Partnered Literature Circles, Hatchet By Gary Paulsen

Some of the benefits of working with a partner are: it is easier to accomplish an assignment because the work is divided among the group members. A second reason is, if a group member did not complete his or her reading assignment the other group member can fill him or her in on what they missed. The final reason  that it is good to have a partnership is more creative problem solving. What I mean by that is, because no two people see the same problem the same way, approaching a problem with a partner can lead to a broader array of possible solutions or answers.

Some challenges and obstacles I had to overcome during literature circles are: arranging time periods between homework and rest and relaxation, making sure that I have read the amount I had to read and going to school with the assignment in-hand. Obviously, if a group member did not do their part in the project, and the other group member did but was not around to see his partners, then that group member is in big trouble.

Finally, some new understandings that I have gained about the novel. One new understanding is that the flow of the book is not linear, in other words the story shifts between the present and past, but topics can change fluidly, even on the same page. Another new understanding that  has changed my perspective on the book is that the main character is a normal teenage boy named Brian who was forced to forage in the woods of Canada in order to survive after a plain crash. This book is adventurous and also kind of sad because Brian's parents were divorced because his mother, two months earlier, cheated on Brian's Dad. I personally find this novel very interesting because a good (bad) problem leads to a very good story.

Literature Circles Review

1. How your groups discussion helped you better understand the novel. Write about of some of the key ideas from the novel that your group discussed and how these were important to the plot of the story.


Our group discussion helped me better understand the novel because by discussing it, I revisited the story and saw it through some one else's view. Each of us thinks differently, so each of us explains the passages we chose in a different way. This helped me better understand what we read, for example two of my literature circle buddies accidentally chose the same passage and when we talked about them they came up with two completely different ideas about the passage.


One key idea from the novel that we discussed was the idea of survival in the wilderness. We talked about what we ourselves would do if we happened to be in the same situation. survival is the key element in the plot of the novel.

2. Describe some of the connections that you made during your discussion.

One of the connections I made during our discussion was remembering being attacked by mosquitos and leeches, and spending the night in agony, just like Brian did. I remember how frustrated I felt because the itching would not go away. I thought I was going mad.

3. What predictions do you have for the rest of the novel.

I think that Brian will have to go another three or four days before he is rescued also there is a strong possibility he will meet the bear again. If he is rescued, he might be reunited with his Dad. If he is reunited with his Mom he might see more unfortunate scenes that might upset him.

Lines Of Symmetry

I took this photo of a few lego pieces. There are exactly two lines of symmetry.One line is vertical (top to bottom) and the other is straight across the middle of the "square". There are no more lines of symmetry because if you look, there are two black 2x1 unit rectangles facing parallel each other from left to right.

A Trip To The Mangrove Forest

Follow me! said the tour guide, slowly stepping into the gray muck. I was on a trip where I would go to a swamp and plant mangrove trees. I was second in line cautiously stepping into what I thought was going to be rather easy. Oh, I was so wrong, less than a minute in the swamp and one person had already fallen over, from the sounds of it I would say he was stuck. I did not bother looking back. Was I going to be next to fall? Too late! I lost my balance on an unseen root and the right side of my pants had a stripe of gray, while my right hand dove down into the mud. As I recovered my boots started sinking, "When was this going to end" I thought.

Later that afternoon......

Nearly dazed by what I had heard of a boy sinking in shoulder height and being able to get back out. The first couple times my boots sunk I was able to work them out. At one point I lost all interest and carried on with planting the mangroves. soundlessly sank until the mud reached for my knee (which is at least a foot and a half from the bottom of my foot). This time I dug myself out and if that wasn't enough we had to get out the way we had came in, which was now torn and squishy. My decision was to lay branches and sticks down and run over them. It worked but there were no more sticks. Because I was in such a rush to leave, I slipped off my already mud filled boots and jogged out of the pit.

Glad to be washing up and heading home I thought of what I had done. Helping plant a rain forest, discovering wildlife, and now blogging. It makes you think what's on the bright side but one thing is that being a helping hand makes life a lot easier even though it may not be fun.

A time I Had Courage

This post is about a time I showed courage, it was an assignment based on a novel called "Call It Courage" except it was just one time I showed courage.

Back in time, I when it was still summer, I made a trip to a water park called water bom, when we arrived the first thing I saw was the sign, I thought the sign meant to say water bomb, or maybe water boom and was still under construction but by looking you could see it was old and was completed a while ago.


After the ticket booth to the left and down some stairs was a massive locker center  and even bigger change rooms with sinks, showers, toilets and some benches, but past that there was a humongous set of slides on a tower about as tall as eight long buses, bumper to bumper facing vertical. On the tower there were so many slides to choose from, one led you on a near vertical drop on which last a mere four to eight seconds and I couldn't breath when I tried to, another was a neck and neck race on mats like the conga ride at sunway lagoon except it is faster jumpier and has less of a chance to go into other peoples lanes, then I flashed a look away at the tower and saw a half pipe that had a different direction on the way down with a huge hump that sent unlucky people flying from their tubes. I was determined to go on that ride if it meant going nearly vertical facing forward and then rushing back.


 Upon the stairs, if you looked down it would make you think of how would it feel to jump on a concrete wall, enough to stun you for a moment, but not loose all hopes and walk back down. oh how it was great to watch children and adults scream in a humorous way as they gently went up and came crashing down over the small hump but soon enough it was my turn, two people per tube, of course they had double seats, as we laid the tube down I thought of how I feared these things before and I looked down once again just to make sure I was not telling lies to myself and my eyes bulged out of my head but instead of freaking out on the inside all the memories of being afraid of height just disappeared for some reason I couldn't explain. So tubing I went, a light turn in a tunnel then a large drop to gain speed and finally an upheaval heading straight for the edge but no one has reached the edge so for will I? To late to wonder, the front of the tube just skimmed the edge and sent us hurtling backwards to the hump, luckily I didn't fall off but when we touched the pool I was sent hurtling backwards upside down and hit the end of the pool with a thud! But if I had conquered my fear of heights what else could I do.

Investigating The Past Review

The activity was chosen for us to learn about who we evolved from, Lucy to Homo sapiens to finally us. So How can understanding the past, help us to understand our world now?

By looking into the past we can figure out why we became what we have become by analysing fossils of early humans, examining layers of different soil to figure out how different species evolved to their environment and survived rivalry with different species to change into what we have become, the modern human.

If you couldn't understand that then think of why Abraham Lincoln was killed, If that hadn't happened then were would we be today?

If I were a Social Scientist

If I were to be a social Scientist  I would  be a geographer, geographers are people who study nature and make maps according to worldwide heat, the tectonic plates, how the land is growing or shrinking and the ever growing sea level.

Other projects that geographers do are learning about our past and what we were able to accomplish or fail. Geographers sometimes have trouble finding out more about our past, there is one time period where geographers didn't even find a clue.

I would like to be a geographer because then I could learn and teach more about early humans and what we are today, another reason is that I would get to travel the world.

About Me

1. First, introduce yourself. Write a brief paragraph about who

 you are and where you are from.

2. What are the last three books you have read?

 (Include authors names!)

3. What is the last movie you have seen?

4. What is one academic goal you have for this year?

5. What is one social goal you have for this year?

6. What is your favorite vacation memory?

7. List 5 adjectives to describe yourself.

1.My name is Joseph and i'm from the U.S I like to go fishing. When i'm bored I play around with my remote control monster truck, capable of reaching 30 mph.
One of my hobbies is building legos, my favorite books are the 39 clues series.I like to eat pizza and chicken, my favorite color is blue.
2.The last three books I have read are The 39 Clues 1, 2 and 3 there are different authors for each book but they all run on the same story line, Rick Riordan, Gordan Korman and Peter Lerangis.
3.The last movie I saw was Clash of The Titans it was a movie based on a demigod saving the world from the kracken.
4.One of my goals for this trimester is to study properly, do my best while working and sometimes have fun doing it.
5.A social goal for this year would be to not to get frustrated when I am under pressure.
6.My favorite vacation memory would be going on a near vertical water slide, I couldn't breath at all until I hit the bottom the slide was yellow and near 60 feet off the ground!
7.I'd say that I am tall, smart, strong, behaved and a bit nervous.