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.