Final Refection

9 questions that really make you think !



1- What are the three most important things you learned this year?


During my 8th grade year I learned many things. But some were more important than others. One the most important things that I learned here in my ELA class was how to write a blog the right way. The second thing was the right way to understand a book while reading it and that way to do it is by annotating while you read. This strategy will help me a lot in the future and also in high school when maybe i'm confused during reading a book and need some help I can just use this strategy. The last most important thing I learned in this class was


2- What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?


Something that we did this year and I will remember it my whole life will be when we did the “ This I believe” speech because maybe others people's story might not seem interesting to other people but to me their were all great and each of those speeches left a message to me. I really like doing this becuase it gets me the time to get to know each other more and learn more about each other.

3- What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?


The nicest things someone has done to me in this class was when one of my friends helped me with my blog because i wasn’t sure on what to write about and she have me great ideas and ended up getting a good grade.

4- What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year?

Something that I have taught my teacher or classmates was to believe in the power of forgiveness. My “ This I believe” speech was actually about forgiveness and I really put my mind into it to make people realize that forgiveness is the right choice to do.

5- In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?


I think that where I made my biggest improvement were in my blogs and the way I write know compared to how I started at the beginning of the year. It may not be a lot , but I feel like I did. Something that i have accomplished this year and that i'm proud was to never give and be like “ i'm just not gonna do it, i'm not smart enough” because I try to never doubt myself and I don't.

6- What was the most challenging part of this year for you?

One of the most challenging part of this year was doing my butterfly project. I think that this was one of the hardest things because I was having trouble in understanding what my poem was about. But thanks to the teachers and classmates I got it and got a good grade on it.


7- What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best?

In my opinion the best piece of writing that I did was my “ This I believe” speech. I think it was my best because I really put my mind into it and tried to make it the best I could.

8- Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

Out of all the books that I read this year the best one that I like and grabbed my attention was “ After Ever After”. The reason why I like this book so much was because of the way it was told. I just like story’s this because their funny, interesting, inspiring, etc. But what I liked the most during reading this book was our literature circle because we got to discuss about what happened during the book and help each other out. This was the best part in my opinion because I like working in groups it gets a me more focused onto the topic that we are discussing.

9- What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?

The advice that I will give the soon to be 8th grade students for this class will be to just do your homework no matter how hard it gets, ask for help if that’s the issue but don’t stay with the thought of how to do it. Also to never give up because everything you learned and. Everything you hear will help you at some point in your future.

This I believe

                                               “The power in forgiving”
                                                   By : Claudia Franco

          I believe in the power of forgiveness. Sometimes forgiving someone can be really hard. To me it’s the hardest thing out of all. But forgiveness can be one of the most important one’s. Sometime’s forgiveness in the only option you might have left. I have learned to forgive over the years on something that a happened to me and my family in the past years.

           It was a dark night and my family were all in the garage. After a while my mom, dad, sister, and me went to sleep. But, my uncles didn’t. When they did they left the front door open and forgot to close it. After a while I hear someone opening the door and I wondered who it was but I was too scared so I didn't want to go check. I decided to try to fall asleep but then I hear footsteps coming towards my room and it was a drunk guy that we didn’t even know that had gotten into the house. The guy kept making me a sign to go  towards him but I was scared to go because I didn't know him. I tried waking up my dad but he wouldn't. Until like 30 min after. I told him that a stranger had gotten in the house and as soon as I told him my mom screamed from her room. The guy tried doing something to her. My dad and my uncles ran and holded him until the police showed up. This guy had dramatized me because know I can’t sleep or go anywhere without making sure my family is safe.the following days it affected me because I love my mom a lot and every time I would leave her alone I would be terrified that something bad would to her and I wouldn't be there to help her. I also have this dream once in awhile and it's scary to think back to the time my family and I were in danger from that drunk guy. My mom was the one that remembered more about it. Thanks to god that I didn't listen to the stranger and left with him because who knows where i'll be in this moment. At first I was angry to see this guy but after a while and realized that it's better to just forgive and move on. Why carry that anger in you. It’s better to just move on and live life.

The lesson that I have learned was to not hide the anger you have towards someone because you will just keep it in you your whole life , why not just forgive . This had changed me because I have learned to forgive the right way and have learned that forgiving is the right choice to do. I will used this as a lesson to be able to forgive people that maybe have hurt me or hurt me at that moment. I thank that guy because if it wasn’t for him I would've not learn the power of forgiveness.

You should forgive , but never forget because your past makes you who you are know.

Literature Circle Blog

            I have been Reading the book “ After ever After” by Jordan Sonnenblick. This book is about a teen named Jeffrey he used to have cancer he is worried that someday it will come back but he also has other things to worry about like , friends, parents, girls, and school. When it gets to the point of a problem and he can't solved it he asked his brother Steven for advice, but his brother has taken off to Africa to join a drumming circle and that has affected him a lot. During his year in school his best friend, Tad, has a secret about a crazy plan that involved eight grade graduation. Tad also helps him with math tutoring and that's how they have time to also talk about Lindsey. Also this new girl named Lindsey Abraham, a super hot girl according to Jeffrey thinks that Jeffrey is cute which has totally been freaking him out in the past chapters. They have gotten closer and closer in each part which maybe might end up as something bigger than just friends.

• What do you like about what you are reading?

             I have been reading this book for 2 weeks and I’ve noticed many things that I like about it. One thing that I like about it is that this can actually happened in real life. Also the excitement I have for reading and keep reading. I really like how this book has been made because it makes it interesting for me and it’s  funny and you can’t stop reading it. I honestly can't wait till I finish it to see if Jeffrey tried getting at Lindsey.

• What is something you’ve learned from your reading?

           During reading “After Ever After” something that I have learned is that don’t let your past get
in between your present. This is the message that I’ve gotten from this book because Jeffrey had a lot of difficulties during his cancer treatment and he was scared of starting to live again because he might think that it will come back. But after that look at him right now he’s over here trying to get a Lindsey and he has made more friends. This shows us that his past hasn't gotten in between and it shows us that it didn’t affect him and he started living like a normal person does.

3rd Quarter Reflection Blog

3rd Quarter  has been the most challenging so far. I have made improvements in my blogs. I know this is true because I have put more attention to the blogs and focus more on it and my opinions towards that topic. I also start to use more words that can we harder to understand but makes the blog sound better when reading it.

Something that was I accomplish was that in this quarter was the butterfly project and I was having trouble in understanding my poem that. After that what I did was that I got help from my friends and teachers and I tried to read it as many times to make me understand it better. After understanding it I didn't really have any idea of how to create my butterfly but the way the poems as written gave a lot of ideas of just creating the things they mention in the poem.  Overall, I was able to accomplish it and get all 3’s .


One of the most challenging things in this quarter for me was vocab. This was one of the hardest things because I focused on other work and never ended up studying my vocab. This gave me a hard time to learn them the last day before my test. I regret  not focusing on it more But, in quarter 4 my goal is to get 100% on all of my vocabulary tests.

Life is Beautiful Blog

After watching   Life is Beautiful  read the book, Night I noticed some similarities between the two. The first one that I noticed was that they both took place at the concentration camp. Another similarity between Life is Beautiful and Night is that in the book,  Night Elie and his father had been separated from his mother. In the movie, Life is Beautiful Guido and Joshua were also separated from Dora one’s they had gotten to the concentration camp. The third similarity was that in the book, Night Elie and his father had a strong relationship. I know this is true because in the book Elie did not want his father to die, he cared so much that he took care of him we could. In the movie, Life is Beautiful Joshua and Guido also had a strong relationship. Guido did so much for Joshua that they got to the point where they were inseparable.

There were many differences too. The first difference that I noticed was that in the movie, Life is Beautiful Guido made  the concentration camp a game for Joshua so he wouldn't know the reality towards the concentration camp. In the book, Night  the didn't hide the reality of a concentration camp to Elie he knew what was gonna happen.Another difference was that in the movie, Life is Beautiful they didn’t killed Guido in front of everybody they had to take him on back of the building and kill him there, but in the movie it said that if they were to do something bad they would kill them their instantly in front of everybody.

In the movie Life is Beautiful and the book Night the mood/ tone has a difference. The difference is that in the movie it started with an optimistic mood meaning cheerfulness,funny , and etc, but then in the book it started just in normal mood. Also in the movie they had more humor and hope , unfortunately in the book there's really no humor and no hope.

Throughout the movie, Life is Beautiful there are many parts that make life shown as beautiful. One part is where they show the cities and how colorful the building are it makes people happy and have a better sense of humor. Another example is that they meet new people easily meaning that some of them are nice to everybody and this makes like look mostly everybody is friendly. Also when the Guido got to meet Dora and formed a family that was the happiest moment in the whole movie.

Thanks for reading my blog !!!

Night blog

        The book named “Night” by: Elie Wiesel was about this young jewish named Elie Wiesel that was taken from his home and was sent to the concentration camp. His faith is strong at the beginning but he has trouble on maintain it during being in the concentration camp. He experiences many unforgettable things that he had trouble with understanding.

         During reading the book “ Night “ By: Elie Wiesel I noticed a lot of changes in Elie. One of the changes was how he was losing his faith slowly during the book. I know this is true because at the beginning of the book it says   “ I pray to the God within me that he will give me the strength to ask him the right questions” ( 30). This quote is showing us how at the beginning of the book he had a lot of faith. Although towards the end of the book it says “ What are you, my god, I thought angrily,” compared to this afflicted. Crowd, proclaiming to you their faith, their anger, their revolt? What does your greatness mean, lord of the universe, in the face of all this weakness, this decomposition, amend his decay? Why do you still trouble their sick minds, their crippled bodies?” ( 63). This quote is showing us how much he is not able to maintain his faith after everything that has happened to him during being in the concentration camp. It is also showing us how much he questions his faith and that he has doubts about it.

          Another change about Elie was that he treated his father differently at the end than in the beginning. I know this is true because in the book it says “ My father was cultured, rather unsentimental man. There was never any display of emotion, even at home. He was more concerned with others than with his own fault” ( 2 ). The quote in page 2 is showing us the way that Elie talks about his father and his thoughts towards him. Elie thinks that his father doesn’t really care about him when he does. Then after all it says “ Don’t be afraid, son sleep - you can sleep I’ll look after you myself” ( 85 ) This line that the dad says is showing us that he truly cared about his on and they look after each other during being in the concentration camp. Another quote is where it says “ My father presence was was the only thing that stopped me … I had no right to let myself die. What would he do without me? I was his only support” ( 82 ). Elie is showing us that he is thankful for his dad because he knows that if it wasn't for his dad he probably would have not made it through on his own. He might have support from other people there, but it's better when it comes from your father. This how's us the process that he went through to be able to be thankful for the father that he had.   

Butterfly Project

" Preparing for the commission's visit " . . . The commission, because of which a transport left and the three layer bunks were torn down, has departed, and I believe they were satisfied. They didn't see through very much, stayed scarcely a half day, but that seems to have been only a rehearsal. The camp command issued new orders about the "beautifying campaign" that must be finished on two months. It's ridiculous, but it seems that Terezín is to be changed into a sort of spa. I don't know why I was reminded of the fairy tale "Table. Set. Yourself!" But that is how everything seems to me. The orders are received in the evening, and in the morning everyone's eyes are staring with wonder, where did this or that thing come from? For three years it never occurred to anyone that streets might be named anything but Q and L. . . But all of a sudden the Germans had an idea, and overnight signs had to be put on every corner house with the name of the street, and at crossroads arrows pointed: To the Park, To the Bath, etc. . . . The school building that had served as hospital up to today was cleared out overnight and the patients put elsewhere while the whole building was repainted, scrubbed up, school benches brought in, and in the morning a sign could be seen afar: "Boys' and Girls' School." It really looks fine, like a real school, only the pupils and teachers are missing. That shortcoming is adjusted by a small note on the door: "Holidays." On the square the newly sown grass is coming up, the center is adorned by a big rose plot, and the paths, covered with clean, yellow sand, are lined with two rows of newly painted benches. The boards we wondered about for so many days, trying to puzzle out what they were for, tuned into a music pavilion. We even have a café with a fine sign "Coffeehouse." . . . They have already got quite far in painting the houses. . . . In two of the barracks some bunks and shelves were painted yellow and they got blue curtains. In the park in front of the Infants' Home they put up a luxury pavilion with cribs and light blue, quilted covers. In one room there are toys, a carved rocking horse, and so on. None of us can explain why they are doing all of this. Are they so concerned about that commission? Perhaps we don't even know how good the situation is. Diary entry from Helga Weissova

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