I recently finished reading Hoops by Walter Dean Meyers. It is about a 17 year old African American boy named Lonnie Jackson. Lonnie lives in a Harlem ghetto in New York and he dreams of being a professional basketball player. However, he lives a hard life and does not have the family support he needs to be able to do this.
While reading this I immediately made a text to text connection to the book and movie Blindside. In this movie, Michael is also an African American teenager who lives in poverty. In fact, he is homeless at the beginning of the movie. Lonnie reminds me of Michael because they have a lot in common.
In Hoops, Lonnie's basketball coach Cal becomes like a father figure to him. He isn't the best role model but he does help Lonnie work harder to reach his dream. In Blindside, Michael is lucky enough to have a rich white family take interest in him and they even end up adopting him. Because of them, he learns to play football and goes on to play football in college and the NFL. Michael and Lonnie are alike in many ways, but Michael is able to be more successful because he has such a great family to help and support him.
Monday, August 6, 2012
My blog on Hoops
I recently finished reading Hoops by Walter Dean Meyers. This is a very interesting story about a 17 year old African American boy named Lonnie Jackson. He lives in a Harlem ghetto in New York and loves to play basketball. His dream is to be a professional player in the NBA.
Lonnie is like many poor African American boys in that his only dream is to be a pro basketball player, but he's not sure how to do it. He wants to reach his dream but because of where he lives and the people in his neighborhood, he sees a lot of bad things like crime and drinking. He has a hard time deciding which way he should go.
I can make a text to self connection with Lonnie in two different ways. First, he loves to hang out with his friends and play basketball which is something I like to do. Sometimes there will be lots of kids at my house and we will play a game of basketball in my driveway or a game of horse. This is fun and a good way to get exercise.
The other text to self connection is the opposite from Lonnie. He lacks a father figure and although Cal, his basketball coach, is sort of a father figure he is not the best role model. Cal has a lot of problems like drinking and gambling and he even does something sneaky to Lonnie near the end of the book. (I won't spoil this part!) I am lucky because I do have a father who is very involved in my life and tries to offer good advice to me. Also, I am glad that I do not have to live in a city ghetto.
Lonnie is like many poor African American boys in that his only dream is to be a pro basketball player, but he's not sure how to do it. He wants to reach his dream but because of where he lives and the people in his neighborhood, he sees a lot of bad things like crime and drinking. He has a hard time deciding which way he should go.
I can make a text to self connection with Lonnie in two different ways. First, he loves to hang out with his friends and play basketball which is something I like to do. Sometimes there will be lots of kids at my house and we will play a game of basketball in my driveway or a game of horse. This is fun and a good way to get exercise.
The other text to self connection is the opposite from Lonnie. He lacks a father figure and although Cal, his basketball coach, is sort of a father figure he is not the best role model. Cal has a lot of problems like drinking and gambling and he even does something sneaky to Lonnie near the end of the book. (I won't spoil this part!) I am lucky because I do have a father who is very involved in my life and tries to offer good advice to me. Also, I am glad that I do not have to live in a city ghetto.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Summer Blog
I have finished reading The Giver by Lois Lowry. It is a good book about a society in the future that is controlled by the government. It was a Newberry Medal book and is definitely worth reading. I enjoyed reading it.
In this book, Jonas is named to be the memory keeper and he holds all the good and bad memories of their society. Often in his society people are "released" and they supposedly go on to another perfect world called Elsewhere. They never say what being "released" really means although as the reader, you kind of think it means that the person dies.
I kept wondering as I read this book what it really meant when a person was released and then Jonas began to wonder the same thing. It was weird when people in Jonas community disappeared and were released. Most people were sad not because someone died, but because they thought no one would ever want to leave their perfect community. This is different from our world. When someone we knows die, we are sad because we know we will never see them again.
At the end of the book, Jonas is going to be released, but he is released in a different way. You will have to read the book to find out what happens.
In this book, Jonas is named to be the memory keeper and he holds all the good and bad memories of their society. Often in his society people are "released" and they supposedly go on to another perfect world called Elsewhere. They never say what being "released" really means although as the reader, you kind of think it means that the person dies.
I kept wondering as I read this book what it really meant when a person was released and then Jonas began to wonder the same thing. It was weird when people in Jonas community disappeared and were released. Most people were sad not because someone died, but because they thought no one would ever want to leave their perfect community. This is different from our world. When someone we knows die, we are sad because we know we will never see them again.
At the end of the book, Jonas is going to be released, but he is released in a different way. You will have to read the book to find out what happens.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Colby's Summer Blog
I am reading The Giver by Lois Lowry about a 12 year old boy named Jonas. He lives with his parents and sister Lily in a society that has no pain or war but is controlled by the government. Jonas is chosen to be the Receiver of Memory because he can see colors and no one else can do this.
I would not want to be Jonas! His job is to keep all the bad memories so they won't be forgotten. He has to feel the pain of these bad things and nobody else can feel this. But, he does have good memories that make him feel awesome and no one else in his society feels this way either. One example is when he feels the memory of sledding down a hill on a sunny day. I have good memories of sledding too so I could understand his feelings. I have done it before too and remember the great feeling of crusing down a hill in the snow.
The sled is also a good thing for Jonas at the end of the book. When he tries to save his friend and escape, he leaves his society on a sled and it looks like he is able to get to a normal life.
I would not want to be Jonas! His job is to keep all the bad memories so they won't be forgotten. He has to feel the pain of these bad things and nobody else can feel this. But, he does have good memories that make him feel awesome and no one else in his society feels this way either. One example is when he feels the memory of sledding down a hill on a sunny day. I have good memories of sledding too so I could understand his feelings. I have done it before too and remember the great feeling of crusing down a hill in the snow.
The sled is also a good thing for Jonas at the end of the book. When he tries to save his friend and escape, he leaves his society on a sled and it looks like he is able to get to a normal life.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Summer Blog
Recently I finished the book Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is a really good book and I have learned a lot from it. There are many lessons that I learned from it. For example, I learned if you do the right thing, you will not get in trouble.
When you do the right thing, you can not get in trouble. Many kids learned that in the book. People were drinking, trashing the house, and texting pictures of naked girls. Tyler Williams did none of this, but still got in trouble. So you might belive that the lesson I told you isn't true, but you will learn in the next paragraph.
The lessons I learned made me believe in myself more than I did. Same went for Tyler. He was blamed for a lot of things, he knew he didn't do, but everyone else did think he did it. For a little while he wanted to give up and he didnt believe in himself. Later on when he was found not guilty and the kids that did do stuff got in trouble he believed in his self again and learned the lesson I did.
When you do the right thing, you can not get in trouble. Many kids learned that in the book. People were drinking, trashing the house, and texting pictures of naked girls. Tyler Williams did none of this, but still got in trouble. So you might belive that the lesson I told you isn't true, but you will learn in the next paragraph.
The lessons I learned made me believe in myself more than I did. Same went for Tyler. He was blamed for a lot of things, he knew he didn't do, but everyone else did think he did it. For a little while he wanted to give up and he didnt believe in himself. Later on when he was found not guilty and the kids that did do stuff got in trouble he believed in his self again and learned the lesson I did.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Summer Reading
I am reading Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is a very good book. It is about a guy in highschool named Tyler Miller. He got caught doing grafitti on the school and got in trouble and had to work over the summer as part of his punishment.
In the beginning of the book, Tyler doesn't feel good about himself. He thinks he's a loser and he hates his life. After working hard during the summer, Tyler looks different because he is all buff and grown up. That is when his life changes because the most popular girl in the school starts to pay attention to him and makes him feel good about himself.
I made a text to self connection when Iwas reading this book. Tyler Miller has a bad relationship with his father. His father and him do not bond well and his father doesn't do anything with him, and he is always late to any kind of event Tyler is in. Unlike Tyler, I have a good relationship with my dad. He does many things with me such as hunting and other outdoor activities. Plus, my family is close and Tyler's family seems to be messed up.
I haven't finished this book yet, so I want to know what happens with Tyler and Bethany at the end of the book and if he gets to date the most popular girl in the school or if she ends up being a mean girl.
In the beginning of the book, Tyler doesn't feel good about himself. He thinks he's a loser and he hates his life. After working hard during the summer, Tyler looks different because he is all buff and grown up. That is when his life changes because the most popular girl in the school starts to pay attention to him and makes him feel good about himself.
I made a text to self connection when Iwas reading this book. Tyler Miller has a bad relationship with his father. His father and him do not bond well and his father doesn't do anything with him, and he is always late to any kind of event Tyler is in. Unlike Tyler, I have a good relationship with my dad. He does many things with me such as hunting and other outdoor activities. Plus, my family is close and Tyler's family seems to be messed up.
I haven't finished this book yet, so I want to know what happens with Tyler and Bethany at the end of the book and if he gets to date the most popular girl in the school or if she ends up being a mean girl.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Summer Reading
I am looking forward to reading three or more books this summer for my L.A. target class. I know I will read Airborne by Kenneth Oppel because I have heard it is a good book. I have not decided what other books I will read.
I really like non fiction books, so I might read one. Also, I might read Hoops by Walter Dean Meyers. Firehorse by Wilson looks like a good book too.
In the summer I might check out Forbidden Forrest by Cadnum at the T.K. Stone libray. In my mom's classroom, she has the book A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park, so I might check that one out too.
I really like non fiction books, so I might read one. Also, I might read Hoops by Walter Dean Meyers. Firehorse by Wilson looks like a good book too.
In the summer I might check out Forbidden Forrest by Cadnum at the T.K. Stone libray. In my mom's classroom, she has the book A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park, so I might check that one out too.
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