juliana's blog

Katie- Strengths and Challenges Seryn- Strengths and Challenges 

I would consider my strengths as a writer to be finding ideas to write about and being able to make them flow well. I think that if your piece of writing flows well, that will make a well written paper because it would make sense. Also, I think I am good at making sure my paper is written all in the same tense because this will help to make it sound more developed. The traits of rhetorical situations that I feel like I am accomplished in would be being able to write for the appropriate audience, make my paper be written for the right purpose, and having the correct stance for my topic.  Some writing techniques that I need to work on from the papers I wrote this year would be having the correct citations and being able to support them fully with lots of detail. This is because lots of times when I was writing my papers I would be very repetitive in my supporting thoughts, which did not contribute to my paper in a good way. Also, I need to work on writing good introductions for my ...

The piece of writing over the course of this year that I feel like I grew the most on was the literary analysis. This is because I feel like I got better at this type of writing, where you have pick a side, find quotes, and write explanations about them. At first when I was writing the literary analysis I was very stressed, and felt confused, but then I got used to it and it became relatively easier. Since this project lasted for a while, I feel that I got used to the process and got lots of practice for this type of writing. The piece of writing that was the worst for me this year was the personal narrative. This was because I feel like I was mainly telling my story, while confused if I was doing it right. There were times when I was writing this paper and I would write in the wrong tense so I would have to start over. Also, I was not sure how to make my paper flow and make it long enough, while using different types of writing techniques. This was because I felt like I kept adding ...

Grace S- What are your best sleepover memories?  Muskaan- #399 How has traveling affected you? 

What places do you remember fondly from childhood? A place that I remember fondly from my childhood is the lake in the back of my old neighborhood. The lake is where my sister and I first learned to ride our bikes. It used to be an old tradition that as soon as we would drive up in our driveway from school we would go straight to our bikes without even going inside first to put our backpacks up. Our favorite thing to do was race around the lake and see who could finish first. I loved the lake because we would laugh so hard either because we would fall and thought it was funny, or were just in a good mood. Another place that I remember really well from my childhood was the playhouse in our backyard. My sister and I would always find imaginary things to do. This was no matter if it had to do with us playing in the mud or in the fountain. Also, we would pretend to cook on the fake stove, but it always led to arguments because one person would have something the other wanted. One time,...

As I read Purple Hibiscus, I am noticing lots of changes being made throughout the book, such as Kambili before and after she goes to Nsukka. Before she goes to Nsukka, she obeys her father and is scared of him. Kambili would always follow her schedule that her Papa gave to her. There was lots of pressure on Kambili to get first in her term during school, which resulted in her being called a "backyard snob" by her classmates. Also, before she went to Nsukka she was not allowed to associate with Papa-Nnukwu. Papa had considered him a "heathen" and thought the children had sinned if they were around him for to long of a time. After Kambili went to Nsukka and while she was with her aunt she stopped following Papa's schedule. Then, Papa-Nnukwu was living in the same house as her for a while too, which Papa was very mad about when he found out. This is a complete transition of actions and obedience that used to be seen from Kambili. After Kambili went home, she had...

Anna Katherine- Political Post  Bronwyn- Political Post: Gun Control Debate After Parkland 

CNN:  These Schools Say Arming Teachers 'Can Be Done Right'   Nicole Chavez, Doug Criss, Ed Lavandera, and Amir Vera  In the aftermath of the most recent school shooting in Florida, there is a growing debate about whether teachers should carry guns with them to school and into the classrooms. Currently, President Donald Trump is proposing bonuses for educators who are willing to undergo gun training. There are critics of this idea and some think it is a “ridiculous“ thought. Laws regarding guns in schools are different from state to state but some states have laws that allow teachers with proper permits to carry guns on K-12 school campuses. It seems that school officials have faith in a local law-enforcement but feel if help is too far away, employees at the school can provide the best defense and prevent loss of life.  This issue is becoming more and more important. I believe it is a terrifying reality that crosses the minds of almost all studen...

Emma- Purple Hibiscus Response  Bronwyn- Reading Response to Purple Hibiscus 

In 2016, my family and I traveled to Arkansas for my great grandmother's funeral. She lived in a small town called Spearsville, Arkansas. We were all really close to my meme and we always had a tradition that we would go to her house for Christmas. Whenever our dogs would travel with us to her house, they would always jump all over her and they loved her. So, one year for Christmas we got her a dog and she loved it so much. Although, after her funeral the dog came to live with us and it got along really well with our two dogs. The week we got back home from Arkansas our dogs had escaped out of our fence for a couple of hours. Normally, when they run away they will come back home but this time, only one of our dogs came home but not the other. We instantly became nervous, but that is when we saw something white and fluffy in the lake, but close to the edge. Our dogs were small white and fluffy so we immediately ran to the lake to get a better look. Then, we realized that it was my...

In the book,  Purple Hibiscus , there is a simile used on page 52. This simile states, "It was like balancing a sack of gravel on my head every day at school and not being allowed to steady it with my hand." This simile shows the struggle that Kambili was facing because everyone calls her a "backyard snob". This was occurring because she was not talking to people at school due to the pressure she was under. She was under so much pressure because she came in second last term and she is scared of her father and is nervous about coming in first this term. Therefore Kambili is focused on being perfect for school.  Papa has very strict rules about the people around him, such as not using "gbo" words in public.  Whenever Papa goes to school with Kambili to see Chinwe Jideze, the girl who beat her and got first in the term, he used the "ebo"  words. Therefore, we can draw a conclusion that he is stern about the rules he enforces for the people aroun...

Katie- Poem Grace- You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home  

Sand, sun, and shells wash over the sand Starfish, sunscreen, and sunglasses in my hand The waves are speaking as they crash The boat is going fast The water is very cold And our feet make molds The ocean breeze fills the air The sun lightens your hair The salt water washes you worries away My favorite place I want to be everyday In this poem I used alliteration, sibilance, and personification.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/umbrella-lyrics-rihanna.html I decided to analyze the song "Umbrella" by Rihanna. Throughout this song it uses end-rhyme. This is because "star" and "car", "there" and "share", and "together" and "forever" all rhyme. Below I used a rhyme scheme to show the end-rhyme of this section of the song. Also, this portion of the uses sibilance.  A    You had my heart, and we'll never be worlds apart B    Maybe in magazines, but you'll still be my star B    Baby 'cause in the dark, you can't see shiny cars C    And that's when you need me there C    With you, I'll always share D    Because when the sun shines, we'll shine together D    Told you I'll be here forever Another poetry term that this song uses is euphony. This creates a smoothness in the song. This is important because it goes along with the theme of the song as almost sadness. Also, this song uses cae...

Katie- My Weekend  Grace- LAUNCH Response 

A presentation from LAUNCH that interested me the most was the one that demonstrated how companies attract people to buy their products. A key point that the presenter stated was how stores will place certain items in certain places. Such as, they place the milk towards the back of the store, so the customers would find others items to get along the way. This fact was interesting to me because I never really thought of this when I went to the grocery store. I always just thought that they put the cold items in the back and the other items in the aisle for organization. Although, the companies place the milk in the back because it expires fast and many people need it often. Therefore, if customers go into the grocery store often for milk they will also get many other snacks that they don't need but want on the way to the milk. 

This weekend on Saturday I had to wake up at 7:30 for drivers ed. The class lasted until about 5:30 depending on how many times it took for you to pass the test. I also had the class the weekend before on Saturday and Sunday. This weekend was the weekend I took the test. During the class we had to watch multiple videos that were sad and demonstrated what could happen if you don't drive safe. Right before the test started, I got nervous. I was not worried before but as soon as the thought of this test determining how long I would have to stay at the drivers ed place and taking a part in determining if I will get my drivers permit I started to worry. You can only miss eight questions on the test so as my drivers ed instructor was calling out the answers it made me extremely nervous. At the end after the tests were graded I passed by two questions which was relieving.

Grace S- ATDPTI Reading Response  Bronwyn- Reading Response 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a relatively easy read. It makes sense as you read it and teaches you some good life lessons. This a book that uses humor but at the same time teaches you about acceptance and following your dreams. The  Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is different than most of the books I have read, but it is interesting. Junior is the main character. He is a character that can be described as having hope. Although Junior understands that the Indians go to school at the Reservation, he believes that he wants to go to Reardan. He follows through with that thought and states that if he didn't do it now he never would. Another thing that Junior does that demonstrates hope is that most of the time Junior expects that he won't have a ride home from school but he keeps his head up and finds a way to get home even if it means walking or catching a ride with someone else.

Anna Katherine: New Semester Reflection Grace: New Semester Reflection  My week 2 comments are posted as week 1 and my week 1 comments are posted as week 2.