The Final BLog Assessment

I have only read one book this trimester. I didn’t meet my goal. My goal was to read three or more books this trimester. Goodreads helped me find books that I might be interested in based on my favorite genres. I looked at some of the books that goodreads suggested and I noticed that I was interested and I wanted to read some of them. One thing that I struggled with was that the book I was reading was very depressing, and I have noticed that whenever I read a depressing or sad book, I tend to read slower than I usually do. When I read books that are not as sad, I tend to read a little faster. This book, I noticed, took me about the whole trimester to finish. But when I read a book that was more in a genre that I usually read, like the book “If I Stay” by Gayle Forman, it only takes me about three days. To prevent myself from reading slower, I decided to read aloud. A strength that I had with blogging was showing my opinion about the book.

            My writing has improved over the course of the trimester because I thought of a connection between myself and the text. On January 7^th, my blog post states, “Sometimes, when I think of allergies, the first thing I think of is a little girl explaining a long list of items that she can't have or even smell. This little girl would always remain calm and know exactly what to do in case of an emergency. David on the other hand, wasn't calm. As his mother was taking him to the doctor, he kept fussing until he took something that made the swelling stop.” This shows that I compared to what I thought to David’s problem.

            Another quote from my blog is on December 3^rd, it states, “The theme of this book was to always think before you do. Every little decision you make can impact your life. From what color crayon you want use, to which house you want to buy.” This quote also shows a theme being compared to everyday life. I have improved because I wouldn’t usually think of comparing myself to the text. I’ve learned a lot this trimester. One of the main things that I have learned is to pick a book that has a genre that I really like to read in order to achieve my goal.

The Small Outsider

In the book, David's mother reads an article about how to educate an autistic child. They would put the autistic child in one small room and also have a teacher. Whenever the teacher would try to teach the child a new word, the child would have to drop a ball into a container and say the word. If the child did something wrong, they would turn off the lights and put him or her in the dark for five seconds. If the child does something correctly, he or she will be rewarded. If the child continues to something wrong more than once, the amount of seconds would add on from five to ten and so on.

Blizzard Bag

In the book, The Small Outsider, David had just learned more about food. He learned that some food is edible like steak and celery, and then he learned that some things you shouldn't eat. On page 90, it states,"From then on he tasted everything he ran across. Wthin a few months he had eaten his way through an incredible number of unlikely substances. He ate the cuffs off his shirt, took off his socks and chewed them into tiny shreds, and within six weeks munched his way through an entire bedspread. He was like a moth. He chewed dozens of holes in our blankets and nibbled the bottoms off all the clothes hanging on the  line. He worried the pompoms on slippers, and chewed through the cords or blinds." But clothes weren't the only thing David chewed on. He also began stuffing dirt, bugs, nails, bottle tops, sticks, and stones into his mouth. David's mother believes that this is just a phase and that it will end soon, hopefully.




In Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare, I am learning that there are two lovers that immediately want to get married after meeting at the Capulet's Party. But I do have one question. When Romeo talks to Friar Laurence about him marrying Juliet, why doesn't Friar Laurence argue, even a little bit, with Romeo about marrying Juliet since both households are enemies?