Summer Reading Project: Entry four: Monster by Austin Sewell

The reason I chose Monster by Walter Dean Myers is because I really liked how the cover of the book looked it really drew my attention. Also I read the back and I liked it so it caused me to read this book. Also my brother read this book last year and told me how great the book was and how I would enjoy it, and I like how the pages are really short so the book looks long but really isn't very long. There weren't really any connections between me and this book because I've never been to court or jail or accused of murder, so no not really. I would recommend this book to people who like crime or investigation books because this book is all about a crime. Also I would recommend this book to pretty much all readers because I feel like everyone should read all types of books not just one particular genre, so even if you might not be interested in this book why not give it a try, you just might like it. Overall I really enjoyed Monster and all the exciting moments in the story and I believe many other people will too. 

Summer Reading Project: Entry three: Monster by Austin Sewell

In my summer reading project Monster by Walter Dean Myers there are many interesting, exciting and good parts throughout the story. For my audience of this blog post I want to hook you to my book Monster and give you many detailed, and good reasons on why you should read this book. Monster is a really good book with many exciting parts to it. The pages aren't to long so it doesn't take that long to read. Also it is written by one of the best authors ever, Walter Dean Myers. You should read this because you get to read all about Steve Harmon and see if he gets accused of murder or not and what he has to go through throughout the book. Also you'll encounter many other characters such as Kathy O'Brien, James King, Richard Evans, Sandra Petrocelli, and Osvaldo Cruz. This book has a really good ending that I don't want to give away so you should go out and read Monster because it is really exciting and will make you keep reading. All the characters play very key roles throughout the story. Will Steve be accused of murder or not you will have to read Monster to find out.

Summer reading project: entry two: Monster by Austin Sewell

In my summer reading book Monster by Walter Dean Myers there were many things that some characters really wanted or desired through out the whole book. The main character Steve Harmon really wanted to be free and innocent for the crimes that he was being comminuted for. Also James King was also a young black man who was a little older than Steve Harmon who convinced Steve to be a part of his crew which will rob the drug store. James really wanted to rob that drug store but now really wants to be innocent which will likely not happen. Also Richard Evans who was the guy who was accused of being in the store at the time of the murder. He was the guy that stole the money from the cash register. He really wants to be innocent but that will also likely not happen. Some themes that are beginning to appear in this book is everyone involved in the crime just want to be innocent and free and want all of this to go away. The way that this book is structured is it has really short pages so that you can read through the book faster and you feel like you are reading a lot more. Also this book is structured to have a really interesting beginning that make the reader more hooked to the book earlier and really keeps the reader engaged in the story from the start.

Summer reading project: entry one: Monster by Austin Sewell

The book that I choose to read was Monster by Walter Dean Myers. Some of the major characters in this book were Steve Harmon who is the main character in the book. Steve is sixteen years old and a black man who was arrested for acting as the look out in a robbery that goes bad. Other main characters are Kathy O'Brien who is Steve's defensive attorney. Another main character was Sandra Petrocelli who was the assistant district attorney. Other main characters in Monster are James King, Richard Evans, and Osvaldo Cruz. The setting in Monster is the book takes place in Manhattan and Harlem, New York City. The main conflict in this book is a sixteen year black boy named Steve Harmon finds himself on trial for murder after being accused of being a lookout for the guys that actually rob the Harlem drug store and kill the store owner. This book is a really good book so far I predict that Steve will get away with this. I really enjoy reading this book because it is really good and it is really similar to a lot of movies and TV shows that I see out there. I also really like how the pages are a lot shorter so I don't get overwhelmed with a lot of words. I really look forward to finishing up this book and getting into the ending of it to see how it finishes up.

The Blind Side

The Blind Side

Go Ask Alice

This week in reading Go Ask Alice, I didn't read that much this week but I did get to some key parts. Alice started doing drugs again and did what she promised she would not do ever again. Her and Chris just could not help themselves. "I've never had it better than I had it last night!" That is what Alice said. But her and Chris got caught by their parents. Alice now cant go anywhere without her mom being overprotective of her. Alice's mom seems disappointed in her ever since she found out about Alice doing drugs. I wonder what will happen next for Alice? I feel like if she keeps using she will get caught by the police or maybe something bad might happen to her. I cant wait to read next week and find out if Alice continues to misuse drugs.

Go Ask Alice

This week in reading Go Ask Alice, Alice and Chris finally return home! They were very home sick and tired of living the way that they were living. They came home just in time for the holidays so they got to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with their family. Alice has been clean now for a very long time but I feel like that could change. Alice goes back to school for the first time all year and now she has been in a good mood all the day since the experience she had with Chris.

Will Alice's good mood keep up? Will Alice stay off drugs? Those are some questions I would like to figure out and I feel like I will probably figure out soon. I think Alice will go back to using drugs and get in trouble for it. A boy named Lane wants drugs from Alice but Alice does not want to get involved with him. "But mother sensed something was wrong and told him I was ill."(95) Alice's mom might think something is up with this Lane kid. Will Alice's mom find out that he wants drugs from Alice? Will Alice's get him the drugs? These are some questions I hope to be able to answer soon. I think Alice's mom will find out about something bad Alice has done. I can't wait to read next week to find out.

Go Ask Alice

This week in Go Ask Alice I got to a lot of key parts in the story. Alice and Chris run away from home to live in California after they walked in on Richie and Ted stoned making love. They both really trusted Richie and Ted but after that they got so mad and are never talking to those two again. Alice told the police about those two before they left. Alice and Chris then finally woke up early in the morning and caught a bus to San Fransisco. They are leaving it all behind. At first when they get there they have to move into a really small and not the best place to live apartment. After a while they both finally find jobs. Chris's owner Shelia tells the two girls that she is having a party that night and they get to go. Shelia has many parties and they both keep going having a good time then one night they tried heroin. Alice found out later that Shelia and her boyfriend Rod took turns raping them. Chris and Alice move to Berkley after that and start there own shop and get a new place and start over again. Alice is becoming majorly homesick as Christmas gets closer and closer. An example to show that is, "I called mom." This is the first time she has called her mom since she ran away from home I wonder if Alice will go back home with her family.

Alice and Chris were both very very upset after what happened with Richie and Ted and then with Shelia and Rod. I can tell Alice is tired and fed up of doing drugs and when she gets her hopes up bad things just keep happening. I feel like Alice is going to go home with or without Chris. I can tell by Alice's tone that she is done living this way and just wants to go home and back to school. I am very excited about what will happen next and if Alice and Chris will go home or if they will keep living the way they keep living.

Go Ask Alice

"Last night was the night, friend! I finally smoked pot." That was a quote said by Alice after earlier in the book she promised she would not do any more drugs. This week in Go Ask Alice I did not read as much as I wanted to but I did get to some key parts. Alice met this girl named Chris and Chris gave her a job where they work at a clothes store. Chris and Alice get high together and Alice has not talked to Beth since last school year.

I wonder if Alice and Beth are done being friends? I guess Alice's new best friend is Chris. I cant wait to keep reading to see if Alice continues to use drugs or if she goes back to how she used to be and be clean. Go Ask Alice is a great book and I'm enjoying it a lot so far.

Go Ask Alice

This week in reading Go Ask Alice I read a lot. Alice is now back from her grandparents at home. Right before she left her grandparents house her grandpa had a heart attack. Also she Roger, the boy she has like since kindergarten, came to visit her grandparents house. Roger asked out Alice and Alice was very excited. Now that Alice is home she is looking forward to seeing Beth again. But Alice has a lot of problems sleeping for awhile so she had to go to the doctor. When she found out she was not pregnant she was very happy and could feel more relaxed and start sleeping again.

I'm really interested to see what will happen next in this book. Will Alice continue using drugs? What will happen with her and Roger? Will her and Beth's friendship be the same? I can't wait to keep reading. I think her and Roger will not see each other anymore. I don't think her and Beth will be the same, I think this because the quote i found says, " Beth came back from camp, but she hardly the same person." I feel like something might have happened to Beth over the summer that will change her and Alice's relationship. I cant wait to keep reading to find out.

Reading Teacher wants students to pass test, love books

Mrs. Ramsey Homework

By: Austin Sewell

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/03/15/krista-ramsey-third-grade-reading-guarantee/6475723/

Mrs. Ernsthausen, a teacher at a school in Ohio wants to have more kids not just reading at school, but reading at home and more often not just because you have to but because you like to read. She works hard teaching her 3rd graders to get ready for 4th grade, and she feels the OAA is a lot of pressure on the kids to have to pass one test to move on to the next grade.

The line in this piece that I think is a well written line is, “And as a third-grade teacher, I want them walking out the door ready – but I also want them walking out the door loving to read.” This line is a really good line because this teacher isn't just throwing her students to the next grade she wants them to work hard at it by reading a lot and enjoy reading different kinds of books. Syntax: This lines sentence length is 25 words so I would say it is a medium length sentence. Diction: Concrete diction that I found was when she said "door" this is concrete diction because you can see a door.

Some things I noticed about Ramsey's writing style are she isn't writing like a story ever she is writing about stuff that could be potential problems in our world. She always uses quotes from people she is writing about to get there opinion. She writes in short paragraphs for all of her pieces because of her quotes. Also she always uses dashes (-) in her writing. Some examples that I found in her writing that show these writing techniques are from the text, "For better vision, kids need time outdoors." The quote says, "sauntering to his car- continually hunched over his smart phone or iPad." Another quote I found that shows her writing style is from, "Super Bowl QB's score points for great style." The quote says, "something of an event- dinner at a nice restaurant." Another quote I found that shows her writing style is from the story I picked today. The quote is the one I said earlier, “And as a third-grade teacher, I want them walking out the door ready – but I also want them walking out the door loving to read.” All of these quotes show the writing style of Krista Ramsey.

One question I would ask Mrs. Ramsey is: Why do you write? I feel this is a simple question but I would really like to know why. Second question I would ask her would be: How did you become a writer? And the last question I would ask her would be: Before you begin writing something, where do you get most of our ideas from?

Go Ask Alice

This week in Go Ask Alice I didn't read as much as i wanted to, but I did get to a very big part in the book. School is officially out and Alice is at her grandparents house for most of the summer. At first she did not want to go. But then she meets Jill who she knew before she moved but was not really that close with her. Alice and Jill go back to her house and a bunch of people are there.

Alice then for the first time in her life tries drugs. Alice felt amazing at first but then after she felt kind of ashamed. But then she wants to try other types of drugs and does it with this guy named Bill who she likes. I am very excited to see what will happen next and if Alice is going to get addicted to drugs. Alice seems to really get a thrill off of them so I think she will become addicted, so I think she will. What will happen if she does? One example from the book that shows Alice's might become addicted is: "I positively can't wait to try again. No wonder it's called speed!"

Go Ask Alice

Alice finally made a friend at her school and she liked her but I could tell Alice didn't want to be best friends with this girl. She liked her but the next girl that she meets is Beth. Beth lives very close to Alice and Alice really likes her a lot.

Beth is Jewish and Alice thought it was very neat because she learned a lot from Beth about that religion. Alice said Beth and her are becoming best friends which is good. Alice isn't that popular at school and hasn't talked to any boys yet at her new school, but she doesn't seem to care now that her and Beth are friends. I'm very interested to see what will happen next and if she will meet any boys.

Go Ask Alice

So far in reading this book I am starting to get farther and farther into the story. Alice finally moved and at first she was excited but she still has made no friends and has gained weight so she is really upset and does not want to go to school.

The new setting in the book is Alice's new home and her new school. I'm really excited to keep reading to see if she will make any friends and fit in better in her new school.

Go Ask Alice

So far i am still not that far in the book and not much has happened. Alice and her family just moved to a different house and town. I am very excited about what will happen next. I want to see if Alice will get along in school and make new friends.

The setting now in this book is Alice's new house and her new school. Alice and her family still have to get all of there stuff in there new house but Alice is very excited about moving but she is worried about making new friends. I cant wait to keep reading to find out if she fits in well at her new school.

Go Ask Alice

I'm reading Go Ask Alice by anonymous. This book is about a girl that writes in her diary as much as possible and tells her story through the format of her diary. I like this book so far because it is different, it's not just a story where there are chapters, its told through her diary which makes it very interesting.

I am not very far in this book so far, so far not much has happened but I am very excited to get further into the book. The setting so far in the book is at Alice's house or at her school. I really like this book so far and am excited to get more into it.

Reflection

Reflection

  http://austinsewellsreadingblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/conflict-in-blind-side.html
My reflection will be over the conflict of Michael Oher in The Blind Side. In this book Michael has to go through a lot like being homeless and finding a way to get good grades. These are two big conflicts because being homeless is very dangerous and scary, Michael had to sleep on the streets and wear the same clothes everynight, that would be very hard to do and would make me feel lonely. When he finally does get a place to stay he has another big conflict on his hands, getting good grades. Grades are very important and at first Michael was very bad and if he wanted to play football he had to get the grades. This conflict is not as big as being homeless but if Michael wanted to go to college and play football he had to get his grades up. These two conflicts are huge throughout the book. Michael had to overcome a lot to get where he is today and these two conflicts in my mind were the biggest obsticals he had to get through in his life.

The goals that I have for reading next trimester is I want to read more books, I felt like this trimester I didnt read as much as I usaully do and I want to read more books and I want to read books that I might not be very familiar with or couldnt imagine myself reading it. For writing, the goal that I have are I want to write more stories. Last year I felt like I wrote a bunch of stories that were just for fun, so next trimester I hope we get to write more fictional or non-fictional stories. Some areas of improvement for reading is I want to better understand harder or more difficult stories by using context clues. I feel like that will really help me out in the long run and will make me a better reader overall. Some areas of improvement for writing is when I do write stories I want to make them more detailed for the reader. If I can add more detail in my writting and make it much more interesting to the audience I feel like I will become a much better writter.


What I have learned so far in Reading The Blind Side

So far in reading The Blind Side I have learned that life can be really tough sometimes but you got to pull through and try your hardest at everything you do. Michael Ohers story has inspired me so much.

This story truly makes me want to go out into the world and help people without a home or food or a place to sleep at night. So this book has really made me look at some of the little things in life.

Blind Side

This book was very god the setting made it really good so did the imagery and characterization.

My Opinion

I believe that Michael Lewis, the author of the Blind Side wrote this book because he believed it was a great story about someone who went from being homeless to playing in the NFL .

He wanted the whole world to see the story behind Michael Oher, and how much he went through in his life. I believe he also wrote this to inspire people who maybe are having problems with there life, this book could really help them.

Setting in The Blind Side

The setting in this book is a Christian School, also the Tuohy hosehold where Michael is staying. Also you could say the Ghettos is the setting.

These places contribute to the story because if the book took place in any other places the story wouldnt make sence and it would be much different. So these settings contribute to the story a bunch.

Charaterization in The Blind Side

What some of the characters are like is Michael is very shy but nice so far through the story. He is upset with how his childhood has gone so far it seems like.

The mom has a fighter like attitude it seems like she never quits. The whole family seems like they have that kind of attitude and it really makes the story how it is.

Conflict in The Blind Side

The main conflict in this book so far is Michael dosent have a place to stay, he is homeless. This is a big conflict because he has to sleep on the streets and dosent have any clothes besides the one that he is wearing. It is very cold and he is wearing shorts and a shirt so that is a problem.

When he meets the family he solves his first conflict. But when he has to go to school he has another conflict. He has to keep his grades up if he wants to play football so he has to solve that conflict. These two conflicts are two major conflict throughtout the story.

The Blind Side

Through the past week I read to page 50 in The Blind Side. So far Michael Oher is staying with the white family. They found himwalking in the streets and they picked Michael up and hes staying with them for now.

This book is very good so far, ive seen the movie and I really liked it and so far im really enjoying the book. I look forward to keep on reading this book and get more into it.