Soul Surfer

Author's Note: I wrote the rough draft of this piece while I was Up North. My sister has watched the movie, "Soul Surfer" one thousand times, so I decided to write about it. My focus is word choice.

At the age of thirteen, Bethany Hamilton was attacked by a shark. The young surfer lost an arm. But this didn't stop Bethany. She worked every day to get back into shape, and used to surfing with one arm. It paid off. Bethany has won many awards for her amazing comeback. Not only did she continue surfing, but her story continues to inspire others.

Do you know a person like Bethany? Somebody who's had a major accident or event occur in their life, but continues to persevere? My friend Kylee is a perfect example. Kylee is a very skilled gymnast. Just recently, eight year old Kylee found out that she broke her foot. The injury happened right before competition season. Although she couldn't do her full routine, Kylee worked hard to stay in shape until her foot had healed.

People like Kylee and Bethany continue to influence people today. Both suffering from major pains in their lives, but still they continue to work hard at their goals. If you go through an obstacle at achieving your goal, use stories like these to motivate you to keep going.


"Bethany Hamilton - Shark Attack Survivor and Surfer - Oprah.com." Oprah Winfrey's Official Website - Live Your Best Life - Oprah.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Bethany-Hamilton-Shark-Attack-Survivor-and-Surfer>. 

Fall

Author's Note: I just got back from an amazing trip Up North. It's right around Halloween so everyone is dressed up. I decided to do a Haiku on Fall. My focus is voice. 

Leaves always dropping,

Halloween and Thanksgiving,

The beauty of Fall

"Bob Atkins - Digital Photography - Camera Reviews - Lens Tests - Canon EOS FAQ - Nature - Wildlife - Gallery." Bob Atkins - Digital Photography - Camera Reviews - Lens Tests - Canon EOS FAQ - Nature - Wildlife - Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://bobatkins.com>.

Scarlett O'Hara

Author's Note: I just finished reading the book: Gone With the Wind. This piece is about the main character Scarlett and how she is ignored by her "friends". I focused on sentence fluency in this piece. 

Have you ever felt that you just don't fit in? That no matter how hard you try, you just aren't accepted by society. Maybe you are bullied because of it. If this is you, then you know exactly how Scarlett O'Hara felt. She didn't have the same political views as the other families in Georgia. She was ignored because of it. Bullying is a selfish way to hurt somebody, both emotionally and physically.


Scarlett is good friends with Rhett Butler. Rhett is the only person who truly understands Scarlett. This is the reason why she likes him. Unfortunately, Rhett is an outcast as well. This makes the problem with her friends grow worse. After they get married, they are both completely ignored. That is, until Melanie hears about what's been going on. Scarlett never liked Melanie, but she sticks up for Scarlett anyways. 

Ignoring someone is a mean way to bully them. It is very effective. The person bullied can be hurt by it. This was the case with Scarlett. No matter how hard she tried, her friends would never accept her for who she was. The only person who never left her side was Melanie. She was also the one to get the bullying to stop.

On average, 70% of kids are bullied some time in their life. If more people became like Melanie, the bullying would decrease. All she did was make people think about what they were doing, and they stopped. If you see someone being bullied, stand up for them. Even if the bullying doesn't stop, it would be nice to know that someone is there for you.

"CyberMentors is a Beatbullying project - How many people are affected by bullying?." CyberMentors is a Beatbullying project - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://cybermentors.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=40>.

Technology

Author's Note: I came up with this topic by doing a word association. It's a persuasive piece on laptops at our school and how they are useful.

Everyday, people use technology.  Whether it is used for work, school, or pleasure, technology can come in very handy. For example if cell phones weren't invented, if you were in an emergency situation away from a town you wouldn't be able to call for help. Technology was made to help make life easier. It has. Without, many new devices, we would not be where we are today.

At the Pewaukee School District, middle school and high school students are all very lucky. Everyone has their own laptops. Students can use these when working on projects, math, or researching different information. They can also be used to email teachers or other students for help.  But, as useful as the laptops are, there are some negative aspects about them.

Students can often be caught playing games on their laptops. This can be negative because likely, the teacher won't catch them. This could encourage the student to play more often. Also, cyber bullying is a possibility. Although it may not happen as much in the Pewaukee Schools it's always possible. Students could receive hurtful emails, or even have their computer hacked. For these reasons, laptops may not be the best idea.

I think that in the Pewaukee School District that more likely then not, laptops are used appropriately.  The technology department does a good job blocking harmful sites, and pictures. Also, most students are respectful to others, and their laptops. I think that the Pewaukee School District is very blessed to have this opportunity.

Survival

Author's Note: I started this piece while I was at the Milwaukee Public Museum, in the Rainforest exhibit. I focused on voice in this piece.

Fear of what will happen next

Scared of the world around you

Running,

Chasing,

Hiding,

Insecure in your home

Never having enough to eat

Looking, but finding none

Hunting,

Nothing,

Starving,

Always hungry

All alone all the time

Nowhere to go

Waiting,

Crying,

Hurting,

Left to die, by yourself

Then you look up

You see the sun

Hoping,

Praying,

Wishing,

A friend is there

Gone With the Wind

Author's Note: I wrote this piece about Scarlett O' Hara, the main character in the book: Gone With the Wind. I focused on Sentence Fluency in this piece. 

Scarlett O'Hara is a typical southern girl in the 1800's. She has been brought up with the ways of her society. She is vain, and spoiled, she is used to getting what she wants. This isn't the case with Ashley Wilkes. Scarlett claims she loves Ashley and begs him to stay with her, even though he is engaged  to someone else.  Jealousy is a terrible thing, especially when it will cause you to have hatred for someone or something.

 

Have you ever had a friend make a team, or get a part that's better then what you got? Even though, you know that you're better than them. This is the case with Scarlett. Ashley is engaged to Melanie Hamilton. A weak, skinny, girl who's not nearly as pretty as Scarlett. Scarlett's confused -- why would Ashley want to marry a girl like Melanie? Sometimes it's hard to understand why others get better things then us, even though we think we deserve it.

Scarlett knew she deserved Ashley. She was used to having every boy want her to like them. Now she wants what she can't have. Jealousy is awful in her case because now Scarlett hates Melanie. When someone is jealous like in this case, it can hurt the other person. Melanie does not yet know why Scarlett doesn't like her, but at times, it's obvious that she doesn't. Melanie loves her sister in law Scarlett and tries to please her. This case proves that jealousy is mean, and it can affect others.

Halloween

Author's Note: I really enjoy doing closed poetry so I did a Cinquain poem on Halloween. My focus is on voice.

Halloween

Trick-or-Treating,

Walk door to door,

Making all of the kids happy,

Candy

43, A.D., Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. They combined their own festival for the passing of the dead with Pamona, and Samhain.. "Halloween - History - Information - Projects." Halloween - History - Information - Projects. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://halloween.whipnet.net>.

The 5 Themes of: St. Germain

Author's Note: I chose to write about St. Germain, because I love going there. I thought it would be interesting to learn something about a place I love. I focused on sentence fluency in this piece.

The five themes of geography help you understand facts about a certain place. For example, St. Germain. It helps you analyze specific things, such as immigration of the area, plants and animals there, and the population. The five themes of geography is really useful when you need help thinking of things to research when doing a project, essay, or report.

One of the five themes of geography is Location. When researching location, it is concerned with the question, "where  is it?" The latitude and longitude of St. Germain  are 45.902, and -89.487. That is the Absolute Location. St. Germain is located in Vilas County, Wisconsin. It is near  Eagle River and Sayner.

The next theme is Place. A question to ask yourself when studying Place is, "what is it like there?" In St. Germain, the total area of land is 40 square miles. Out of this, 6 square miles is water.  There are many lakes in St. Germain, including: Lost Lake, Found Lake, and Shannon Lake.  Because there are so many lakes, the amount of precipitation is high year round.  Also, St. Germain gets a lot of snow in the winter months.  Snowfall can get up to 20 inches a month.

Theme number three is Human-Environmental Interaction. It is concerned with the question, " what is the relationship between the people and their environment?”   The pollution levels in St. Germain are relatively high.  Air pollution is 80%, Ozone is 86%, Lead is 60%, Carbon Monoxide is 104%, Nitrogen Dioxide is 69%, and Particulate Matter is 56%. All these are either the same or lower then the pollution levels in Eagle River, which is a bigger city.

Movement is the fourth theme. A question related to movement is, " how are people and places connected?"  In St. Germain there are many hike and bike trails. Everyone enjoys the beautiful scenery while getting a good exercise. I love riding my bike here because there are so many places to go. My aunt and uncle know all the routes up there so I get to go on a lot of new ones.

The last theme is Region. Region is concerned with the question, " how can we divide up the world to make sense of it?" St. Germain is in the temperate deciduous biome. This biome is characterized in many ways, including: having trees that are deciduous. This means that they have trees that the trees shed their leaves in the fall.

Throughout the year, St. Germain is a wonderful place to be. Whether you go on a bike ride, or just sit and relax. The five themes of geography helped me understand more about the area, and analyze all the information that I learned. 

Giese, Julie. "5 Themes of Geography." Social Studies. ACMS. N/A, Pewaukee. 15 Oct. 2011. Class lecture. 

"Biomes." Washington DC High-Speed Internet, Digital Cable TV and Home Phone Service Provider - RCN. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/B/Biomes.html#TemperateDeciduousF

"Saint Germain Populated Place Profile / Vilas County, Wisconsin Data." Wisconsin Gazetteer: City Profiles, Physical & Cultural Features. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://wisconsin.hometownlocator.com/wi/vilas/saint-germain.cfm>.  

"Saint Germain, WI Pollution Levels and Indexes - CLRSearch." Real Estate Search Engine - CLRSearch. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://www.clrsearch.com/Saint_Germain_Demographics/WI/Pollution-Levels?compare=54521>.

"St. Germain, Wisconsin (WI) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news, sex offenders." Stats about all US cities - real estate, relocation info, house prices, home value estimator, recent sales, cost of living, crime, race, income, photos, education, maps, weather, houses, schools, neighborhoods, and more. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://www.city-data.com/city/St.-Germain-Wisconsin.html>. 

Ocean Energy

Author's Note: I wrote this piece on whether Ocean Energy is a viable alternative to our current energy crisis. I focused on idea development and content in this piece.

Oceans cover over 70% of the Earth. That being said, they are the world's largest solar collectors. Oceans can produce two types of energy; thermal energy, from the sun's heat, and mechanical energy, from the tide and waves. With so much surface area, more sun can hit it, providing more energy. However, mechanical energy is caused by the gravitational pull of the moon, and wind, which makes it less consistent. So, is Ocean Energy, really the answer to our current energy crisis?

Thermal Energy depends a lot on the temperature. The warmer it is, the more Thermal Energy is produced. It also depends on how much of a substance there is. In the case of Ocean Energy, it could be very helpful since there is a lot of it.When converting into energy, there are three main types of systems used; the closed-cycle, open-cycle and the hybrid. The closed-cycle uses the ocean's surface water. This vaporizes a working fluid. This vapor expands and turns a generator, providing energy. The open-cycle boils the water which creates a steam. This steam passes through the generator. The hybrid system is a combination of both. Thermal Energy is much different than Mechanical Energy.

Mechanical Energy is primarily effected by the wind, which causes the waves, and the gravitational pull from the moon, causing the tide.Unlike Thermal Energy, Mechanical Energy usually requires more mechanical devices then Thermal Energy. I think that Ocean Energy is not a viable alternative to our current energy crisis. This is because of it's consistency. Although Thermal Energy is fairly constant, Mechanical Energy is not.This makes it an unreliable source.



Dumas, Leila, and William G. Lamb. Forces, motion, and energy. Austin: Holt, Rinehart And Winston, 2007. Print. 
"Programs & Services | World Ocean Observatory." Programs & Services | World Ocean Observatory. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://thew2o.net>. 

The Louisiana Purchase

Author's Note: This piece was written about the Louisiana Purchase. I am doing a project on it, but  this is not my reflective piece. My focus is on organization.

In 1803, one of the largest land purchases was made. The Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase had a huge impact on the future of the United States. What would have happened if we hadn't purchased the land?  The Louisiana Purchase had a huge affect on the United States, because of the amount of new land that there was.

Napoleon Bonaparte was the leader of France. He originally bargained with Spain the rights of the United States. The bargain was the kingdom Etruria in Italy for the United States. Spain happily agreed and the Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed. Napoleon planned on using the land of Haiti (which was owned by France) as a war base. He planned on sending soldiers to the United States from there. The people of Haiti revolted, though and Napoleon’s plan failed. For this reason, he sold the United States the land of Louisiana. 

  

The final cost of Louisiana was 15 million dollars. Today if the same amount of land was purchased, it would equal 242.7 million dollars. There were over 800,000 square miles purchased. 14 whole or partial states were purchased. This nearly doubled the size of the United States.

Thomas Jefferson was the president during the time of the Louisiana Purchase. He was the one who decided to purchase the land of Louisiana. This was a wise decision because, the price of the land would have increased over time. This was only one of the big accomplishments during his presidency. He was also the one to hire Lewis and Clark to go on their expedition.

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were hired by Thomas Jefferson to explore the new land. The cost for the trip was going to be around $2,500. Since there were no forms of modern transportation at the time, Lewis and Clark had to do the whole trip by foot or boat. They started the trip in 1803. Lewis and Clark called their expedition “The Corps of Discovery”. They were successful and brought back their findings to Jefferson.   

 

My original driving question was: What impact did the Louisiana Purchase have on the future of the United States? If it wasn't purchased, would we have the same protection we do today?  If the United States would have waited to buy the territory, the price of the land would have increased dramatically, and the amount of land might have even gotten smaller. The United States might not have become the great country that it is today.

Savior

Author's Note: After doing word association, I picked this as my topic. I decided to try using a new kind of poetry so I used the Diamante structure. In the Diamante structure, you start out by writing about a subject, then change to writing about the antonym. I focused on voice.

Jesus

Perfect, Holy

Redeeming, Saving, Loving

Mighty, Good, Serpent, Tempter

Hating Deceiving, Disobeying

Angry, Evil

Satan

"Nashville Scene." Nashville Scene. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://nashvillescene.com>.

Friend

Author's Note: In this piece, I tried writing a Cinquain poem. Let me know what you think!

Friend

A friend listens.

They will be there for you,

and they make life a lot more fun.

Partner

Me and my best friend, Jordan!