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    • Hunger Games Symbolism

    2012 - 06.01

    Category Hunger Games, Idependent Reading | No Comments »

    I chose to read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The moral of this book is about a girl name Katniss who lives in district 12, fighting with her family to stay alive. She takes on the role of hunting to provide for her mother and sister. Every year, the city she lives in Panem’s capitol hosts something called “The Hunger Games” where two tributes from each district, one boy and one girl are chosen to fight until their death.

    The images in my collage represent the fear portrayed by the games. For example, Katniss stepping up for the tribute role, even though she wasn’t chosen at the reaping. She had no idea what to expect and was scared to leave her mother and sister behind, to fight their starvation alone. I also wanted to show the rebellion in the story. Only one person can win, and Katniss and the other tribute Peeta have to stick together and work on strategy for one to win.

     

    Fear Shown: Hunger Games

    http://www.vuvox.com/collage/detail/057bba5659

    Multigenre Research Reflection

    2012 - 06.01

    Category CyberJournal, Food Identity | No Comments »

    Multigenre Project Reflection

    I really enjoyed this project over other previous ones. What surprised me was how our inquiry question How does switching an athlete’s diet to all organic affect their abilities, health, and focus was kind of misleading. We leaned more towards vegetarianism. I didn’t expect it to be that hard to find organic information and facts about that kind of diet. Collaboration was super important through this process. You had to know who was in charge of what, to make sure it all got done. Especially when we both picked two genre pieces to create, you had to include certain things like your opinion. Some advantages were splitting up work, sometimes it’s more fun because two brains are being creative.

    I didn’t really have any disadvantages, but I know some other people had problems with time management, getting off task, not meeting deadlines, and not communicating what needs to get done. The key to success with working with a partner is to be as organized as possible. Know your responsibilities. Make lists or whatever is needed. The main idea we were trying to get across is that most people think the healthier way to live is to cut out certain foods like fats, maybe eat less portion wise to lose weight and get more fit. But! That’s not the case. You need a balanced diet. You don’t realize certain foods have vitamins and minerals your body needs. Especially athlete’s need to consume more than the average inactive person anyways.

     

    My favorite genre piece would have to be the planned menu. It gives the viewer a general idea of what a balanced diet should look like. Including all sorts of things, you have to have proteins, vitamins, minerals to perform at your best ability. I loved the annotated bibliography. It was much easier giving credit to the sources and it looks professional. I’m not the best writer either, so therefore I was thankful that we didn’t have to write a boring research paper. This whole food identity unit and the research project did change my perspective. I didn’t realize all the risks of not eating right, how to find the right diet or plan for you and your lifestyle, and what is needed to get us food from different cultures combined. Overall, this unit was great to me. I enjoyed studying this topic, basically the world revolves around food so why not learn more about it?

     

     

    Establishing Your Name

    2012 - 06.01

    Category CyberJournal | No Comments »

    Growth is what life and education are all about. In my opinion, growth in everything you do should be your ultimate goal. Everyone tries to be better or just like their friends, a celebrity, or a role model. Truth is, we are all our own people. Each and every one of us is put on this earth to be their own individuals. I have a role model, as I hope everyone does. My grandpa is the person I look up to. Well, a couple weeks ago he organized a speech at my church. The speech was given by an old friend and my cousin now in college. They both have been through a lot, their own stories, their own life experiences. The idea of the speech was to talk about choices youth face in our world today. One of the key points I took away from that speech was; What do you want your name to represent? Your name is the one thing that you own, and no one can argue that. When you hear someone say your name in the hall way or through texting, you hope what is being said is positive things, not negative. I went home that night and thought, I want people to say I’m an honest, caring, and positive person. Everyone can be who they want to be, represent their name the way they choose to.

    When we’re born, you start off as a little fraction of this world. Your body is tiny, brain is tiny, and your image in this world is tiny. Starting with preschool, kindergarten, then grade school. You have to work your way up to the top. Learning basic things like colors, body parts, addition, subtraction, shapes, etc. You slowly develop through the school years into something bigger and better. Each school is a different difficulty in things you learn. Middle school you grow into being mature enough to start high school, then after high school is the real world. Being exposed to the real world is like an incentive, you have been in school for about fourteen years, trying to be at an adult level like everyone else, to grow into what you want to be, how you want to live your life. Now you are a part of the world. You are noticed and contribute to the happenings around you. An adult, making your own decisions. Getting better in everything you do is the only way to succeed in life. Progress in the way you learn, think, act, feel.

    No one is better than everyone else. You just can’t be “number one”. You can try your best at everything you do,  practice skills to become better, grow into something bigger and better. If you ever make a mistake, change things. Everyone makes mistakes large and small. Change your ways, don’t ever repeat what you did wrong and learn from your mistakes. Get better. Be the bigger person. No one stops growing. You can always learn from experiences. So what do you want your name to represent? Who do you want to be? What do you want to do with your life? Take nothing for granted, life is short. Getting better in all you do, growing in every way, you can succeed.

    Creative Short Fiction

    2012 - 05.25

    Category CyberJournal | No Comments »

    The short fiction unit went by fast. Creating different aspects of our story with a group was a good learning experience I think we all needed. We all could offer our opinions and ideas of what we want to write about. We could create unique characters, setting, conflicts without having any boundaries. I was an active group member. Within my small group I created the characters and the other members did the setting and conflict. I think we all participated one hundred percent of the time and I wouldn’t change anything.

     

    I feel like my story meets all the requirements set. I made sure my work was done before it was due just in case. I loved the peer review process. I think it’s a good idea to get other people’s opinions on your writing, what they liked/didn’t like so you know ways to improve your story. If they didn’t like it then your readers probably won’t either. Our peers can see how creative we can be and maybe what we are interested in. Overall I thought the peer review was very helpful.

     

    “Anyways, whatever this was it landed on a fat, hairy man enjoying a popsicle next to Nigel’s stand. Poor Innocent guy. All I can see is this man’s feet hanging and sticking out of this metal piece that landed on him” “ Out stepped a beautiful blonde girl with big blue eyes, blinding everyone on the beach.” “Being brave I took a couple steps toward her. Sparky started yelping, he is a little protective and Majesty was on Nigel’s shoulders, Foo Foo behind me hiding.” These parts of my story represent characterization, I tried to give little clues to reveal what kind of character they are and how it effects them. “It was a nice day during the middle of summer, I could feel the breeze coming in my window and the warm sun beating on my skin.”
    “Out of the corner of my eye I can see little ripples in the water.” I tried to represent setting through these two lines, I could have improved that part of my story. “On the count of three we all lift.” “Nigel, you call an ambulance.” “Do you know any ways to get this thing back up there?” I asked “You know, when I was little my grandfather told me if we ever crashed we have to find some magic symbol, all I can think of his how a pearl in our culture means success.” Pandibee said. “So we need to find a magic pearl?” Nigel looked at her with confusion. “I guess so, any ideas?” Sparky is sliding towards us, “You guys!!!!!!! My friend Whale told me about two and a half miles west of here near the reef there is a clamshell there, with a guard but maybe I can be sneaky. Would you think that would entitle a magic pearl, one to get the spaceship back to the station?” “That is such a great idea Sparks, I guess we will never know until we try. Can we put you in charge of this mission? You need to be speedy. The longest is four days Sparky, or its going to be a bad ending.” Nigel answers. “I can do this. Faster than four days, with no floaties.” he promises trying to convince himself. “Friends! Here comes Sparky! This is our only hope now.” I yell as loud as I can with excitement. As he flops towards us Nigel can’t help but ask, “Any luck down there?” I represented my knowledge of dialogue a lot throughout the story with my characters communicating trying to solve the mission.

     

     

     

    Food Presence & Appreciation

    2012 - 04.27

    Category CyberJournal, Food Identity | No Comments »

     

    I am aware that during the week, with track, school, and church I make convenient and unhealthy food choices. On the weekends when I tend to be less busy I am eating healthier. Based on the suggested intake for teens I would say I do alright. I know for a fact I lack calcium. I like to drink water and other juices and things but after track is the only time I drink milk and maybe 2-3 times during the week for meals. My breakfasts are probably the healthiest. I try and eat a grain, protein, and a kind of fruit. Lunches depend on if I pack them or not. If I do they’re usually healthier than if I would get lunch at school. Dinners also depend how busy I am and when my parents work. If my parents work late I just grab something, probably unhealthy to eat. I would say my food balance is actually pretty good. I get most of my nutrition from my dinners and breakfasts which balances out what I eat for snacks and lunch sometimes.

    I tend to eat the most during the day. I try to eat good for breakfast but if  I don’t then I’m hungry by third hour and snack. At lunch I eat a lot and snack before track practice. At night I eat dinner and usually that is filling enough where I don’t snack after that and just go to bed. I feel like I eat during the day because I get bored. When I just sit in class and the teacher doesn’t care, I eat. The morning I usually rush so I just grab something quick and dinner is enough to fill me up so I only eat once.

     

    Dinner at my house would vary depending on the day of the week. During the work/school week we get maybe 3/5 family dinners in which are healthy and we talk about our days. On the weekend we go out to eat or mom cooks a healthy dinner. You never know what to expect at the table with a 6 year old who is full of energy and weird stories he likes making up. You also would experience an annoying dog begging for food.

    I use food to celebrate things like birthdays, confirmations, anniversaries, moving, graduations, every other holiday, school events, and sports. I think food is a part of the celebration because everyone can bring something and it makes everyone happy after they eat, right?

    Forks Over Knives Analysis

    2012 - 04.26

    Category CyberJournal, Food Identity | No Comments »

     

    I think so many people have had near death experiences which can push them to start making the right choices and turning their lives around. Whether their health problems are at high risk or low and can become high,  having the right attitude and wanting to stay alive you need to make the right choices and change things to make sure what you want happens. Once you make that change you can feel so much better emotionally and physically. There are so many benefits to changing your lifestyle if your current one isn’t working out. I am shocked with all the people’s stories and how their food choices almost ruined their lives. Them having positive attitudes and putting in confidence to change things around is eye opening and can help many people. You don’t know things are that bad until you get tested and then your problems become reality, you either have a choice to fix everything or just keep living like you are but not for long or the best to your ability. You are in charge of your own life and the decision to make the right choice is up to you. There are many resources and places to go to get further information or join diet plans. There is a big power you have to find within yourself to try new things and can experience a better life for you and the ones who care about you. Eat to live, don’t live to eat. I feel motivated to help myself and others.

    I learned so much watching the documentary Forks Over Knives. I never really thought about what food was entering my mouth constantly. Coming from Wisconsin, I eat meat way more than I should. I really can’t think of a day where I don’t eat meat. I know during breakfast I usually will not eat meat but every other meal for every day has some kind of animal product like meat. I learned how this is not the healthy route to take! I won’t give up meat completely, but for sure I won’t  eat it as often as usual. I didn’t realize all the health risks involved in eating more animal products rather than plant based foods. So many diets now days are ruining our society and bringing everyone’s health down. This is such a big issue if you have unhealthy eating habits and people need to be more aware of the consequences.

    I don’t have many questions regarding the documentary. One question I know may never be answered is how we can get more people aware of this issue and get them willing to change their lifestyles. It disappoints me knowing future generations will probably be worse than now, which is hard to imagine. I don’t know if we could find any other ways to help get rid of animal products partially in our diets, try to keep some in our system but not like usual.

    Group Reading Circle Reflection

    2012 - 03.19

    Category Idependent Reading, Snowboarding Girl | No Comments »

    Friday was our last reading circle discussion with our group. I believe our discussion went pretty good. We have learned through this experience to ask questions to expand knowledge on the books instead of just going off a sheet. I was prepared for discussion but wished the rest of my group members were. Everything we talked about was good though, as we are getting to the end of our books. That means the mystery or conflicts will be resolved soon. All the little pieces are now coming together. We also talked about what we like or dislike about our books and if we would recommend them to someone.

    Overall I like the reading circle idea. I feel like it is an informal, relaxed way to find out our peers interests and how they react to reading different pieces. I learned a lot about the people in my group and about different genres in books. Being in a group, they can recommend books for me to read too which is always good. I can get their opinion and see if I agree or not. I liked the post due every Monday too, and how we prepared for discussion and had all weekend and Monday to get our thoughts together.

    Setting Importance

    2012 - 03.13

    Category Idependent Reading, Snowboarding Girl | No Comments »

    Our discussions keep getting deeper. Our last discussion was about setting. Two of the people in my group are reading older novels about poverty and how their characters had a rough life and overcame it. Jon’s book is about sports and how when something goes wrong, your whole dream can be crushed.

    Characters so have relationships with settings. Sometimes characters have special memories from certain settings or in my novel have dreams that involve a setting. Happy settings make characters feel good but if the scenery is unfamiliar or has had a bad reputation then it could make the character uncomfortable and scared.

    The settings between Corrina’s and Ashley’s books are similar because they are both in a ghetto and living a hard life without anything to live for. It is definitely a harsher setting. It would be considered scary. For my book and Jon’s the setting is more happy and feeling free. In our books the main character has dreams involving sports. In mine, the main character Syrah wants to be a snowboarder so she spends her days on the slopes. For Jon’s novel his character wants to be a professional baseball player and he used to spend all his time on the field.

    I can remember Corrina’s setting the most. I think I remember it because it has such a negative impact on the character’s lives. The setting is in a rough ghetto, food and other necessities are scarce. The author of her book used good details to make it feel like the reader was actually experiencing what the characters were.

     

    Settings that are harsh, or unfamiliar make me upset. Life obviously isn’t fair but I can feel how the characters are feeling. It is unfair that people don’t have the same opportunities and are stuck in a ghetto where they feel unsafe, lost, and uncomfortable.

    In my book, Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley the main setting is on their favorite snowboarding mountain. This place plays a huge part in the story as it is the only place my main character Syrah feels like she can be herself. But yet the other minor settings like the Cheng house and school make Syrah feel unloved, invisible, taken advantage, all negative things. There is both of these so we can see a diversity in setting.

    Connections to Characters

    2012 - 02.29

    Category Idependent Reading, Snowboarding Girl | No Comments »

    I would say discussion two was also successful. We found out that some of the characters in our books are similar. My character Syrah and Jon’s main character are having the same problem, which is trying to chase a dream but someone or something gets in the way. Corrina and Ashley’s characters are similar too, they are both poor and have to fend for themselves to live.

    All these characters are determined, hard-working, generous, and independent. They all have a strong goal, for my character and Jon’s they want to be a big sport star but something holds them back and they have to overcome that. In Corrina and Ashley’s books, their characters have nothing and have so many little things in life that are going wrong. With that they have to be independent and determined to figure things out.

    These characters all can relate to real life. People try going for their dreams all the time. All four of these stories have one aspect where someone or something gets in the way and they have to resolve all conflicts to get what they want. Which in reality we all have to do that too. For instance in my story, Syrah needs her parents support to be a professional snowboarder, her biggest dream. In Corrina’s story the kids need to find food, a home, warmth, and other necessities which in their case are hard to find. Today there are people all over the world who are less fortunate and don’t have necessities.

    As for the goal we have set, we are doing pretty good. We try to go further into discussion and go further with other questions not on the sheet. Also trying to connect to everyone’s books and our life is important.

    Wonderful Modern Learning

    2012 - 02.10

    Category CyberJournal | No Comments »

    Ipads, Ipods, Smart Phones, Kindles, laptops, projectors, smartboards and more can surprisingly help enhance our learning. The idea of an ideal cyber school inspires me. I see children, smiling ear to ear. I can sense what they are thinking, “We can finally use our electronics in a school learning environment without getting into trouble.” Each student is holding their most favorite electronic device. This can also help them feel comfortable if this device is something they use daily. The new thing for electronics is touch screen. In my cyber school kids will feel the soft and shiny screens of their favorite electronic. Touch screen was a great invention. In school touch screen works great for games and so the teacher can be standing by the smart board or projecting something from an Ipad for instance and not have to be sitting in the computer desk. I believe this can help those who learn better by hands on learning and can make others feel more involved. I can hear the students helping each other out on the latest cyber news or about where to find certain answers. Starting with IPods and IPads, they are my favorite electronics. IPads can be used like laptops, but offer much more. They offer different learning Apps that are quick and easily accessible.I prefer an IPod or IPad rather than a laptop because on an IPod all you have are two touches, one to unlock the screen and one to go to the internet app, rather than finding laptops, waiting for it to start up, log in, then wait for the internet. Using IPods can seriously save time. Teachers and/or students would use these. Each student would have one and each teacher. This could be very convenient for teachers with uploading grades, blogs, or checking on other things. Kindles and smart phones could be used for the same thing. Kindles offer more of the reading opportunities but the smart phone would work the same way. Projecters help the teacher teach the students by projecting information from their laptop or other device that is worth sharing. These electronics can also be very important communication tools, it would be quite simple to send a quick email about a concern you would have, etc. The technology used by my school is the best because we all are on the same page, we all communicate regularly, and are up to date on all assignments, we all can talk about upcoming events and how to prepare for them, and can have something to connect with. These devices are what we have grown up with, and what we are used to, if we have the right rules, I believe this way of learning would succeed and prove a lot about modern day society.

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