Thomas+I

Thomas I. March 4 2009 Period 3

__Becky and The-Wheels-and-Brake-Boys Essay__

The title of this story is Becky and the Wheels-and-Brake Boys. The author of this story is James Berry. This story is about a girl named Becky who desires to get a bike, but she can’t get one until the end of the story. She is a credible character. A reason why Becky is credible is because of her feelings. She wants to fit in with the other kids. She says “I want to be with Nat, Aldo, Jimmy, and Ben. It happens almost all the time. Someone wants to fit in with other people because he/she wants to make friends and be part of the group. Another reason why Becky is credible is because of her actions. She keeps begging and nagging her mom for a bike, but her mother doesn’t like the idea, she kept saying “NO”. She said“ Becky, do you think you’re a boy? And where’s the money to pay for it EH? . This shows that Becky is a believable character because kids always beg their parents for something they want, and if their parents refuse they nag them and throw tantrums until their parents buy it for them. And she is credible because of what she does. In her school, her classmate pranks her with a cockroach. She put the cockroach in a shoe polish tin, opens it, and lets the cockroach fly into Becky’s blouse. Becky struggled to get the coakroach out of her blouse, and soon goes into the bathroom. Then she starts a fight with Shirnette, but they make up. Becky said “ I knew the cockroach treatment was for the time I made my centipede on a string crawl up Shirnette’s back”. This shows she is credible because lots of people have fights with their best friends when they do something offensive. In conclusion, Becky, the main character in “Becky and The-Wheels-and-Brake-Boys is credible because of her feelings, her words, and her actions. That means she is an average child. February 26 2009 Period 2/3

Eleven

The title of this story is called eleven. It is written by Sandra Cisneros. It is about a girl named Rachel whose birthday gets ruined because of a sweater. She is credible because she was too shy to stand up to her teacher, and she couldn’t say that the sweater wasn’t hers. She said “That’s not, I don’t, you’re not. . . not mine. It has never happened to me. I have never been given an ugly sweater that’s not mine. She is also credible because in the story she started crying in front of her whole class because the sweater isn’t hers but no one believes her.. I know how she feels because in Nigeria, when I was third grade, my teacher hit me on the back with a big cane (a long and thick stick) because she thought I was talking to my friend in class but I wasn’t talking but she didn’t believe me. I almost cried, and they didn’t do anything to the teacher. Another reason why she’s credible is because she called Phyllis Lopez stupid because it was hers and she didn’t say anything sooner. I almost called someone stupid, but I didn’t do it. For all these reasons Rachel is a credible character. I also know a credible character from a story that my classmates read. The story was called Stray by Cynthia Rylant. The name of the character was Doris. I think that they are both credible characters. Prewrite 1. What are you good at? 2. How do you feel when you're doing the thing you're good at? 3. How would you feel if people wouldn't let you do the thing you're good at? 1. I am good at video games

2. I feel happy when i play video games

3. I feel angry when I can't play video games

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 CLASSWORK Chapter 1

1. What problems or conflicts are presented in chapter one? Tao needing to find a rabbit is an obvious one; identify at least two more. One problem is that he can't come back until he has found the rabbit, and another one was when

2. Predict the resolution of each conflict. Example Tao needs to find a rabbit The resolution for the rabbit is that he will find the rabbit and return back to camp,

Chapter 2 What two important events happen in this chapter? Tao's friend Kala tells him about his parents, and the wolf that Tao met followed him to camp and there a wolf is a demon's pet

CLASSWORK Friday, October 10, 2008 Answer the questions below Chapter 3 1. What did Tao and Ram learn to do together? Tao and ram learned to hunt together

2. What decision does Tao tell Volt? Tao told Volt that he will hunt alone

3. Look at Tao's decisions and actions from Volt's perspective. Pretend you are Volt. Write a first person paragraph explaining how you feel CLASSWORK Monday, October 13, 2008 Read Chapter 4 in class. Answer the following questions Chapter 4 In a good paragraph, describe Tao's mother. Start with an interest grabber. Then write your topic sentence. Give three details or examples to support your thesis. Use a quotation from the chapter. CLASSWORK Friday, October 17, 2008 Finish reading Chapter 5 in class Answer the following questions

Chapter 5 1. Which two animals does Tao try to draw? Tao drew a horse and a wolf-dog 2. Which is easier for him and why? The wolf was easier because now it was easier for him.

CLASSWORK Monday, October 20, 2008 Answer the following questions Chapter 6 1. Graybeard realizes that Tao has broken two taboos of his clan. What are they? One taboo is that he can draw images and the second taboo is that he an not bring a wolf-dog to camp for if he does a curse will be put on the camp. 2. Which taboo doesn't he know about yet? 3. Graybeard describes Volt differently than we have. What aspects of Volt's character is Graybeard acknowledging

CLASSWORK Monday, October 27, 2008 Chapter 9 Why do you think Graybeard changed his mind? Graybeard changed his mind because Tao wanted to paint like him. What does this tell you about his character? It tells me that he is very wise and clever and a painter.

CLASSWORK Tuesday, October 28, 2008 Chapter 10 1. What are the "mountains-that-walk"? The mountains-that-walk is the animals on the plains 2. What almost happened to Tao? Tao almost died but Ram save him

CLASSWORK Thursday, October 30, 2008 Chapter 12 1. Name some of the ingredients used to make paint. Which surprised you most? A. Some of the ingredients are yellow clay, red clay, eggs,oil, and some blood B. The blood surprised me. 2. Why is Tao afraid at the end of the chapter? Tao is afraid because of Graybeard.

HOMEWORK Thursday, October 30, 2008 Read Chapter 13

CLASSWORK Monday, November 3, 2008 Chapter 13 1. Even if Ram had succeeded in hunting the deer, do you think it was a good idea of Tao's to "show off" his dog's ability to hunt? Explain. 2. Predict what will happen next. If you've read ahead, invent an alternate scene.

CLASSWORK Tuesday, November 4, 2008 Chapter 14 1. Why does Tao cross the river? Tao crossed the river because he wanted to get Ram. 2. What decision does Graybeard reach? Graybeard's decision was that he would teach Tao how to paint images

CLASSWORK Wednesday, November 5, 2008 Chapter 15 What problem does Tao have by the end of the chapter? The problem for Tao is that he is lost in a cave Chapter 17 Wow! What a chapter! What was your reaction? Tense? Surprised? You predicted it? Write a paragraph describing your reaction. CLASSWORK Friday, November 7, 2008 Chapter 18 Why does Tao feel he needs to go to the Mountain People?CLASSWORK Friday, November 7, 2008 Tao feels he needs to go go the mountain people to prove himself