Rhyme Schemer
1/22/17
Book: Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt
Genre: Poetry, Fiction
Audience: 6-7 graders
Read Alouds:
Page 53 - On this page, we see Kevin (the narrator of the story) talk about a 'jagged rock' and he gives this rock meaning (by saying that it has a heartbeat). When I was reading this page, I thought to myself that when I was his age, I didn't think of a rock as something like that. At this part of the story, we can see that Kevin is sort of transitioning into the person who we see at the end of the story, so this serves as a turning point in the novel. In the beginning of the story (before this page), we see Kevin as someone who has a tough, outer appearance, but now he is someone who has been broken down and is more jagged.
Page 134/5 - While I was reading these pages, I felt very emotional. Up until this point in the story, nothing seemed to click for Kevin. He was constantly getting in trouble in school, getting beat up by his brothers, and getting neglected at home as well. While out to dinner with his family and his mother's boss, Kevin spills a drink all over the boss and gets in trouble for this. Mrs. Little sees Kevin sitting outside of the restaurant and comes up to the parents and tells them how special Kevin is and how gifted he is. At this point, Kevin's family truly saw how gifted Kevin is, and this clearly had a positive impact on Kevin. As a future teacher, I'd like to have that sort of impact on my students.
Summary: Rhyme Schemer is a book about 7th grader Kevin, a kid who is constantly getting in trouble for expressing his feelings through writing poems. When he isn't expecting it, his classmates take control of him and start to bully him and get him into even more trouble. While serving detention after school, he has to organize and shelf books in the school library, where he befriends Mrs. Little, the school librarian. Although he has a troubling past, Mrs. Little has a huge impact on Kevin and turns his world around in a good way because she sees how special he is.
Themes:
1) One of the biggest themes in this novel is family relationship and how that has an impact on Kevin's life. Throughout most of the novel, Kevin is constantly bullying his classmates and is getting bullied at home by his family / brothers. At home, is parents are constantly working, some of his brothers are always messing with him, and his oldest brother is in college. Kevin clearly doesn't have a great home-life. I feel as if classrooms should be a place where children can, sort of, escape from whatever is going on in their life outside of life. Teachers should be shaping the future for students in a positive manner, and they should also have a special bond with each and every one of the students in the class. Outside of school, the relationship that a middle schooler has with his/her family is crucial. For me, my family has always been really close, but at the same time, my parents expected the best from me. In middle school, students are finding out what kind of person they are/what kind of person they're going to be. In my opinion, if a students family life is not good, it will affect how they act in school.
2) Another theme that is prevalent in this text is identity. Throughout the novel, we can see Kevin truly express himself through his writing, more specifically poetry. Kevin would often rip out pages from books and circle words and lines in the text to create the poem. I think this is a really good theme because, in middle school, students are starting to find out who they truly are and they figure out what type of person they're going to be. I feel as if Kevin has found something that he is both good at, as well as something that he loves. For middle school students, finding out what their interests are is important. If a student cannot find something that he/she likes, they might dread going to school. For me, playing trumpet was something that I looked forward to each day. In this text, Kevin would often escape from reality when he was in the library and when he was writing, which is good for him because it motivates him and makes him into a better person.
Literacy Elements: One literacy element that I saw the most during this text was the use of metaphors, with the biggest one being the jagged rock. Kevin used this metaphor to remind himself that the people around him don't affect what type of person he wants to be. Holt uses other literary elements as well (such as smilies, irony, etc) throughout the story, but the metaphor of the jagged rock is the one that sticks out the most to me.
Connections: Last semester, I wrote a paper on Walt Whitman, an American poet. What Whitman is most known for is his style of writing (he is often known as the father of free verse). In this story, the poems that Kevin writes are in free verse as well, which is surprising since he is only in 7th grade or so and is writing at such a high level. One of my favorite poems by Walt Whitman is "O Captain! My Captain" and that poem is written in free verse, just like this story. I feel as if this text is a great story for students to read because, in one way or another, they can relate to what Kevin is going through or what he is going to go through, which I think is really important for students to understand.
Another connection I have is that I, sort of, can relate to Kevin in this story. Growing up, my parents were always working (my dad especially. He is a police officer, and he would usually work midnights, meaning he wasn't home for dinners/present at events/etc.) Kevin's parents never really saw the potential that Kevin had, and although my middle school life was completely different than Kevin, I related to Kevin. When I was in middle school, there would be times that I wouldn't see either my dad for 3-4 days at a time, and that was tough.
Reader Response: Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. I was sort of nervous about trying to find a copy, but I was able to snag a copy from the Normal Public Library and I really liked it. As I was reading this, I found it sort of confusing at times, but when I went back and re-read some pages, I had a clearer understanding. I found it kind of hard to keep track of all of the characters as well, but, all in all, I really enjoyed reading this text. Maybe one day in the future I can have the students in my class read this book.
Other's Response: While looking at reviews of this book on Amazon.com, Publishers Weekly said that Rhyme Schemer is a novel for "Bullies, those bullied, and bystanders alike will be left with much to ponder." After reading some other reviews on this website as well as some other ones, a lot of the reviews are positive. As someone who is going to be a teacher in the future, I believe that making connections with my students is going to be real important, and I feel as if this novel does that in a perfect way.
1/22/17
Book: Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt
Genre: Poetry, Fiction
Audience: 6-7 graders
Read Alouds:
Page 53 - On this page, we see Kevin (the narrator of the story) talk about a 'jagged rock' and he gives this rock meaning (by saying that it has a heartbeat). When I was reading this page, I thought to myself that when I was his age, I didn't think of a rock as something like that. At this part of the story, we can see that Kevin is sort of transitioning into the person who we see at the end of the story, so this serves as a turning point in the novel. In the beginning of the story (before this page), we see Kevin as someone who has a tough, outer appearance, but now he is someone who has been broken down and is more jagged.
Page 134/5 - While I was reading these pages, I felt very emotional. Up until this point in the story, nothing seemed to click for Kevin. He was constantly getting in trouble in school, getting beat up by his brothers, and getting neglected at home as well. While out to dinner with his family and his mother's boss, Kevin spills a drink all over the boss and gets in trouble for this. Mrs. Little sees Kevin sitting outside of the restaurant and comes up to the parents and tells them how special Kevin is and how gifted he is. At this point, Kevin's family truly saw how gifted Kevin is, and this clearly had a positive impact on Kevin. As a future teacher, I'd like to have that sort of impact on my students.
Summary: Rhyme Schemer is a book about 7th grader Kevin, a kid who is constantly getting in trouble for expressing his feelings through writing poems. When he isn't expecting it, his classmates take control of him and start to bully him and get him into even more trouble. While serving detention after school, he has to organize and shelf books in the school library, where he befriends Mrs. Little, the school librarian. Although he has a troubling past, Mrs. Little has a huge impact on Kevin and turns his world around in a good way because she sees how special he is.
Themes:
1) One of the biggest themes in this novel is family relationship and how that has an impact on Kevin's life. Throughout most of the novel, Kevin is constantly bullying his classmates and is getting bullied at home by his family / brothers. At home, is parents are constantly working, some of his brothers are always messing with him, and his oldest brother is in college. Kevin clearly doesn't have a great home-life. I feel as if classrooms should be a place where children can, sort of, escape from whatever is going on in their life outside of life. Teachers should be shaping the future for students in a positive manner, and they should also have a special bond with each and every one of the students in the class. Outside of school, the relationship that a middle schooler has with his/her family is crucial. For me, my family has always been really close, but at the same time, my parents expected the best from me. In middle school, students are finding out what kind of person they are/what kind of person they're going to be. In my opinion, if a students family life is not good, it will affect how they act in school.
2) Another theme that is prevalent in this text is identity. Throughout the novel, we can see Kevin truly express himself through his writing, more specifically poetry. Kevin would often rip out pages from books and circle words and lines in the text to create the poem. I think this is a really good theme because, in middle school, students are starting to find out who they truly are and they figure out what type of person they're going to be. I feel as if Kevin has found something that he is both good at, as well as something that he loves. For middle school students, finding out what their interests are is important. If a student cannot find something that he/she likes, they might dread going to school. For me, playing trumpet was something that I looked forward to each day. In this text, Kevin would often escape from reality when he was in the library and when he was writing, which is good for him because it motivates him and makes him into a better person.
Literacy Elements: One literacy element that I saw the most during this text was the use of metaphors, with the biggest one being the jagged rock. Kevin used this metaphor to remind himself that the people around him don't affect what type of person he wants to be. Holt uses other literary elements as well (such as smilies, irony, etc) throughout the story, but the metaphor of the jagged rock is the one that sticks out the most to me.
Connections: Last semester, I wrote a paper on Walt Whitman, an American poet. What Whitman is most known for is his style of writing (he is often known as the father of free verse). In this story, the poems that Kevin writes are in free verse as well, which is surprising since he is only in 7th grade or so and is writing at such a high level. One of my favorite poems by Walt Whitman is "O Captain! My Captain" and that poem is written in free verse, just like this story. I feel as if this text is a great story for students to read because, in one way or another, they can relate to what Kevin is going through or what he is going to go through, which I think is really important for students to understand.
Another connection I have is that I, sort of, can relate to Kevin in this story. Growing up, my parents were always working (my dad especially. He is a police officer, and he would usually work midnights, meaning he wasn't home for dinners/present at events/etc.) Kevin's parents never really saw the potential that Kevin had, and although my middle school life was completely different than Kevin, I related to Kevin. When I was in middle school, there would be times that I wouldn't see either my dad for 3-4 days at a time, and that was tough.
Reader Response: Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. I was sort of nervous about trying to find a copy, but I was able to snag a copy from the Normal Public Library and I really liked it. As I was reading this, I found it sort of confusing at times, but when I went back and re-read some pages, I had a clearer understanding. I found it kind of hard to keep track of all of the characters as well, but, all in all, I really enjoyed reading this text. Maybe one day in the future I can have the students in my class read this book.
Other's Response: While looking at reviews of this book on Amazon.com, Publishers Weekly said that Rhyme Schemer is a novel for "Bullies, those bullied, and bystanders alike will be left with much to ponder." After reading some other reviews on this website as well as some other ones, a lot of the reviews are positive. As someone who is going to be a teacher in the future, I believe that making connections with my students is going to be real important, and I feel as if this novel does that in a perfect way.
1/31/17
Feed by M.T. Anderson
For this text, I was given the role of 'teacher'. As I was thinking about how I, as a future teacher, would teach this novel in a classroom, I couldn't come up with a lot of ideas. I searched for some lesson plans on the internet and I found a few that were interesting to me. The one I picked is as follows.
Goals:
The lesson plan / worksheet / website that I found (I'll copy the link @ the bottom of this page to it) also has some topics / questions that I feel really are important for students to discuss
Questions / Topics:
Looking over the topics as a whole, I feel as is if these are great topics to talk about in class. If I were to teach this novel to a middle school class (even though this text is designed for high schoolers), I think incorporating what the the kids went through would be interesting. I would have my students read some of the text, discuss it in class either in pairs or small groups, and then, as a class, come up with some things that my students would do if they had a feed. I feel as if this would be a good way for the students to 1) get involved 2) think about the text in a broad sense and 3) connect the text to real life examples. Going along with this, I think having the students either write a short story/comic/etc. about their life and how it relates to the novel would be interesting. Each day, the students could work on something and relate what they had read to whatever they would like to write about/create. As I am thinking about this novel and how it can be taught, I think giving my students a lot of freedom is important. When I was in middle/high school, I wasn't a big fan of reading a text for homework, talking about it in class, and then writing a paper about it at the end. I had some teachers that really made the class work while reading and, at the end, we would create something besides a paper. During this process, I feel as if it is important for students to keep the themes/discussion questions in mind, so discussing those is a great idea as well.
In my opinion, I feel as if this strategy would be a great way to teach this novel in a classroom, but I don't think the students in my class would particularly enjoy reading this book. The other members of my reading group did not enjoy reading this, and neither did I.
https://feedthenovel.wordpress.com/about-2/
Feed by M.T. Anderson
For this text, I was given the role of 'teacher'. As I was thinking about how I, as a future teacher, would teach this novel in a classroom, I couldn't come up with a lot of ideas. I searched for some lesson plans on the internet and I found a few that were interesting to me. The one I picked is as follows.
Goals:
- Get students thinking about and discussing their own use of technology and the increasing reliance on technology as a means of survival in our society.
- Students will gain awareness of how technology effects their day to day lives.
- Students will gain awareness of empathy of learning preferences of fellow readers.
- Students will relate their experiences of technology to real world cases and issues.
- Students will learn about language change and how words are created.
The lesson plan / worksheet / website that I found (I'll copy the link @ the bottom of this page to it) also has some topics / questions that I feel really are important for students to discuss
Questions / Topics:
- Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
- Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development.
- Over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
- Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text.
Looking over the topics as a whole, I feel as is if these are great topics to talk about in class. If I were to teach this novel to a middle school class (even though this text is designed for high schoolers), I think incorporating what the the kids went through would be interesting. I would have my students read some of the text, discuss it in class either in pairs or small groups, and then, as a class, come up with some things that my students would do if they had a feed. I feel as if this would be a good way for the students to 1) get involved 2) think about the text in a broad sense and 3) connect the text to real life examples. Going along with this, I think having the students either write a short story/comic/etc. about their life and how it relates to the novel would be interesting. Each day, the students could work on something and relate what they had read to whatever they would like to write about/create. As I am thinking about this novel and how it can be taught, I think giving my students a lot of freedom is important. When I was in middle/high school, I wasn't a big fan of reading a text for homework, talking about it in class, and then writing a paper about it at the end. I had some teachers that really made the class work while reading and, at the end, we would create something besides a paper. During this process, I feel as if it is important for students to keep the themes/discussion questions in mind, so discussing those is a great idea as well.
In my opinion, I feel as if this strategy would be a great way to teach this novel in a classroom, but I don't think the students in my class would particularly enjoy reading this book. The other members of my reading group did not enjoy reading this, and neither did I.
https://feedthenovel.wordpress.com/about-2/
Book: Bernie Su and Katie Rorick. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennett. Published by Touchstone in 2014.
Genre: Fiction
Audience: High School students or older
Read Alouds: "Either I'm changing very quickly, and everything is standing still, or I'm the one standing still and everything is changing around me. Either way, I'm out of joint with the world"
This quote is very deep in the sense that the reader, sort of, can think about it in two different ways. As I read this quote, I thought about how I would look at the world around me, and I came to the conclusion that I am standing still and everything is changing around me (although I would like to change very quickly while the world around me is standing still, but beggars can't be choosers). I (as a reader) can also relate to the "I'm out of joint with the world" part too.
Summary: To start off, this book is based off of a series of YouTube videos (which was actually nominated for an Emmy, which is pretty cool), and in this series, we see twenty-four year old grad student Lizzie Bennett judge school, student debt, and living at home with her two sisters. This book is very similar to Pride and Prejudice.
Themes:
The first theme that I see in this book / series is the role of family. In the YouTube videos that I watched, you don't see the parents interacting like normal parents would. I feel as if it is crucial for everyone to have loving parents who care about their kids. In the book, we see the parents interact some more, which is important.
The second theme that I saw in this book / series is hard-work. Twenty-four year old grad student Lizzie Bennett is constantly working hard at everything she does, and we can see what kind of character she is based off of that.
Literary Elements: In this book, there are some literary elements that are present, but I found some of them tricky to find. In the quote that I said earlier, Lizzie is talking about how the world is revolving around her and she is standing still, or that she is changing and the world around her is paused. Although this is not a literary element, the authors made me (or the reader) really think about life and what it has to offer in this quote. When I read this quote, I get this image of me growing up really fast and, all of a sudden, I'm teaching a class, even though I was just in class the other day. Although that is kind of scary, it's exciting at the same time.
Connections: I have never read / seen something like this before. For me, I did not really enjoy watching the videos / reading the book, too (I found reading the book very difficult, as well as watching the videos). I have read books that are kind of similar to this (I cannot remember the names), but I have never read a book that was based off of a series of videos on YouTube (I really like the idea, but The Secret Diaries of Lizzie Bennett was super difficult for me to sink into. Maybe something about the Cubs or Blackhawks would be something that I would REALLY enjoy reading / watching).
Reader Response: For this book (like I just previously said) was super difficult for me to read. I really think that's because this book is more aimed towards girls, instead of 19 year old boys (like me). I also think this book would be very hard for me (I am not sure about everyone else in my group) to teach this in a classroom setting. I think it would be hard to get students to be able to read the book as well as watch the videos that go along with it on YouTube.
Others' Reactions:
A lot of the reviews that I am reading are saying that people who are fans of Pride and Prejudice should read this novel (and vice versa), and Pride and Prejudice is one of the most famous novels every written (mostly because of all of the messages that the author portrays throughout the book). A lot of people said, too, that they would read this book and then watch the YouTube videos that go along with it, or they would see the YouTube videos and then read this book. I think it's a pretty cool concept that the authors were able to write a best-selling novel based solely on a YouTube series. Most of the reviews were also 4/5 or higher, so, although I personally am not a fan, it is safe to say that this is an overall good book / video series.
"Really such a smart way to enhance the entire The Lizzie Bennet Diaries project"
Genre: Fiction
Audience: High School students or older
Read Alouds: "Either I'm changing very quickly, and everything is standing still, or I'm the one standing still and everything is changing around me. Either way, I'm out of joint with the world"
This quote is very deep in the sense that the reader, sort of, can think about it in two different ways. As I read this quote, I thought about how I would look at the world around me, and I came to the conclusion that I am standing still and everything is changing around me (although I would like to change very quickly while the world around me is standing still, but beggars can't be choosers). I (as a reader) can also relate to the "I'm out of joint with the world" part too.
Summary: To start off, this book is based off of a series of YouTube videos (which was actually nominated for an Emmy, which is pretty cool), and in this series, we see twenty-four year old grad student Lizzie Bennett judge school, student debt, and living at home with her two sisters. This book is very similar to Pride and Prejudice.
Themes:
The first theme that I see in this book / series is the role of family. In the YouTube videos that I watched, you don't see the parents interacting like normal parents would. I feel as if it is crucial for everyone to have loving parents who care about their kids. In the book, we see the parents interact some more, which is important.
The second theme that I saw in this book / series is hard-work. Twenty-four year old grad student Lizzie Bennett is constantly working hard at everything she does, and we can see what kind of character she is based off of that.
Literary Elements: In this book, there are some literary elements that are present, but I found some of them tricky to find. In the quote that I said earlier, Lizzie is talking about how the world is revolving around her and she is standing still, or that she is changing and the world around her is paused. Although this is not a literary element, the authors made me (or the reader) really think about life and what it has to offer in this quote. When I read this quote, I get this image of me growing up really fast and, all of a sudden, I'm teaching a class, even though I was just in class the other day. Although that is kind of scary, it's exciting at the same time.
Connections: I have never read / seen something like this before. For me, I did not really enjoy watching the videos / reading the book, too (I found reading the book very difficult, as well as watching the videos). I have read books that are kind of similar to this (I cannot remember the names), but I have never read a book that was based off of a series of videos on YouTube (I really like the idea, but The Secret Diaries of Lizzie Bennett was super difficult for me to sink into. Maybe something about the Cubs or Blackhawks would be something that I would REALLY enjoy reading / watching).
Reader Response: For this book (like I just previously said) was super difficult for me to read. I really think that's because this book is more aimed towards girls, instead of 19 year old boys (like me). I also think this book would be very hard for me (I am not sure about everyone else in my group) to teach this in a classroom setting. I think it would be hard to get students to be able to read the book as well as watch the videos that go along with it on YouTube.
Others' Reactions:
A lot of the reviews that I am reading are saying that people who are fans of Pride and Prejudice should read this novel (and vice versa), and Pride and Prejudice is one of the most famous novels every written (mostly because of all of the messages that the author portrays throughout the book). A lot of people said, too, that they would read this book and then watch the YouTube videos that go along with it, or they would see the YouTube videos and then read this book. I think it's a pretty cool concept that the authors were able to write a best-selling novel based solely on a YouTube series. Most of the reviews were also 4/5 or higher, so, although I personally am not a fan, it is safe to say that this is an overall good book / video series.
"Really such a smart way to enhance the entire The Lizzie Bennet Diaries project"
Comparison paragraph between Once and Surviving Hitler
2/6/17
For this week, my group read the books Once and Surviving Hitler. Overall, I really enjoyed reading both of these books, but if I had to chose one that I liked more, it would have to be Once. Both of these texts illustrate what life was like for people living in Europe during WWII. Both of these texts include families that were living in Europe during this time (either Germany or Poland). In both of the books, the time period is the same; Europe around WWII (there were some events that happened before WWII technically started). In Once, the characters are all made up (it even says that at the end of the book), so it is a non-fiction novel. In Surviving Hitler, the events are all true, but the characters are made up, so it is a historical non-fiction novel. Although both of these novels are fairly similar, they do have their differences. One of the main differences is that in Once, the main character is a young boy who is living in an orphanage, whereas in Surviving Hitler, the main character is living with his family peacefully before being attacked by the Nazis. Although these books have differences, they are similar. As I was reading Surviving Hitler (I read Once first), I was picking up on the similarities between the two texts. When comparing the non-fiction novel to the fiction novel, there were some similarities. As I was reading the fiction one, I felt as if it was non-fiction (like Felix was a real person), which proves how similar these texts are.
2/6/17
For this week, my group read the books Once and Surviving Hitler. Overall, I really enjoyed reading both of these books, but if I had to chose one that I liked more, it would have to be Once. Both of these texts illustrate what life was like for people living in Europe during WWII. Both of these texts include families that were living in Europe during this time (either Germany or Poland). In both of the books, the time period is the same; Europe around WWII (there were some events that happened before WWII technically started). In Once, the characters are all made up (it even says that at the end of the book), so it is a non-fiction novel. In Surviving Hitler, the events are all true, but the characters are made up, so it is a historical non-fiction novel. Although both of these novels are fairly similar, they do have their differences. One of the main differences is that in Once, the main character is a young boy who is living in an orphanage, whereas in Surviving Hitler, the main character is living with his family peacefully before being attacked by the Nazis. Although these books have differences, they are similar. As I was reading Surviving Hitler (I read Once first), I was picking up on the similarities between the two texts. When comparing the non-fiction novel to the fiction novel, there were some similarities. As I was reading the fiction one, I felt as if it was non-fiction (like Felix was a real person), which proves how similar these texts are.
Surviving Hitler by Andrea Warren
Once by Morris Glietzman
The first two pictures are are "Once" and the second two pictures are "Surviving Hitler"
Once by Morris Glietzman
The first two pictures are are "Once" and the second two pictures are "Surviving Hitler"
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie
3/26/17
Music Playlist:
1. Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson
I chose this song to describe Junior because of one lyric in specific. "If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change." In this book, there are so many examples of Junior doing just that; transferring from the rez to Reardan, trying out for the basketball team (even though Junior was convinced he was going to make the C team), asking out Penelope, and so on. When he talked with Mr. P after he threw the textbook at his face, Junior realized that he had so much potential, so he took action.
2. Amazing by Aerosmith
I chose this song because of the lyric "when i was goin insane, tryin to walk through the pain." I feel as if Junior can relate to this lyric fairly easily. The one example that I can think of right off the bat is when his sister died in the fire, because I know that it was real difficult for him to get through. Some other examples would be living with his drunk dad (like how he would spend the little money that the family had on booze), and so on.
3. I wanna dance with somebody (who loves me) by Whitney Houston
This song is a perfect example of Penelope and Junior at the winter ball. Junior had to borrow one of Earl's suits (that was so out of style) because his family is so poor when he went to the dance with Penelope. When he got there, he was dressed for a disco more than a high school dance, so that's why I think that this song fits perfectly; because Penelope and Junior were both really into one another and because Junior was wearing an older suit.
4. Dream on by Aerosmith
I chose this song because of the lyric in the chorus that goes "sing for the laughter, sing for the tears" because, at several times throughout the book, Junior would be laughing when he should be crying and he would be crying when other people would be laughing. Some examples of that would be when his grandmother passed away and the white man came trying to give the dress back, but it turned out it was fake, and when he beat Rowdy in the basketball game.
5. Real friends by Kanye West
Although this song is explicit, Real Friends by Kanye West is my favorite song off of his album "The Life of Pablo." Although the friendship that Junior has with Rowdy is difficult at times, Rowdy comes back to hang out with Junior at the end of the book, proving that no matter how much he hated him, they have this special friendship. In the song, Kanye talks about the relationship he has had with his friends and family and how it has changed since he was living in Chicago. It's, sort of, him talking about how, no matter what happens in life, you'll always have your friends and family by your side.
6. I bet my life by Imagine Dragons
I chose this song because 1) Imagine Dragons is one of my all time favorite bands and 2) because of the lyric "please forgive me for all I've done." I see this lyric relevant when Mr. P comes to the reservation that Junior was living on and talk to him about how he wasn't mad that he broke his nose with the math textbook. Instead of getting mad at Junior for breaking his nose, Mr. P., sort of, tells him about how he is "killing" the indians in his class and that he needs to tell somebody to escape, so that's what Junior eventually does.
7. Redbone by Childish Gambino
At this moment in time, Childish Gambino is my favorite artist. "Redbone" is one of his most popular songs. This song is about racial tension in today's society (I'm pretty sure it was one of the main songs for the movie "Get Out," which is a perfect example of racial tension). We can clearly see this as Junior enrolls at the better school outside of the rez. He was one of the only indians to attend the school, making him a complete outsider.
Sherman Alexie
3/26/17
Music Playlist:
1. Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson
I chose this song to describe Junior because of one lyric in specific. "If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change." In this book, there are so many examples of Junior doing just that; transferring from the rez to Reardan, trying out for the basketball team (even though Junior was convinced he was going to make the C team), asking out Penelope, and so on. When he talked with Mr. P after he threw the textbook at his face, Junior realized that he had so much potential, so he took action.
2. Amazing by Aerosmith
I chose this song because of the lyric "when i was goin insane, tryin to walk through the pain." I feel as if Junior can relate to this lyric fairly easily. The one example that I can think of right off the bat is when his sister died in the fire, because I know that it was real difficult for him to get through. Some other examples would be living with his drunk dad (like how he would spend the little money that the family had on booze), and so on.
3. I wanna dance with somebody (who loves me) by Whitney Houston
This song is a perfect example of Penelope and Junior at the winter ball. Junior had to borrow one of Earl's suits (that was so out of style) because his family is so poor when he went to the dance with Penelope. When he got there, he was dressed for a disco more than a high school dance, so that's why I think that this song fits perfectly; because Penelope and Junior were both really into one another and because Junior was wearing an older suit.
4. Dream on by Aerosmith
I chose this song because of the lyric in the chorus that goes "sing for the laughter, sing for the tears" because, at several times throughout the book, Junior would be laughing when he should be crying and he would be crying when other people would be laughing. Some examples of that would be when his grandmother passed away and the white man came trying to give the dress back, but it turned out it was fake, and when he beat Rowdy in the basketball game.
5. Real friends by Kanye West
Although this song is explicit, Real Friends by Kanye West is my favorite song off of his album "The Life of Pablo." Although the friendship that Junior has with Rowdy is difficult at times, Rowdy comes back to hang out with Junior at the end of the book, proving that no matter how much he hated him, they have this special friendship. In the song, Kanye talks about the relationship he has had with his friends and family and how it has changed since he was living in Chicago. It's, sort of, him talking about how, no matter what happens in life, you'll always have your friends and family by your side.
6. I bet my life by Imagine Dragons
I chose this song because 1) Imagine Dragons is one of my all time favorite bands and 2) because of the lyric "please forgive me for all I've done." I see this lyric relevant when Mr. P comes to the reservation that Junior was living on and talk to him about how he wasn't mad that he broke his nose with the math textbook. Instead of getting mad at Junior for breaking his nose, Mr. P., sort of, tells him about how he is "killing" the indians in his class and that he needs to tell somebody to escape, so that's what Junior eventually does.
7. Redbone by Childish Gambino
At this moment in time, Childish Gambino is my favorite artist. "Redbone" is one of his most popular songs. This song is about racial tension in today's society (I'm pretty sure it was one of the main songs for the movie "Get Out," which is a perfect example of racial tension). We can clearly see this as Junior enrolls at the better school outside of the rez. He was one of the only indians to attend the school, making him a complete outsider.
Book Blog
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
4/3/17
Book: Laurie Halse Anderson. Speak. Harrisonburg, Virginia: R.R. Donnelley and Sons Company, 1999.
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Middle school students (12-15 years old)
Read Alouds:
"It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lid, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say." (page 9).
Themes:
Identity: One of the biggest themes in this book, obviously, is identity. After being sexually assaulted at such a vulnerable age, Melinda didn't know how to handle everything, let alone high school in general. Should she tell someone? Should she keep it to herself? She didn't know what to do. I feel as if this theme is most important because, for middle school students, finding out what type of person is super important and, typically, this is the age gap where students find that out. Besides being sexually assaulted, Melinda had a really tough time transitioning into high school as well, and I feel as if that could have impacted her as well.
Finding one's voice: As well as identity being a theme in this book, finding one's voice is another theme that is is super important. An example of this would be the quote that I put above. At the beginning of the book, Melinda felt as if she had no say in anything and that it would be best if she was just quiet in all situations. After seeing what Andy was doing to Rachel (and with some help from her friend David), Melinda was able to finally speak up and tell the truth. With this decision, we can see how mature Melinda is and how much she has changed from the beginning of the book. At the beginning, she was the outcast, but at the end, she is seen as the hero that stood up and spoke the truth.
Literary Elements:
Symbolism: One of the clear literary elements in this book is symbolism. When the class is reading The Scarlet Letter, Hairwoman claims that there are a set of symbols that act as a code for the reader to crack. Going along with this, The Scarlet Letter itself acts a symbol, as well. The main character in The Scarlet Letter had to wear an A on her on her clothes (the A stood for adultery), and Melinda is, sort of, connected to this character as well. Although she did not commit adultery, Melinda did call the police that night of the party, which in today's society, is considered a totally unacceptable social act. But the actual totally unacceptable social act is what Andy did to Melinda. Until Melinda realizes that being raped was not her fault, she sort of wears this "guilt" (being the one that called the police) as an invisible scarlet letter.
Internal/External Conflicts: Although this literary element is not as profound in the book, I feel as if it is important to discuss. One of the quotes that I remembered is "I have worked so hard to forget every second of that stupid party, and here I am in the middle of a hostile crowd that hates me for what I had to do." (page 28). In this scene, we see how Melinda handles being in a crowd of people. Most of the people were people that know her for being the girl that called the cops, not knowing anything else about what had happened that night.
Connections: I have actually never read any other books that are similar to this book. For a text-to-text connection, the obvious answer is The Scarlet Letter (like duh). I talked about that earlier. In terms of connecting this book to something that has happened in my life, I cannot come up with anything. I've never really been in a situation like Melinda / known anybody that was in her situation, but I'm not oblivious, so I know that no matter how awful it is, it will happen (especially on a college campus). Finally, connecting this text to society. In today's society, people are constantly getting sexually assaulted. There's no way of getting around it; it's going to happen. As horrible as that is to say, it's the sad reality.
Reader Response: I enjoyed this book. Was it my favorite that I have read this semester? No, but I did enjoy reading it. I really liked how this book was relatable, yet not at the same time. When I was reading it, I related to what Melinda was going through, but I couldn't at the same time because I did not go through what she went through. I feel like this would be a good novel to teach to a middle school/high school class because of it's message; no matter what happens in life, you can always speak up and someone will listen.
Others' Reaction: On amazon, a lot of the reviews are positive/a lot of people really enjoyed this book. One woman said that this book is one of her favorites because of how different it is in comparison to a lot of other books. Another review says that this book is good, but it might be a little bit inappropriate for today's age (because it talks about rape).
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
4/3/17
Book: Laurie Halse Anderson. Speak. Harrisonburg, Virginia: R.R. Donnelley and Sons Company, 1999.
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Middle school students (12-15 years old)
Read Alouds:
"It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lid, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say." (page 9).
- I picked this quote because, right away, we were able to find out what kind of character Melinda is going to be throughout the novel. The reader quickly realizes that there is going to be something that Melinda is going to have to get over in order to be a happier and healthier person.
- I picked this quote because it shows how Melinda is connecting Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter to her life. Melinda feels isolated, just like the character in the book. Not only does it show a connection to Melinda's life, this quote represents Melinda's life when compared to seasons. In the winter, Melinda is at her most quiet and depressed, being as quiet as the snow.
Themes:
Identity: One of the biggest themes in this book, obviously, is identity. After being sexually assaulted at such a vulnerable age, Melinda didn't know how to handle everything, let alone high school in general. Should she tell someone? Should she keep it to herself? She didn't know what to do. I feel as if this theme is most important because, for middle school students, finding out what type of person is super important and, typically, this is the age gap where students find that out. Besides being sexually assaulted, Melinda had a really tough time transitioning into high school as well, and I feel as if that could have impacted her as well.
Finding one's voice: As well as identity being a theme in this book, finding one's voice is another theme that is is super important. An example of this would be the quote that I put above. At the beginning of the book, Melinda felt as if she had no say in anything and that it would be best if she was just quiet in all situations. After seeing what Andy was doing to Rachel (and with some help from her friend David), Melinda was able to finally speak up and tell the truth. With this decision, we can see how mature Melinda is and how much she has changed from the beginning of the book. At the beginning, she was the outcast, but at the end, she is seen as the hero that stood up and spoke the truth.
Literary Elements:
Symbolism: One of the clear literary elements in this book is symbolism. When the class is reading The Scarlet Letter, Hairwoman claims that there are a set of symbols that act as a code for the reader to crack. Going along with this, The Scarlet Letter itself acts a symbol, as well. The main character in The Scarlet Letter had to wear an A on her on her clothes (the A stood for adultery), and Melinda is, sort of, connected to this character as well. Although she did not commit adultery, Melinda did call the police that night of the party, which in today's society, is considered a totally unacceptable social act. But the actual totally unacceptable social act is what Andy did to Melinda. Until Melinda realizes that being raped was not her fault, she sort of wears this "guilt" (being the one that called the police) as an invisible scarlet letter.
Internal/External Conflicts: Although this literary element is not as profound in the book, I feel as if it is important to discuss. One of the quotes that I remembered is "I have worked so hard to forget every second of that stupid party, and here I am in the middle of a hostile crowd that hates me for what I had to do." (page 28). In this scene, we see how Melinda handles being in a crowd of people. Most of the people were people that know her for being the girl that called the cops, not knowing anything else about what had happened that night.
Connections: I have actually never read any other books that are similar to this book. For a text-to-text connection, the obvious answer is The Scarlet Letter (like duh). I talked about that earlier. In terms of connecting this book to something that has happened in my life, I cannot come up with anything. I've never really been in a situation like Melinda / known anybody that was in her situation, but I'm not oblivious, so I know that no matter how awful it is, it will happen (especially on a college campus). Finally, connecting this text to society. In today's society, people are constantly getting sexually assaulted. There's no way of getting around it; it's going to happen. As horrible as that is to say, it's the sad reality.
Reader Response: I enjoyed this book. Was it my favorite that I have read this semester? No, but I did enjoy reading it. I really liked how this book was relatable, yet not at the same time. When I was reading it, I related to what Melinda was going through, but I couldn't at the same time because I did not go through what she went through. I feel like this would be a good novel to teach to a middle school/high school class because of it's message; no matter what happens in life, you can always speak up and someone will listen.
Others' Reaction: On amazon, a lot of the reviews are positive/a lot of people really enjoyed this book. One woman said that this book is one of her favorites because of how different it is in comparison to a lot of other books. Another review says that this book is good, but it might be a little bit inappropriate for today's age (because it talks about rape).
The Afterlife by Gary Soto
4/17/17
1) Heartless by Kanye West
Right at the beginning of the book, 17 year old Chuy is stabbed in the bathroom after telling someone that he liked his shoes. Chuy dies almost instantly, and the res of the book is told through the perspective of this dead character. Although this song does not clearly talk about someone getting stabbed, some of Kanye's lyrics are pretty deep and meaningful. One of the lyrics in the first verse goes "How could you be so cold as the winter wind when it breeze, yo." Chuy was simply making small talk with the murderer in the bathroom and then, all of a sudden, he gets stabbed.
2) Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran
A quote that stood out to me in this book is found on page 144. The quote goes "Here was a perfect marriage, and here was music that blessed our journey, for it seemed every other word sung was Jesus." When I read this quote out of the book, I just picture the song Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran playing in the background. That song, in my opinion, is the perfect description of what love is. I just feel as if this song and that quote go hand in hand.
3) Bad Blood by Taylor Swift
I want to first say that finding a song about this quote was really really tricky (I didn't recognize some of the songs that I was looking up, and I tried to avoid putting Taylor Swift because I am N OT a fan of her music at all). After Chuy dies, his mother wants Eddie, his friend, to kill Yellow Shoes to avenge his death. On page 59, the quote goes as follows: "I want you to do it!" she snapped. Eddie looked away. "Come on, mi'jo, you can do it." Do what? I wondered. "I can't -- it's wrong," Eddie answered. He flapped his arms at his side." Chuy's mom wants Eddie to avenge Chuy's death, and the song Bad Blood by Taylor Swift has some lyrics in the song that are perfect for revenge / avenging someone / etc.
4) Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day
In this song, Billie Joe talks about how he walks down the Boulevard of Broken Dreams alone in hopes of someone noticing him when he hears the beat of his heart. As well as being a pretty kick-ass song, the lyrics / meaning behind this song relates back to the song. Chuy really really liked this girl, Rachel. " "Rachel," I said in a pleading voice. I wanted her as my girl. My loneliness was deep as that mirror. What could I do but feel self-pity because the one life I had was gone?" Although the song is not necessarily about girls and wanting to be with a girl, the message, I feel, is the same.
5) Loving Someone by The 1975
This song is interesting because, towards the end of the song, the lead singer talks (he doesn't sing) over the music. One of the last lines that he speaks is "for you are not beside me, but within me." This lyric fits perfectly with the last page of the book. On the last page, Soto says "I received a portion of that dream and felt grateful for it. I loved her like no other. She flew at my side, southward toward what, I now knew, is called the afterlife." Although Soto says that Crystal is flying next to Chuy, they are within each other because they are madly in love.
6) Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day
A quote that I have underlined in my book (I thought it was really deep when I was reading) is "I wanted more from life, even if I didn't have one. I wanted something to really remember" (133). When I read this quote I think of one of the most famous songs by Green Day (I'm not too sure if I have used this song before in my blog, but their songs are really good / very meaningful, especially for this quote). The lyric that mostly relates to the quote from the books is "it's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right, I hope you had the time of your life." Obviously, for Chuy, he would have wanted to live the rest of his life, rather than getting stabbed by Yellow Shoes. I feel as if, for Chuy, he's glad that he died. He was remembered by his friends and family. He fell in love with the girl. So, hypothetically speaking, Chuy DID have the time of his life.
7) BLOOD by Kendrick Lamar
The one artist right now that I am obsessive about is Kendrick Lamar. His new album (which was released on Easter) has a lot of songs that are really different from the rest of his music as well as the rest of music today. In this really slow song (which is the first song off the album), Kendrick talks about how he sees a blind woman who has seemed to drop something and is having a hard time picking it back up. Kendrick goes up to the woman and asks if she lost something, and she responds with "you lost your life," and then there is a gunshot, so the rest of the album is told through the perspective of dead Kendrick Lamar.The quote that relates to this song / this lyric is right at the beginning of the book: "But the private world inside my head disappeared quickly. The guy next to me, the one with the yellow shoes, worked an arm around my throat, snakelike, and with his free hand plunged a knife into my chest." In the book, Chuy was simply giving Yellow Shoes a compliment, just like Kendrick trying to assist the blind woman.
4/17/17
1) Heartless by Kanye West
Right at the beginning of the book, 17 year old Chuy is stabbed in the bathroom after telling someone that he liked his shoes. Chuy dies almost instantly, and the res of the book is told through the perspective of this dead character. Although this song does not clearly talk about someone getting stabbed, some of Kanye's lyrics are pretty deep and meaningful. One of the lyrics in the first verse goes "How could you be so cold as the winter wind when it breeze, yo." Chuy was simply making small talk with the murderer in the bathroom and then, all of a sudden, he gets stabbed.
2) Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran
A quote that stood out to me in this book is found on page 144. The quote goes "Here was a perfect marriage, and here was music that blessed our journey, for it seemed every other word sung was Jesus." When I read this quote out of the book, I just picture the song Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran playing in the background. That song, in my opinion, is the perfect description of what love is. I just feel as if this song and that quote go hand in hand.
3) Bad Blood by Taylor Swift
I want to first say that finding a song about this quote was really really tricky (I didn't recognize some of the songs that I was looking up, and I tried to avoid putting Taylor Swift because I am N OT a fan of her music at all). After Chuy dies, his mother wants Eddie, his friend, to kill Yellow Shoes to avenge his death. On page 59, the quote goes as follows: "I want you to do it!" she snapped. Eddie looked away. "Come on, mi'jo, you can do it." Do what? I wondered. "I can't -- it's wrong," Eddie answered. He flapped his arms at his side." Chuy's mom wants Eddie to avenge Chuy's death, and the song Bad Blood by Taylor Swift has some lyrics in the song that are perfect for revenge / avenging someone / etc.
4) Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day
In this song, Billie Joe talks about how he walks down the Boulevard of Broken Dreams alone in hopes of someone noticing him when he hears the beat of his heart. As well as being a pretty kick-ass song, the lyrics / meaning behind this song relates back to the song. Chuy really really liked this girl, Rachel. " "Rachel," I said in a pleading voice. I wanted her as my girl. My loneliness was deep as that mirror. What could I do but feel self-pity because the one life I had was gone?" Although the song is not necessarily about girls and wanting to be with a girl, the message, I feel, is the same.
5) Loving Someone by The 1975
This song is interesting because, towards the end of the song, the lead singer talks (he doesn't sing) over the music. One of the last lines that he speaks is "for you are not beside me, but within me." This lyric fits perfectly with the last page of the book. On the last page, Soto says "I received a portion of that dream and felt grateful for it. I loved her like no other. She flew at my side, southward toward what, I now knew, is called the afterlife." Although Soto says that Crystal is flying next to Chuy, they are within each other because they are madly in love.
6) Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day
A quote that I have underlined in my book (I thought it was really deep when I was reading) is "I wanted more from life, even if I didn't have one. I wanted something to really remember" (133). When I read this quote I think of one of the most famous songs by Green Day (I'm not too sure if I have used this song before in my blog, but their songs are really good / very meaningful, especially for this quote). The lyric that mostly relates to the quote from the books is "it's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right, I hope you had the time of your life." Obviously, for Chuy, he would have wanted to live the rest of his life, rather than getting stabbed by Yellow Shoes. I feel as if, for Chuy, he's glad that he died. He was remembered by his friends and family. He fell in love with the girl. So, hypothetically speaking, Chuy DID have the time of his life.
7) BLOOD by Kendrick Lamar
The one artist right now that I am obsessive about is Kendrick Lamar. His new album (which was released on Easter) has a lot of songs that are really different from the rest of his music as well as the rest of music today. In this really slow song (which is the first song off the album), Kendrick talks about how he sees a blind woman who has seemed to drop something and is having a hard time picking it back up. Kendrick goes up to the woman and asks if she lost something, and she responds with "you lost your life," and then there is a gunshot, so the rest of the album is told through the perspective of dead Kendrick Lamar.The quote that relates to this song / this lyric is right at the beginning of the book: "But the private world inside my head disappeared quickly. The guy next to me, the one with the yellow shoes, worked an arm around my throat, snakelike, and with his free hand plunged a knife into my chest." In the book, Chuy was simply giving Yellow Shoes a compliment, just like Kendrick trying to assist the blind woman.