My Expectations for High School

My expectations for High School is to get good grades the whole four years. I want to get into a good college and i want to become a vet. I also want to get a job so i can save enough money for the college that i want to go to. I am still not sure which veterinary college i want to go to but i will know soon. Before the end of the the four years of high school, hopefully.
I really want to pass the WASL like i have all of the times i have done before. I really want to do it this year so i can get it over with. But if i don't pass it this year than i always have another chance. I am excited for college but i am also really nervous. I hope that i can get into a good college. I am not doing as well as i was hoping i would but i think that i can get my grades up. I am also excited what is in the near future for me. :)

Poetry Out Loud

I am doing the poem Barter by Sara Teasdale for the Poetry Out Loud competition in the classroom. I chose it because i sang it once before and it was my favorite song then. I didn't really think about what it meant but now that i realize it is a poem and that i am reading in front of the class i know what it means now and i really love it. It tells how lovely life is!
I am glad that i chose this poem because it reminds me of when i sang it in middle school. I am excited to read it for the competition! :)

this book changed my life

This book didn't really change my life but it did help me look at books differently. I think about the people and how they are feeling. I put my self in their shoes like when Atticus told the children "you will never understand someone until you stand in his shoes". I also think about how not to judge someone until you actually get to know them Like when the city of Maycomb judged the Radleys when they didn't really know them. Boo is really a good guy!

The movie!

In the movie To Kill a Mockingbird the scene when Dill, Jem and Scout go up to the Radleys house and try to see Boo Radley. In the book they say that Nathan Radley shot at Jem, Scout and Dill when they went up to look into the window but he just shot at Jem when he went back to get his pants. I thougt the Radleys house would look different and i pictured all of the actors differently but so far the movie is really good!
I also thought that Dill got on Jem's back to put a note inside their house. But Jem was the only one that went on the porch to look into the window. Those parts where pretty outgoing. I pictured them totally different when i read the book but that is the beauty of reading the book first and watching the movie, to see the differences of the two.

tHeMeS! (themes!!!) =] ♥

Education and upper and lower class are big "themes" in the book To Kill A Mockingbird. The Ewell family is a lower class family because they have little education. Bob Ewell is a horrible father who needs money from the government to help his family because he can't do it himself. You can tell he has little to no education because he works and gets money but he doesn't spend it in a very sensible way. He buys alcohol instead of food for his family. He is irresponsible and has let his children skip school. During the trial, Atticus asks Mayella if her dad is easy to get along with or if he is good to her. She says "He does tollable, 'cept when-" Than she looks up at her dad and he looks surprised about what Atticus and Mayella said. So she tells Atticus "Except when nothin', I said he does tollable." (page 185) This shows that they don't have a very good vocabulary so they are not very smart. Also it shows that Mayella is afraid of her father so she doesn't want to disappoint him so she doesn't get beat!
The opposite of the Ewell family is the Finches, because they are a middle to higher class not a low class.. They are more respected than the Ewells because they can afford more and Atticus is a layer. Atticus has two kids and they are well respected and Atticus can pay for a nice house. When Bob spends his money on alcohol. The Ewells don't have a very nice home ether. They live by the dumpster and they get food out of the garbage.

Atticus as a father...

Atticus as a father...he is very protective about some things but also he is very easy going. He doesn't mind what the kids do as long as they are not herting anyone or anything. Like when Jem and Scout got the airguns for Christmas Atticus told them that they can "Shoot all of the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." (page 90)
Atticus is a kind of layed back person...he is noble and honest. He doesn't want Jem and Scout to be a bad person like some of the people in Maycomb. He wants them to be nice to others no matter what color skin they have, or what ever the situation is. Scout is a fighter. She will fight anyone if they call her or anyone of her friends names. Scout has learned a lot from Atticus because she cares about other people. Jem has learned honesty. Like when Jem told Scout about the night when he went over to the Radley's house to get his pants. He kept it in for a while but he finally came out and told Scout.

Changing perceptions of Boo Radley!

I changed my mind about Boo Radley when I found out that he sewed up the pants for Jem. He seemed nice for doing that for Jem. When Jem went back to get his pants they were folded across the fence. He didn't know what was going on at first but he finally figured it out! Boo Radley is really a nice person...he isn't like any of the rumors going around.
When Scout talked to Mrs. Maudie it changed Scouts perspectives about Boo. "When I went back for my breeches-they were all in a tangle when I was gettin' out of 'em, I couldn't get 'em loose. When I went back...they were folded across the fence."

First thoutghts of Boo Radley!

My first thoughts about Boo Radley was that he is a crazy sycopath! But i think that the stories were just rumers. I think that they were just rumers because everyone thinks that Mr. Radley is weird because he only comes out at night and his routiens when he comes out of his house. Also because of the house that they live in. Everyone thought the house was weird looking because this is what it looked like. "The house was low, was once white with a deep front porch and green shutters, but had long ago darkened to the color of the slate-grey yard around it." (page. 8)
I think i am most like Jem or Dill because i am a leader and i am courious about most things and i also am a dare devil! I do a lot of daring things like what Jem did. I know that to us that isn't a big deal but to him it was because he was afrade of that house from all of the rumers. I don't blame him being afrad of touching the house. "The old house was the same, droopy and sick, but as we rstared down the street we thought we saw an inside shutter move. Flick. A iny, almost nvisible movement, and the house was still." (page. 15)

Favorite so far!!!

In english my favorite thing so far is when we read the story "A Christmas Memory". It was a good short story. The author wrote it so well, he described the characters so good that i could picture the old lady. The activity afterward was fun and challenging because we had to look through the entire story to find a few words. So far I love english because we have done fun activities instead of boring ones. Mrs. Gilman is a great teacher so far. :)