Reader's Journal#13 The Battle Of The Labyrinth

     Readers Journal #13

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

The book I am reading is called The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan. The strategies I used were reading the synopsis and reading a review from Amazon and then I found important detail and I wrote them down in a piece of paper for in case if I forget of important detail.

The literal elements I found in this book. The genre was fantasy because it is on Greek myths and that has Pegasus, Cyclopes, Gods, etc., The characters are Percy Jackson, Grover, Annabeth, and plenty others.  The protagonists are Percy Jackson, Grover, Annabeth, and the people who live at Camp Half Blood. The antagonists are Kronos, the lord of time, and Luke the son of Hermes the messenger to the gods. The setting is in New York and they go to Mt. Saint Helen to fight the titan. The time is modern. The weather conditions got into a sunny day into a storm when the monsters come and he has to fight them.  The social conditions are sheltered to Camp Half Blood because if they communicate with each other the enemies can get the signal.

The mood is intense because a lot of action is involved and the theme is Greek Myths. The point of view is through the narrator who is unknown from what I know of and the pattern of organization is in chorological order. The author’s purpose is to entertain.

The response starter I used was #28 Why did I pick up this book? because it was recommended to me by a friend. The book so far is a 9 out of 10 because anyone can enjoy it even if you don’t read books.

From your student,

Alan Alvarez

Readers Journal # 12 Inside the helmet Life as a Sunday afternoon warrior

Readers Journal#12     

                                                                                                               11-13-11

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

The book I’m reading is Inside the Helmet Life as a Sunday Afternoon Warrior By pro football player Michael Strahan. The Quote that I stood out from the rest was this one “ I stand on our sideline, sing a couple of bars of the national anthem, say a prayer to god and then scan the Indianapolis Colts sideline for my target----Colts All-World quarterback Peyton Manning. I absolutely and utterly despise playing quarterbacks like Peyton. Hate it. I stand there and stare at the man, the face of the NFL. I’m there for one reason that night. To try to knock the snot out of the face of the NFL.” I like this quote that is on page 1 of this book because it tells you what a defensive football player objective is to do. It also describes the rivalry between The New York Giants and the Indianapolis Colts because brothers Eli and Peyton are on different teams but same position. Quarterback.

The topic was on Football. The main idea of this book is what Michael Strahan went through in his career as a football player. Its stated because he talks all about his football. Another title I think this book would have would be My NFL journey The end of a chapter of my life because IT explains all the things he saw in the NFL. The supporting details I found were when he played against NFL’s greatest like Peyton Manning, Donovan Mcnabb, Tom Brady, and others.


 Another supporting detail would be the games he experiences and the atmosphere in different fields. The essential message I can infer is that all players have their own individual story to what they see and feel in the NFL and here is Michael Strahan’s point of view.  The cause was Mike Strahan getting his hat tugged off and hit in the throat. The effect was Strahan Hitting the player in the face causing a 2 game suspension. The author’s purpose was to entertain the readers about his experiences and to inform because of the fun and dangers of the NFL. When I looked up Michael Strahan was rated 99 in the best NFL players of all time. Also he was the NFL Alumni Pass rusher of the year in 2003 and a member of the Ring of Honor for the New York Giants .

 From Your Student,

Alan Alvarez

Current Event #2

·         A legacy of service: Three generations of Pines family have served in Military

·         Perry Stein

·         The Miami Herald

·         Military Service

·         How a dynasty of war veteran’s story was explained

·         To inform the reader about a generation of military families in Pines

·         Subjective because he is explaining about the military family

·         The text features are picture so you can find an idea, captions, Title.

·         This article is about Bolivar Perez Rios and his generation of family that has some sort of connection of military services weather it be World War II or Iraq. 

·         The significance of this article is how people who fight for our lives daily get this kind of recognition on veterans day which is for soldiers that served the army or still serve it today

·         To grasp a better idea of what veterans day is all about and not just to spend it as a free day of school but to look past it.

·         The respect that was given to this family that lives in Pembrook Pines, Florida

·         There wasn’t really anything I disliked about this article but I didn’t like how he didn’t elaborate more on the family.

·         I think anyone should read this because it gives a spotlight on the American veterans and what they have don to protect my family and I and many others.

·         This reminds me of my cousin that was in the army but not in they war

·         This reminds me of my history book I read every now and then

·         This relates to the world by the wars that go on every physically or mentally.

Reader's Journal#11 Night---Memoir

Readers Journal#11

                                                                                                                11/7/11

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

     The book I currently finished reading is Night By Elie Wiesel.  The quote that  I like was a light on the other side of the tunnel, “ One day I was able to get up, after gathering all my strength. I wanted to see myself in the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. I had not seen myself since the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me.
The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me.” I chose this quote because this is the last thing that he mentioned about the holocaust and the feelings he had about it. Also this means that he feels mentally dead although he is physically alive. He has those feelings because this reflects about what he has been through and how he feels about it. The strategies I used before reading were reading the reviews this book got on Barnes and Nobel, and getting a recommendation from Mrs. Zrihen and my mom.

     The genre of this book is non-fiction and a memoir because this was an event in Elie Wiesel’s life so that makes it a memoir and it is non-fiction because this was a real event in his life. The topic of this book is about the holocaust. The main idea is about the events Elie Wiesel witnessed in that daunting time. It is stated because it is in the time period of it, and the places he went to are the same ones that were hot spots in the holocaust. The three supporting details I have for the main idea are how he went to those places described in the book, another reason is about the holocaust because it’s the same trials of events that go on in the holocaust, another reason is his suffering that he endured. Night’s essential message to the readers is to inform about what events took place in the holocaust. The cause for the holocaust is because Adolph Hitler was against Jews, the effect is that he tried to wipe out all the Jews and that event started the Holocaust. The pattern of organization in this book was in chronological order due to the fact that he describes all the things that took place in this miserable event. The text features I found so far in this book were the font changes in the book form the text in to the chapter and the chapter title font. The point of view of this book was in first person because it’s a memoir and a memoir always comes from the author’s visual aid and the narrator is a character in the story. I went on websites like Spark notes to see if I did my quote right. I also looked if my facts about the holocaust were right so I can get to know more from this tragic event. The text to text connections I found in this book were similarities I found in books like Wattson’s go to Birmingham 1963 because black people were hurt physically and mentally just like the events in the holocaust. I didn’t really find any connections for text to self but I have friends that their grandmas and grandpas have been through the holocaust so they can relate to having that experiences told by their elders. The text to world features I found was easy to spot. A lot of people have seen, heard, and even been through attacks because of their Race, Gender, Religion, Etc,.  The tone that Elie Wiesel used to write this book was serious and bitter when he explained all the things he saw and went through.

     I wouldn’t change the title of this book because he couldn’t have put it any better than that. Night represents darkness, fear, and the unknown, and that’s the way he felt about the subject. The rating I give this book is a 10/10 because the spot on detail Elie Wiesel’s book Night, can give anyone a visual idea the things that he saw and experienced. I would recommend it to anyone that wants to know more about the history of the holocaust and what happened there.

From your student,

Alan Alvarez

Reader's Journal#10 The Celebrated Jumping Frog--- Short Story

Readers Journal#10

                                                                                                        11/6/11

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

I have finished The Celebrated Jumping Frog by Mark Twain. The strategies I used before reading were reading the reviews on websites like Amazon and Barnes and Nobel to see if the book was interesting to me, I also looked at the cover page for picture clues, read the title so I see if I can find a visualize what the story is going to be about. Another thing I used was to skim and scan to see if I can understand a random page. The strategies I used while reading were, visualizing the situation of the story in my head and looking for words that were not in my comprehension, and then looking them up on the dictionary to find it out. The figurative language in this book that I found was, Hyperbole, he uses exaggeration a handful of times in this story, to make the story more interesting and humorous to the readers.

The quote that caught my eye was “Well, thish-yer Smiley had a yaller one-eyed cow that didn’t have no tail, only just a short stump like a bannaner, and-” I chose this quote because it represents the way that “Hillbillys” used their slang in the 1800’s.

The genre of this story is a short story because it is a work of fiction that can be read in one setting, generally makes one major conflict. The setting is in Calaveras County, California. The time this book was taken place was in 1849, and the weather conditions were not confirmed but my guess is that it was sunny because a lot of the bets he makes are taken place outside and he was a gold miner and conditions to do that is for it to be sunny. The moral is to never put money where your mouth is because things can change in a heartbeat and that hit the main character very hard in a funny way. The tone in this book is humorous because there is a funny chain of events that come in the story. The point of view is in the narrators. The main characters in the story are Jim Smiley, his frog Daniel Webster and the “feller”. Jim is a flat and static. He is flat because he was always a betting person from the beginning of the story to the end of it, so he remains the same. The exposition of the work appears at the beginning of the book where the characters and the setting are described. The rising action starts when he bets with the “feller” that tricked him when he put BB gun pellets into his frog’s throat and made him lose the bet. In the climax, he discovers what happened to his frog Daniel Webster. In that event effected the outcome of the story. The falling action starts when Jim tries to hunt down the “Feller” that ripped him off and ran away with his money.

The response starter I used was that I predicted that “I predict that_________” He was going to lose a bet sooner or later.

The rate that I would give this book would have to be a 8 out of 10 because of its humor and how the moral the stories. Its sort of hard to read because Mark Twain used a lot of slang from the 1800’s that we don’t use anymore.

Your student,

Alan Alvarez

Reader's Journal#9 The adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Dear Mrs. Zrihen

The book I am reading is The adventures of Sherlock Holmes: A scandal in Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The quote that had been in my interest the most was on page 24. It said “ The king was saved from the scandal. But my friend had been fooled by a very unusual woman: Irene Adler.” The reason I chose this quote was due to the fact that it is so odd for a detective like Sherlock Holmes. Also this quote relates to the story and who was behind the whole scandal. The strategies I used before reading were reading the synopsis so I could comprehend about the topic of a short story. The second strategy I used was reading a review from Amazon and Barnes & Nobel bookstore website.

The genres of this book are Short Story, Mystery, and Fiction. The characters are Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, The king of Bohemia, Irene Adler, and Mr. Norton. Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Watson are round and dynamic characters. The reason that I believe that their round and dynamic is because the story is circulating around those two. You get an idea about being in a case with Sherlock Holmes and Watson and a very clear one. The protagonists are Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Watson, and the king of Bohemia. The antagonist were Irene Adler and Mr. Norton.

The setting is in England. The time was in 1888, the weather was in the night. The social conditions are all over the place because Sherlock get some of his info from his partners from places like Philadelphia, USA.  The main issue was about Sherlock Holmes getting a note that addresses him about a man who will talk to him. When he sees the man his alias is Count Von Kramm who claims to be a Bohemian nobleman. Sherlock sees through his disguise and he spills the beans and says that he is the Bohemian king. He asks for help after he cheats on his wife and she will blackmail him and ruin his reputation. He finds her and hires his helpers to try to fake assault her. He pretends to be a priest and tries to “help” her. He tells Mr. Watson to scream Fire! As loud as he can. When he does that he puts a smoke bomb and tries to steal the thing that will ruin the king’s reputation, A picture of them in their engagement. That picture alone can tarnish his marriage and reputation. The character vs self corresponds with how he has to find the picture to clear up the scandal.

From your student,

Alan Alvarez 801