Katherine's English 1 Blog

Gregory - Purple Hibiscus Response Julia - Free Post=Poem

I have really been enjoying my ninth grade year. Actually, I'm kind of sad that it's almost over. Of course, I'm excited about summer and tenth grade, but it feels like I just started ninth grade a few days ago. Throughout the ninth grade year, I have been able to improve a lot. For example, my essay writing has gotten a lot better from where it was at the beginning of the year. I use more vivid words, think about my word choice more, and can explain my ideas in a clearer way. I have also improved my presentation skills. I used to get very nervous about presenting in front of my classes. Once, I started presenting every few weeks in my AP Spanish class, that fear went away. I always think that if I can present for ten minutes in Spanish, I can present anything in English. So, I have been able to take skills I have learned in one class, and apply to the majority of my classes, which has been so helpful this year.

In Purple Hibiscus I have noticed that there are a lot of gender issues. Not only does Papa beat Mama, but he also does not invest as much into Kambili's education because she is a female. The society also expects women to look away at certain mmuo  because some are too scary or not appropriate subjects for women to look at. Kambili and her family also hold the belief that it is sinful for women to wear pants or shorts. All of these suggest Kambili's society and her family to be sexist. I've also noticed that Kambili's family is against tradition. They are serious, too. For example, Kambili's father hates when people speak Igbo. Although, Igbo is their native language. Papa also can't stand his father because he is a traditionalist. An instance where Kambili's family was very serious was when she dreamed she was laughing, but she didn't know what her laugh sounded like (88). This shows that Kambili never really laughed.

Grace - You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home - Hannah Montana Tucker - Poetry

I picked "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus because it was one of my favorite songs as a kid. In this song, it uses anaphora, sibilance, and assonance to convey its meaning of never giving up and continuing to try.  Keep on moving Keep climbing Keep the faith baby It's all about It's all about The climb Keep the faith Keep your faith Anaphora is used here by repeating the words keep and the word phrase it's all about. This emphasizes to continue to try and never give up. The word phrase, it's all about, also allows listeners to understand that the end goal isn't always the most important. Really, she wants to convey that the journey is what's the most important. There' s a voi c e in s ide my head s aying S ometime s I'm gonna have to lo s e Sibilance is used here to soften the effect of the song. It calms the audience by using the 's' sounds. She wants to convey that the audience should not worry about the end goal, but relax t...

Ocean that flows Clear skies above Flowers don't grow This place, I love. Cool sea salt wind Clear, blue water Sun's never dimmed How I wonder. The beach, the place I love to stay. Strategies: End Rhyme, Sibilance, Euphony

Gregory - LAUNCH: Effective Risk Taking Katie - My Weekend

               I started my weekend by staying after school on Friday and watching the boys Varsity playoff game. They played Newman and won! On Saturday, I went to National History Day in Port Allen. Julia, Anna Claire, Katie, Adam, and Grace were there with me. I won third place in my category, meaning that I get to go to the state competition in New Orleans.               On Sunday, I woke up and immediatly started working on homwork because I hadn't done much on Saturday. I worked on the multitude of projects and studied for the tests I had for the coming week. Later, I went to a friend's house later, and we played basketball and watched Law and Order. I came home a few hours later and finished up all my homework and studied for the ACT. 

                One of my favorite Launch Day presentations was Caroline Crawford's. I loved how throughout her presentation she was able to keep the audience's attention through her humor. I also loved how she compared the marketing of store-bought items to how we can all succeed in life and "market" ourselves. I liked how she outlined all of the steps on how to succeed. It was a really easy presentation to follow.                  Elliot Kellam's presentation on water was really interesting. I liked how he gave us the background of why the sound of water calms and relaxes us. I also like how he used his own experience as a swimmer to explain his love of water. He believed water was a great place to meditate and take a break from the hectic world.