CE 9

Date: 2/11/12

Name:

Current Events Journal

Title:  Education gap grows between rich and poor

Author: Sabrina Tavernise

Source: New York Times

The topic of the article is education

The main idea of the article is: The main idea of this article is that the gap for the type of education between high income and low income people has been wider.

(Stated)

The author’s purpose for writing this article is to The author wrote this article to inform the reader of the education imbalance that has been happening due to the cause of the economy.

The author’s perspective in this article is objective because the author is giving facts about how the high income kids have a better education than the lower income, for example the high income kids spend 400 hours more outside out of their homes than lower income kids, maybe to daycare, museums.

The pattern of organization of the article is argument and support because the author talks about how the gap between high income and low income families and supports it with statistics from different people.

The reason the author chose this pattern for the article is to better state the article as a facts and statistics and not as a story.

The text features included in the article are:  Dashes to look at in between comments or additional information. Also that it could mean that it is giving the meaning of a word or phrase.

This article is about (a summary in your own words) this article is about how the people are now being divided because of their economy, for example the high income and low income, and before it was before race and that gap has gotten shorter while the economy problem gap has widened.

The significance (importance) of this article is that education is a really important factor in the American country, so if kids don’t get education their chances of success in the future will look slim.

What I learned from this article is the economy now is actually affecting the imbalance in education to the people in middle class and lower class.

What I liked about this article  that it included education for the topic and it usually doesn’t .

What I did not like about it was that it didn’t really hook me because it had boring tone of voice.

Who should read this article and why I think people in the middle class or low incomers should read this because it will give them a hint of the outside world of their class.  

This article reminds me of (text-to-self) how when I was a little kid my mom used to put me in swimming lessons and soccer.

(Text-to-text) I don’t remember a book or text that relates to this.

(Text-to-world)  The U.S is in a real big crisis  with the economy so this might be the cause of the effect of the education gaps between rich and poot.

New vocabulary I learned

Word Context Clues Meaning

1. Brackets ““With income declines more severe in the lower brackets, there’s a good chance the recession may have widened the gap,” a support

2. Aggravated “Researchers said that based on experiences during past recessions, the recent downturn was likely to have aggravated the trend.” Make worse

3. Trend “Researchers said that based on experiences during past recessions, the recent downturn was likely to have aggravated the trend.” style

RJ#24

Dear Mrs.Zrihen,


I am reading the book called The Nick of time: the Adventure Through Time by Ted Bell. This has been a pretty interesting book in my own opinion. A passage that I thought was interesting was on page 43: "The interior of the Cave was plunged into darkness. And that burst from Katie's throat filled the darkness with her terror." i picked this passage because it made me go into suspense of questions, because I didn't know if Nick, the protagonist and Kate's  big brother, had left Kate, a protagonist, alone or he got captured or something.Some strategies that used before reading this book was make a prediction based on the details I have been given.  Another strategy was to skim and scan for text features, I found only the picture in the title of each chapter and the table of contents. The genre is fiction and the sub-genre is historical fiction because this was based on the Nazi war in World War II. The characters are Nick and Kate who are the protagonists. The antagonist is a red bird based on what I have read. The foil is Nick's parents. 
The setting is on an island in the English channel named Greybeard island, this is taken during day and night. At the beginning of the story it was a rush during a tremendous thunderstorm. The conflict is that Nick and Kate have found a chest that contains a time machine and he has to go back in time to help is ancestor. The tone is adventurous. The mood is interested. I don;t know the moral. The point of view is third person. The pattern of organization is time order. The author is biased in this story and was to entertain the reader. 


I would rate this book 9/10 because it is good but needs some adjustments.


                Sincerely, Juan Diaz

CE #8

Date: 2/4/12

Name: Juan Diaz 702

Current Events Journal

Title:  Warm and Furry, but They Pack a Toxic Punch

Author:  Natalie Angier

Source: The New York Times.

The topic of the article is Animals

The main idea of the article is:  The main idea of this article is that there is an animal in Africa called the African Crested Rat which is rare because its most used defense is to use venom, so it is explained how scientists think the animal could have acquired such traits.

 (Implied)

The author’s purpose for writing this article is to Inform of the defenses of this new animal named the African crested rat, and while the author wrote it he included other defenses of the animals that use the similar defense as the animal for example, the skunks or Capuchin monkeys.

The author’s perspective in this article is objective because in the story many examples of animals with similar defenses are given to the reader, and also there’s the reason that the author is describing a subject not arguing about a topic.

The pattern of organization of the article is Compare and Contrast

The reason the author chose this pattern for the article is to give the topic in this article which is the African Crested Rat and it started giving examples and comparing them to the African Crested Rat, for instance the snakes with the venom.

The text features included in the article are:  The text features in this article are the title which is mostly used to give the main idea and in this case it doesn’t it just gives the description of the animal. Another is that in the text the author is inferring phrases the animals might say when in a situation.

This article is about (a summary in your own words) this article is about how the African crested Rat is a species that is rare because with one little bite to his skin there is enough venom to kill a predator or get him sick. Also those scientists think that an earlier version of this animal might have rubbed their skin on venomous trees, hence the venom got trapped there for later use.

The significance (importance) of this article is this article is important because it is mentioning the defense of an animal that isn’t commonly mentioned and how it might have a similar defense that most animals use like snakes or frogs; however the African Crested Rat’s only defense is venom while snakes are teeth and frogs are their legs. This could have been a sign of evolution in the species.

What I learned from this article is  The topic that I learned in this article was that Capuchin Monkeys go through excruciating pain just to have parasites be prevented from entering their body. Also that the most common reason that skunks are beginning to be seen as road kills are because they have thought that cars are predators so they defend themselves.

What I liked about this article What I liked about this article was that most articles I have read for current events are mostly about politics or other humanly issues while this article is more for science then the others are.

What I did not like about it What I didn’t like about this article is that when I saw the article and read the beginning paragraph I inferred that this article was going to be about the African Crested Rat while most of it was just describing other defenses of a variety of different animals.

Who should read this article and why  I think anyone who is interested in exotic animals would read this because they can be informed of it and become even more interested I in it.

This article reminds me of (text-to-self) I would relate this book to myself because in my opinion if there is a conflict that I know is way out of hand I would run instead of stay and win a losing fight.

This article relates to me because (Text-to-text) this article reminds me of a book I once read about how some dogs react to specific moments like being frightened or being in an action moment.

(Text-to-world) This article reminds of how we humans have our own way of defending ourselves for example the hormone of adrenaline and the Fight or flight response in which to run away or stay and fight.

New vocabulary I learned

Word Context Clues Meaning

1. Wrests   “And from bark wrests such bite it makes lions fall over”   To Twist

2. Anoxic “Skunks and zorilles mimic the sulfurous, anoxic stink of a swamp.”    Toxic, low O2

3.  Thiol “at the heart of skunk spray is thiol, the signature of high hydrogen and low O2…”high in lethal hydrogen and low on oxygen

RJ #23

Dear Mrs.Zrihen,

I just finished the book called Isaac Newton: The greatest scientist of all time. By Margaret J. Anderson. This was actually a pretty good book for a biography. I would recommend this book to Mikey Rogatinsky because since he wants to grow up as a scientist he should learn from past people to know how they became scientists. Overcoming every obstacle and not caring what people said about him he kept on going.

This is a mix of sentences from different paragraphs from page 1 and 2:

“She named him Isaac Newton after his father, but there was no father... Isaac Newton died in October.

Hannah's boy was born early. He was so small she could have fitted him inside a quart jug. He was so weak that she had to fix a little pillow around his neck to hold his head. On the day he was born, two women who were helping Hannah went over to the neighbor's house to fetch some medicine. They saw no need to hurry. They were so sure that little Isaac would not live until they got back that they rested on the wall"

Even though this was a pretty long paragraph I think this was a very important passage because it told that Isaac Newton was very weak when his was born, but look at him now! He's one of the world's most famous scientists. I think this is a very important passage to the reader because it makes you see how awful most of the lives of great scientists began. 

Some strategies I used before I read this book was to see the cover and the synopsis to see what the story might be about to confirm it later on in the story. The prediction I made was that this story was going to be about Isaac Newton and his harsh journey to becoming a scientist. Another strategy I used before reading this book was to skim and scan for text features that help the reader understand what's going on in the story. I mostly found illustrations about places in the story. Some strategies I used during reading were to make predictions about what was going to happen next in the story. The other strategy I used was to look for vocabulary that I didn't know, but I can't name any right now. Some after reading strategies I used were to confirm any other predictions I did and to reread parts I didn't understand.

The genre of this book is biography nonfiction because it's talking about Isaac Newton, but not himself. The topic of this story is to think because since Isaac Newton thought about many things he was able to solve more problems. The main idea of this book was that Isaac's childhoods was bad, but he was able to go forward to inventing new things and explaining others with other scientist's work. This main idea is both stated and implied because at the beginning of the book it states that his childhood was hard, but when you go far more into the story it tells you that he invented stuff. Another title I would give this book is " Isaac Newton: the world's thought man," because he thought a lot in his office and when he was a child. 

Some supporting details of this story was that once it said that Isaac Newton invented the telescope with two mirrors to see better this detail is factual, another one is that in the beginning Isaac had a rough childhood where he didn't have many friends and wasn't that liked this detail was sensory, it also states that his father was killed and his mother had left him with his grandma, but he was able to move forward when he went to grammar school where he learned Latin, finally this detail is factual.  

The essential message of this story is that you should never give up on you dreams and that if you have a problem keep it in the back of your mind and think about it when you can. 

Once Isaac Newton was very good at thinking most of his time into problems and curiosities that were sometimes lethal, and to the effect  he was able to know the travel of light and color, the laws of gravity, make a telescope, and how the moon was attracted to the Earth. I would compare Aristotle with Copernicus because they both studied outer space, but I would contrast them because Aristotle thought that Earth was the center of the universe but Copernicus disagreed and theorized that the Earth was actually going around the sun. 

Some text features I found in the story were some illustrations of places, like London where Isaac stayed most of his time and joined the social society. Also illustrations of people who were certain people the book was talking about at that time. Another one was italic writing to emphasize on words like book titles, names, ETC.The other text feature were that in the end of the book there were experiments that Isaac Newton did, which helped the reader understand his creativity. The last text feature was that in the end there was a glossary for certain words.

The pattern of organization of this story is Chronological order because it was time order from when he was born to when he died. The author's purpose was to inform the reader about Isaac Newton. There was no author's perspective. The P.O.V is third person. I couldn't find any figurative language.

I went to the library to look about Isaac Newton and it was related to the book. Also the internet and I tried not to go on Wikipedia. Finally, I looked at pictures of the places where Isaac was to see if they match with the ones in the book.

I didn't really see any unknown words in the book. 

I could compare this book to me because I always think about what is happening around the world and about problems. I could compare this book to another book " Alexander Fleming: the founder of penicillin." I would compare this book to real life because some people have to think about problems about the world and improving real life, for example the new cars of 2012 and the inventing of people that are rich actually going to space as a tour not a mission. The real life and the scientists have evolved a lot 

I would rate this book 8/10 because it was really good, however the author could have gone better when writing it.

Sincerely, JUAN 702

CE #6

CE #7

Date: 1/28/12

Name: Juan Diaz 702

Current Events Journal

Title: Should driving age is raised to 18: Alarmed by car accidents involving teenagers, a number of states are considering raising the age for getting a license.

Author:  Alex Koroknay-Palicz and Representative John D’ Amico

Source:  New York Times

The topic of the article is Driver’s License

The main idea of the article is: that because there have been many car accidents that include mostly teenagers, so many states have been debating in which to rise the age allowed to have a driver’s license. Also the people in each article are giving a strong argument using strong facts to why either yes or No.

(Stated)

The author’s purpose for writing this article is to Share with the reader the opinions of people corresponding to rising age to 18 to drive.

The author’s perspective in this article is objective because the author gave the opinion of both sides of the matter.

The pattern of organization of the article is Argument and support

The reason the author chose this pattern for the article is to just give the argument given and support it with facts.

The text features included in the article are: The big subheadings that say “yes” and “no.” Also in the end it said of where the author worked for which was National Youth Rights Association. Under the title there’s a subtitle that goes in more with the main idea. The person who sided with the Yes also said that he is a democrat from Illinois.

This article is about (a summary in your own words) how in the United States of America gives permission anyone to get their driver license at the age of 16, however many people in the states have seen that many of the car accidents include a teenagers driving, hence they want to raise the driving age to 18, but other people are debating why not to. For example Alex and Representative John.

The significance (importance) of this article is that for any teenager that wants to earn their driver’s license or anyone less than age that is looking forward to that moment should know that these events could be happening because of the problems with talking or texting while driving the causes these accidents. 

What I learned from this article is that 77 percent of people of all ages more likely kill someone while driving are men. Also that on Dec. 29, 05 four kids went on a night drive and got into an accident. In 1995-2004 30917 people died between 15-17 years old.

What I liked about this article the author gave the opinions of both sides of the story.

What I did not like about it  is that the person who went with the No said that Women should be the only ones who drive and at the beginning it said to be fair, so how is that fair.

Who should read this article and why: any teenager that wants to earn their driver’s license or anyone less than age that is looking forward to that moment should then understand to take driving seriously or the opportunity of driving at 16 will disappear and kids will have to wait 2 more years until then. 

  

This article reminds me of (text-to-self) me being able to do certain things until I am old enough.

(Text-to-text) The amendments that give all laws that can’t be changed.

(Text-to-world) of being able to vote until you’re 18 because people in the country give a certain amount of time before being able to vote.  

New vocabulary I learned

Word Context Clues Meaning

1. Legislation    “That’s why I introduced legislation to raise the driving age….”   A law

2. Controversial “I realize the idea is not controversial, but I could not stand and watch one more person die”                                                                                                               Not everyone agrees to it.

3.  Burdensome   “Raising age may see burdensome to parents and busy teens, but we have to remember that this is a proposal about safety, not convenience”   unfair

Bill Peet: An autobiography

Dear Mrs.Zrihen, 


I finished the book called Bill Peet: An Autobiography. To start this off I would like to say that this is a nonfiction, meaning that it's real, it is an autobiography so the person who wrote this was Bill Peet himself. The topic of this story is Bill Peet, a good artist that worked with Walt Disney in the 1900s, in which he also helped in the making of Dumbo, Pinocchio, and Snow White.


This paragraph that can be found on page 110 made me realize something that I never knew:
"Artists need an atmosphere of poverty, a degree of shabbiness to get into a creative mood."


This quote really made think during my 30 minutes, while I was thinking that I used the during reading strategy of visualizing the text, in which I think that what he meant is that in poverty you can imagine a better life, hence the drawing. This could be important to the reader because it lets the reader know what the author thinks of drawing, to which in my opinion he feels excited, as in a enjoyable mood.
The main idea is that Bill Peet grew up at a decent childhood, however during high school his classes were failed until he went to art school and went for the opportunity for Disney art. This is implied. I think I would this story the title of " The Life of a Disney Artist: Bill Peet."


An example of a chain of events happening for one cause are because a friend of Bill Peet from grade school that made him realize his true purpose... to an ARTIST, the effect of that moment is that he went to art school in which later one went to Disney to draw for famous movies. I would compare Bill Peet to Albert Einstein because they much potential that was able to go by people who made them realize. I would contrast Bill with Dave Gill because Bill likes to sleep early to wake up early, while Dave parties all night.


Some strategies I used before reading this book  was to skim and scan for text features which I mostly found illustrations made by Bill Peet, and quotations from a dialogue, also the title page, publication page, and the opinions from companies.
This story is organized by chronological order because it was obvious because it gave the dates of the times in his life.
Another strategy I used before reading was to make a prediction.


During reading I have already told you one, but the other one is to confirm my predictions. After reading I asked myself what had happened in the story, and do a reader's journal. The author wrote this book to share the story of Bill Peet to the reader in a first person point of view. The essential message is that if you have a talent or you love to do something don't give up on it, but to enlarge that talent for the better being. Some resources I used to check that this story was true was to go online to Disney website to find out for employees. Another was the library and read more books about him. The last was to check credits at the end of movies he drew in.


Some new vocab I learned was shabbiness which means like used or old. I would relate this to my life because I had to research about Walt Disney and found some info on Bill Peet. This is related to another book called Alexander the founder of penicillin because he traveled to get to his destination where he would work. I would compare this to the world because people are misusing their talents and don't take advantage of it.
Some supporting details in this book were that his dad was a mean person who always went home just to take money from his mother, this is both factual because it happened and that he could be a mean person. Another was that when he went to his grandparents house he would always play with his cousins and their dog that needed happiness, this is factual. Another is that he worked with Disney Annex to work on drawing Donald duck, which is factual. The author only gave his point of view of the story and not other people that helped like Dave and his wife Margaret. I really liked how he resisted his teachers that really annoyed him and yelled at him for drawing things that shouldn't be drawn, for example monsters and such.


I would rate this book 9/10 because when I stopped reading I was excited to read more.
                                                          Sincerely,
                                                                 Juan Diaz 702