Language Arts class we have been doing the routine plan. The AoW's (Article of the Week) and the blogs. Blogs like this one here. We've also been doing poems. I find that poems are actually kind of interesting. These poem that we're doing are fun and other's can enjoy them. Which I can enjoy that.

Poetry - Bio Poem (3/11/15)

Bio Poem

"A Dog's Life"

3/11/15

Line 1:                                                                Squirrel

Line 2:                                   Determined, Thriving, Intelligent, Young

Line 3:                                                  A character in Ann's story

Line 4:                                 Lover of Bone, Mother, the Shed, and Matthias

Line 5:                                  Who notices Life, Death, Sorrow, and Danger

Line 6:                                     Who feels pain, love, passion, and sorrow

Line 7:                    Who learns how to survive in the wilderness, and how to trust others

Line 8 (optional):

Line 9:        Who used to think that they would stay in the shed forever, but now know he won't 

Line 10:                                             Major character in A Dog's Life

Line 11:                                            A book that will warm your heart

"Just a Dream"

"Just a Dream"
by: Sonny
Inspired by "Road not Taken"

“Just a Dream”

That day I was tired, and I went to sleep:

The next day, I realized I had to make a choice

Stay in bed, or leave my warm, comfortable bed

I was disappointed when I made my decision

but I knew it was the right choice

I decided to get out of bed, because of school

Then, I got ready for school,

slid down the stairs on a mattress,

And left my warm and safe home,

my protection, from the open world

I was running from the thoughts that created regret,

I wanted to turn around and go back,

but I already made my decision,

And I realize now, I regret it

I had to live with it

I was expecting to be there on time,

but I wasn’t too sure

It felt like I was running in circles

I couldn’t stop because I would fall into a void,

Then I realized… that choice made all the difference

A Dog's Life (2/26/15)

A Dog's Life

Book By: Ann M. Martin

By: Sonny S.

February 26th, 2015

Pages Read: 10

Prompt:

 Is what you are reading believable? Why or why not?

     What I'm reading is not believable. The reason for that is because there are many kind of animals and insects inside a house. This house is called, "the Merrions House." The animals and insects call the house that. Now, you may be thinking, animals and insects can call a house a certain name, or a last name. I guess so, this is one of the reasons why I think this book is not realistic. 

     If this book was realistic, it would contain items like someone else's perspective. Maybe a human would be a good perspective to look into. Like the Merrion, they own a house, they are involved with the story, and they don't know about the hidden world inside of their house. The book can possibly could be like a mystery.

     Another thing is that there is some type of personification on the cover of the book. They give a dog human like qualities. On the cover of the book, it says "the autobiography of a stray." First off, dogs can't right, and if they're talking about a human stray, people don't call them "stray." Also, the book's title is "A Dog's Life" and has a picture of a dog.

E-Pals Reflection

E-Pals Reflection

By: Sonny S.

    In my opinion, this global collaboration is a excellent idea. This can easily teach you global material from around the world, from other peoples perspective. What I mean by global material is things like worldwide news. Anyways, I think talking to people is a good idea, it can get you discussing all kinds of things, like comparing and contrasting. People use comparing and contrasting in everyday language. I also use similes and metaphors a lot in everyday language. Using this language can help you with improving knowledge in literature studies and language arts! So, you are basically in a win win situation, with the fun idea of talking, and the great expansion of your knowledge!My level of global awareness was almost little to nothing. Now that I've spoke with my new friends from across the world, I know much more. I didn't really know that much about the world, and I have done AoW's in my class before, but they don't teach me about the little things, but seeing videos from Sweden and seeing how they setup schools is a lot different than from where I live.

     In my opinion, this global calibration is a excellent idea. This can easily teach you global material from around the world, from other peoples perspective. Also, talking to people is a good idea, it can get you discussing all kinds of things, like comparing and contrasting. People use comparing and contrasting in everyday language. I also use similes and metaphors a lot in everyday language. Using this language can help you with improving knowledge in literature studies and language arts! So, you are basically in a win win situation, with the fun idea of talking, and the great expansion of your knowledge!

I Survived (2/12/15)

"I Survived: The Great Chicago Fire, 1871"

By: Lauren Tarshis

Blog By: Sonny S.

Prompt: Are the characters realistic (do they seem like they could be read people)? Why

or why not?

Pages read: 1-10

     Oscar Starling sounds like a real character. The reason why I think he seems like a real character, is because he has something called fear. Everyone has fear but some people don't show it. This is the story of how a gigantic fire in Chicago started, and how a realistic but fictional character named Oscar Starling got into the middle of it, and how he's going to get out of it.

     In the story, the fire originally started by a single fire, but because of the strong winds that day, sparks got caught up in the wind and spread to other buildings. This caused a chain reaction, causing over half of the city to be burnt down from a single building fire. This fire was feared by many people, but no one really knows what caused it.

     Now, Oscar Starling needs to find away to escape this fire! Which is very realistic. If you could just fly out of a metal box, that is not realistic, but this character runs, he runs away. He strategizes to find safety. This is all realistic, fear, strategy, and running. Everyone in real life, has these qualities. If this character can relate to real life, this is considered realistic. Now, anyone can relate, but it comes down to the qualities of the character, and the personality of the character. So far in this story, this character seems very realistic.

Book Talk (2/02/15)

Book Talk

By: Sonny

Book: Zebra Forest

Book By: Adina Rishe Gewirtz

     Transcript:
     Hello, my name is Sonny and I will be telling you about the book, "Zebra Forest". The genre of the book is realistic fiction. This book is by Adina Rishe Gewirtz. In my opinion, this book is very good, and I think that you guys should read it.

     In the town of Sunshine, Annie tells her story of events that happen in Sunshine. Annie lives with her little brother Rew, and you guardian, who is her Grandma. Annie and Rew call her Gran. Annie is the older one, but she is not as smart as Rew. Gran on the other hand, is very silent. This story will bring your mood up and down. There are very good parts of the book, and very tense parts of the book.

    As the three are enjoying their happy, there is suddenly a break-out at Enderfield prison. The three hear about it and start panicking. Anything can happen when there is a prison break. What if they don't make it through? What can happen? The answer is... anything.

   This book is honestly a great book so far, and I think that a lot of people should check it out because it is very interesting and it goes into great detail at one point in the story. The book also bring out the characters and who they really are.

I commented on Joey's, Lillian's, and Mia's blog.

     

Gallery Walk (1/30/15)

"World News"

1/30/15

Blog by: Sonny S.

     In between Syria and Iraq, a terrorist group by the name of ISIS has taken two Japanese hostages. One of the hostages is a journalist, and the other is a pilot. ISIS has killed one of the two and is demanding $200 million by January 30th, 2015. ISIS also wants a fellow suicide bomber who's detonator did not detonate the bombs, and the Japanese have captured her. Japan is requesting international help to secure the remaining hostage. The Japanese government says that if they find the other hostage dead, Japan will kill all of the ISIS members they have in jail.

   
     Meanwhile, there have been two vaccines for the virus, "Ebola" and they have been created from two different companies. They want to combine the two vaccines to make the ultimate vaccine. They companies of the vaccine are planning on testing the vaccine on some workers, since they have a weaker immune system. There is a problem, and that problem is that all these other people may have different allergies and not all antibiotics will work, but at least there is now a vaccine being tested, than none at all.

Zebra Forest (1/20/15)

Zebra Forest
Book by: Adina Rishe Gewirtz
Blog by: Sonny

1/19/15

Prompt: Write about a situation a character faces.
Spoiler Alert

     The Zebra Forest is a book taking place in the perspective of a girl named Annie. Annie lives with her brother Rew which is short for andrew, and her Grandma they call Gran. The story  takes place mostly in a forest filled with birch and oak trees, which give the look of a zebra. These trees surround a cabin in which Annie and the others live. Annie and Rew are curios kids and talk about the past, and imagine images based from stories they read.

     In the Zebra Forest, characters Annie and Rew face many situations that they will struggle to get through. A small situation is how Gran is an older person who leaves Annie and Rew in charge to help with human needs, like food. Annie and Rew can face many dangers on their own in the open world, especially because their young.

    Later on in the Zebra Forest, they come face to face with their thought to be dead father. Annie and Rew tell many stories of what their dead father might look like, and tat he was killed by an angry man. But really, the angry man was himself. Their father may have been dead, in a different way.

Zebra Forest (1/12/15)

Zebra Forest

Book by: Adina Rishe Gewirtz

Blog by: Sonny S.

Prompt: Describe a character that you would like to meet (which doesn’t mean that you

think you would like the character, but that you think the character would be

interesting). List 4 questions that you would ask.

1/12/15

     In the book, Zebra Forest, there is a character named Rew. He is a smaller character, meaning that he is not the main character, but I would love to meet him. The main character of the story is a girl named Annie, and her little brother is Rew. Rew is two years younger than Annie is, and they are opposites, but get along really well.

     Rew is a young boy who likes adventure no matter what format. He is a very smart and intelligent boy. The part I am on in the story is when Rew gets introduced to the story Treasure Island. I've read this story myself, and it's a really good book, but the way he read it was amazing. Technically Annie read the book to him, but the way Rew thinks is just an interesting way that I wouldn't have thought before. Rew is being read the book by Annie, but the first seven chapters have been torn out, so they started out on chapter eight. But not for Rew, he though and imagined the beginning of the story, and told stories and opinions of what happened at the beginning to his sister (Annie). That's what I find interesting in Rew, and that's why he is my favorite character.

     The four questions I would like to ask Rew was, how did you get so smart at such a young age. I'm a smarter kind of guy myself, but being as smart as Annie describes him when he is so young is just astonishing. Question two would be, do you like reading, I know you like pirates and all... but if it wasn't a pirate book. The third question I would ask Rew would be if Rew acts like he's on a pirate ship and sailing into some enemies and attacks them. For the final question I would ask Rew, it would be... do you have your own buried treasure?

My First Time (1/05/15)

My Fist Time

By: Sonny S.

1/05/15

     This is a story of when I fist played an acoustic guitar. I've played an electric guitar before and I loved it! I had an guitar amp and was ready to play. I had guitar picks and was playing songs after just a couple weeks! I was so excited when I received this guitar for Christmas. I enjoy playing it. Now, I encountered an acoustic guitar, I haven't played guitar in two weeks, and now I'm playing a different kind of guitar. The only difference is that I'm in public when I have the chances to play this guitar.

     When I play this acoustic guitar, I play in school. I have about twenty people in my class and I'm a little ahead of everyone else. I already know how to play songs, it's just that the transition... that feeling you get when you first pick-up a different version of something and feel like you know what you're doing, but there are differences between the two guitars.

     On the guitars, I have to feel and adjust to my environment, and the feeling I have when I get this opportunity to play. I love guitar and I'm really in it, but feeling and adjusting to this new type of guitar is a lot more different than you would think. The frets on the guitar are in slightly different places. When you play on the acoustic guitar, you also encounter some more problems. You don't know if you tune the guitar the same way. You also might have to play some songs in different areas of the neck (a neck of the guitar is where you play, not strum) due to the different sounds the guitar makes.

     I love guitar, and I will keep playing. I will hopefully be able to play both electric and acoustic one day. I will keep trying until that day comes. When I learn and know a decent amount of facts about both guitars, it'll be pretty easy to play the guitar. When that day comes, I will have time to excel in my guitar skills.