Gallery Walk Impressions

     I was pretty impressed with the articles I saw during the gallery walk because each one discussed a different problem that the world is being faced with. I would say that the topic that came up a lot throughout the articles was global warming/greenhouse gases. In the gallery walk I only visited about 9 articles and 5 out of those 9 were about global warming. When I realized this I was actually glad because we need to have more knowledge on this topic due to the reason that America produces the most greenhouse gases. I found that I could easily relate to this news topic because that was the first thing we learned last quarter in science which was the greenhouse effect/global warming. In every global warming article I learned that oceans/plants are observing the Co2 and the thickness of the earth's atmosphere has increased by 42%. A topic that I haven't learned about which relates to global warming was coral bleaching and know I realize how coral bleaching can truly effect the ecosystem. I learned that the colors of a coral plant were rapidly fading which can lead to a bigger problem towards fish species. I enjoyed the topic of Co2 because it shows us that we must take action.


   The second most popular news topic that I saw was the Japanese hostage that ISIS currently has with plans of execution. In my opinion I felt like this topic was extremely important mostly because it involves ISIS and two other countries, Japan and Jordon. The question that keeps popping into my head is who is the mysterious prisoner that Jordon has, in which ISIS also wants. In which I feel like Jordon should do a prisoner swap or simply like in recent news they mention that Jordon threatens to kill the prisoners, if the Jordon pilot prisoner appears dead. This topic is of course important because its basically a life and death situation. I was fairly impressed that my classmates choose to talk about this topic because it seems to be the second or first most talked about news topic in the world. The other article topics I witnessed were world peace, gender does exist in the spectrum, and the anti-immigration group in Germany. I feel like I was very impressed with the world peace article because behind all this darkness in the world, we must come together and find light to survive. It was pretty interesting to learn about the gender topic because it sort of connects to what we are learning in science. Overall I was greatly impressed with the gallery walk.

Things Not Seen Week of 1/26-1/30

Pages: 251 out of 251 (finished)
Prompt: Pretend you are the friend of one of the characters. Write him or her a letter.

Dear Bobby Philips,

    I was glad to hear your magnificent story in your opinion this was a horrifying experience. Luckily I haven't become invisible, but I have been faced with problems that made me feel empty almost invisible I would say. I did see you walk around lab school a lot before you had the power of invisibility, but I want to offer you an apology Bobby for not noticing or not even saying simply hello. I do remember that we were close friends before high school and we would always help each other with any sort of problem if it was emotional or physical. When you didn't show up to school for approximately three weeks I started to worry, but then I started to think maybe you went on vacation. I stopped worrying, but one day when I was passed the principal's office I noticed that your mom was having a serious discussion with the administration. Then I started to worry a lot because this absence might have to do with your disappearance or possibly a state issue. The pressure of homework, jazz band, and my job kept me off track to find the truth behind your mysterious disappearance. One day after band practice I took the longer way to my house in order to past by your home and possibly stop by a visit. The guilt was growing inside my stomach and the fear overcame me which caused me to leave immediately. Sorry.


    I do regret not knocking on your door to offer you an apology. It wasn't just the guilt, but a police car was parked in front of your house which scared me even more. Before, I ran I noticed that there was this lady having a strong argument with Mrs. Philips which led me to believe that you were possibly involved in a tragic accident. I left there running as fast as I could, but something worried happened to me I bumped into a blind girl named Alicia. I offered an apology, but a sense of fear was in her eyes and it seemed like she was in a hurry. When I arrived at my house, the stress/guilt was killing me so I decided to take a nap in that electric blanket you gave me for Christmas a long time ago. The next day my fear was gone so, I decided to attempt to pay you a visit with a heartwarming gift. It was Monday and I went around like 5 o'clock in the afternoon in which all the lights in the living room were on. It led me to think that you had company, especially important company because I saw Dr. Van Dorn the famous scientist of Chicago. I tried calling you, but you never answered which means you're still angry with me.

    In school I heard from the nurse that you were on vacation in Florida with your great-aunt Ethel and that might be the reason why you didn't answer the phone. I just want to say you are so lucky, chilling out in the beach, instead of being here in this outrageous cold. The other day I was in the library in the regular place where we meet after jazz band practice. It was obvious that you weren't there, but something caught my eye. I saw an older man which I recognize as Dr. Van Dorn spying on the blind girl I saw the other day. I went over there to have a peek and the weird thing was that she was talking to no one. There was no one sitting in front of her which made me think that she might be going crazy. Well, that was a weird way to end my week, but finally the weekend was starting and I hoped it will last forever. I decided to go to the famous Woodfield Mall, to buy you the new version of the electric blanket from Sears. I decided to go leave it at your house, for when you come back from vacation. I was about to knock on the door when I heard your mom having a strong argument with two officers and the lady called Miss Pagett. The major shock I received was on Monday when you finally came back and believe me I promise that I will try to reestablish our friendship.

     Sincerely,
     Mark

I learned this quote the other day in history class since we are learning about World War II and President Roosevelt. This quote reminded me of our friendship, since we haven't been talking to each other that much. I started to think that you truly left a footprint in my life, because you are a true friend.

This week I will comment on Autumn, Stanley, and Steven's Blogs.

Things Not Seen Week of 1/19-1/23

Pages:121 out of 252
Prompt: Make a timeline of the events that have occurred in your book so far…(3 major events in order).

                                  The Mysterious Disappearance of Bobby Philips

     When I mean disappearance I'm actually referring to the power of being invisible. In the very beginning of the book Bobby wakes up to discover that he can't see himself in the mirror. This is of course is the first major event that occurs in the book because this is essentially the main conflict in the novel. Bobby immediately goes into panic mood, thoughts travel within his minds that connect to his career/future life. The horror that he discovers is that he might never be able to date someone or have a career in life. At first his parents don't believe, but it takes the magical power of Bobby to make them realize that he is not seen in plain air. The detail I remember about this arc of the book is that he touches his father while he is making scrambled eggs which causes Mr. Philips to suddenly put himself in panic. The only fortunate thing about this arc is that Bobby's father is a highly intelligent physicist who has a large amount of knowledge when it comes to the color spectrum and electromagnetic light. A traditional timeline has numerous stories, but it seems that in this book the events come in chunks instead of little pieces. The three events truly have a large impact on Bobby.


                                           Intro to Alicia/Tragic Event

   After Bobby shows his parents that he is invisible, there is a plot twist introduced during the end of this conversation. Mr. and Mrs. Philips tell Bobby that he must never go out of the house and to never tell anyone besides them that he is invisible. The first major conflict was that Bobby had to find a way in order to get rid of his invisibility and to reestablish his life. This new problem has a bigger impact in Bobby's life because now he can't go out to the outside world and accomplish goals. The other downside about this is that he will never be able to see his friends or go to the locations that he frequently used to go everyday. He feels that his parents don't care about him anymore due to the reason that they go on with their lives without Bobby. He sneaks out by wearing a bunch of clothes in order to hide his invisibility and he goes to the library. Bobby gets past the security guard and just stands there in the library looking at it with a different perspective. When he rushes out of the library he accidentally bumps into a girl. Bobby is surprised to noticed that the girl doesn't notice his invisibility in which he quickly learns that she is blind. When he arrives home, shockingly his father is waiting for him in the front door. They have this huge argument over the importance of Bobby in the family. His parents go out and buy dinner. While Bobby is watching the news, they mention that there has been a horrible car wreck. The name of the two victims: Mr. and Mrs. Philips.

                                    Tragic Event Continued....Alicia Knows

   Bobby is in a state of shock because he can't do anything due to the reason that he will be stopped if he enters the hospital alone. A new problem has been added to the set which is complete loneliness, now he doesn't even have his parents to keep him company. The doctor calls him and tells him that his parents are fine, but the only one in critical condition is Mr. Philips. Bobby is able to manage things on his own and he is able to visit his parents frequently. Luckily, after numerous weeks of recovery, his parents come home in which Bobby seems to haven't learn the lesson yet. It seems that he is still blind when the lesson of appreciating people around you comes up. Bobby sneaks out to the library again, but this time without clothes. In the library he starts to establish a good friendship with Alicia. Bobby offers to walk her home, a kid with a scooter passes by and almost knocks down Alicia. She grabs on to Bobby in which she feels that he doesn't have a shirt on. Alicia mistakes Bobby as a weirdo and she never wants to talk him again. A man passes by telling Alicia that there is no one next to her, in which she starts to believe that Bobby is actually invisible.

This quote sort of sums up the theme so far in the novel due to the reason of how Bobby behaves around his loved ones. In the novel Mr. and Mrs. Philips give their time to Bobby in order to show their son that they will always be there for him. It takes a tragic event in order for Bobby to finally learn how to appreciate people who dedicate their time to him. This event seems to be the most impactful so far in the novel. 

 This week I will comment on Zoe R. , Abby S. , and Stella B's Blogs. 

TKAM Week of 1/12-1/16

Prompt: What do you think is the most important difference between the written and filmed version?


     We might all say that the book was better than the movie due to the reason that the novel had more adventure or heart-warming scenes. It seems a bit difficult coming up with one major difference between the novel and the film. I would say that there is probably three major differences between the two versions of To Kill a Mockingbird. The overall most seen difference is the development of other themes from the book. The film does go into depth when it comes to discussing the theme of social inequality/discrimination, but not when it talks about the theme of courage/bravery. I do praise the film for including the scene which features the children confrontation between them and Bob Ewell. The producers of the film completely take out the scene that features Jem reading to Miss Dubose, which I felt was a sentimental part of the novel. The other theme that was not discussed was the theme of coming of age, although the film does feature the growth of Jem and Scout. We do get to see a bit of Scout's growth, but Jem is still the same from the beginning to the ending of the movie. The famous scene which features Jem being honest to Atticus about Dill is completely cut out. This difference between the written and filmed version is huge. In my opinion this might be the most important difference between these two versions.


   The theme that is mostly described in the film is of course the subject of inequality and social injustice. In the first part of my blog post I started to discuss the theme of courage which is not featured in the film version, but the topic of bravery also has no room in the movie. I mean at least we get to see the confrontation between Atticus and Bob Ewell, but do we ever see the school scene. In TKAM when we think of bravery we usually imagine the scene of Scout and Mr. Cunningham, which is in fact shown in the film. We don't see the physical trait of bravery which is when Scout confronts her teacher and fights with the infamous Cecil Jacobs and Francis. I feel like these two fights were the ones that truly shaped the future actions of Scout and developed the idea of bravery. I clearly don't remember if Atticus says "keep your head, but fists down" in the movie, but in my opinion I don't think he said these words. The fight between Scout and Francis was sort of a stop sign for Scout's fighting which truly changed her actions. In the movie Atticus does discuss that fighting will not work, but the movie was a bit to vague. That's another difference the book was more specific.

   I did mention before that inequality is greatly expressed in the film, but the difference is that the novel described the other side of social inequality. The movie does show the unfairness that most African-Americans would receive, but they didn't show how some whites were also being discriminated during this time. The famous church scene from the book in which the Finch children accompany Calpurnia to her local church was not witnessed in the film version. In my opinion I felt like this was a big part of the novel because it is showing how discrimination exists in all types of races not just in one. This should have been included in the film in order to show the audience that children of all races suffered most of the time. The racist character Lula was not shown, but in the novel she seemed to be part of the growth development of characters such as Jem and Scout. This showed the children that they must respect one another and treat others just like they would want to
be treated.
  
I included the movie poster and the cover of the book. I felt that by seeing these two images it showed me that each image represents a different theme. The movie poster represents fatherly love, and it is written that these children are exposed to the town's social injustice. When I look at the book cover I see the theme of growing up or losing one's innocence which is a difference from the movie poster.

Comments: Nikolas, Marisa, and Leanna's Blogs. 

My Adventure 1/5-1/9

Prompt: When was the last time I did something for the first time?


     The last time I did something for the first time was when I went to Mexico and for the first time ever I went to an International Book Festival. I think this is the latest thing I've done and this event occurred in the summer in June. When I went to my home country last summer, I have a feeling that I learned more about culture and about the way of life in a foreign country. I felt lucky that day because I had the chance to experience world cultures and numerous books from other countries. I clearly remember that there were numerous stands for different countries, but not for every nation in the world. There was a stand for Cuba, China, India, US, Mexico, and I'm thinking that the second biggest stand was the Cuba stand. Before this trip to Mexico I had never been to a book festival and I felt great when I experienced an International festival. I would say that it was the first time I ever went to a book festival and I would say that usually a festival of books is a bit bigger than a typical book fair or bookstore. The detail that I liked the most was that each stand had its unique qualities that represent their home country.

    In Mexico things such as books, gas, food, and so much more are usually expensive. In a typical day at the market a person will usually need at least 500 pesos which is around $50 dollars or less. If you to put gas in your car it usually costs 14 pesos per liter. Since 14 pesos is like $1 and there is 4 liters in a gallon. That means that it costs $4 dollars per gallon in Mexico which is almost 3 dollars more than in the United States. I got off topic for a second because this was also a first-timer. I was seeing for the first time how prices in other countries differ from our home country. I also realized that books in Mexico are really expensive. In a store like Barnes and Noble a Divergent book will cost you about 10 to 15 dollars.  In a typical bookstore in Mexico a Divergent book will cost you 350 pesos which is 30 to 35 dollars. That is a 20 dollar difference, but luckily in the book festival the books cost no more than 250 pesos. I'm actually glad that it was cheaper in the book festival because I was able to buy 2 books.

   I would say that I experienced two first-timers in my trip, actually more since I got to know more about other people's cultures. In the India stand they had robotic massage hands which I found interesting and traditional male clothes that most people wear in India. They also had many mini-statues of the gods and goddesses in their culture. The Cuba stand was very interesting because they had books about Cuban history, dolls made from scratch, key chains from Havana, and so much more. The Chinese stand featured fortune cookies, history books featuring how to make numerous things, and I think swords, but I don't remember. The United States stand featured mini U.S. flags, famous young-adult books. The books that they had were The Fault in Our Stars, Harry Potter series, Divergent series, The Hunger Games series, Paper Towns, and other books by famous authors. I'm glad that I experienced this first-timer because now I know more about world cultures.

 When I was writing this blog I was imagining a world in which cultures would combine and become one. In a world where wars, racism, and discrimination does not exist. In a world in which we can all get along regardless of our social statues, skin color, the language we speak, or the culture we come from. This festival was able to combine people together we the Mexican, Indian, American, Chinese, and Cuban culture.

        

Goal Setting

     My major academic goal is to be in the meets section or exceeds section of the PARCC test and to reach the blue color in the Think Link test. The reason I want to achieve this goal because I see it as a way to represent my education or to show my teachers that I have grown over the past couple of months. The day we took the practice test for PARCC the fifth grade section it made me realize that I need to work harder or study harder because I'm imagining that the eight grade test will be a bit harder. I want to achieve this goal in order to show my mathematical and reading abilities to my teachers. I take one extra class in the morning which is Algebra 1 which makes me want to do good in the math PARCC test because I get double the math than any other eight grader. In order to achieve  this goal I must complete all my assignments especially math and reading classes. I must excel in these classes by getting above and A- and by doing excellent in any tests that involve these topics. A major thing I could do is practicing IXL on topics that will be on the test. I want to make sure to master these skills on IXL and in reading fix any grammar errors every time I write.


  This second goal is more difficult because I'm not sure of a specific personal goal. I think my personal goal would be to be more helpful around the house or outside of school. I've always wanted to enter a religious group or club that is also my personal goal. I want to achieve my first personal goal because usually no one helps my mom or parents around the house. They are getting a bit older and they need more help. I might help my mother by cleaning and my dad by shoveling snow/or any garden work. I want to achieve my religious goal because I want to have more faith and to be involve in a club I know a lot about. I usually don't join outside clubs, so I think this would be a good personal goal. The steps I'm going to take in order to achieve this goal is to help my parents during the weekends. During Winter Break I did help but for the rest of the year I want to be more productive, by being more attentive to things around the house. When I have the chance I'll help my dad shovel the snow on the weekdays and weekends. In order to achieve my second goal I must go more to church every Sunday and know a bit more about religion. I of course need to attend a meeting and see how it is. I must be more productive in my local church by doing some community service or getting to know the members of the club or church.