My Poem

For my Poetry Out Loud poem I am reading one called To the Desert by BENJAMIN ALIRE SÁENZ. I decided on this poem because I could tell that the author felt very deeply about what he was writing, and what he was saying spoke a lot to me. The poem is about a religious relationship that the author has, and how it is the key to happiness in his life. I believe that everyone should search for this in their own lives.

When I perform my poem, I intend to be very solemn during the lines where the author talks about how important his relationship with God is to him, and then when he is saying how God has changed his life completely I am going to be very happy sincere. I'm excited to perform this poem!

Poetry Out Loud

Part One:

1. Listening by Jean Valentine
2. "Alone" by Edgar Allan Poe
3.  To the Desert by Robert Saenz
4. Experience by Ralph Waldo
    In the Desert by Stephen Crane

Part Two:

I liked the poem, "To The Desert" the most out of the poems I read because it made me really think, and I am interested to discover the background of it. I disliked the poem In the Desert because it was so weird! I am very interested in discovering more about the poem Echo, and uncovering its layers. I personally connected with this poem because sometimes I feel invisible, just like an echo.

Part Three:

I think that dramatic appropriateness and voice and articulation will be the easiest criteria for me to accomplish because those two things come naturally to me. The only part of the criteria that I think I will have trouble with is physical presence because when I speak in front of crowds my body language can make me look nervous.

Part Four:

I watched the the videos of the poems Pied Beauty, and Danse Russe. When listening to the speaker of each poem recite, I could really tell that the speaker understood the poem, because of his and her body language, volume, tone, and facial expressions. One of the poems was very difficult, so it was impressive that she knew it so well.

Part Five:

After spending time on this website, I think that Poetry Out Loud is a great organization. All kinds of people who otherwise would never think to speak poetry are learning about how amazing it can be. I hope that the competition isn't nerve wracking, but I'm sure it will be. I'll do my best researching about my poem, and will do my best in the competition!

Lobsters!

I tried my hardest to think about the poem, "Lobsters" in an outside of the box way. I thought of some interesting ideas, but many very different ideas from my own were brought up in the discussion.One of them was that the lobsters represented the lower class of our society, and the customer represented the upper class. The customer picked from the lobsters as he pleased, not giving the lobsters any say. This represents how society is in some parts of the world.
After hearing this idea the poem began to make more sense to me. People of lower class may not look very important on the outside, but they feed the growth of humanity. Though I'm not sure if this is what they author was attempting to show, it sounds right to me. I really enjoyed reading this poem!

Paragraph Reflection!

Over the past two weeks I have enjoyed hearing the 5 part paragraphs of my peers. At least in my class, most of the paragraphs are really good, then there are a few bad ones as well as a few fantastic ones.

When hearing the paragraphs written by weaker writers, one thing that was usually critiqued was their word choice and the flow of their papers. You can really tell when a paper had been edited three or more times, compared to just once or twice. Another thing that was often critiqued was the commentary. Some papers had commentary that simply restated their concrete details. Commentary should back up your concrete detail, but it should state what you think, not what actually happened in the book. Most paragraphs, good or bad, needed to improve on their transitions from point point, including mine! I found most topic sentences to be really good. As long as you follow the criteria it's hard to go wrong with them.

I think that I had a lot of success with this project. I spent a lot of time working on my writing piece, and it really payed off! Points were knocked off on my paper only because I forgot to do a transition into the conclusion of my paper. Next time, I will definitely not miss points because of this. Transitions are a little bit of a confusing thing for me, I never know which are considered good or bad! I'm really glad that I now have this skills to write a 5 part paragraph.

Onesies All Day!

This weekend I had one of the most embarrassing days of my life! I spent the night at my home girl Emily's house and we decided to snooze in our footie pajamas. The next morning, we were woken up and right away were to go out on an errand with her rents. We kept our footies on! We thought we'd just be going to into one store, but were surprised by a visit to the mall.

We were super scared to go in, but we had to. We walked down the hall hysterically laughing from embarrassment. I almost started crying. We walked by a little girl who pointed at us and started laughing, and were being mean mugged by many adults. With our hair all messy and our footie pajamas on, we must have looked like some total weirdo chicks! We wanted to leave as quickly as possible, and when we did we were so glad. We left the mall and went back to Emily's house to chill. Though it was very memorable, I will most likely never wear my footie pajamas in public again!

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

       Out of a few choices, Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, was the book that was most appealing to me. When I started reading this book I was unsure if I would really enjoy it, but after reading just a few pages I knew I would. Salinger lets us know that the book is going to be a humorous one, full of whit and spunky personalities. Holden Caulfield, the main character and narrator of the novel, as well as the book, is built with those characteristics. 
       Holden Caulfield is unlike any character I have ever read about. His view on life is very limited. He thinks little about others, and thinks a lot about himself. He is obnoxious, rude and noisy, and has a horribly dirty mouth, but at the same time, he is hilariously goofy and lovable. He really seams to have a passion for life, and he plans on enjoying it no matter what the situation is.
       I don't think that I have ever read a book that is similar to this one, and I don't think I ever will, but there is a book series that the setting compares to, Harry Potter. Harry, like Holden, spends most of his time away from home at School. However, Holden's school is not magical, and is an all boys school.  
       For my creative project I am thinking of making a movie with a few friends. I'm unsure of the scene that we will be acting out, but I'm sure I will find a great one later on in the book. I am really glad that I chose this book to read, and I'm looking forward to finishing it!

Extending the Theme

        I started reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and expected it to be one of the most boring books I had ever read, but to my surprise the book drew me in within the first two chapters. Since I am a girl, and I have an older sibling, I can definitely relate to how Scout was feeling at many times throughout the book. When she was feeling left out, or scared, I could imagine myself in her place, feeling the exact same way. So I think that to me, this novel means remembering what life felt like as a young child.
         In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch is finding herself. With every new experience, she is having to decide new things for herself, like choosing from right and wrong. With every choice, new outcomes are being made for her. When I look back at being a little girl, I don't remember making choices, but I know that I did, and the choices I made brought me to where I am today.
         Reading this novel I've learned many lessons, but one that really affected me was taught by Atticus. Atticus cares for everyone, no matter what the circumstances are. I think that sometimes I can be too quick to say yes or no to others. Atticus always thought about what he was going to do, and chose depending on what would put others in the better situation. I definitely need to be more like Atticus in that regard, and after reading this book, I really think I can be.

My Boo Radley

           My grandpa is a quiet man who keeps to himself. most of the time. He lives alone, but I think that that's the way he likes it. Throughout my life, my grandpa has always been behind the curtain, peaking in on me, similar to Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird.
           When I born, my grandpa was there, and sense then he has always been there, not doing anything other than caring for me. At first, I didn't quite know what to think of my grandpa, but as time went on, and I began to realize how much he loves me, I got used to him being around. Over the years, I've grown to love my grandpa just as much as he loves me.
            In the book, Scout and Jem are attacked by Bob Ewell, an evil man. Though I have never been attacked by someone, my grandpa has saved me from hurting myself. There have been times in my life where I have been brought down by others around me. When no one else noticed that I was hurt, my grandpa did. He helped me back up onto my feet and into safety, just like Boo helped Scout and Jem. Boo covered Scout with a blanket to protect her from the cold the night of the fire. My grandpa uses a blanket of love to protect me from bad things as well.
            I know that my grandpa is not exactly like Boo Radley, but he does have some of the same qualities. I'm so fortunate that my grandpa is always here to protect me from the evil in the world, just like Boo was there to protect Scout and Jem.

Introduction to Leanna's Blog

           In the past few years my reading and writing skills have greatly increased because of the great teachers I have had. This year I am sure they will increase even more. Being a hard working student, I  sets goals and always try my hardest to get them done well and on time. I put a lot of effort into everything I do. Followers who read my blog should expect to see completed, neat work that is fun and interesting to read. I believe that I will give online viewers a different perspective on the books we have read as a class. The meaning of English class is to teach reading and writing in a way that will promote growth in the students skills. English is a four-year requirement for students looking to go to college because you will need English throughout your whole life, in every subject. English can help me, and anyone else who puts in the time and effort to learning the subject thoroughly because I will use my English skills everyday. It will help me become successful in my personal life because I will be able to relate to the younger and older generations. Academically English will help me because I will be able to excel in all of my classes throughout my school years, and then in my job as well. I am looking forward to this year!