Ellie's English 1 Blog

Katherine- Strengths and Challenges Tucker- Strengths and Weaknesses

I have had many hits and misses in the school year 2017-2018. Some of my hits included my personal narrative and my free posts for my blogs. Something about getting to choose what I get to write about is so much simpler to me. I do not need to cite or read very much before I write about whatever topic I choose. I always tend to want to write on these. I feel like the reason for these "free writes" my writing flowed so much easier and I always had something to write about. On the other hand I had so much trouble on my literary analysis and writing about the book we were reading about on my blog. I think having to cite and think back to very specific details that did not happen to me made it more difficult to write, so I constantly had writers block. Overall, I feel like I had a fair amount of hits and misses throughout the year that made me a much stronger writer.

I have had many strengths and weaknesses as my 9th grade year has passed. I think I am a very strong about writing about previous life experiences, for example my personal narrative. Another thing I think is one of my strengths, is writing fiction stories. I have learned that these are my strengths throughout the year because I enjoy writing about these things and because people like to read them as well. On the other hand, I also have many weaknesses. I am not so strong in writing analytical papers, such as my literary analysis. I am also not very strong in writing research papers. I have a difficult time citing quotes or changing things into my own words. I have found out that these are my weaknesses because throughout this year I have not enjoyed writing papers with these genres.

Naya- Purple Hibiscus Ellie Sim- Spinoff

In the novel Purple Hibiscus  Kambili and Jaja have always lived with Papa and Mama. They have always had to follow Papas rules. By the middle of the book Kambili and Jaja go to live with Aunty Iefoma. They learn about how different their life at Papas home is compared to at Aunty Iefoma. They learn that life without following a schedule 24/7 is better than following one. I think that this is very important because life now is like this. So many people are secluded from the real world that they have no idea what kind of conditions people are living in. There are all different types of wealth and poverty. Even if you are extremely wealthy but have a bad home life, you are deprived from happiness. If you are not as wealthy as most but have an amazing home life, you would not even know what you are missing.

I do wish that I could return to moments from my past. I remember my childhood being so much fun because everyone in my grade was friends with everyone. I remember everyone was so innocent and freaked out when they said bad words. I remember when it was weird to invite boys to a girls birthday party. I remember when people used to cry when the teacher got mad at them. Growing up was the best times ever. Even though high school is pretty fun I do sometimes wish I could go back to 5th grade when life was so much easier. When naps were a thing and homework was something that only took 20 minutes, not 5 hours. Sometimes I do wish I could return to moments from my past, even though high school is a good time too.

Emma Thompson- political post Naya- Police Brutality

In the article  Aide to NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio arrested; police cite loaded gun, 'odor of marijuana' , Cummings explains that a women working in Mayor Bill de Blasios building was arrested for having a loaded gun, and having an 'odor of marijuana' on her. The police say that it was a handgun located in her car. They found the gun because apparently there were sounds of gunfire the night before and they found the worker, Reagan Stevens, sitting in the backseat of her car. The officers could smell the marijuana, so they searched the car. Stevens will be 'suspended without pay' and they will be taking this situation very seriously. I believe that Stevens should be fired because she was a significant public figure that Blasio relied on and trusted. They hired Stevens because they believed she was loyal and hardworking person and she turned out to be doing drugs when she was not supposed to. I chose this article because I liked the topic and the headline stood ou...

crative free write- Grace  Creative Free Post- Evan Meek

 1. Do Your Homework- I have learned that homework is a big part of your grades in high school. I used to do my homework in the short period I had in the mornings before class started which would lead to me not finishing. Now that I have started doing my homework the night before I have been able to stay on track with what I am learning. 2. Study at Least 4 Days in Advance- Studying for that giant test you have in 2 days will not help you get anything done. I have learned that if you study at least 4 days in advance you will get better grades on those big tests you used to get C's on. 3. Trust Yourself- Your gut feeling is right. Your gut is normally right because it is your collection of learned experiences throughout your life. Trusting my gut has allowed me to make good decisions, or at least I think. 4. Accept Constructive Criticism- I used to get really aggravated when people gave me constructive criticism. I used to to obsess over the constructive criticism that I g...

When I received the book Purple Hibiscus , I expected it to be similar to  Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, funny and . As I am starting to get into I have realized that it is nothing like ATDPTI.  It is a personal, emotional book about real world problems. The author of this book, Adichie, is an amazing author and is making the problems in this book very real. I like this book a lot because it is very interesting to read about the problems in Nigeria. I chose to read for race and gender. I chose this because now a days white women are not treated equally. So I am curious to see how an African American women was treated like in the 1990s. Already,  Kambili Achike, the mother in Purple Hibiscus  is not treated equally. I have a feeling that as this book progresses so will these topics and the reader will be able to see how unequal women were in the 1990s.

oh rain, why did you go? - Ellie Sim The BFF Song- Emma Thompson

http://www.metrolyrics.com/umbrella-lyrics-rihanna.html I chose to analyze the song Umbrella by Jay Z and Rihanna. As I was analyzing this song I noticed that the artists use a lot of end rhyme in the song, for example: When the sun shine we shine togeth er Told you I'll be here forev er Said I'll always be your frie nd Took an oath, I'mma sti ck it out to the e nd Now that it's raining more than ev er Know that we'll still have each oth er You can stand under my umbre lla You can stand under my umbre lla Using end rhyme in this song really helped it flow and go well with the music. This song also uses cacophony to make the song flow smoother and to help the song rhyme and sound better as Rihanna is singing it. An example in the song of cacophony is:  These fan cy things will never co me in b et ween You're part of my en tity , here for in finity When the war has to ok its par t When the worl d has d ealt its car ds If the han d is har d ...

The buildings standing high in the sky. The cars driving, wooshing by. The voices of the people I have yet to meet. This is the city that I love, oh so dearly. I used enjambment, end stopped, and caesura.

Katherine Scarton- Free Post Zoe- yearbook

Softball season is officially beginning and I am too excited! I have been looking for this since the beginning of the school year. During spring break that is all I am going to be doing. Even though most people are going out of town or going to visit family, but I am going to be playing softball and I am so excited! During spring break the team is going to be practicing nonstop to get ready for the upcoming games and tournaments during the break days. We have multiple games over the week on the days we are not practicing. Softball is my favorite sport because it is so laid back and it is so much fun. I am so excited to finally get the season kicked off.

I do not remember who gave this Launch presentation, but my overall favorite speech was the one about how when one person does one thing everyone slowly starts to follow. Before she gave that speech I noticed it, but not as much as I notice it now. Normally, I start packing my bag up a couple minutes before the bell rings, and sometimes after I pack up another person will pack up until the entire room is packed up. This happens in many situations. Another example is when we are going to lunch. If Ms. Spencer has not called freshman in yet, a small group may start walking up even though it is not time. Then, another group until the entire grade is in the lunchroom. Even though I did not notice this before as much, I am now starting to notice it so much. It happens all the time and most people just do not see it. It goes from walking to lunch to trends on social media. This was my favorite presentation because it happens so frequently and it is something that if you look for, you will ...

Fireball News: Research Post- Tristen ATDPTI Response- Katie

This book is one of my favorite books that I have read so far. It is a quick read, which is good, because I am not the biggest fan of reading. The person who is narrating has a very amusing life and it makes me want to read more. The pictures in the book are a very good addition to the book because it helps the readers understand more of what the narrator is explaining. The pictures are also a good touch because some are funny and make the reader laugh. This book so far is very good and amusing, it is also a good book to read as we work on our research projects.

My research project is on Hitler's rise to power. It is an interesting topic because many people are not sure of how people allowed such a hateful person become the chancellor, or the ruler, of Germany. Many people beleive that Hitler was a nice person when people voted for him, but really Hitler was manipulative and violent. Hitler gained voters by telling them they would be widley known if they voted for him. This research topic is imortant because Hitler's rise to power was so rapid and unexpected. This is also important because Hitler had many strengths that contributed to his rise to power, and most people do not think that. Hitler had personal experiecnces with the Jews that made him dislike them so badly. These are some of the reasons Hitlers rise to power was significant and interesting.