Letter

Dear Classmates,

Well this year has been interesting, and the butterfly effect had a large part in it all. I have enjoyed working with all of you, and class everyday brought new things to the table and made my life a bit better. We've all had our ups and downs in this class, and we have shared them all with each other. I'm glad to have worked with you guys, and am looking forward to next years class, which I will probably have with a few of you.
Hope to see you all next year.

Matthew Kallenberger

Class reflection

150min- Macbeth

I normally do come prepared to class. There have been a few instances when i have forgotten something at home or in my locker, but generally I have my things. I do use my time between classes, but sometimes it can be difficult. Getting from one place to another and having to go to your locker can stretch you out. I don't check my email daily, but i do check it about once a week or so.  Turning in assignments though was rough for me. If i did have my assignments, I would turn them in when ever you had asked for them.

Comment wise, I always tried to ad something when ever I thought I had something of value to add, I would try to say it, be it a question or comment. I was a good listener, although I zoned out and chatted with a few people on occasion.

Individual work I was great at. I worked as best as I could, without distracting or interrupting people. I worked hard and tried to get my things done. Group work I also got things done, I might not have been as focused as I would be alone, but I did get my stuff done. As a group, I never tried for the minimum, but as an individual, the minimum was usually what I ended up doing. I never tried to do the minimum, but it happens.

This year compared to last was better. My length in work got bigger, and my overall product and working effort did improve. My participation grew, but I think its because the topics interested me more. I did try to participate, instead of staying quiet in class and just listening.

Reflection

150 min - "A Rumor of War"
Before this year I had been stuck reading various fiction series such as the "Inheritance Cycle" and the newest "Percy Jackson" series.  This year my outside reading has included a wide variety.  I read a sci-fi series, "Halo", and an autobiography, "A Rumor of War".

I've learned this year that the quanity I read is strictly dependent upon my interest.  In other words, if I don't enjoy the books, I don't enjoy reading.  My interest seem to change over time, but continues to be focused on fantasy fiction.  I did enjoy the autobiography I read, "A Rumor of War", because it was a real and gave insight into an individual, not a group of people.   

Ive tried to see if there were ever any underlining meanings in the text that I've read, but I find this difficult.  Sometimes I found something, other times I didn't.  It really depends on the genre and author.  I think my next will be the third book in the new Percy Jackson series.  I will look around look around for new books to read.  Summer is usually a good time for me to try something new.

free write

These witches, these things, they have said to me that I am to be king. What a boastful and down right absurd statement. But they also claim that I will be Thane of Cowdor, and this has already come to pass. What if the witch's words holds some truth? If they do, them I will let chance take its course. If I will be king, then I will be King only be chance, I will not interfere with these matters.
Now I must write to my wife, letting her know of these things, and to tell her to prepare for the king, for he is coming. She will be most troubled by these things, and no doubt will have a say so in it. But i must stick to it. I will not interfere. I mustn't.

MacBeth

Writing Wrap-Up

            Through the 9th grade year, we have done multiple writing assignments for different topics and reasons. But they all have things in common that effect the over all quality of writing such as Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, and Conventions. My writing, as I have seen by looking at my papers, has improved greatly, going from a D paper, to a B paper.

            Conventions include grammar, spelling, and punctuation. This would be my strongest point, but does need work. Proper citations and MLA format though seem to be the weak point for conventions; the specifics really. I understand all the general ideas of it, but when it comes to applying it, I forget some of the smaller specifics. Another thing would the length of an overall paper. Many have pointed this out to me and I do try to lengthen the paper, but with little to no success.

            Word Choice would be my second best. Sometimes though, I’ll use an awkward word or phrase that can make the sentence difficult to read. What I need to understand better is what words to use and when to use them. Word Choice and also affect my Voice.

            Voice over all for me is just average. I think I need to understand who/what my audience is and how I’m suppose to talk/write to them. Each paper is different as is it audience, so it’s a big thing. Voice helps convex your thoughts and options on the topic you’re writing about, so it can affect a lot about the paper. But Ideas is where the over all substance is at.

            My ideas for a paper I have noticed are usually average, but do need a lot of work. My thesis ideas have come along way, but my support has stayed average the whole time. What I need to do is expand on my ideas, find more support in the text in some cases, and explain it as deeply as I can. My sources are good, and I can make a good conversation between them, but I need to go in deeper with them, using them more and try to expand as much as I can on it.

            So this year has been an eye opener. I understand more about what is required in high school, and think I am better prepared for sophomore year. My papers will be deeper, and will defiantly be lengthier. Ill work a lot more on my thesis’s, and will hopefully do better in general when writing for my next teacher.

1. Awkward wording- literacy narrative …”being the most”…
2. Confused  words- “weather” with “whether”- profile
3. Tense shift- … “draws first and he drew”….-Literary analysis
4. closing spaces between paragraphs-literary analysis
5. Citations- literary analysis, global issues
6. alphabetize citations-global issues
7. good opening sentences- “The game room of my house is on the second floor…”- profile rough draft
8. pronoun agreement-profile

Song Annotation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWa082xMwkk

For my song, I choose something that I've been listening to for a while.  So, I already have some understanding about what it's saying.   This is my interpretation of it. My song choice is Citizen Soldier by 3 Doors Down. Much of the song itself is pretty straight forward, but there are a few points that I just love. Starting with the middle of the chorus when it says "holding the lights for the ones that we guide from the dark of despair".  It's a personification of the soldiers guiding us away from the dark, protecting us from what ever , or whom ever, would want to harm us. In this case the dark are the things that would want to hurt us, and the soldiers are the light holding the dark at bay and guiding us to a safer place.

The other part is when the song says "I walk beside you, but you may not see me.  The strongest among you may not wear a crown". This is also personification ,but it has some interesting word choices as well. It's talking about the soldier walking beside you, but you not seeing him or her.  It's saying that there is more to the person walking beside you than just what you see on the outside.  The soldier is basically two different people, but you wouldn't know that by looking at him or her. Which is where the personification and word choice come in to play. The second part of the phrase where it says " The strongest among you may not wear a crown" would mean that the person you are looking at is stronger than he or she appears.  Hero's don't have to look the part, or have to act the part, they just do what they've been trained and told to do. He or she may not be popular, but the soldier has meaning and purpose, and they will protect you even though you don't know who they are or what they are really doing.

A rumnor of war 2

150 min= R.O.W.
In A Rumor of War, the story is based on a man own expirences. The author (the soldier in the book) doesnt really use many figurative forms of writing. He instead tells you how it happened as if you were there with him. Since its an auto biography, your getting all of his feeling and emotions of the war from his point of veiw, which helps convey the story and actions in the story.
You understand why he does something or why he would do something. You begin to understand the soldiers more. At the end of a chapter, his platoon is destroying a village that housed Viuet Cong. As this is all happening he describes his men as mad animals, but its just ified when you relize why. They were all learning to hate, as the auther put it. This village aided men who wanted to kill them. They wanted justification. They wanted revenge.

the whipping

150 min. R.O.W.

In "The Whipping" I noticed something funny. A point of view is never really set. In the majority of the stanzas, its from a 3rd person prospective, but in the 4th and 5th stanzas, it seems to be from the boys point of view. And then at the end of the 5th stanza it switches back to 3rd person.
This could be so that you feel a bit of empathy for the boy; you can feel his pain. But it never goes to the mother's point of view. It's either the boy's or 3rd person, which could back up the idea that you are supposed to empathize with the boy, or have some sort of emotional connection with him.

A Rumor of War.

150min=A rumor of War

When ever I  went to the library i saw this book called A Rumor of War. I new it was about Vietnam, but I never really felt like reading it. Last week i saw it on a stand so I flipped to a random page in the book and started reading. Already I could tell that this was a good book.
Its about the life and expirences of a marine in Vietnam and what he went through over there. I haven't gotten very fare into the book, but from what I have read, it is a very good book. Since the detailing is from the perspective of one of the soldiers, you undertand what they were thinking, joining the army right before a war, and why they did. It sheds new light on what it means to be a soldier. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in auto-biographies like this.

NC

150 NC

Nervous Conditions is starting to make a bit more since to me now. It doesn't jump around as much as the beginning, and the things she do jump to are relevant to what shes talking about. The book to m,e flows better.
I'm also starting to get the emotional feeling of the book. When Nyasha was getting beaten, i hated that part because i could just see it in my mind and was just like 'my god, that's horrable'. I mean it is when your reading it, but when you can visualise it, its worse.

Italy is over, but the memories stay.

In Italy, i got to see more then i could ever hope to see. I never thought that I would get to go there. But now i have, and i will never forget it. WE went to Ostia, the Vatican, Pompeii, Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Anticapri, Rome, and got to see so much of it all. IF i could go back for a month i would still miss something. There is always something to be seen in Italy, weather its a statue, a beautiful house, or a little gelato store that's the second best in all of Italy.
I will always remember this trip, the things Ive seen, and the people Ive meet. But I'm sorry if i respond to you in Italian, bit of a force of habit now. Ciao!

my italy trip

150 min


   My Italy Trip this Mardi Gras is going to be great. First we'll leave from NO at around 10 and fly to Atlanta, and from there we go on a 14 hour trip to a small town in Italy who's name escapes me. We'll spend about a day or so there, then continue by charter bus to Rome, Italy. In between we'll go to Pompeii.
   In Rome we'll be able to see the Colosseum, the Vatican, and much more. As of now I'm still packing (on orders from my parents, if i had it my way, id just pack the night before). Ive got an all new camera for the occasion, and I'm using some company phone from the company we used to book our trip. i know for a fact this will be the best trip I've ever taken .

My paper so far

So far my paper is go9in along well. I do have the minimum of writing but would like more, so ill work on that in later drafts. The formation might be a little messed up, so if we have time in class, ill work with Dr. D in class on that. But the subject matter is interesting.
I never thought that a political change like this would really matter. Changes like this happen all the time. But its the details of what will happen that are interesting. If North Korea does decide to go to war, most if not all of southern Asia will be a war in some form or another. And then the U.S. will probably intervene and help someone, most likely South Korea and China (if china were to get dragged in) since they are our allies. Its a very interesting issue.

Nervous Conditions

60min NC

60min Reasearch draft.

From what I can tell of the first chapter, this is going to be a very bias based book. It will also be confusing. In the first chapter the main character, Tambu, goes off rambaling about brother and how much she dislikes him, but she also goes off into tangants about random things about her life style, which can make the whole story confusing.

 She starts off talking about her brother, and why he doesnt like to walk, then she starts talking about all the things a person could do on the walk he has to take, and then after two or 3 paragraphs links that to why she hates him. So it can get a bite confusing at times, since she does somthing like this ever couple of paragraphs.

Inheritance 3 Spoiler

            As Eragon continues on with his goal, he figures something out, the posable location of a solution to his final goal, the end of Galbatorix. As his supporvisers decide to let him go, he travels for 4 to 5 days to the island of the old Riders, the place where the Rider's headquarters once stood. As he makes the journey Roran continues one with the main army twards Galbatorix's capital, Orbain. When the Varden's army reaches the capitol they must stall in order to wait for Eragon to return from his journey.
            Three Days after he arrives at the island, he understands how to get to the solution. And if I contunue any futher it will ruin the book intirely. So i will end it here. If you want to find out what eventually happens, read the serises, not just this one book. Now THAT ruins everything.

Inheritance 2 Spoiler( kinda) do not read unless your are not going to read this book

             For this blog I felt that I should go a bit deeper into this book since its just so big. Eragon, being orphaned as a baby and brought up by his uncle, who died in the first book, is no only relying upon himself, his cousin Roran, and his dragon, Saphira. He has braved many battles and killed many, and he is now so close to his goal that he could run for a day a reach it( this is very significant since most could not, but he can because the bond between a dragon and rider changes the rider to become more fast, strong, and agile). But he is also very fare away from it, because he has neither the means nor the know how to finish his goal, to kill the evil king Galbatorix.
            Eragon, along with Roran, must help the Varden, a rebellion lead by Narsuda against the Empire and Galbatorix. Eragon help take city after city, along with Roran, who him self helps capture a city with little men nor the necessary supplies needed to take the city. Eragon, on the other hand, must figure out a way to bring down the mad king with the little knowledge he has, and a riddle given to him by the wearcat, Solumban.

I will continue on with the story in my next blog
150min. of work down

Inheritance

This is the final instalment of the Inheritance serises, by Christopher Paolini. The books goes through the final weeks for Eragons Campaign against Galbatorix, the mad king of Aligasia. In this book, Eragon must find a way to end Galbatox and free Aligasia. By wit and truth luck, He finds a secret that could and does tople the mad king.
This book is compelling in many ways, from the sad but nesaccery ending, to the strong and compelling battles for every inch to the main goal, Galbatoix.

What to blog?

So for my first blog, I honestly don't know what to blog about. Most of the things about school some of you could probably guess. So I'm just going to say this, leave comments in the comment section below or email me about what I should blog about on facebook twitter or Google+(ray William Johnson quote i don't have a twitter or a google+, unless thats GMail then i do) And if you can't comment then tell me in person cause i see ever one of you ever day.