Thursday, April 16, 2009

Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out

Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out

Your response

Do you sympathize more with Sarah or with her father? Why?

I think I sympathize more with her father, because Sarah is kind of spoiled. So I think that her father made a lot of effort to teach her to be a nice kid, so now she just starts doing bad things. I also sympathize her father, because he probably is ashamed of her daughter, now that the neighbors moved away.

Recalling

Name four chores that Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout does

The chores that Sarah does are: to scour the pots, to scrap the pans, and to candy the yams and spice. She also should take the garbage out, but she doesn’t want to.

Find the lines that tell the reactions of her neighbors and her friends. What do they do as a result of the situation?

As a reaction to the situation, her neighbors moved out, and her friends wouldn’t come to play. They all did this because there is a lot of garbage.

Interpreting

At what point does the poem become unrealistic? What is the effect of the poet’s use of exaggeration?

The poem is very exaggerate, because all of the things that happened with the garbage are impossible. An example is that “the garbage touched the sky”, that is totally impossible, so the poem gets to a point when you stop believing what is happening, and just start imagining.

What reason might the poet have besides the fact that it is “late” for not telling you what happened?

A fact is that maybe it was because he didn’t find anything

What do you think was Sarah’s “awful fate”?

I think that maybe her “awful fate” was that she was made to pick up the trash. Or even that the poet went to an extreme point, she may have died because of the trash.




Critical Thinking and Reading

Identify the two lines in the poem that do not rhyme

And finally Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout said,
OK, I’ll take the garbage out!

What important event in the story occurs at that point?

The important event that happens in that point of the story is that she finally decides to take the garbage out.

What is the effect of the sudden lack of rhyme?

The sudden lack of rhyme, makes the poem stop, because it all flows in a certain way, and suddenly the flowing stops, because it doesn’t rhyme.

Why do you think that the poet used the same rhyme seven times in a row after the break in rhyme?

The poet used the same rhyme seven times in a row, because maybe he was trying to tell us that she was bored of taking the trash out, because it was so much.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The Village Blacksmith Questions

Your Response

1) Do you admire the blacksmith? Explain

I do admire the blacksmith, because I think that he is a hard workingman, because he works hard on his job. I also admire him, because he has a family to take care of, now that his wife died.

Recalling

2) Why is the blacksmith able to look the whole world in the face?

The blacksmith is able to look the whole world in the face, because he is a honest man, so he doesn’t owe anything to anyone.

3) Why does his daughter’s voice make his heart rejoice?

His daughter’s voice makes his heart rejoice, because it sounds like her mother’s voice, and she is now dead, so her voice makes him remember her, and makes his heart rejoice.

Interpreting

4) Which details tell you that the blacksmith is an honest, hard-working man?

With these details you can see that the blacksmith is an honest hard-working man:
• “His brow is wet with honest sweat.”
• Week in, week out, from morning till night, you can hear his bellows blow.”

I think that these are some of the most important details of why you can see the blacksmith is an honest, hard-working man.

5) What does the tear in his eye indicate about him?

A tear in his eye indicates that he is sad about his wife’s death. It also means that even if he is really sad about his wife’s death he doesn’t cry much.

Applying

6) President Theodore Roosevelt once said in a Labor Day address: “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” Do you think the village blacksmith would agree or disagree with this sentiment? Explain your answer.

I think that the blacksmith would agree. I think this because he works so much and so hard to maintain his family. I think that he enjoys working at this because I know that if you don’t like a job you wouldn’t work so hard. I also think that he enjoys his work because when kids come out from school they see all the sparks, and he can amuse them, and that is a good thing.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Maple Street Questions

Questions

What are the first signs that something strange is happening in Maple Street?

The first sign was when all the power went down, even the battery was down, and also the cars didn’t turn on.


What does Tommy think has happened?

Tommy thinks that Aliens have landed on Earth, and they shut all the power up because they didn’t want them to leave.


Why do people become suspicious of Les Goodman?

People became suspicious of Les Goodman because his car started up and no one else’s car could star up because they didn’t have battery.


Why do they turn against Steve Brand?

They turn against Steve Brand because he had built a radio that supposedly could communicate with the outer space.


Why does Charlie shoot Pete Van Horn?

Charlie shoots Pete Van Horn, because he thinks he is an Alien, and Pete had only went to check something.


What happens after the shooting?

After the shooting the lights in Charlie’s house, and Charlie tells them that someone is just trying to pull a gag on them.

What is the real cause of the strange occurrences on Maple Street?


The real cause was that some Aliens or Monsters are doing a kind of experiment with people by shutting the power of electricity, and watching the pattern that always occurs but always with a few variations.


Why do you think people’s behaviors change when they’re in a group?

I think that people’s behaviors change when they are in a group, because they get scared. I think this because if people in a group are scared I think that it kind of contagies because we all get kind of stressed and we just start following others. When we follow other people we might just think what that person is thinking and not getting our own impression of things. Normally when people is in the kind of situation that happened on Maple Street we just start pointing out people and well maybe that person that has been accused is not the person who did it. I don’t like giving people my thoughts because they might the wrong impression of what I am thinking. All of what I am saying is from my personal experience.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Question Answers of The Monsters Are Due Maple Street

If you were living in Maple Street, what would you do to stop the people from turning into a dangerous mob?

I think that I would tell the people to stop fighting, because fighting never solves anything. Also that we had to look for proof and not start pointing at anyone that we think it may be. Another thing I may tell the people is that in this kind of situation we have to stick together and not fight with each other. An example of what I could tell is that we need to stay calm, because if we panic it turns everything into a mess. I think that that is what I would tell my neighbors of Maple Street.


Why does the group of friendly neighbors turn into a dangerous mob?

The friendly group of neighbors turned into a dangerous mob, because they were scared and they didn't know what was happening. Because they are scared they started saying nasty things about each other, and pointing out people. At first they just try to be together and stay together but at the end they just get really scared and they end up shooting someone. It all started with a big noise and after that all the power went down, even the batery power, so everyone started freaking out. It was actually a kind of experiment some monsters were doing, they were testing how humans could fight themselves and also the community.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

What Will Happen Next...

I think that the monsters are going to visit them, because of the title. I think this because when it says that the “monsters are due” I think that it means that the monsters had to arrive to Maple Street, because they had to do a kind of mission, or just investigate, or maybe teach a lesson to the humans in the story. Maybe the monsters are going to attack the people and well make a kind of invasion. Another thing that may happen is that the monsters are just coming in peace and are not going to attack us.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

My Independet Reading Book

Sofia Terife
Ms. Thomas
6th Grade
February 19, 2009


Judy Moody And Stink The Holly Joliday

Judy Moody and Stink are brothers. In this book Stink is obsessed with snow, and Judy is always telling him that in Virginia, there has always never been snow. One day Stink was getting the mail, and there was a new mailman called Jack Frost and Stink asked him, if he could bring snow to town. Stink told Judy, and she obviously didn’t believe him about all of the things he was saying about the mailman. Five days before Christmas, Judy was double-checking her Christmas list; she made the list on toilet paper, because it was the longest paper that she could find to write all the things she wanted. The list was so long that it went over the S encyclopedia Stink was reading. Judy told him that he had to write his letter for Christmas, so he took a paper out and wrote a single word: SNOW. The night before Christmas, the school that Judy and Stink attended, was having a show, and Judy’s class was singing the twelve days of Christmas in Hawaii, and Stink’s class were going to act the poem of The Night Before Christmas, he was going to be a mouse again, but he decided that this year he would not be a mouse again. When it was Stink’s class turn, Judy had gone to the audience to see his show, when it was his turn, he did not come out as a mouse, he came out like a snowflake. The show was over, and the Moody family had gone home, and ordered pizza. Stink made a bet to Judy, that they had to say awake to see the snow at midnight, Judy agreed. Stink at about 10:12 pm had fallen asleep. Judy was happy that she had won the bet, but she did not want her little brother to really feel bad, because of the snow. She made snowflakes out of paper, and glued them all over the walls. The next morning she was waken up by Stink that told her that real snow had came, she did not believe him, but she went to the window and saw all the snow. At the end they went out to play with the snow. I chose this book because last year the first book in English that I could read was one of the collection. I had seen this book in Internet, and I really wanted to read it. So I checked it out of the library and read it. I really liked it because well this is a book about a little boy, who believed that the snow would come to town, and it was the only thing he wished, and it all happened. This book leaves us a moral, that is, to be persistent, with things you want. I really loved this book and I found it really funny.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Final Draft For Essay

Are holes only the ones you dig, or are there more types of holes. The book called Holes has three main reasons of why it is called Holes. First, the boys at Camp Green Lake had to dig holes every day. Second is that when Stanley was sent to Camp Green Lake, he thought it was unfair. Third is that there were some little stories that connected with Stanley’s story. This book is not only called Holes because of the holes the boys have to dig, the other two reasons above were the other type of wholes that exist.

The first reason is that the boys at Camp Green Lake had to dig holes every day out in the hot sun. Supposedly it would “build” their character, so that when they went out of the camp they would not do anything bad again. The Warden had built the camp, because many generations of her family had been digging holes, and when she was little she saw them. The Warden was looking for something that once Kissing Kate Barlow had buried. Also if any of the boys found something that could be interesting for the Warden, had to report it to Mr. Pendanski, or Mr. Sir, so they show it to the Warden, and the boy who found the “interesting” thing could get the day free. This is one of the three main reasons of why the book is called holes.

The second reason is that when Stanley was sent to Camp Green Lake he really thought that it was unfair. He thought it was unfair, because he didn’t do anything; the shoes had just fallen from the sky. Authorities did not investigate enough, and that is why we call this reason a hole. Investigation is a hole, because after all, he was sent to Camp Green Lake unfairly. This is one of the most three important reasons of why the book is called holes.

The third reason is that the book has short stories in between Stanley’s story. At the beginning you think that there are a lot of gaps, but in the end you discover that everything makes sense. The first story was the on Stanley’s great-great-grandfather Elya Yelnats, made a treaty with Madam Zeroni, but he did not complete the whole thing, so the “curse” started there, and continued till Stanley’s generation. There was Madame Zeroni; she obviously was related to Zero who is actually called Hector Zeroni. The example of this reason is that Katherine Barlow was once a good woman, who was a teacher, and lived a normal quiet life. She fell in love with Sam the Onion man, that was black, but at that time people were racist, so they could not be together. Mr. Walker was the “rich” boy of the little town. He wanted to kill Sam because he was in love of Katherine. When they killed Sam Katherine had a whole in her heart, and she changed her life, and was no longer a teacher, she was Kissing Kate Barlow, a bank robber. She kissed the man she killed. These is the third reason of why is the book called holes.

In this book I think that these reasons where the main holes of the story. I think this because when you read the book you may find other ones, but these ones are the ones that called more my attention. The first one is the most obvious of all, because of the hole digging. The second one it hard to tell, but if you think a bit you can discover the hole in it. The third one it is also kind of hard to think about it, but it is actually a good one, because they are holes in the past, that had to be discovered. So these are the three main reasons of why the book is called holes.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

First Draft For Essay



Are holes only the ones you dig, or are there more types of holes. The book called Holes has three main reasons of why it is called Holes. First, the boys at Camp Green Lake had to dig holes every day. Second is that when Stanley was sent to Camp Green Lake, he thought it was unfair. Third is that there were some little stories that connected with Stanley’s story. This book is not only called Holes because of the holes the boys have to dig, the other two reasons above were the other type of wholes that exist.


The first reason is that the boys at Camp Green Lake had to dig holes every day out in the hot sun. Supposedly it would “build” them character, so that when they went out of the camp they would not do anything bad again. The Warden had built the camp, because many generations of her family had been digging holes, and when she was little she saw them. The Warden was looking for something that once Kissing Kate Barlow had buried. Also if any of the boys found something that could be interesting for the Warden, had to report it to Mr. Pendanski, or Mr. Sir, so they show it to the Warden, and the boy who found the “interesting” thing could get the day free.

The second reason is that when Stanley was sent to Camp Green Lake he really thought that it was unfair. He thought it was unfair, because he didn’t do anything; the shoes had just fallen from the sky. Authorities did not investigate enough, and that is why we call this reason a hole. Investigation is a hole, because after all, he was sent to Camp Green Lake unfairly,

The third reason is that the book has short stories in between Stanley’s story. At the beginning you think that there are a lot of gaps, but in the end you discover that everything makes sense. The first story was the on Stanley’s great-great-grandfather Elya Yelnats, made a treaty with Madam Zeroni, but he did not complete the whole thing, so the “curse” started there, and continued till Stanley’s generation. There was Madame Zeroni; she obviously was related to Zero that is actually called Hector Zeroni. The example of this reason is that Katherine Barlow was once a good woman, who was a teacher, and lived a normal quiet life. She fell in love with Sam the Onion man, that was black, but at that time people were racist, so they could not be together. Mr. Walker was the “rich” boy of the little town. He wanted to kill Sam because he was in love of Katherine. When they killed Sam Katherine had a whole in her heart, and she changed her life, and was no longer a teacher, she was Kissing Kate Barlow, a bank robber. She kissed the man she killed.

In this book I think that these reasons where the main holes of the story. I think this because when you read the book you may find other ones, but these ones are the ones that called more my attention. The first one is the most obvious of all, because of the hole digging. The second one it hard to tell, but if you think a bit you can discover the hole in it. The third one it is also kind of hard to think about it, but it is actually a good one, because they are holes in the past, that had to be discovered. As I said these three holes called my attention, and that is why I wrote them down.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

3 Paragraphs

There are three main reasons of why the book is called holes.

The first reason is that the boys that were sent to Camp Green Lake had to dig holes every single day in the hot sun. They had to dig, because supposedly that activity built character, so that when they where sent out of camp they would not do anything bad again. Actually the Warden had made this camp, because many generations of her family had been digging holes to find something that Kissing Kate Barlow had buried years ago. The boys had to dig one hole per day, but each hole had to be the size of their shovel. And each time any of the boys found something interesting they had to report it to Mr. Sir or Mr. Pendanski, so that either of them called the Warden, and he got the free day.


The second reason is that when Stanley was sent to Camp Green Lake, he thought it was unfair, because the shoes had just fallen from the sky, and he hadn’t stolen them, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Authorities didn’t investigate enough information and he later was sent to Camp Green Lake unfairly


The third reason is that in the book there where some short stories that you may think there are a lot of gaps, but at the end all of the stories are connected to Stanley’s story. They were connected, because Stanley’s great-great-grandfather was on one of the stories, and he was the one who supposedly started the curse. Madam Zeroni was also in the same story as Stanley’s great-great-grandfather; she was a kind of gypsy, and she has to be related with Zero, because Zero’s actual name is Hector Zeroni. Another reason is that Katherine Barlow, was once a good person, and was a teacher. She fell in love of a black men called Sam, but people from that time where racist, and they could no be together, so Mr. Walker that liked Katherine killed Sam. On the end Katherine turned herself to Kissing Kate Barlow, she was a bank robber, and she kissed the men she killed. I think that Katherine turned bad, because there was a hole in her heart, because she didn’t have Sam.

Differences And Similarities

Differences and Similarities

When we compare the book and the movie, we can find few differences and a lot of similarities. Some of the differences are, for example, that Stanley was described as a fat boy in the book, but on the movie they show him as a skinny boy. Another difference is that in the book they didn’t dig with gloves, they dug with their bare hands, and on the movie sometimes they dug with gloves. The last difference is when Stanley and Zero went to Big Thumb and found water. In the book it says that Stanley had to dig dirt to find clean water, but in the movie there was a little stream, so Stanley didn’t have to dig. On the other hand, there are many similarities, some of them are: that there were thousands of holes, that Mr. Sir ate sunflower seeds, and that Mr. Sir told the boys that they were no longer in the girl scouts. Other similarities are, that the boys dug holes every day; that the counselor was Mr. Pendanski; and that Stanley’s nickname was the same (Caveman). Other examples of similarities are that there was a Madam Zeroni; that the boys had a short period of time for taking a shower; that Sam sold onions; that Zero couldn’t read; and that the Warden was a woman. Some more examples are that Sam was killed because he kissed Katherine; that that the boys in the camp stole Mr. Sir’s sunflower seeds; that the Warden scratched Mr. Sir’s face; and that Stanley was teaching Zero to read. Finally there was a boat called Marie Lou; Stanley and Zero ate Sploosh, and that Zero confessed Stanley that he had stolen the shoes.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Why Is The Book Holes Called Holes?

I think that the book is called holes firstly because the boys had to dig holes every day at Camp Green Lake, because they were looking for something. Secondly because when Stanley was sent to Camp Green Lake, he thought it was unfair, and that he should have not been sent because he hadn't done anything and the shoes had fallen from the sky, this is a hole because there is missing information, and the authorities didn't research and later sent to Camp Green Lake unfairly. Finally, there were short stories in the book; at the beginning, there seem to be lots of gaps, but as the story develops, each of those short stories connect with Stanley’s story. They were connected, because Stanley's great-great grandfather was on that story and supposedly the curse started there. Another example of this connection is that Madam Zeroni was obviously Zero's kin, because Zero's actual name is Hector Zeroni. And the last reason is that Kate Barlow was once a good woman with a loving heart; but when M. Walker and some other men killed Sam, all her love became anger and hatred, and she had a hole in her heart.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Question For Essay Of Holes

Why is the book called holes?

I think that the book is called holes, because they had to cave holes every day. They had to cave holes, because the Warden was looking for something, and that something was the suitcase Stanley and Zero found ON THEIR LAST HOLE. Another reason, is that the book has a lot of "holes", because first Stanley didn't know why he was sent to Camp Green Lake, he thought it was unfair because he shoes had just "fell off the sky". But actually Zero later confessed Stanley that it had been him who had stole the shoes, and later thrown them into the air. Another reason is that that Stanley really thought that there was a curse of his great great grandfather. When he was sent to camp he thought it was all because of the curse. But then after a while, he discovered that it was destiny.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Holes Question

Who do you think the "woman" is that they are talking about?

I think that the "woman" they are talking about is Stanley's lawyer. I think she is his lawyer, because when she says that if any harm is done to him, she will be "filling" charges to the camp. Another reason is that when the Warden, Mr. Sir, and Mr. Pendanski discovered that Zero and Stanley were in that hole with the suitcase, they told him, that the woman had come for him, but like wasnt there she had left. The woman reapeared, when they were covered with the lizard on top of them. That woman also said that she was going to be filling charges, against the Warden and the camp, for FALSE IMPRISONMENT, and for child abuse. And also that when she came to take him out she had a court order.

Questions and Paragraph

Do you think Zero really learned to steal from his mother? Why?
Do you think his mother really sold Girl Scouts Cookies? Why?
Where in the book have you heard about girls scout cookies?

I don't think that Zero could have learned to steal from his mother. I really don't think so, because he may be inventing the whole thing. Another reason is that he said that his mother had left him in a park when he was little, I really don't think a mother would teach his little kid to steal. Another reason is that he was discovered going out from a store with some pair of shoes, he said that he was really good at getting out of places, but if he was discovered, it was not true. I do not think that his mother was a girl scout and sold cookies. I think this, because the uniforms may have changed, from when his mother was little, to when he was little. So when Zero saw them they may have changed. Also that if his mother really told him about her being a girl scout, I don think he could remember. In the book I have read about the girl scout cookies, when Zero was telling Stanley that his mother had once won a price by selling girl scout cookies. Another part was when Stanley arrived to Camp Green Lake and Mr. Sir told him that he is no longer in the girl scouts. And constantly Mr. Sir remembers the boys that they are no longer in the girl scouts.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Holes Questions 2

If you knew you were going to die soon, what important things would you tell people in your life?

I would tell my Best Friends that they are really special. I would also tell my mom, that I am sorry if I was bad on behavior or actions, and also that she helped and was with me when I was feeling good or bad. I would tell my grandparents, that they are really special, and that they are really cool. another thing I would tell my mom is that she is very cool. I would tell my aunt Graciela, that she was really helpful with my math, and that she is also very cool. To my uncle Antonio, that he also was really helpful with my math, and that he had a lot of patience with me. My aunt Carmen, that she was a real teacher in or out of the classroom, she taught me to dance Flamenco. And to finish my aunt Elena, that she has been a very helpful person in my life.

Holes Questions

How did Zero and Stanley remain hopeful?

Stanley and Zero remained hopeful by first doing some spelling. First Stanley spelled the words, and Zero said the words as he thought they were said. Another way, was that Stanley had told Zero, that on the top on the mountain, there was a Italian restaurant. So Zero said that he was going to order and ice cream sundae, with nuts, whipped cream, bananas, and hot fudge. And Stanley told him, that he had "already ordered" the sundae for him.