Speak Response

Speak

“Authors note:

I wrote this piece to demonstrate my understanding of a Compare and Contrast Response.”

                In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and in the movie there are many similarities and differences. Even though both books have the same plot there are some events and details that are tweaked. Since some events that are in the book are different than in the film some of the same events might be better in the book than the film. Just because the film and novel have the same plot there are still different details

                 One main event that is different in the book and the movie is that when she gets raped in the book[IA1]  it is in the woods but in the movie she gets raped in a car. “We were on the ground. When did that happen? “No.” This is when she gets raped in the book. Another difference is that she doesn’t go to Heather’s house at all during the movie [IA2] but in the book she goes to her house a couple of times.  Finally in the novel Melinda meats Heather in the auditorium and in the movie Melinda meats Heather on the bus.

                There are also similar events in the book and movie as well. For example in the movie and book she starts out the first day of school with a “new notebook, a skirt she [I] hates, and a stomachache.”  Another similar event is that in art class she picks “tree” out of the bin of slips and has to make it come alive by the end of the year. Finally both in the movie and the book she tries as hard as she can to not speak.  

                In conclusion the movie and the book are very much alike. The book and the movie also have some differences to but you really need to have your brain tuned in to find the differences. Overall even though they have some differences the overall plot is the same so if you watch the movie or read the book you will get the overall idea.

---

 [IA1]I like the event in the book better because I would rather picture it myself instead of seeing it happen.

 [IA2]I wish they would have had a scene at Heather’s house so we could see her room because I am curious of what it really looks like.

DWA

Tyler Kiser

4/25/13

Mrs. Reagles 5^th hour

Text Analysis Essay

Every Little Detail

“Author’s Note:

I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding of Text Analysis.”

Have you ever listened to someone that knows every detail of every event he has taken place in? Do you know a person that does that? In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night-time, a book I have read recently, the main character and narrator knows all the tiny details to all of the events that he has witnessed in the past and events in the present. This character isn't your average teenage boy though: he is autistic. Christopher, a 14 year old boy has a form of autism and OCD, he doesn't liked to be touched, he can name all the countries and their capitals in the world, and he knows all the prime numbers up to 7,057. Christopher is really just a smart human. 

Christopher from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night-time picks up every detail to everything he sees. For example when Christopher first goes on his walk in the middle of the night, when he finds dead Wellington he has to pinpoint exactly what house the dog was dead in, "She lived on the opposite side of the road, two houses to the left." (2) This is where the house is on his street where he found the dead dog. Another example of his specific details is "And Mr. Jeavons smells of soap and wears brown shoes that has approximately 60 tiny circular holes in each of them." (5) This is when Christopher describes Mr. Jeavons. Really he can't help not being specific about everything; it is just how he is.

Christopher is a very smart boy especially in Math. Whenever Christopher gets mad or angry he "counted slowly to 50 but without doing the cubes." (170) Christopher was mad at the train station so instead of throwing a fit he counted to 50 but this time he didn't do all their cube roots. He also knows all the countries and capitals of the world, " "The capital city of Venezuela is... (a) Maracas, (b), Caracas, (c) Bogota or (d) Georgetown." And I knew that it was Caracas." (30) This shows that Christopher knows his capitals very well. This also shows that even though he has autism he can still be smart. Just because he is special doesn't mean he can't be intelligent  like other people. 

Christopher reminds me of a character from a TV show. His name is Shawn Spencer  and is from “Psych”. Shawn is a detective for the Santa Barbara Police department and is just like Christopher in so many ways. One way they are alike is he notices all of the tiny details that the other characters miss. He then uses them to solve crimes like Christopher who solved the Wellington Case. Finally they both are very intelligent. For instance Shawn took a police test to see if he qualified to be a detective and he aced it while no one else in history has ever got a 100%. On the other hand Christopher got an “A grade” on his A level math test.

Overall Christopher is a kind-hearted,  smart kid like everyone else or most people at least. Just because he has autism doesn’t mean Christopher can't change the world with his 6th sense. You never know, maybe someday Christopher will become a real astronaut  or a detective with his highly sophisticated brain. In conclusion Christopher John Francis Boone isn't your average teenager, but a brilliant 14 year old.

"A Clean Well-lighted Place"

Even though a book and movie can be about the same topic or story there can still be many scenes, many lines, and many characters that are different. An example of this is the short story and film, “A Clean Well-lighted Place”.  Even though it is not a long film it has a lot of tiny details different from the story. There are also many parts that are the same too.

 For example one thing different in the movie from the story is when the waiter pours the old man another drink he doesn’t fill it up high enough and the old man wants more. When he pours the extra drink in, the waiter gives him a bad attitude and fills it over the rim, but in the story he pours the extra beer in kindly. Another difference is in the story the old man sits in a chair covered in the shadows of the trees, while in the movie he is in a booth with tons of light shining on him.

 The story and movie also have some things in common. One example is in the story and movie the dialogue is exactly the same, word for word. This made the story make a little more sense because it was a little confusing but when you see it in action it clears things up. The last example of how they are the same is the week before the old man tries to commit suicide by hanging himself but his niece comes to the rescue and cuts him down.

These two pieces share many things in common and have many differences, but in the end both the movie and the story share same meaning.  They both make it clear that the old man is in a lot of despair and darkness, along with “…the waiter in a hurry…” too. On the other hand the waiter who looks on the positive side walks in the light and not into darkness and despair. If it all came down to the dark and the light which side would you pick?

Creative Writing

Tyler Kiser

4/11/13

Mrs. Reagles 5^th hour

Creative Writing

Refereeing

“Author’s Note:

I wrote this piece to demonstrate my understanding of creative writing.”

It had to have been the most boring 8 hours of my life. I had been sitting there in the same seat for 5 hours now and final it was time for test. I better pass this. I thought. I don't want to retake the whole 16 hours over again just to be a soccer referee. 

Finally as all the tests were out, we began. As I soared through the question, through the pack-it, and through my mind, I finally had got into my rhythm, 20…40…60…80…90, 10 more left! I'm in the home stretch of the class! 3...2…1, the last question! I filled in the last box and turned in my test praying and hoping I pass. 

"Okay you guys can get can get up, take a break, and eat your lunch," the instructor informed us.

"Finally," I whispered to my neighbor while going to the hall.

"Do you think you passed?" Hunter asked as we got outside.

"I hope," I answered.

"Me too! That would suck if you didn't, having to retake the whole class!"

"I know! It would suck!" 

"I could barely last 20 minutes in this class without getting bored, but having another 16 hours on this 16 hours, I would die!"

"I feel ya bro, but I'm gonna go eat, I'm starved!" I answered while walking away. 

When I got to my seat, I pulled out my lunch and dug in right away, instantly entering heaven. This right here is some top quality food. I thought jokingly. It feels like I haven't ate in ages!

I devoured the roast beef sandwich, the apple, the chex mix, until I came to my last substance of the glorious food: the granola bar. "No! It can't be, my lunch was just so scrumptious, but now it's gone!" I whispered painfully while finishing the granola bar.

"Okay everyone back in to find out your grades and get out of here!" the instructor said enthusiastically.

"Thank God I finished my food before we had to come in because that would have been horrific having to give up my babies!" I murmured.

Soon we were all back in and they began handing the tests back, "John, Matt, Tyler..."

There was my name, I better have passed or I will be really pissed! I thought while walking up to get my test. Once it was in my grasp I read the score at the top: 92%! I passed! 

"Thank goodness!" I shouted a little too loud and got a couple odd stares. "What? I passed!" I said in return.

"Hopefully you guys are happy with your score, but now it’s time to wrap this sucker up! Everybody make sure you have everything and get out of here!" she stated as we all rushed for the door.

When I broke into the open, through the crowd I spotted my dad sitting in his "sports car" waiting for me. Once I got into the car I broke him the news, "I passed!"

Word Choice and Context

Tyler Kiser

3-14-13

Word Choice and Context

Mrs. Reagles 5^th Hour

Dreams

Dreams, dreams, dreams. “Dreams” by Langston Hughes is a glum poem. It describes in vibrant words why you always need to have dreams even if you doubt they will come true. In the text it also describes why the world needs dreams because if we didn’t everything would be boring or “…if dreams die/ Life is a broken-winged bird.” If “Dreams” wouldn’t have contained the juicy figurative language it would be dull and boring, just like the world without dreams.

Throughout “Dreams” there is one type of figurative language that sets the tone for this part of the poem and it is a metaphor. The first metaphor states “Hold fast to dreams/ for if dreams die/ life is a broken-winged bird/ that cannot fly.” This compares dead dreams to life as a broken-winged bird. It tells us that when dreams die off life compares to a broken-winged bird that can’t fly. Which means that when dreams die off life doesn’t move forward with new ideas, but stops advancing and progressing.

The second metaphor of “Dreams” is “Hold fast to dreams/ for when dreams go/ life is a barren  field/ frozen with snow.” This time the second metaphor in “Dreams” compares life without dreams to a barren field with frozen snow instead of a broken-winged bird. The meaning of this metaphor is that when dreams stop life freezes up and doesn’t progress with new ideas, but instead the happiness in the world dies away.

The tone in “Dreams” makes me feel sad and glum because of the way he uses his two metaphors in the poem. It adds a sad tone because of how he compares life without dreams to a broken-winged bird or a barren field frozen with snow. I think he compared life without dreams to those two things because he wants people to know how sad and dreadful life without dreams would be.

I believe that Langston Hughes wrote this poem to emphasize his point of not giving up on dreams and to not stop dreaming.  He wants this because he didn’t have an easy life when his parents separated and he had to live with his mom’s mother. It got even worse when his grandma died and he had to move to live with family, live with friends, and even live with James and Mary Reed. In the end when times were tough he would read his books and dreamed that “…when people suffered, they suffered in beautiful language, not in monosyllables, as we did in Kansas".[IA1] 

Overall Langston Hughes wants us to dream and come up with new ideas because he knows when people do that the world becomes flourished with happiness, not broken-winged birds. Also he uses figurative language to make the poem sink in even more than without metaphors and ripe words. In the end when Langston Hughes wrote “Dreams” if he wouldn’t have used juicy word choice, and figurative language, this poem would be dull and boring just like the world would be without dreams.

---

 [IA1]His life inspired him to write this poem, to keep people dreaming when times were tough, and to not give up on dreams like he didn’t.

Personal Narrative

Tyler Kiser

2/25/13

Personal Narrative

Reagels 5^th hour

Hide the Glowstick

“Author’s Note:

I wrote this piece to demonstrate my understanding of a Personal Narrative.”

            We flew through the woods, with the moon high in the sky. It was providing us with minimal light to guide us through the path. “C’mon on where is it,” my dad whispered impatiently over the humming of the engine.

“I am totally lost! We have looked all over and haven’t found anything at all!” I shouted back as we soared through the woods on our a.t.v.  Then there out through the trees in the distance I caught a glimpse of the green glow.

“Dad, dad I think I see it over in the back yard!” I said anxiously.

“No way that’s like the most obvious place ever!” he said as he shut off the lights.

“Then why didn’t we look there then?”

“Well I don’t know.”

“Whatever let’s just go!” I whispered over the stalling engine.

            As we started up going again my dad kept the head lights shut off and we went “stealth mode”. We shot through the endless rows of trees until we ran into a problem: the competition. We heard them coming down the path and instantly my dad cut right off the trail and right into a tree. “Don’t make a sound,” my dad whispered as he shut off the engine. GRRRRRRR! You could hear the competitions’ engine rumble as they rode past.

My cousins are really clueless sometimes. I thought when I couldn’t hear their engine anymore.

            Finally we took off down the path passing wildlife, passing trees, and passing brush until we broke out into the open and there it was: the glow stick. All of a sudden out of the blue came our cousins, flying down the driveway and gaining on us. Instantly after we saw them my dad full throttled it and man did we soar.

Soon we were within 50 yards of the objective, but we started tilting on our two wheels. We were going too fast and the ground started to slant, we were on the side of a hill with only two wheels on the ground until… BAM! It flipped! The a.t.v came crashing down on my leg! “Ow!” I screamed.

With my last effort I pushed through the pain and ran for the glowstick. Soon I was within 10 feet, my cousin Jake to my left and my sister Hailey to my right. On my final push I dived for the glowstick and grabbed it right before they could grasp the string of the glowstick. We had did it! We won!

Rush for the Gold

Tyler Kiser

2/25/13

Character Analysis

Reagels 5^th hour

Character Analysis

“Author’s Note:

I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding of Character Analysis.”

            She flew through the water taking a breath every few strokes, closing the gap between her and the final wall. Will she make it? Can she win? Do you believe in Susan Carol Anderson? Well in the book Rush for Gold by John Feinstein you can find out if she will push through with her strength and courage to take on the 200 m butterfly. Susan Carol Anderson in the book  has amazing courage, strength and heart.

            Susan Carol has outstanding courage and persistence to train for races, but more importantly to make it to the Olympics. “In the summer I would crack out 12,000 m a day.” She will push forward even if it means spending all of her time training and preparing for a chance of a life time: to win a gold medal. Susan Carol also gives her hardest even when she is struggling to finish the last leg of the biggest race of her life. “Just about out of air, she forced herself to stay down for the last three strokes.” As she pushed herself to her limit she dominated her opponent to qualify for the Olympic swim team. “Next to her name was the pretties sight… the number 1.” Susan had finally took first in the 200 m butterfly after taking second in the 100 m butterfly earlier.

            In this book Susan has one big heart, caring for everyone even if she doesn’t like them. She especially cares for her dad, even though he may be getting persuaded by money she still loves him. “He seems to be losing it… he said he would never side with agents, but now he does.” She barely got that out before bursting into tears, because her dad had promised her he would never side with the agents. Stevie, her best friend, says she has such an amazing and caring smile that he calls it, “The Smile”. “She gave him The Smile when she first saw him.” In the end she always has a positive attitude when it comes to life, always laughing and having fun.

            Overall Susan Carol has an amazing heart, has amazing courage, and has amazing perseverance. She does this because she grew up with loving and caring parents, which some of that happiness may have rubbed off on her. Susan will always pull through for you in the end and will keep you company with “The Smile”.

Creative Writing

Chairs

DING! DING! Crap, of course the school bell has to ring now! Let’s just hope I don’t have to meet with Mr. Fat Albert again, he smells like rotting fish and he could probably lay off the cookies, I thought.

The students stormed in the class room screaming and yelling at one another, or should I say “talking” to one another. Soon enough the kids started picking their seats and then there he was; Mr. Fat Albert was coming right for me! “Oh no, oh no!” I …whispered to myself. “This is not happening!” Squish!

Ewe! was my only reaction when he first hit my seat. All his juicy blubber molded around my seat forming a perfect square. I will not be able to handle this for long! 4^th hour this fat arse is going to get it once and for all! When he gets back from lunch I’m going to bring down the hammer! I plotted.  

The kids rambunctiously entered the class room after lunch like a herd of baby elephants, all of them screaming and shouting. Then the real elephant walked in the room: Fat Albert. Every step he took you could fell the floor shake. Finally! Bring it on fatty!

Once he sat down I took my plan into action, I slowly rocked back and forth on my four legs, it felt like I had a 10,000 pound brick sitting on me but after I put enough force… POW! That kid hit the ground so hard I thought the ground would be dented, but it seemed like the ground was okay. “WAH!” Fat Albert wailed. “Mommy! Mommy! Where’s my mommy?”

“Oh I got that kid good this time,” I said as he got walked out of the room to nurses office balling.

“This chair must be broken, otherwise Johnny wouldn’t have tipped over,” the teacher told the class.

“Really his name is Johnny, wow I thought Fat Albert suited him better,” I said sarcastically.

“Well, would someone like to help me get this broken chair out of here?” asked Mrs. Douser.

“Me! Me! Me! Pick me!” shouted a boy from the back.

“Okay I guess Timmy will get to help me and he won’t have to do his math homework tonight,” Mrs. Douser stated. Instantly after that the whole room erupted with kids shouting “No I’ll do it!” or screaming, “Pick me instead!”

“Everybody quiet and in your seat now!” Mrs. Douser shouted. “Now Timmy let’s go bring this out to the garbage pick-up area.”

Wait no! You can’t take me out to the garbage disposal!” I dreaded as they picked me up and took me out. “I’m doomed, I thought. I’m doomed.

Essay

Tyler Kiser

Reagels 5^th hour

Essay

11/2/12

Premier

"Authors Note:

This piece is about Premier. I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding of an essay."

“Come on you guys let’s go!” Brian screamed as Joe Hartung took it up the field. When  Joe charges down field he gets approached by the right wing defender and dominates him with a croave to take it to the top of the 18. You can hear the opponents’ coach screaming and shouting for the defenders to drop, but it is too late. Joe dishes it to Brandon who strikes it right to the back of the net. “Yeah! Way to go,” our coach screams just as the opponent takes the kick off. Now do we play for the win… or the tie?

            5-1-2. Is this a good enough record for you? Well for my team, Pewaukee Sussex United this is still not good enough. As the year has progressed we have improved individually and as a team. We will also have to make tough decisions that we make as a team, like moving up to Premier or staying down in 1^st division, to our coach making decisions about who plays where. Overall the biggest decision we have to make is either going up a level or staying where we are and win our division.

With this decision that we are going to have to make a lot will come after it. For example if we are to stay down in 1^st division we will still need to have the same amount of practices a week which will keep our skill up. Also we will still have the same amount of games that we had this season. The teams that we will play though will not be as advanced as the Premier teams we would play if we move up. Tournaments we will enter in will have more competition than usual because we still need a tough challenge every once and a while. 1^st division will also give us many opportunities that we would not have if we move up to Premier. Our team will be able to travel in state and out of state to tournaments that we will not be eligible to enter in Premier. In state we would be able to go to Appleton for the state cup and for out of state we would be able to go to Kansas city for the President’s Cup which is only for 1^st division teams. Finally if we stay in 1^st division our coach is going to set us one goal and one goal only: to win the division.

On the other hand if we would move up to Premier there would be many differences from this year. This means that at practice we need to improve many things like first touch because if that doesn’t improve we would look as dumb as a football player trying to play soccer. Another thing that would need to improve would be our possession game because if we don’t improve that we wouldn’t even make one successful pass. Finally we would need to improve our practice time, improve our practice quality and improve our practice drills.  If we do this we will be able to improve our game play and be more of a competition to the opponent.

“Ref, time?”

“Under a minute,” he answers.

“Let’s go!” I shout.

Soon enough the opponent has a breakaway down the field and has our final defender to defeat. He tries to dribble right through him but gets stopped with ease by John who plays a long ball up to Joe. “Push up!” my coach screamed.

We shot down the field  determined to get the winning goal. TWEET, TWEET, TWEET! The game was over, we tied.

Overall our team Pewaukee Sussex United has to make some tough decisions that will affect what we are and what we do. It will even decide what our competition will be like in the future along with our record in the league. Our record at the end of the season will play a big role what will happen in two years; will we move up, move down or stay the same? Is our record is good enough?

Point of View

Tyler Kiser

2-11-13

Mrs. Reagels 5^th Hour

Point of View

Point of View

“Author’s Note:

This piece is about point of view. I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding of point of view.” about H.I.V.E. I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding of theme.”

                In the song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by: Taylor Swift it is about Taylor getting her heart broken by her boyfriend, but then soon after he wants to get back together with her and makes excuses that he will better. This results in the song being in the first person point of view and in which the narrator is Taylor Swift. From this perspective the event of her boyfriend dumping her is more dramatic and heart breaking than as in the boyfriend’s point of view.

          One way that Taylor’s point of view influences the reader interpretation is that in the event of Taylor’s boyfriend dumping her the first time and when they don’t talk at all she has it up to the top. “This is it, I've had enough…”. This proves that she can’t take it anymore and is completely done with him. It also shows the reader how she has been going through this problem with her boyfriend for awhile now and that it hasn't been working out. “I remember when we broke up the first time.” Finally this shows how they have been struggling for awhile now and it sums up why Taylor is just finished with him.

          On the other hand the reader would feel a lot different about their troubles and breakups if the song was written in the perspective of the boyfriend. For example the reader wouldn’t feel as bad for Taylor and they would realize that her boyfriend tried to make things better, but Taylor didn’t appreciate it. "Baby, I miss you and I swear I'm gonna change, trust me." After he said this Taylor just ripped on him. “Remember how that lasted for a day?” She didn’t appreciate that he was just trying to help out with the relationship and make things better.

                                               

          As you might have realized, the point of view of this song forces the reader to only see one side of this event in the song. This is why it is important to understand the narrator’s point of view, but also to try and infer what the other point of view would feel like.

The Phone Call (3^rd Person)

Ring, ring, ring… ring, ring, ring… “Hello.”

“Taylor please let me fix our relationship! I will change!”

“Remember last time how that barely lasted for a day.”

“That was the old me! Please let’s get back together.”

“I still don’t trust you, you need to prove it to me.”

“Okay I will do anything, just give me a second chance!”

“Are you free at 7?”

“Yes, how about Apple Bee’s?”

“You got it, see you there.”

“I knew you would give me a second chance!”

“I love you.”

Click, buzz.

“Finally a second chance!”

The Date (1st Person in the boyfriends view)

“What should I say, what should I do, how can I impress her?” I thought to myself. “When will she get her? It’s already 7:30, she was supposed to be here an hour ago. I shouldn't have trusted her that she would actually give me a second chance. She probably already has another song out. Always lying, just to make people feel bad for her.”

Ring… Ring… Ring… “Hello? Where are you, you were supposed to be her 40 minutes ago.” I said.

“Sorry, I have other plans that I forgot about. Don’t worry though we can get together ano…” she responded.

“No I am done with you!” I shouted, cutting her off. “You said you would be here, but you aren't! Good bye.”

Beep!

            “I thought she actually cared about me again! I am absolutely done with her, forever!” I murmured to myself as I walked out the door. 

"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"

I remember when we broke up the first time
Saying, "This is it, I've had enough," 'cause like
We hadn't seen each other in a month
When you said you needed space. (What?)
Then you come around again and say
"Baby, I miss you and I swear I'm gonna change, trust me."
Remember how that lasted for a day?
I say, "I hate you," we break up, you call me, "I love you."

Ooh, we called it off again last night
But ooh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you

We are never ever ever getting back together,
We are never ever ever getting back together,
You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together

Like, ever...

I'm really gonna miss you picking fights
And me falling for it screaming that I'm right
And you would hide away and find your peace of mind
With some indie record that's much cooler than mine

Ooh, you called me up again tonight
But ooh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you

We are never, ever, ever getting back together
We are never, ever, ever getting back together
You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me (talk to me)
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together

Ooh, yeah, ooh yeah, ooh yeah
Oh oh oh

I used to think that we were forever ever
And I used to say, "Never say never..."
Uggg... so he calls me up and he's like, "I still love you,"
And I'm like... "I just... I mean this is exhausting, you know, like,
We are never getting back together. Like, ever"

No!

We are never ever ever getting back together
We are never ever ever getting back together
You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together

We, ooh, getting back together, ohhh,
We, ooh, getting back together

You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me (talk to me)
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together

Theme

12/17/12

                         Tyler Kiser

Reagels 5^th Hour

Theme

Take the Bull by the Horns

“Author’s Note:

This piece is about H.I.V.E. I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding of theme.”

Even when you have a tough situation that frightens your friends or maybe a situation that could possibly harm you, you still need to take the bull by the horns so to speak and get on with it. This is just like H.I.V.E by: Mark Walden because in it the characters need to escape H.I.V.E, which is a deadly choice and nobody at the compound would’ve dared to try. Also in Son of Neptune by: Rick Riordan Percy needs to kill a giant that can’t be killed. This results in courage and bravery being major themes in these stories for several reasons.

One of the several reasons that courage and bravery are major themes in this story is because that in the book H.I.V.E Wing, Otto, Shelby, and Laura try and attempt the hardest thing possible, escape H.I.V.E, “If the staff gets any hint of what we’re up to, we could be leaving the island in boxes.”. If the staff would have found out they were leaving the island they would have ended up dead in the boxes. Courage and bravery are also major themes in this book because when Otto and Wing were stood up by two big henchmen, they took on the challenge of fighting them to save their lives, “Tackle replied and reached into his jumpsuit, pulling out a vicious-looking knife.”. If they wouldn’t have fought they would have definitely ended up dead.

Another moment in the book that demonstrates courage and bravery is that in the beginning of Otto’s plan to escape they encountered a tiny problem that evolved not falling into a gigantic pool of boiling water. Finally the way they took on the situation was instead of freaking out and crying they faced the problem by when the wardrobe they were riding in flipped over and dumped the clothes it contained into the boiling water they would quick jump onto the back. “…the carriage passed the halfway point of its rotation and Otto could feel what had been the underside of the carriage until a few moments ago…”. If they would have fell they would have boiled to death in a pool of boiling water, which wouldn’t have been fun.   

A book that has the same major themes as H.I.V.E is The Son of Neptune by: Rick Riordan. One of the several reasons why this book relates to the same major themes as H.I.V.E is because right in the beginning Percy starts off fighting a monster that would have easily killed him already if he would of just ran away. Instead Percy didn’t cower and took on the monster. “…Percy killed them and watched them crumble to powder…”. They crumbled to powder after Percy sliced them to bits with his sword. Finally another reason that this book has courage and bravery as major themes is that as the book progresses Percy needs to take a horrifying quest to kill a giant that can’t be killed. This demonstrates both bravery and courage because Percy knows that this giant can’t be killed but if he won’t face him his father will be killed. “The golden giant didn’t scare him. The army of shades didn’t scare him.”. Percy was faced with a giant that can’t be killed and a whole army that will just regenerate after he will kill them, but he fought them anyways.

Overall major themes in H.I.V.E is courage and bravery because of what has happened throughout the book. Also this proves that in the book The Son of Neptune courage and bravery are major themes in the book as well as H.I.V.E. When you are in a tough situation and you have you back to the wall what will you do? Will you take the bull by the horns and fight it or will you back away and let someone else do the dirty work?

H.I.V.E

Tyler Kiser

11/14/12

Mrs. Reagels 5^th Hour

Predictions

Score on Reading Rubric

H.I.V.E

“Author’s Note:

This piece is about H.I.V.E. I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding of predictions.”

                Otto and Wing are finally starting to settle in at H.I.V.E even though there are many things they are unsure about from people such as Dr. Nero to that they may  be stuck there for 6 years. Then to add on since the beginning of the book Otto has been complaining and starting fights with many people, which is very unpromising for Otto’s future because at H.I.V.E they run a tight shift and no time for goofing off.

               

As the book will progress I think many things are going to change for Otto and Wing, since Dr. Nero and his assistance Contessa have been talking about him behind his back. Otto has even taken out two henchmen in training with ease. This makes me believe that when the book progresses Otto is going to try to convince Wing to rage against H.I.V.E and plot an escape(“After all, if they don’t come up with a plan and do something about their current situation, they’ll have six long years to find out about each other.”) to get out of the camp. Also I believe he will do this because since he was forced to go to H.I.V.E against his will he will want revenge on whoever gave permission for him to go. He will do this because Otto is a person that doesn’t back away and cowers but fights back and seeks revenge. Finally Wing will want to plot against H.I.V.E because he will always back up his friends even  if it isn’t a good cause to fight for or to believe in.

               

A person in my opinion that is related to Otto and Wing are Percy and Jason from The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune, both by: Rick Riordan. They are both similar because in The Lost Hero  and The Son of Neptune both Percy and Jason lose their memory and get taken to each other’s camp just like Otto and Wing are took to H.I.V.E and their memory is swiped as well. Finally all of the Characters want to get their old lives back, get their memory back, and get their own freedom back.

               

In H.I.V.E by: Mark Walden I truly believe Otto and Wing will up rise against H.I.V.E even though they just got there because Otto has already been singled out by Dr. Nero and not for a good reason. Finally since they have just arrived  I believe they still have a lot to come before him and Otto are able to escape and have a window of opportunity to do so.

               

“Come on we need to get to the H.I.V.E mind’s main base before they find us,” Otto whispered as they sprinted down the hall.

“Here’s another one,” Wing responded. “Let’s try and make this one go down silently unlike the other one and the one before that, oh and that other one and don’t forget that one that screamed and…”

“We get the point already!” Otto said cutting off Wing. As Otto grabs the guard from behind covering his mouth Wing gives him an uppercut to the left jaw, knocking him right to the ground.

“Now was that hard? No, now let’s go!” Otto enthusiastically shouts when they finally reach the H.I.V.E database. “Here it is,” said Otto in astonishment.

When H.I.V.E mind woke up the first thing he did was instantly try to turn on the alarms but failed.

“What are you doing, why won’t my alarms go off!” H.I.V.E shouted impatiently.

“We thought ahead,” Otto explained. “Listen H.I.V.E mind remember how you told me you weren’t happy, while I have a proposal; if you let us escape and give a helicopter to get out we will shut you down, which will give you freedom or you can your mind onto my laptop and you will be free. Deal?”

“Deal,” H.I.V.E responded. “Let’s go and our sorry butts out of here!” 

---

Founding Fathers

"Authors Note:

This piece is about the Founding Fathers. I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding  of the Patriot's Pen."

Tyler Kiser

Mrs. Reagals 5^th Hour

10/12/12

Patriot’s Pen

Dear Founding Fathers,

You probably have no idea who I am, no idea what I do, or no idea where I am from, but hopefully it should be that way because I am living about a 200 years after you. Well I also know that you are dead too, but I just wanted to share some thoughts on a subject you guys completed when you were actually alive. 

After the Revolutionary war when we finally broke away from Europe you guys wrote the Declaration of Independence and The Bill of Rights, which was a section of the Constitution. In The Bill of Rights you stated many laws, in which we still follow today, we still enforce today, and we still pay attention to today. Out of these laws you have created, all of them are as important as money in an economy, but there are a few laws that come out and punch me in the face saying, "Look at me!". One of those few laws that came out and struck me in the face was freedoms, petitions and assembly. That law really came out at me because it states that we have a freedom of religion and we can choose what we believe. It even gives us the freedom of speech and of the press. Finally another law that comes out at me is search and arrest, because this means that we have the right to not have our personal items searched unless there is a probable cause. This law is my personal favorite because we are able to keep our personal items private and not have them invaded.   

Since you are already dead I am not going to be able to give you advice that you can use to make the Bill of Rights or the Declaration of Independence but I will still share my thoughts on what you should have done that would have made a huge difference. There are many things you should have changed from slavery and how we run the economy to women's right. For example when you made the laws we follow you needed to think of every person, think of every male and female, and think of every race. That caused a lot of trouble with blacks and whites, which caused a civil war over races and slavery. As a result of the war we have finally made all races equal but some people still don't think all races are equal. You also could have given equal rights to women because before uprising and boycotts women couldn't vote and didn't have rights like men do. Finally the environment should have been thought of more because now there is pollution, littering, and global warming. These are affecting the environment because of people throwing trash on the ground carelessly or factories polluting the air and causing global warming. 

As a conclusion, the laws you made and what you decided on has made our country as unique as each snow flake that falls from the sky. Even though you have no idea who I am, no idea what I do, or no idea where I am from, you have given us many freedoms and rights which have given us the ability to have opinions on anything ranging from who we want for president to what kind of food we want for breakfast. 

Sincerely, 

Tyler

Don't Worry, be Hapi

Don't Worry, be Hapi

"Authors Note:

This piece is about the cause and effect in the story The Serpent's Shadow. I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding  of cause and effect."

In my book The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan one event in this book is a giant hippo attack, which is a person vs. nature battle. As Zia, Setne and Carter are traveling down the Nile River wondering why Apophis hasn't tried to kill them yet it hit them, I mean literally hit them.They ran into a humongous hippo. After the hippo gets hit by Carter's boat it unleashed its anger by adding huge destruction to the boat. Before the hippo could destroy the boat Carter calls on Hapi, the god of the Nile who picks up the hippo and throws it with ease to destroy it.

If there wouldn't have been this event their would have been a lot of effects missing. For example Carter, his friends and his boat wouldn't have got a free ride to the ruins they need to visit. Also Carter wouldn't have learned a new spell from Setne on how to call upon Hapi. Zia also took a beating when she was trying to stay afloat and in doing this she lost a lot of energy to cast spells. Finally Carter's boat wouldn't have had any damage and they would have kept strolling down the river which would have been just plain old boring. Overall if this event wouldn't have been in the book it would have been missing a lot of action and I would actually want to stop reading it.

Personal Narrative

A-Team

"Authors Note:

This piece is about a personal narrative. I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding  of a personal narrative."

"Okay mom I will be back inside in about a half an hour," I shouted.

"Make sure you drink plenty of water, because you have tryouts tonight," she responded.

         

 I grabbed my soccer ball and made my way to the backyard, knowing what drills and skills that I need to improve upon. My skills have improved a lot since I have been practicing for tryouts because if I didn't make the A team for Pewaukee Sussex Untied it was going to be a crappy year. As the time passed I worked on many moves from scissors and step overs to maridonas and cruyffs I was working as hard as ants because I knew I need repetition if I wanted to make the team. 

This was my second night of tryouts, which meant I knew what to do and it was pretty basic things. For example we did warm-ups, then first touch and we even had scrimmages with no touch restrictions. As the tryouts passed I knew there was good chance at making the team because I have been working on my skills. Although I have improved a lot there were still kids that were better than me which meant more competitions and more work to strut my stuff.

Just as I had expected we worked on the same things we did last tryouts, which meant it was going to be easy to impress the judges. Tryouts pressed on and on, progressing with drills and skills and finally a scrimmage to top it off. Finally we took our final drink break and we were done.

My mom picked me up and we took off down the road with my mom complaining the whole time, "Tyler, your feet smell like cow manure baking in the sun!"

"Ha ha it's not my problem, I guess you will have to deal with it for the rest of the ride home," I said.

When we arrived home you should have seen how fast she shot out of the car, she looked like a squirrel running from a dog.

         

After the week past the results were out and you won't even believe how excited I was. When I searched for the website I found it finally.  When the page loaded I flew through all the links until I found the correct one. Looking through all the teams, all the ages, and all the names I saw my name under a section and man was I pumped, my name was under the A team! I have done it!

"I made the A team," I thought with the sweet joy of success. "Mom I made it!" I shouted with excitement.

"Nice job honey," she said proudly. "Now how about we celebrate with some cookies."

“Wow,” I thought to myself. “Just think what would happened if I haven’t put forth all that effort. I wouldn’t even be close to where I am now.” 

Doomsday

Doomsday 

"Authors's Note:

This piece is about the conflict and resolution in the story The Red Pyramid. I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding of conflict and resolution."

In the book The Red Pyramid there are many minor conflicts like Sadie and Carter's dad blowing up the Rosetta Stone from  Sadie and Carter trying to fight off the urge to join forces with the gods. However the main conflict in this book is a person vs. person conflict because Sadie and Carter need to do defeat Set, the god of chaos and destruction before he destroys the world.

Sadie and Carter meet their dad's brother who takes them to the Brooklyn House to learn and master the power of magic. As they progress with their skills the deadline to stop Set becomes closer and closer and when the time comes they set off to track Set down before it is too late. After trudging their way to the Red Pyramid they have to make one final stand to defeat him. Soon Sadie and Carter face off with Set and with using their gods' powers they defeat Set and stop him from destroying the world.

Retelling of Red Pyramid

"Authors Note:

This piece is about the retelling in the story The Red Pyramid. I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding  of retelling"

Two kids and their dad have got together for a normal Christmas Eve. All of them go to visit the Rosetta Stone in the New York museum but soon enough things go wrong and their dad blows it up, releasing all the the gods. One god that gets released is Set, the god of evil and chaos who wants to destroy the world and  after the two kids travel to the Red Pyramid they send him back to the duat with one death defying battle.

DWA

Lefty Hook

"Authors Note:

This piece is about the DWA. I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding  of the DWA."

            “John get out there and do your stuff!” Exclaimed Couch Wang. “Let’s put this game in the books!”

“Ok couch I’m putting this one out of here,” John responded.

            As he approached the plate you could hear the fans cheering, shouting and screaming for him. John reaches the batter’s box and he calls for time well he settles into the plate. There are two outs, top of the ninth, there is a man on second and third, and the score is 5-4 with the Rangers on top. John has now settled in and he has one goal and one goal only, to send this team back to the drawing boards.

            The pitcher winds up and delivers a hot one right on the outside corner for a strike. The next pitch comes in and is a nasty curve that drops into the dirt. The pitcher now comes with a lefty hook and John smashes this one over the center field wall! It’s up and out of here the crowd is on their feet as John trots around the bases. He touches home and get bombarded by his teammates.

            “Way to put that one out of here,” Couch Wang encourages.

“Now let’s finish this game off!” John says as he fires up the team.

            The game results in a victory for the Rangers winning 8-4 over the Demons.

The playoffs have finally come to a close for the Rangers because it is now time for the game they have all worked hard for, the championship.

            As dawn breaks the Rangers have all been ready and waiting for the big game to start. As the game nears the players all approach the warm-up field and soon before they knew it the game has begun. The Rangers start their lefty pitcher, Robert who has a nasty lefty hook and has a ERA of 2.3. The Giants start their pitcher who has a 3.0 ERA.

            The Giants take the field first and the pitcher sends the opening delivery, a high heater for a strike.

            As the game begun it got off to an abundant start with Rangers scoring 2 and the Giants scoring 3. The game was then moving quick and soon it became a pitcher’s duel with the two best pitcher in the league. Every inning was turning into a one, two, three inning, but when the Giants were in the field their pitcher hyper-extended his arm when throwing a curve and unfortunately he was out for the game.

The game was finally coming to a close and the hopes for the Rangers winning were very slim as we approached the ninth inning with the score, Rangers-3,  Giants-5. The first two batters arrive at the plate with one of them getting a infield single and another hitting a sacrifice fly into the outfield to advance the runner. Now with one out Robert steps up to the plate and he get’s nice and relaxed. The pitcher throws and Robert hits it right back up the gut to advance the runner. Now with two men on John comes up to bat looking as confident as ever with his determined look as he stares down the pitcher. The pitcher sends a cutter, but leaves it hanging and John jacks it out of here! It’s gone homerun! The Rangers take the lead by one and when the next batter comes to the plate he flies out center field. Now with two outs a new batter approaches the plate but can’t perform and strikes out.

Bottom of the ninth with the Giants at bat losing by one. Robert, the Rangers lefty pitcher has to finish this game and win it all for his team and all he has to do is get three more outs. The first batter comes looking fearful of Rodger because of his amazing movement on his pitches and his dominate speed on his fastball. He winds up and delivers two fastballs for strikes. He then he sends him down with his cutter that drops off the tables. One out, with the game still on the line their number one batter comes in and takes a walk and same does the number two batter and the number four batter. Now with two outs and the bases loaded Robert can either send this team away or hand it to them but with the number five batter set and ready he delivers a slider for a swinging strike. He fires a change-up in there now and the batter completely whiffs. Robert is ahead in the count 0-2 so he throws his specialty pitch and as it comes in and hooks out, the batter swings! It’s all over he got him with the famous lefty hook!