PLAGIARIZING

What did the student do wrong? What could he/she have done to include the source correctly?


What the student did wrong was that he/she plagiarized. He/she took someone else's work and made it his/her own without giving the author any credit. What the student could have done, was cited the source which would be giving the author his/her much deserved credit, or paraphrasing it and then stating where he/she got his/her information.


What are at least 3 ways to avoid plagiarizing?


1. Paraphrase where you got your information so it shows you understand the context
2. Cite your source; give the author the credit they deserve
3. After reading the passage, based off of it try and form your own thoughts/opinions or even build off theirs.

Reflecting on Posts

     Reading through the list of blogs Ms. Galang posted, there were two that really stood out to me. The first was Joyce's response to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The second was Sofia's response on Pablo Picasso's "La Vie".
     One reason I liked Joyce's response was because I agreed with all that she said. In her post, she compared Katniss's two love interests. She said she was Team Peeta because he was the sensitive one who always looked out for Katniss no matter what, while Gale wasn't quite as thoughtful even though he was very protective of her. 
     I'm also Teem Peeta because I think his character is just really likeable and he's so sweet and the things he's done for Katniss are so selfless and thoughtful that you really can't not like him. Gale doesn't really come off that way. He is more protective and not as sensitive which doesn't make him as likeable as Peeta. 
     The second post that I really liked was Sofia's post on Picasso's painting "La Vie". What stood out to me about her response is that when she inferred what the painting meant, she went back and used events that were happening around that time in his life to find out what the painting meant to him. I think she made I really deep connection to the painting and what had just happened in his life that I wouldn't have thought of, but after I read it I agree with 100%. Sofia said that the man in the painting was Picasso's friend who had committed suicide from depression over his lover. And the woman standing next to him is his lover. Now this is what interested me the most, she said that the woman who was painting them symbolized death. She thought of this from the solemn look on her face and her dark clothing, and that painting them was like drawing out the rest of their lives and determining how long they will live/ what will happen. She also though of the baby as representing life, symbolizing the cycle of life, and how for every death, there is a birth. I think Sofia did a really good job of getting into Picasso's head to see how he was feeling when he painted "La Vie".
     I think I could improve my blogposts by going deeper into what I'm writing about and try and think of something unexpected to say to make readers more interested. And when I write about the books I'm reading, I could put myself in a character's shoes and try to make the decision they are making in the book.  

Letter Re: Romeo & Juliet

Dear Reader,

In ELA we have just started to read Romeo and Juliet. We haven't gotten that far into the book and it already confuses me.

First of all, there are so many characters it's hard to keep track of them. Also, these characters have very similar names which sometimes mixes me up. All the characters are involved in the same situation and it sometimes makes it confusing to follow.

One other thing that I don't understand about this book, is why the Capulets and the Montagues have this rivalry. Whenever they encounter each other it always leads to a fight. However, it hasn't said why one family doesn't like the other.

The last thing that annoys me in this book it the language. It's really old, so they speak totally different from how we speak today. A lot of the time, they say things that seem to mean something, but when you look to see the translation, it means something really weird and different.

In conclusion, this book is really confusing and hard to read. I hope it gets better as i become more familiar with the characters and the language

Sincerely,

Olivia

Sonnet Response

Sonnet 29

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
   I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf Heaven with my bootless cries,
   And look upon myself, and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
   Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
   With what I most enjoy contented least:
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
   Haply I think on thee,--and then my state
Like to the lark at break of day arising
   From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
   That then I scorn to change my state with kings'.

                         - William Shakespear 

In this poem, I think that Shakespear is writing about how he compares himself to men who he thinks are better then him. He talks mostly about how he's an outcast from most men because he's not rich and doesn't have a bunch of rich friends. "Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd,/ Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope," this line sounds like he is jealous of a man in perticular. It's saying that he is jealous of this man's money, friends, and he thinks he is lacking the good qualities this guy has. 

However, in this sonnet, Shakespear talks about this one thing that brings him out of this jealous state of mind-- his lover. In the last five lines, he talks about how this person brings him to a better place mentally whenever he thinks of them. He uses a metaphor to describe how he changes when he thnks of her: "For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings/ That then I scorn to change my state with kings'". 

From this sonnet, I can tell that William Shakespear is jealous of men for things he lacks, and even though these things make him feel like an outcast, this person he is speaking to makes him feel as if he is a king, and their love brings him so much happiness. 

Sonnet 1

He shines his happiness down upon us

He is glowing with warmth for everyone

He was never one for making a fuss

He provides us with the privilege of fun.

Sometimes it may seem he shines for the worst,

like melting ice cream or polar ice caps

Except without him, for warmth we would thirst,

And it is likely the world would collapse.

The setting sun is like a work of art

The colors blend together perfectly

Though I know the end will bring a fresh start,

letting go I find a difficulty.

I find the sun such a brilliant sight

I dread the coming of the dark of night.

3 Poems

Poetry Is...

Poetry is
the way
words flow as you
read them

Poetry is
a rhythmic writing
with a deeper meaning

A message for the world to interpret on its own.

What Happens To A Dream Deferrd


What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it melt
like a bright red Popsicle on a hot summers day?

Does it blossom
like the sunflowers of August?

Does it sit there
like paint on a canvas?

Or does it leave
just walk out the door.

A Painting Poem


The tear was shed
after they called.
He was dead
Another one gone
Another innocent soul taken
Another cold pale carcass left to rot and spoil in the ground.
How could he allow such a thing to happen?
How could someone be so self-centered as to take thousands of others life's just to protect one's own?
How could you live with yourself
knowing you have caused so much pain
so much suffering in the world?

Art Essay: Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali was born in Figueras, Spain, in 1904. As a child, he craved attention, and started painting when he was 8 years old. His paintings were of dreams he had had. When he was a teenager, he went to Madrid to study art. His early artwork was inspired much by Pablo Picasso, and much of it resembled Picasso’s work. Dali’s style of painting is called surrealism. Surrealists were a group of people that painted mostly was came to mind or things from their dreams. They wanted their work to make people think and to stir up thoughts in the back of peoples minds (pg 21-22). This group of artists asked Dali to join them. However, some of them thought that Dali’s work was too strange. Salvador Dali was a very accomplished man. He made films, designed clothes and perfume bottles, made magazine ads, and worked with famous moviemakers like Walt Disney, as well as being a very successful painter.

One of his successful paintings is called The Enigma of Hitler. In this painting,

there is a telephone hanging off a branch. Off that telephone, there is a drip of water hanging. Below the hanging phone is a plate with a few small things that look like beans, and an image of Adolf Hitler. Standing at the edge of the plate, is a very small bat holding a melting spoon in its mouth. There is an umbrella and a red strand of some sort hanging down from the same branch as the telephone. This painting was done in 1939 in Madrid. The surrealists were very offended by the image of Hitler (pg 29).

            To me, this painting resembles a phone call to someone during the time of World War 2. A little before actually, because this was during the time Hitler had just gained power. The drip on the phone is a tear of someone who’s just received a phone call. Maybe someone had been killed or injured or captured, and the phone call was to tell someone in contact or relations with that person. I think it could have been someone who Dali had known or he painted it as a way of showing what was happening in the world at that time to many people.