OAA Grading

Below is a comment from The Reading Workshop, on the post The Life of a Test Grader. To be truthful I think that post is a worst case possibility.(It is not 100% the same as my other comment, a few words have been changed.)

I think if someone had a morning that bad I think anyone could get a bad test score. I know if my mom ever had a morning that bad, she wouldn’t go to work. Really it would matter what kind of person graded my test. If it’s a super specific person that wants the wording to be 100% the same then almost everyone would get a bad score, but if it’s a person that’s not like that and had good morning then people would not miss as many points.

The worst possible thing that could happen would be that a super specific person who had a really bad morning (Like Martha’s morning.) would probably give much fewer points. Really how many points some one would get would be a combination of what kind of person graded your test and how good/bad their morning was.

How Langston Hughes Poem Makes Me Feel

This is my comment from Mr. McGuire’s blog The Reading Workshop on What Was The Author Feeling below is the poem I was commenting on. The poem was written by Langston Hughes.

Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor —
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now —
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

I think Langston Hughes was thinking about or remembering his mom. If he was remembering his mom, then he was probably sad when he wrote this poem.

When I read this poem I think its a way that his mom told him that life isn’t always fair or fun, but it doesn’t mean that you should just give up, because there are always going to be good things and bad.

Sometimes I think that the writer and the reader could feel the same way, but other times the writer and the reader could have very different opinions, but that’s OK.

Lettter To Mr. McGuire

Feb. 3 2011

Dear Mr. McGuire,

I’m writing a letter to you about how my book is exciting. The book I’m writing about is the 39 clues, which (for some reason) are all written by different authors (with a few exceptions). I started reading this because last year I read 1-4 because the school only had, 1,2,3, and 4. But now they got 1-10. So why don’t we have 1-9 in Rangers Apprentice?

The Authors (Because the books are written by different authors.) of 39 clues make the books exciting by making unexpected stuff happen. Like when on book 8 one of the terracotta warrior statues comes to life and attacks Dan. I can’t really say too much about unexpected stuff without giving away parts of the story (if you haven’t read the books), but Andrew always looks at what happens farther in the series on the computer.

Another way the book is exciting is that there are secrets, and they give you little hints until they tell you the secret. Like who killed Amy and Dans parents (I’m not going to tell you, if you don’t already know). Once again I can’t say much about the series because I don’t know if you have read it.

I like this series because unexpected things happen which makes the book exciting. And I want to know what happens at the end of the series. Sorry about not being able to tell you about parts of the story, I don’t know if you’ve read it or not.

Sincerely,

Dylan

Problems

This post was written a long time ago, but I just now posted it. Just explaining the part where it says I’m on book 7 of Ranger’s Apprentice.

The leader of Skandia is tired of siting around and has gone on one last raid (well he said it would be his last), only to find that the Arridi were waiting for him and they kidnapped him. That is the problem in the book I’m reading now (Ranger’s Apprentice 7 Erak’s Ransom) is that Erak, the leader of Skandia and friend of Will, Halt, and the King of Araluen (Araluen is the country that Will lives in), gets kidnapped by the Arridi. And the Arridi want eighty thousand reels of silver, and if you’re wondering I have no idea how much that is, but I know it is a lot of silver.

I know if someone was my friend and the leader of a friendly country I would try to help. Like Halt said if the King didn’t pay the money I would just go rescue him. But it is better to do it peacefully then to charge in and kill them.

Thank You Parents!

Before Thanksgiving break Mr. McGuire had us write a letter to our parents to say thank you for what they have done. I wrote a letter to my mom and Troy (my step dad). Below is my letter to my mom.

November, 24, 2010

Dear, Mom

Thank you for everything you do. I know that life would be really bad if you weren’t alive, it would be really different. I would probably have to live with dad, which would be really different, I would probably never get used to it.

Thank you for checking on my work, homework or tests. It helps sometimes, even though with math I usually have to ask the teacher. Thank you for checking over my work.

Thank you for being nice. You go out of your way and get me something, when its not Christmas or my birth day. You let people stay at my house, some parents probably don’t let people stay at their house. Thank you for being nice.

I’m really thank full for all the stuff you do. I can’t say how thank full I am in this letter. Thank you for everything.

Your son,

Dylan

Letter to Mr. McGuire.

This a letter to Mr. McGuire that he had us write. It is about why we like our SSR book.

November 15 2010

Dear Mr. McGuire,

During SSR and for reading homework I am reading Ranger’s Apprentice 9 Halt’s Peril by John Flanagan. I haven’t seen any other books by the author, other than book 1-8 of Ranger’s Apprentice. The book takes place in mid-evil times (when there were knights).

I like this book because it is exciting. The story changes all the time so I never get bored reading it, because in the 9th one, Halt, Horace, and Will are trying to catch someone named Tennyson, the leader of the outsiders, then Halt gets poisoned and they have to find a way to cure him. Also they thought Halts wound was just a scratch, but it turned out to be poisoned.

Another reason I like this book because it takes place in mid-evil times. I know it takes mid-evil times because there are knights, in fact one of Wills best friends, Horace, is a knight. Another way I know it is mid-evil times is that they have archers in the army, witch means they have not yet invented guns.

I would recommend the book series Ranger’s Apprentice if you like books that take place in mid-evil times, or if you like books with battles in them, or if you like books that the story changes a lot. Thanks for taking your time to read my letter.

Sincerely,

Dylan

The Aliens Have Landed!

Book: The Aliens Have Landed! Poem: I Stuck My Finger Up My Nose Page:16-17

I picked this Poem because it was funny. Heres the 1st two paragraphs from the poem.

I stuck my finger up my nose

to see what it contained.

I found a bunch of crazy things

that cannot be explained.

I found a dozen rubber bands.

I found a piece of string.

I found my missing basketball.

I found a playground swing.

About the Main Character

This is really late paper I was supposed to write on here a long time ago, at the beginning of the school year. It is about the main character in Ranger’s Apprentice, Will Treaty!If you want to know where Treaty came from, because you have started the book and know he has no last name, then read the book series until it tells you, because I won’t and I won’t tell you which book it tells you in so you’re out of luck.The paper starts in the next paragraph.

The main character in the book Ranger’s Apprentice is Will. Will grew up as a castle ward, orphan children raised by the kindness of Baron Arald. Will knows nothing about his parents. Will is curious and brave.

Some proof that Will is curious is that once he climbed up a pipe and stole a tray of sweet cakes! Also he climbed to a third floor study let two rabbits lose. Really in rangers they look for a natural curiousness, so that they want to gather information.

Proof of braveness is trying to rescue a friend out of a castle full of enemies. Also he helped a friend being attacked by many enemy troops. Also I don’t see how he could be a Ranger and a coward.

My Inner Voice

In Reading Workshop we talked about our inner voice. Below is my comment on Reading Workshop. Just like last time you can read it hear or on Reading Workshop. Your on my blog now so might as well read it on mine.

My inner voice told me when I read the book I’m reading now, Rangers Apprentice really knows how to make me want to read more. Other times it says, “Take a break so you don’t read the whole book in one day!” So after reading a long time I start to think I should do something else. If I can’t then I just ignore my inner voice and keep reading.

Confused?

When you read how do you find out your confused? I do when I finish a page and the next page makes no sense, or maybe the book just never seems to make any  sense. To tell the truth I can’t remember reading a book that the whole book never made sense. I have skipped sentences that make the next page a lot of nothing, in other words it makes no sense.

Now what to do if the book makes no sense? If the book makes no sense one thing you could do is get a different book. If you don’t want to but it back then you could keep reading and see if it starts to make sense. If nether of those work and the book is in a series, say the 4th one and you skipped  book 3, and you have no idea of how they got there or whats going on, then read book 3! Skipping books in a series just makes no sense to me, if your going to read the series then read them all!

If you read a page and it makes no sense, then read as far back as you need to. If the chapter made no sense then read the chapter again.Page don’t make sense? Then reread the  page! Maybe you only want to reread the sentence, if that helps why not? All I can say is that, if you get confused don’t just fake read.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristiand/3223044657/sizes/s/