A Review of 7th Grade English

One of the things I liked this year was that I got to read a lot of fun books like "Robinson Crusoe" and "Treasure Island". Another thing I liked this year was I got to learn about vocabulary words like First, Second, and Third Person, Cast, Script, and a whole lot of others. I also liked learning about poetry because I didn't understand poetry until I took this class.

One of the things I didn't like this year was I had to write long essays and book reports and that took forever. Another thing I didn't like was short lessons. I would prefer longer lessons. 

If I were in charge of the Ron Paul Curriculum English Literature, I would make the lessons a little longer to explain things more, because I didn't really understand what he was talking about. I would also make the essays a little shorter and simpler because sometimes it is extremely stressful. 

I learned a whole lot this year in English Literature like how to write good papers. I also learned how to identify prose, poetry, and drama. I also learned how to read poetry in the way it was meant to be read. This year's English/Literature was a blast.

7th Grade English Term Paper (Final)

     This is an overview of what I learned this year in English Literature. There are three main types of literature, prose, poetry, and drama. Prose is writing that is not poetry. Poetry is the reading and writing of poems. Poems are "an arrangement of words, especially a rhythmical composition, sometimes rhymes, in a style more imaginative than ordinary speech or prose", according to Webster's Dictionary. Drama is "a composition in verse or prose intended to portray life or to tell a story usually involving conflict and emotions through action and dialogue and typically designed for theatrical performance", also according to Webster's Dictionary.

     Some examples of Prose writing are Robinson Crusoe, books by G.A, Henty, Little Men, 
Robin Hood, and A Christmas Carol. Examples of Poetry that I read are "Idylls of the King", "The Odessey", and "The Raven". Examples of drama pieces I read are "The Taming of the Shrew" and
"Macbeth". I enjoy watching movies and television shows that are dramas, but when I am reading, I prefer prose writing.

     I learned about the elements of a good story. They are the characters, theme, and plot. One of my favorite books this year was A Knight of the White Cross, by G. A. Henty. The characters were brave, perseverent, and they were skillful in fighting. Some of the themes in A Knight of the White Cross are friendship, bravery, and adventure. A good plot makes a good story. A plot is the storyline of a book and is the most important part of a book. It introduces the character, themes, and other elements that make a good story. The plot of A Knight of the White Cross is that Gervaise leaves England to join the Knights of the White Cross and helps defend the Island of Rhodes from the invading Turks.

     A good book has five parts to the plot. First, the exposition, which is the beginning of a story in which the characters and the setting are introduced. Then the rising action, which is where the conflict is introduced. For example, the rising action in a mystery story happens when the characters are discovering clues and getting closer to solving the mystery. The climax follows the rising action and is when the problem reaches a dramatic height. Again, for example, in a mystery story, the climax is when the characters solve the mystery by catching the bad guys or when they find the missing object. The falling action happens next and is when the story slows down and the problem or problems are resolved. Lastly comes the resolution which is the ending of a story.

     Literature is often influenced by the author's worldview and by his or her own writing style. The Oxford Dictionary defines the word worldview as "a particular philosophy of life or conception of the world". Daniel Defoe was most likely a Christian because in his book Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe read his Bible and prayed every day while he was stranded on the island. Howard Pyle seemingly believed that all people should be free because in his book Robin Hood, he featured men and women who wanted to be free from taxation and oppressive government rule. Homer's works were influenced by early Greek and Roman culture. This was probably what influenced the writing of "The Odessey", a Greek mythological story. Greek mythology influenced many of Homer's writings. We know this because in his writings he included several mythological creatures like the Cyclops, Siren, Scylla, and Charybdis.

     Every author has a different writing style. G.A. Henty included numerous details in his books. He used historical facts and explained the elements of warfare to make his books informative, but also exciting! Mark Twain wrote his books in order to encourage young children to be brave and adventurous and to remind older people what is was like being a kid. William Shakespeare wrote plays, which are dramatic pieces performed on a stage. The Taming of the Shrew was a romantic comedy, but Macbeth was a tragedy. Poetry is another style of writing I read this year. Edgar Allen Poe put several dark elements into his poems, like "The Raven". "The Raven" alludes to Heaven, Hell, and the Devil, even though it is only a four to five page poem. "Idylls of the King" is another example of poetry. It is written in the form of blank verse, which is "verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter", according to Webster's Dictionary.

     Vocabulary words help analyze literature. To analyze something means to study it in greater detail. "Setting" is a vocabulary word that I learned. It tells me where the story is taking place. "Plot" is another vocabulary word I learned. This one is important because it is the "main event of a novel, play, movie, or similar work". The vocabulary word "Metaphor" is "A figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as if it were another". Vocabulary words are extremely helpful if you are trying to find the meaning of the book you are reading.

     I had the opportunity to read numerous famous works of literature. I had heard of some of these books, but I had never read them before. Two of my favorite books from this year are A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. They were both written by Mark Twain. Other works of literature I liked were The Taming of the Shrew and Macbeth, both written by William Shakespeare, who was an extremely famous literary author. "The Odessey" is an exceptionally famous work of literary art. It was written by Homer in the 8th century B.C. "The Odessey" has been alive for thousands of years!

     Another famous book I enjoyed reading was A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This book is ready by thousands of people, every year at Christmas time. It is one of my favorite books. Even though it was written over 150 years ago, it is a timeless tale. It teaches men, women, and children alike that there is more to life than making money. It teaches us to be compassionate and generous to the poor and needy. This is why it is a timeless tale.

     Journey to the Center of the Earth was a favorite of mine this year. It was written by Jules Verne. Jules Verne is sometimes called the "Father of science fiction". He even made subterranean fiction popular with his book Journey to the Center of the Earth. This book inspired a number of people to
begin using science fiction in their books and movies like, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and Star Wars and many others.

     Another book I read that I enjoyed reading was Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol. It is a children's classic and it is also a timeless tale. Boys and girls, young and old, have enjoyed reading this story for dozens of years. This book has been made into several motion pictures. Its first publication was 155 years ago, but it is a book still loved and read today. I am glad I was able to read so many fantastic books this year, and learn about the authors, and expand my knowledge and understanding of literature.  

   

   

Term Paper (Rough Draft)

There are three main types of literature: prose, poetry, and drama. Prose is "Writing that is not poetry." Poetry is "the reading and writing of poems." Poems are "an arrangement of words, esp a rhythmical composition, sometimes rhymed in a style more imaginative than ordinary speech or prose." Drama is "a literary composition to be performed by actors, play, esp. one that is not a comedy."

Examples of Prose are Robinson Crusoe, G. A. Henty books, Little Men, Robin Hood, and A Christmas Carol. Examples of Petry are Idylls of the King and The Raven. Examples of Drama are The Taming of the Shrew and Macbeth. I like drama because modern movies and TV shows are examples of drama, but when I am reading, I prefer prose.

Next are elements of a good story, for example, characters, theme, and plot. My favorite book this year was "A Knight of the White Cross." The characters were brave, perseverant, and they had skills. Next the themes. Some of the themes in "A Knight of the White Cross" are friendship, bravery, skill, and smart. Then the plot. A plot is the storyline of a book. The plot is the most important part of a book. It introduces the characters, themes, and other elements of a good story. A good book has five parts to the plot. First, the exposition, which is the beginning of a story in which the characters are usually introduced. Then the rising action, which is where the conflict is introduced. For example, the rising action in a mystery story is when the people are finding clues and getting close to their goal. Then the Climax which is when the problem reaches a dramatic height. For example, in a mystery story, the climax is when the people catch the bad guys or when they find thee missing thing. Then the falling action in which the story slows down and the problem is resolved. Then comes the Resolution which is the ending of a story.

Literature is often influenced by the author's worldviews and his or her writing style. The Oxford dictionary defines the word worldview as a particular philosophy of life or conception of the world." Daniel Defo was probably a Christian because in his book "Robinson Crusoe", Crusoe read his Bible and prayed every day when he was on the island. Howard Pile probably believed that all people should be free, so in his book, "Robin Hood", he featured people who wanted to be free from taxation and government rule. Homer probably was influenced by Greek and Roman culture, so that's probably why he wrote The Odyssey (a Greek myth). Greek mythology influenced Homer's writings. We know this because in his writing, he puts a lot of mythological creatures like the Cyclops, Siren, Scylla, and Charybdis. 

Every author has a different writing style. G. A. Henty put a lot of details into his books. He also used historical facts and details to make his books informational, but also exciting! Mark Twain writes his books in order to encourage young kids to be brave and adventurous and to remind older people what it was like being a kid. William Shakespeare wrote plays. The Taming of the Shrew was a Romantic Comedy, but Macbeth was a tragedy type of play. Poetry is another type of style of writing read this year. Edgar Allen Poe put a lot of dark stuff into his poems, like "The Raven." "The Raven" represents Heaven, Hell, the Devil, and other dark stuff like that; although it's only a four or five-page poem. Idylls of the King is another example of poetry; however, it is blank verse, which is "verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter. I had the opportunity to read many famous works of literature. I had heard of some of these books, but I had never read them before. Two of my favorite works of literature are "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" and "Tom Sawyer", and they are both written by Mark Twain. More works of literature I liked were "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Macbeth", both written by William Shakespeare, and extremely famous literary author. "The Odyssey" is an extremely famous work of literary art. It was written by Homer in 8th century B.C., so "The Odyssey" has been alive for thousands of years. 

Vocabulary words help analyze literature. To analyze something means to study it in greater detail. 'Setting is a vocabulary word that I learned. It tells me where the story is taking place. Plot is another vocabulary word I learned. This one is important because it is the "main event of a novel, plan, movie, or similar work." Another important vocabulary word is Metaphor, which is "a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as if it were another." Vocabulary words are extremely helpful if you are trying to find the meaning of something.

Another famous book I read was "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. This book is probably read by thousands of people at Christmas time. It is one of my favorite books. Even though it was written over 150 years ago it still teaches people and it still has meaning for people today. It is a timeless tale. It teaches people that there is more to life than making money. It also teaches us to be compassionate and generous towards the poor and needy. It is a timeless tale. 

Another favorite of mine is "Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne. Jules Verne is sometimes called the "Father of Science Fiction." He even made subterranean fiction popular with his book "Journey to the Center of the Earth." This book inspired many people to start using science fiction in books and movies like "The Hobbit" or "Star Trek" or "Star Wars" and many others.

Another book I read that I like was "Alice in Wonderland". It is a classic because it is also timeless tale, and boys and girls, you'd or old enjoyed it for many years. This book has been made into several movies. its first publication was 155 years ago, but it is a book I still like to read and listen to today.

A Day on the Farm

Dawn broke through the clouds in a pinkish color as the sun broke through the darkness to start a new day. I awoke from a deep sleep in my warm, comfy bed. I looked out my large window and it said good morning to the awakening farm. My dog whimpered against my leg, whimpering for food. It was 5:30 AM when I ran down the steps to do my early morning chores. First, I fed my dog, then I went to feed the chickens, horses, and cows. I milked all the cows, and when I was done, I got four filled buckets with milk! Then my dog and I headed the cows and horses out into the green field where they ate. I gathered the eggs and brought them inside for my mom to make breakfast. I found my mom making breakfast and gave her the egg to work with. When she was done, my dad, mom, older brother, and I ate a sweet, buttery, pancake breakfast.

My mom said, "Hurry, you don't want to be late for school." I got ready as quickly as I could. I put on school clothes, got my backpack, school books, and my pencil. When I got ready to leave, my dad reminded me that if I do good in school, we could go fishing. I headed out the door and walked to school.

When I got to school, I sat down in my chair and listened to my assignment. I was to write an essay on the seven continents. When I got home, I showed my parents my essay. I got an A+! "Well," said my dad, "I guess we're going fishing this afternoon." I was so excited.

Half an hour later, we went to the big blue lake. I could see so many fish. There were bluegill, sardines, and so much more. We got the fishing rods and put the worms on the hooks. We cast out the fishing lines and caught seven big, fat fish. We brought them home and gave two of them to mom to make dinner. The rest, we saved for another time. Then we took nice, warm showers. When we were done, the hot tuna fish dinner was ready.

After dinner, we had evening devotions. That night, it was Proverbs 24. Then we got ready for bed. I brushed my teeth until they were clean. Then, I got my P.J.s on. Then I kissed and hugged my parents goodnight. I needed all the sleep I could get. Tomorrow is another big day.

Camp (Poem)

It was rainy and wet

But for camp, I was all set

My mom said, "Hurry, get in the van quick

I really don't want you to get sick."

For breakfast we had Chick-fil-A

Thankfully there were no more delays

When I got to the church I got checked in

Then I said good-bye to my kin

Finally, it was time to get on the bus

I was nervous, but in Jesus I did trust

When I got to camp, I found my cabin

I chose a bed and that's what I slept in

In the cafeteria, we ate our meals

It made my belly have good feels in the afternoon the teams played games

I learned a lot of new names

My team was very dandy

My team leader was Mr. Randy

After games, we went for a swim in the pool

The water was nice and cool

Twice a day we had church in the chapel

For a snack, we had an apple

We had quizzing practice every day

Then every night we did pray

At last, my week of camp was through

I hope I didn't forget a shoe

The Odyssey: Odysseus' Return Home

After the Trojan War, Odysseus wanted to return home immediately to get to his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. On his way home, he finds an island. He went to explore, taking a few of his men with him. He finds a cave and decides to meet whoever lives there. A little while later, a cyclops walks in. Cyclopses are one-eyed giants. The cyclops builds a fire and finds Odysseus and his men. The cyclops is surprised and demands to know who they are. Odysseus tells the cyclops they are Greeks returning home from war. When Odysseus mentioned Zeus, a Greek god, the cyclops became immediately angry because he hated the gods. He pounced on two of Odysseus' men, killed them, and devoured them. Then he went to sleep. The next day, the cyclops woke up, ate two more men, then he went to tend his flock of sheep and goats. Odysseus found the cyclops' walking stick. It was the size of a tree! He sharpened it and put it under the dirt to hide it. That afternoon, the cyclops returned, ate two more men, and drank some of Odysseus' wine. Then he fell asleep. Odysseus and his men picked up the spear, put it into the fire till it glowed red, and thrust it into the cyclops' eye. The cyclops screamed and called his fellow cyclops. They came and asked him what the matter was. While the cyclops were busy talking, Odysseus and his men got away.

They sailed onward towards home until they came to the island Aeolia. There lived the king of the winds, Aeolus and his family greeted Odysseus and his men extremely sweetly. Odysseus asked a favor of Aeolus. He asked Aeolus if he could make the west wind blow them home. Aeolus agrees and tells the North, South, and East winds to come to him and they did so. He also called the west wind to blow them back home. Aeolus gave the sack to Odysseus and they continued their journey home. When they were a little way off from Odysseus' home island, Ithaca. One night, the crew through there was gold in the sack, so they opened it, and the north, south, and east winds rushed out and blew them back to Aeolia. Aeolus was outraged and demanded that they leave his island, so Odysseus and his crew left for home.

Later, they came to another island, so Odysseus sent three men to investigate. The three men found a girl fetching water. She said to the three men to go to the king and they will be greeted sweetly. They went and eventually found out that the king and his people were cannibals! The king jumped on the men and began to eat one, alive! The other two ran back to warn Odysseus. The cannibals started throwing boulders at the ships. The ships were crushed except the one Odysseus commanded.

The last ship then came to the island of Aedea. Odysseus sent 23 men to investigate. They came to a castle and a woman named Circe came out and offered them some food. The men ate like hogs, so Circe, an enchantress, turned them into hogs. Only one man got away and told Odysseus. Odysseus went to Circe's castle, but on the way, he met a god. The god gave him a herb to eat, so he ate the herb. When he got to the castle, Circe tried to turn him into a pig, but the herb protected him. He didn't turn into a pit. Odysseus forced Circe to free his men, and she did. Meanwhile, Penelope and Telemachus did not forget Odysseus. Many people were trying to force Penelope to marry them, but she would not. She waited for Odysseus to return home.

Circe gave Odysseus advice on how to reach home. They must go to a river and make a blood sacrifice. Then a ghost will tell him how to reach home. Odysseus did so and a ghost gave him warnings and directions. Then Odysseus left. Then they cam close to the island of the Sirens (half women, half-bird). Those who are drawn to their beautiful singing, die, so the crew put beeswax earplugs in their ears, sailed past the island, and survived.

Then they sailed past a giant cave and out came a six=headed sea monster. It ate six men, but the rest escaped. when they came to the sun god's island, the crew, but no Odysseus, ate two of the sun god's cattle. This made Zeus throw a lightning bolt at the ship, and smashed it to pieces. Only Odysseus escaped. He landed on an island, built a raft, and set out for home. There was a storm, so he crash-landed on another island. Some people lived there and they gave him a ship and a crew to go home.

When he got to his home island, he disguised himself as a beggar and went to his home. When he got home, he started a battle with the suitors, killing every last one. When the battle was done, Odysseus revealed himself to his family and they were as happy as an be.

David's Adventures (Poem)

David was the youngest of them all
His brothers fought in battles. He took care of sheep.
A lion and bear he fought with a sling.
By Samuel, he was anointed as king.

A battle, his brothers traveled to one day.
Goliath was a giant and a Philistine.
He cursed God and King Saul's army when he came.
David brought his brothers' food one day.
He heard Goliath and decided to fight him.
He picked up five smooth stones from a stream.
He went to face Goliath on the battlefield.
Into his weapon, a sling, a sone he put.
David swung his sling with all his might.
The stone hit Goliath in the forehead.
He fell and David cut Goliath's head off.
David was victorious and rewarded.
He got to marry King Saul's daughter.

Saul was jealous of David, God's chosen one.
God's spirit left Saul because of his sin.
Saul tried to kill David numerous times.

A fugitive, David now must be.
In mountain caves, he was forced to hide.
Saul's son, Johnathan, was David's best friend.
He trusted God's plan for David to be king.
Even though he was the oldest and next in line.
Johnathon gave David his sword and bow.
David was on the run for several years.

Again, Saul was fighting the Philistines.
This battle, Saul and his men were losing.
Saul asked his armor-bearer, "Please kill me.
Do not let the uncircumcised kill me."
But his man would not kill God's anointed.
So instead, Saul fell upon his own sword.
Johnathan and his brothers died as well.
David mourned, wept, and fasted for the death of his king and friend
David was anointed king of Israel.
The people of the land rejoiced for their new king.

Lancelot and the Dragon

Terror arose when the dragon came into the village just outside the castle and burnt it. The dragon took all the livestock it could carry and flew back to its cave in the mountains. King Aurthur held a meeting at the round table just as the dragon left. "No good can come of this," he said. "Someone must go vanquish that creature."

"Yes, someone with enough courage and bravery to destroy that beast, once and for all," said a knight.

"Yes, but who will go?" said another.

Soon all the knights started arguing about who should go. It seemed like forever when finally Lancelot shot up out of his chair and declared that he would go defeat the dragon. When he said that, all thee knights stopped arguing and listened to Lancelot. After Lancelot finished, all the knights were extremely happy and helped him get ready.

When Lancelot was ready, the next day, he set out for the mountains to slay the dragon. It was a dark, cold night in the mountains when Lancelot got to the dragon's cave. He decided to camp out just a few feet from the mouth of the cave. In the morning, Lancelot stepped inside the cave and found the dragon sleeping near a big pile of bones. Lancelot crept over to the dragon and was about to slay it until he accidentally stepped on a bone and broke it which awoke the dragon. It roared at Lancelot and swung its tail at him. It hit Lancelot and knocked him to the ground. As the dragon chomped at Lancelot, he chopped off the dragon's head.

He returned to the village, victorious with the dragon's head. Everyone was extremely happy to see him with the dragon's head. They were so happy, in fact, that they held a feast in his honor. The village and the kingdom were forever peaceful.

Macbeth

Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare. The play begins when Macbeth is returning home from a battle in which he defeated an army of Norwegians, plus some Scottish rebels. Three witches want to greet Macbeth on his way home from war. Macbeth was traveling home with a general named Banquo when they were greeted by the three witches. They told Macbeth a prophecy that says he will become king. When Macbeth returns home, two men, Ross and Angus, were waiting for him, and soon enough, Ross and Angus named Macbeth with "the title of Candor," which extremely excited Macbeth.

In his impatience and envy, Macbeth planned a plot to kill Duncan, the current king. His wife, Lady Macbeth, helped him plan the plot. Under some circumstances, Macbeth wants to change his mind; however, Lady Macbeth encourages him to carry out the plot. They eventually murder Duncan and make it seem like the servants did it. Well, soon after that, a quiet man named Macduff arrives at the castle. He finds Ross and both find out that Macbeth has become king after the king's sons, Malcolm and Donallain, flee because many people thought they killed their father.

Macbeth is worried about his fate when he sees Banquo's ghost, so he decides to go see the three witches about it. They tell Macbeth that "he should fear Macduff and Macbeth will not be vanquished until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane."

When Macbeth finds out Macduff fled to England, he prepares a plot to kill Macduff's family. Meanwhile, Macduff arranges a meeting with Malcolm about a battle and combining their forces plus some English aid. While they are planning for the battle, Ross arrives and tells Macduff about the death of his family. In Scotland, Lady Macbeth is murdered in her sleep because a doctor found out she and Macbeth murdered Duncan.

Disguised as Birnam Wood, Malcolm's men attack the castle. When Macbeth figures out Lady Macbeth has died, he continues to fight the attacking army. Macbeth kills Young Seyward, the son of an English general. After this, Macbeth remembers Macduff being born of Caesarians. Macduff kills Macbeth, giving Malcolm the throne. The play, Macbeth, is a tragedy type of story and has a very sad ending. Shakespeare wrote this play specifically for the king during his time.

The Taming of the Shrew

"The Taming of the Shrew" is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is about a father who has two daughters, the older sister was Katherina, the shrew, and the younger sister was Bianca, a beautiful, young lady. The play is set in Italy. It starts when Baptista Minola, the sisters' father, says that no one shall marry Bianca until he finds a husband for Katherina, the shrew. Three suitors are fighting over who should marry the kind and beautiful Bianca. One f the men, Lucentio, swaps clothes with his servant, Tranio, so he could court Bianca in disguise. A little while later, a rich man named Petruchio came to Baptista's house and told Baptista he wanted to marry Katherina, and Baptista gladly accepts his offer.

Even though Kathrinia was mean, lost her temper often, and was ugly, Petruchio still tried many times to convince Katrina to marry him. The three suitors were still competing to get Bionca to marry them. Bionca was impressed by Tranio's creativeness. Not only was Kathrina mean to men, but she was also mean to her sister, Bionca.

The day of the wedding arrived. Everyone was ready, except for Petruchio who was late. When he did arrive, he was dressed in extremely sloppy clothing. Petruchio rushed the wedding because Kate's dad changed his mind about Petruio marrying Kate, because Petruio tricked the people into thinking he was rich, but he was actually poor.

When they get home, a servant of Petrutio named Grumio explains to the other servants how they shall act when Kathrina shows up. When Kathrina and Petrutio do arrive, Kathrina goes to bed while Petrutio reveals his idea for taming her. After Bionca's agreement to marry a suitor, Lucentio, another suitor, Hortensio, promises to marry an extremely rich widow. Petruchio and Grumiotry to tame Kathrina until she obeys whatever Petruchio says. A merchant outlines Lucentio's and Bionca's wedding while Lucentio made the plans to get married in secret. After the wedding, Petruchio decides to take his new bride, Kathrina, to his home town of Padua. On the way, they meet Lucentio's father, Vincentio.

Vincentio, Kathrina, and Petruchio all return to Petrucio's home city, Padua. Meanwhile, like they planned, Bionca and Lucentio get married in secret. Hortensio and the widow also get married. The married couples of Petruchio and Kathrina, Lucentio and Bionca, and Hortensio and the widow all have a conversation after their dinner. In the conversation, the husbands bet on their wives to see whose can be the most obedient, which tames Kathrina, the shrew. Kathrina was no longer a shrew, but a kind, loving wife.

Christmas Break

Christmas break started a couple weeks before Christmas and ended the week after new year's eve. It was so fun. We went to The Way of Lights, which is someplace you can go where you can drive around in your car and look at a lot of lights. Also, when you look at the lights there are billions all along the way which tell you about the birth of Jesus Christ.

I also got to go to both of my grandparent's houses with my family to spend Christmas together and open presents and have a fun time, and my uncle was going to marry my new aunt on new year's eve, and all the cousins were going to be in it, and I got to go see one of my favorite movies in the theater with all the cousins. It is called "Star Wars 9". One night my cousin, Peydon, came to spend the night. We stayed up really late. We played a lot of games, and we played with legos.

Over the last few days, we got to go to church, play with the thing we got from Christmas like puzzles, games, and books. we also got to play in the snow, play outside, play baseball, and a lot of other fun things like that. I love Christmas Break.

Liberty Belle

My sister, Liberty, is so cute. She is three years old and loves to talk. When she talks, she is so funny. She loves it when I lift her up on my shoulders and walk around with her. She loves to pretend to be a puppy. She also loves to play family. My brothers and I like playing with her. She loves playing with friends. She loves to pay Calico Critters. She likes everyone. She likes to hug and kiss people. She likes having girl time with mom. She likes to have snacks, especially fruit snacks. She is just the most adorable person on earth.

One day, my mom woke me up very early, then I remembered we were going to the zoo today. My parents told me to get ready and help them and soon I got in our car with my family and drove off. When we got to the zoo we got to pet the stingrays there. The zookeepers even let me and some other feed the stingrays and squids! My parents let me and my brothers and sister see what we wanted to see. We got to see a zookeeper feed the sessions. We even got to ride the carousel. We saw tigers, leopards, a serval, and a lot more big cats. We got to see a bunch of birds in the birdhouse. At a section of the zoo called "River's Edge," we saw elephants, rhinos, bears, etc. In another part of the zoo, we saw chimpanzees, orangutans, and apes! I had such a fun time at the zoo.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The three main characters in the book, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," are Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and Aunt Polly. Tom and Huck were the best of friends and got each other into all sorts of trouble. They were both very adventurous. One time they went searching for gold in a forest near the old shack without a map and it took all day. They never found anything, so they decided to come back that night to try again, but somebody else found the gold in the old shack before they did.

The two boys were also mischievous. One night they went to a graveyard with a dead cat to throw at a demon that they saw; however, there were no demons and accidentally threw the dead cat at a person and got into a lot of trouble. The boys were also lazy. When Aunt Polly told Tom to paint the fence, Tom found out a way to get his friends to do the work for him, and Aunt Polly never found out.

One day, Tom wanted some adventure, so he ran away from home with Huck and another one of his friends to become pirates. After a few days, the townspeople began wondering where they had gone. About two weeks after the boys disappeared, they began missing everyone and headed for home. That same day, the townspeople held a funeral for the boys because they thought the boys died, but in the middle of the funeral, the boys came into the church where the funeral was being held and everyone was amazed and happy to see them.

Despite their similarities, Tom and Huck had several differences. Tom did not have a mom or a dad, but he had his Aunt Polly who loved him and took care of him. Huck had a dad, but Huck's dad was not a kind or loving person who did not take care of Huck, so Huck had to take care of himself. Because Tom had a loving aunt who took care of him, he was able to go to church and school. Since Huck did not have a moving dad, he could not go to church or school. Sometimes Huck got Tom to follow him on some adventures while Huck led it.

Aunt Polly had some similarities and differences too. Aunt Polly loves Tom and took care of him. Tom also loves Aunt Polly. They also go to church together. Aunt Polly does lots of things because she loves him. Same for Tom, because he loves his Aunt.

Aunt Polly also has several differences like Tom and Huck. Aunt Polly is a grown-up. Tom and Huck are just kids. Aunt Polly is also hard working. Not Tome, he is lazy. One more is that Aunt Polly is responsible. Not so much as for the two boys. They are very mischievous. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," is one of my favorite books.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

“Journey to the Center of the Earth”, was written by Jules Verne. The book is science fiction and is one of my favorite books. The story begins with two people in Hamburg, Germany, Professor Hardwigg and his nephew, Henry. When Henry helps his uncle crack a secret code, they decide to follow the clues from the decoded message and try to reach the center of the Earth! They go to the Heil railroad which will take them to the harbor, so they can get on a boat and sail to Iceland. There they would attempt to go down an inactive volcano called Mt. Sneffles and travel to the core of the Earth.

It was at least a seven day voyage to get to Iceland. It was windy and overcast, but they made it to Iceland safely. They start their journey to Mt. Sneffles the day after their boat lands. On the journey to the volcano, they meet Hans, who ends up guiding them on the journey.

It was cold outside when they reached Mt. Sneffles. Their descent into the volcano was extremely long. When they reached the bottom they enter the caverns under Mt. Sneffles. By then, they were ten thousand feet below sea level. Later they enter a coal mine in the caverns.

After they got out of the coal mine they were right under the ocean floor. Soon they ran out of water, but thankfully they found some more not long after. Now they are twenty-one miles below the surface of the earth!

The next day, Henry gets lost! He falls down a deep hole and passes out. When he woke up Hans and the Professor were looking for him, and finally found him. When they continued their journey they discovered an underground ocean which Professor Hardwigg named “The Central Sea.” They also found a forest of mushrooms with mushrooms that were forty feet tall!

Hans begins to build a raft so they are able to cross the sea. When it is finished they begin their underground voyage on The Central Sea. By now the temperature is much warmer. They catch fish that are extinct on Earth, but not in the Central Sea. They even watch a sea monster fight!

When they land the raft on an island they explore a forest and find a cave. The cave was full of bones. They quickly leave the cave and find a herd of enormous elephants. While they were going back to the raft, they find a rusted dagger, not belonging to any of the three men. They realized that this was the same path that the first explorer, Arne Saknussemm, had taken on his journey to the center of the Earth. They find a boulder blocking a cave by the dagger and they wanted to get inside. So, they tried to make the boulder explode to get inside the cave. Well, they do blow up the boulder, but they were taking cover on their raft and the explosion made them drift out into the sea.

They drifted into a shaft and began rapidly rising. The water was boiling, the walls were burning, and worst of all, they ran out of food. They were in the shaft for at least one day. The water is getting hotter every second.

It turns out that the shaft they were in, was actually part of an active volcano! They were shot out of the top of the volcano located on the island of Stromboli off the coast of Italy. From there they catch a ride back to Hamburg, Germany. I loved reading “Journey to the Center of the Earth”! I have only seen the movie, but the book was more interesting. I loved all the adventure and the excitement that the characters had on their journey. It would be amazing if any of this were to ever happen!

The Lion of the North

The Lion of the North

by G. A. Henty

In the book, The Lion of the North, that I just finished reading, it tells the story of Malcolm Graeme, and how he gained a high position in the king’s court. The book is set in Scotland in the year 1630. It started out as Malcolm waiting in the forest for a group of horsemen, to guide them through the forest. Malcolm was 16 years old and lived with his uncle, Nigel, because his parents have died.

Captain Hume was with the horsemen and met Malcolm in the forest. Malcolm took Captain Hume and the horsemen to his uncle’s house for the night. The next morning, Captain Hume invited Nigel and Malcolm to collect a band of men from the city of Nithsdale, to help build an army. Nigel and Malcolm agreed with this plan and proceeded to find men who were willing to fight for their country.

A few days later, Malcolm, Nigel, and the men who volunteered to be in the army were shipwrecked. They were resourceful and built a raft out of the wreckage. They eventually got to the King’s castle, the place they had been trying to get to before they were shipwrecked.

At the King Gustavus’ castle, there was a feast going on, and Malcolm met Sir John Hepburn. Sir John Hepburn had been welcomed into the counsel of King Gustavus because he had proven his worth by fighting at a young age. In the book, we are told that Sir John Hepburn led his army at the battle of Schiefelburne. Sir John and his army of men were victorious!

Later on in the book, a village is attacked by freebooters or in other words, pirates or bandits. Malcolm was told the news and rode with an army to the village. Malcolm and his army drove the attackers out of Wolfsburg. Because of his wondrous and brave deed, Malcolm is introduced to King Gustavus! The King was impressed with Malcolm’s prudence and modesty and promoted him to the rank of Colonel. He was also given a suit of armor.

Malcolm was eventually promoted to Captain. This is how it happened. The town of Oppenheim in Scotland was captured by pirates. The King told Malcolm of this tragedy and promoted him to Captain so that he could go and free Oppenheim. Malcolm succeeded in this task and the pirates surrendered! After this victory, during Christmas, Malcolm was introduced to the Count and Countess of Mansfield and their daughter, Thelka. They all became great friends.

Sometime later, Malcolm was sent to investigate a peasant town and wound up getting captured. The men he brought with them also got captured while looking for him. Malcolm escaped the place he was in and rescued his men. Together, the got away from the peasants. They found a church tower to hide in, but the peasants found them and tried to draw them out. Malcolm and the men held off the peasants until Captain Burgh came to save them.

The war between the Scots and the Swedes and Germany continued. Sadly, in one of these battles, King Gustavus died from two musket shots. Malcolm mourned greatly for the loss of his king, but at least they won the battle. Even though Malcolm is greatly saddened by the death of his king, he still went out and fought. In one of these battles, Malcolm himself was wounded. Thankfully he recovered a few days later.

It was December when Malcolm got a letter from the Countess. It said that she, her husband, and her daughter had been captured along with their town and the Castel of Mansfeld. She asked for help from Malcolm, he decided to help free her, her family, and her people. He disguised himself as a peasant boy, entered the city walls, and was allowed to go into the Count’s apartment. The Count and Countess needed Malcolm’s help. The German Emperor was going to force the Count’s daughter, Thelka, into Becoming a Catholic nun Nobody wanted this to happen, so Malcolm offered to help Thelka escape. The Count and Countess trusted Malcolm because he was a Scottish gentleman and a Protestant soldier. Malcolm found a place for Thelka to stay at while Malcolm followed the instructions he received from Colonel Munro

Later there was a Coronation for the new king, Ferdinand, and in the middle of the Coronation, three traitors started attacking the people who were there. They killed four officers and Wallenstine. They even captured Malcolm! He was taken prisoner and put in a dungeon in a castle in Germany. An old man who was a prisoner in the dungeon, helped Malcolm escape the German castle.

When Malcolm returned, the officers were planning for another war. The war came extremely soon. The battle was called “The Battle of Nordlingen”. This battle was a large one. The Scotts and Swedes beat the Germans in a glorious victory! The Scotts and Swedens even freed the entire city from the Germans. When Malcolm came home he married Thelka, and once again, the country was at peace.

First Semester Report

Robinson Crusoe was my favorite book I read this year so far. It was written by Daniel Defoe, who was born in England around 1660. He died in 1731. Robinson Crusoe is about a man who gets shipwrecked on an island and has to survive and try to get home.

Robinson Crusoe is a Historical Fiction type of genre book. That means that some of it is true, but the rest is fiction. Robinson Crusoe is my favorite school book I have read. You should read it sometime.

Sherlock Holmes was written by Arthur Conan Doyal. It is my second favorite school book I have read this year. It is about a detective named Sherlock Holmes who solves mysteries in London.

Sherlock Holmes is a Horror type of genre book. Horror includes crime, mystery, theives, and more! I like Horror.

Robin Hood is the last of my favorite school books I have read. It was written by Howard Pyle. It is when an outlaw named Robin Hood steals from the rich but gives to the poor when the evil Prince John of England and the Sherrif of Nottingham are trying to get him.

The book is also a Science Fiction type of book. These three books are my favorite school books I have read this year.

A novel is typically a long sequential story that often describes characters and events. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is an example of a novel.

Short Stories are a very short part of prose fiction. The Sherlock Holmes stories are examples of Short Stories.

Novellas are texts of narrative, written, and fictional prose. Novellas are usually longer than short stories but shorter than novels. One example is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Genres are "A kind of type of works of literature art or popular fiction" according to Webster's New Dictionary. Genres include Science Fiction, Horror, Allegory, Fantasy, Mythology, Fables, and more. All these genres are very important in writing. I have many Horror books.

The five points of a plot are exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. The exposition is normally at the beginning of the book and introduces the main character(s). The rising action leads to the climax while building tension in the story. The climax is the highest point of action in a book or movie. The falling action solves the tension that was built earlier in the book or movie. The resolution is the end of the story.

According to Webster's New Dictionary, a theme is the main topic of a book. There are many themes in books and movies. Maybe even thousands in some!

An Interview with Sherlock Holmes

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with the world-famous detective, Sherlock Holmes and discuss his recent mystery he called, "The Musgrave Ritual", and this is what he said.

"Well, it wasn't easy. By far it was the toughest mystery I have ever encountered, but as always, I solved the mystery. It started out as me on vacation. My assistant, Dr. Watson, insisted that I take a vacation to get soe rest and fresh air, and take some time off my cases for a while."

Wow, I didn't know you took a vacation, but how, even on vacation, did a mystery come to you?"

"Like always, someone comes to me, explains to me the case, and asks me to solve it. In that case, it was Sir Musgrave. He said that his butler, Buton, disappeared after sneaking into Mr. Musgrave's library several times. He was looking over a family poem called The Musgrave Ritual."

"But why, why would he sneak into a library just to read a family poem?"

"Not read, to decode. Sir Musgrave told me that The Musgrave Ritual was a riddle and if you decoded it, it would lead you to treasure that had been lost over the years by the family and had been forgotten."

"But what about the butler? What happened to him?"

"Oh, he decoded the message and went to find the treasure, but I also decoded the message and went after him. I found him in the basement, suffocated and dead."

"What happened after that?"

"Well, as always, I explain how I solved the mystery to Watson, and boy, was he amazed!"

"Well, there you have it folks, the story of The Musgrave Ritual."

Genres

According to Webster's New Dictionary, a genre is "A king or type of works of literature, art, or popular fiction". The genres I learned about were Science Fiction, Horror, Allegory, Fantasy, Mythology, and Fables.

The first genres are Science Fiction and Horror. Science fiction drives into technology, sometimes space, of course, science, inventing new hears and gadgets, and sometimes time traveling. horror deals with crime, violence, mystery-solving, death threatening, and a lot of scary stuff.

The second genre is Allegory. An Allegory is a story that has a deeper meaning to it. Jesus' parables in the Bible were allegories.

The last genres are fantasy, Mythology, and Fables. Fantasy is made up and is sometimes fairy tale stories. Some fantasy stories have farries, dragons, kings, and queens. Mythology is more likely to be a Roman or Greek myth and is sometimes legend. Fables are short stories that teach a life long lesson.

Star Wars, Star Trek and Journey to the Center of the Earth are all examples of Science Fiction. Some examples of Horror are Sherlock Holmes and The Hardy Boys. An example of an Allegory is Pilgrim's Progress. Some Fantasy genre books are the Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. Some more examples of Mythology is The Illiad and The Oddessy. The last examples of Fables are Aesop's Fables and The Three Little Pigs.

The Two Tools I Would Want if I Were Stranded on a Deserted Island

First, I would want to have an ax to chop down trees and cut vines. I could use the logs to build myself a shelter and the vines could be used to hold the logs in place if they aren't stable. I could also use the ax for hunting and protecting myself. I could make traps for catching animals and to chop firewood to build fires with to cook and to keep me warm.

The other tool I would want is a hammock. It could help you sleep above the ground where the critters and snakes can't get you that are on the ground. I could also use it as a fishing net to catch fish with and a water filterer to filter out bugs and mud and large debris to make it safe for me to drink. I could even use if for a blanket if I'm cold and do not have a fire and to use it as a raincoat to protect me from rain. I could use it to turn into a sack to carry fruit in and it can be used to transport logs from one side of the island to the other by putting the logs on the hammock and using the rope to pull it. I could also make a log carrying backpack.

Robin Hood Goes Fishing

Robin Hood and his merry men did not have anything to eat that morning. After several minutes of hunger, Robin Hood said, "I will go fishing and catch some juicy trout for breakfast."

"But Robin, you'll die! You know the Sheriff's ships are patrolling the harbor," said Little John.

"I realize that," said Robin, "but look at all these hungry men. I can't just let them die of starvation. Besides, I'll have a fisherman disguise on. They won't recognize me."

"If you say so, but I' coming with you," said Little John.

"All right," said Robin. So they put on their disguises, grabbed their fishing poles, and left.

"Halt! Who are you?" asked one of the guards.

"We're just going to fish, cause we are so hungry and we have nothing to eat," said Robin. Eventually, the guard let them pass. Robin and Little John together caught seven trout for his band of sixteen merry men.

When he got back to his hideout, the cook cooked the trout in less than an hour for one trout. When he was done, the merry men were so hungry, there were no leftovers.

"But what will we have for tomorrow?" asked one of the merry men.

Robin said, "Little John and I will just fish for more trout but for more than today, so we will have leftovers for the next day."

And so they did just that the next day.