Final blogging assessment

1.

A specific phrase I use to demonstrate a writing voice is, “…if you love sports (like myself)” (King). This shows my voice because it shows that I am having side thoughts throughout my writing and I use parentheses to show that. Another time I use parentheses is “…on the edge of your seat while reading! (Not really but it keeps you interested)” (King). This shows how I can be sarcastic when I write which I fell makes you more interesting to read. Another good sign of voice in my writing is, “…I still believe you could enjoy this book!” (King). This quote shows that I am excited about this book. I do this through the use of the exclamation point.

2.

I believe that the use of informal diction in my writing enhances my voice. It shows how I am not too sophisticated and pretty laid back as a writer. A good example of this is,” It involves many twists and turns which keep you on the edge of your seat” (King). In this sentence, I use terms such as ‘twists and turns’ and ‘edge of your seat’. These are both pretty informal terms and not very sophisticated. An example of syntax in which I use is exclamation points. “Even if you don't like basketball or sports in general, I still believe you could enjoy this book! It involves many twists and turns which keep you on the edge of your seat while reading!” (King). Just in these 2 sentences alone, I have used 2 exclamation points. I also use a variety of sentence lengths. A short sentence I used, also very informal, was, “It’s a great book!” (King).

Book Review

Although I haven't completely finished my book yet, I would like To give a book review on Miracle On 49th Street. I have really enjoyed this book a lot. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and you never know what is going to happen next. The story starts with Molly, the protagonist, going to look for her celebrity of a dad, who doesn't know he is her dad. He denies the fact that he is the father of this 'random' girl. I don't want to spoil it so I will stop there. Overall, so far at least, I would give this book a 4.5 star rating. This is because I have enjoyed reading it, however it is not like the best bookie ever read. I encourage people who love sports to read this book because it has to do with a pro basketball player (forgot to mention that earlier). Also, just anybody who enjoys suspense and action books should definitely read this!

Prediction for rest of book

My book, Miracle on 49th Street, is getting very interesting! The girl Molly is such a well put-together character. Mike Lupica does a great job of describing her and makes the readers feel like they know her. Next in the story, I predict Molly will FINALLY convince Josh Cameron that she is his daughter. She's been trying all story but Josh isn't buying it. I believe that Josh will somehow meet up with Molly's mom and find out that they were once married. Just a prediction, but I'm really excited for the rest if this story to play out! Can't wait!

Book Recommendation

I highly recommend the book Miracle on 49th Street. It's a great book! You will especially love it if you love sports (like myself). The main sport involved is basketball. Even if you don't like basketball or sports in general, I still believe you could enjoy this book! It involves many twists and turns which keep you on the edge of your seat while reading! (Not really but it keeps you interested). If you are a fan of realistic fiction, you will really like this book. It is by a great author who really knows a lot about sports. Mike Lupica writes many other sports books but I especially recommend Miracle on 49th Street.

Best/Worst parts about my book

I have been getting pretty far into my book "Miracle on 49th Street". So far, it's been really good! In my opinion, the best part of the book is that you never know what is going to happen next. Molly is very curious and is not afraid to go and cause some trouble. It is also very good how she keeps trying and trying to convinve Josh Cameron that she is his daughter. I predict that later in the story, Josh will not be so stubborn and finally accept the fact that she is his daughter. The worst part and best part kind of go hand in hand in this story. It also gets a little bit boring and repetitive. Most of the book is just Molly trying different ways to convince Josh she is his kid.

Character Prompt

For this post, I am going to answer the question "are any characters in your book comparable to characters in other books/movies or in real life?" The first comparison I have found is that Josh Cameron is very similar to a character in "The Gameplan". They both have the same story because there is a young girl who claims to be their daughter. Also, Molly, a character in the story can be compared to many others as well as people in real life. I feel that many people are very curious and adventurous just like her.  One specific character is the little girl from the movie "The Gameplan".

Author post on Mike Lupica

The author of the book Miracle on 49th Street is Mike Lupica. He is a well-known sportswriter nationally. Some of his other popular books are Heat, Travel Team, Summer Ball, and Million Dollar Throw. He is a sports columnist in the New York daily news. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and four children. Mike also sites on the popular ESPN show "The Sports Reporters". Whatever Mike chooses to write about, you can almost guarantee it will be a great read for all ages! I encourage you all to look into reading books by this author in the future!

Text to text connection

I have just started to read the book "Mracle on 49th Street" by Mike Lupica. So far, I can already find a text to text connection within the story. In this story, a girl named Molly goes to the Boston celtics training facility. She waits outside to meet one of the best players named Josh Cameron. She claims to be related to him some way. I connected this with the movie "Gameplan". It is pretty much the same story. A girl shows up at a famou football players house and claims to be his daughter. I don't know how this story will end, but so far it is looking very similar to "Gameplan".

First post about "Fahrenheit 451"

I am responding to the prompt that says "How has a character changed since they were first introduced? What have they done or said thats changed your opinion of them?" The one charcter that has already made a change in the story is Guy Montag. He was introduced at the very beginning of the story as a fireman who puts fire to books and believes he is happy. Later in the first part, he was questioned if he was happy. He replied as if it was a stupid question. Of course he was happy! Then he began to think maybe he wasn't. This is a major change of his thoughts and internal beliefs of what being happy really was. Right after his confrontation with Clarrise, it even says, "Montag shook his head. He looked at a blank wall" (Bradbury 8). This quote shows how he is unsure about what he is supposed to think.

Final Blog Reflection

Click here to view my best blog post

This link leads to my analysis post. I felt this was my best post because I met all the requirements and it was picked for featured blogger. I felt I "cited strong and textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drwan from the text." These were the exact words from the rubric. I thought I included a good quote in my post. It really helped the reader see how Shaq feels at this point in the story. I infered in that post that Shaq was one of those people who likes to stay within himself. This meets the requirement on the rubric that states, "...as well as inferences drawn from the text." Overall, I thought I did a better job on this post compared to my other ones.

In the next trimester of reading, I hope to increase the time I read each day. This trimester, I hardly read at all unless I needed to. I feel if I begin to read more, it could help with my understanding of more difficult texts as well as increase my knowledge of more difficult words. For writing, I feel the same way. If I can start to write a little bit each week, I could become a better writer as well as a better overall student in english class. One area of improvement I have for reading is to be able to understand confusing texts better. I need to get into the habit of thinking about what is going on while I read instead of just reading without thinking; which I commonly do. If I do this, I feel I can better understand difficult texts like Shakespeare without having to read it many times. For writing, I think I could definitly work on my voice. If I have a better voice in writing, it would make my stories or whatever I am writing more interesting.

Post about Choir from THE CHRONICLE

In the school newspaper, The Chronicle, there is an interesting article written about the choir class. It is written by Emily Taylor. It mainly talks about the teacher, Mrs. Santos. She is known to be a very good teacher, as well as very passionate. She likes to have a connection with the students. "She calls us her family and that's what is truly special about her." I feel it is very important for teachers to do this. If you have no connection with your sudents, how are you supposed to find the best way for them to learn? The article also mentions how she doesn't like to mess around. "She's welcoming when you walk in, but she definitly wants to get work done." Although I personally don't take chorus, I'm sure they have a blast and it sounds like a really good time.

Analysis

A specific quote I found in Shaq Uncut was, "My thing is, why is this man coming off like he knows me or cares about me? From zero to eighteen I had practically no contact with you"(O'neal 83). At this part in the story, Shaq's biological father tried to talk to Shaq and become friends with him. As you can tell, Shaq wanted to have none of that. He is mad because this guy is only deciding to talk to him once he became famous. Many people would fell the same way. If they're not with you from the beginning, they dont deserve your respect once you become famous. I can infer from this that Shaq is one of those people who likes to stay in his own circles and not get caught up in all the hype or stuff like that. Later in the story though, we may find out this is not true, but you will have to read to find out.

2nd post

On this post, I am going to talk about how the setting has changed so much throughout the story. At the beginning, there was a very rough setting. Shaquille would be sad a lot of the time due to the times his dad would beat him. He would fight through it though. This setting changed so much later in the story. He loves life. If you would watch him play just one game, you would be able to tell how much he loves the game and being there on the court. In a way, these two settings are connected. If he hadn't been forced to work hard as a kid, he would not have had this amazing oppurtunity as an adult.

Book Recommendations

Even though I havn't finished the book, so far, I would definantly recommend Shaq Uncut. It is about the life of NBA star Shaquille O'neal. It gives great details about his whole life from his childhood all the way through his NBA career. If you enjoy basketball or sports in general, you will for sure like this book! Even if you don't play sports, I feel it would still be really good because it is a great story of perserverance which everyone can relate to! Also, I believe that Shaq was a great  person and someone everybody should learn about! So, you should consider reading this book!

Characters

A complex character is Shaq. He starts out when he was young as a shy kid who kinda stayed to himself. He would just work hard and not really talk that much. As he grew up, he became so much more outgoing. When he played in the NBA, he was one of the most talkative players in the league. This advances the plot because if he would have stayed quiet his whole life, he would not have been as popular player with the fans as he was in his career. Another character who changed a lot was Sarge, Shaq's dad. In Shaq's childhood, he was always on him to be the best and make no mistakes. Once Shaq got older, Sarge let off a little bit and let Shaq become his own man. This perpels the plot because if he would have been on shaq every second of every day, Shaq might have decided to quit his basketball career because it was too much.

Tone and Mood

In Shaq Uncut, the tone and mood change a lot. At some points, mainly when Shaq is talking to his dad, there is a serious tone. "'What the hell did you say to me?' he screamed. He grabbed my uniform and hauled me througha side door out of the gym. My coach is standing there and all the players are watching, but no one is going to mess with my father"(O'neal 28). At other points, when Shaq is out in public, he tends to have a very friendly and outgoing tone which conveys a happy and laid back mood. "I had a Ford Bronco II. It wasn't much of a car, but I'd move the seatall the way back on the track so I could fit, and I put my own speakers in there, so that truck was rocking"(O'neal 54). Even though these two tones and moods are very different, they help make the story better in my opinion. One moment whena character swayed the beliefs of others, is when Shaq's grandma said, "It's okay baby. Everything is gonna be fine'"(O'neal 2). She used a very soothing and caring tone to help Shaq's mood become better and more happy.

Next Post for the week

For this post I'm just going to update what is going in the book. Shaq had arrived at LSU and hit the ground running right by his freshman year. He played all 4 years in college. He was the big man on campus. This means everyone loved him. His great attitude as well as athletic ability made him a very popular guy. He was then the number one pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He went to the Orlando Magic. Thhe Magic are happy to have him and es ready to get started there.

Blogger Re-do for Links and Displays

Article about book!



2nd article about book!

2nd post

My book Shaq Uncut, is getting very good! It is now beginning to talk about his high school career. Shaq moved to San Antonio, Texas right before high school. He attended Cole high school. As a junior, he begins to get good looks and letters from big time college basketball coaches.
At this time, he realizes he has a chance to be great. I predict he will choose a college in the next few pages of the book. I predict he will have a successful college career, wherever he decides to go.

Theme and Summary

In the book Shaq uncut, there is a chapter that is based on his highschool career in San Antonio, Texas. He attended Cole high school. He was the starting center on the basketball team and right away, people knew he had a chance to be great. He was starting to get recruited by schools all around the country. He had offers from NC State, North Carolina, LSU, as well as many others. The overarching theme is that even if you start in rough beginnings, you can overcome these with hard work and faith. This starts when Shaq is young and has rough beginnings. He then works really hard and ends up going to LSU and is very successful there and has a great career in the NBA.