6 Months of 6th Grade

1. What you have achieved - both academically and socially.

- Academically, I have been able to get good grades. Also I have been working hard for classes, in and out of school. During class I listened for instructions and at home I would study for tests or I would just simply go over the things I learned. Some things I have achieved socially is the fact that I have made more friends. Also in my classes I am able to get along with my classmates pretty well. Although some of my friends have changed, I have kept most of them, and I'm pretty happy with the friends I have now.

2. Skills that you have learned.

- Some skills I have learned in middle school is to use time more effectively. In elementary school I was more used to leaving homework or projects until the end of the day. In middle school now that I have more homework, I have learned to work out my schedule and to sort out my work that needs to be finished. Also I have learned to be more organized. Now that we have lockers, organizing my things is much more easier, but still I have to work on it. At first, I wasn't doing a good job because I was leaving homework at school, and I had to rush through it the next day. Now I have improved although sometimes I still make mistakes.

3. Skills that you want to learn.

- Some skills that I want to learn is to be more careful. It might sound simple, but it is not. After every test I double check, but after it is graded and when I look at it, usually the questions I get wrong are ones I know the answer of but ones that I made careless mistakes. I've been getting better at it recently, but I want to get better until I do not make any stupid mistakes at all.

4. Goals for the new year and the next 6 months of schools.

- Some goals I have for myself for the next year and the rest of 6th grade is first of all, to get all As. It would be perfect if I could have a good grade maintained for the rest of 6th grade. I think that would give me a good start for 7th grade in the future. As I said before, I would like to make less careless mistakes. Also I would like to take a break from computers. As I entered 6th grade, I have stopped reading and I am spending more and more time on the computer. These days I rarely go on facebook, but I think I can spend even less time on the computer.

Literature Circles Reflection

Please read the questions very carefully, and answer each question in a well written paragraph (4-6 sentences each!)

1. Did you like the book? Why/Why not?

- I liked my book, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle very much. I liked it a lot because it had much action, and it was a mystery type of book which is my favorite genre. I also liked it because of the main plot, which was from the start very mysterious. My book was a type of book that you had think a lot about, because you had to read the words and think beyond the information the book says. My book was the type of the book where you can think more creatively and try to predict what's about to happen on the next chapter or maybe even the next page. Overall, I loved my book.

2. What was your favorite part?

- My favorite part of the book was when Captain Jaggery fell into the sea and died. I like that part because the writing was all so tense and it was a moment where anything could happen. Captain Jaggery and Charlotte Doyle was on the bowsprit and the captain was trying to kill Charlotte, although he ended up falling off the ship. Another reason I liked it was because it was where the evil man finally got what he deserved. He had been responsible for Mr. Hollybrass's death and although this might sound violent or evil but I quite enjoyed reading the part where Captain Jaggery died.

3. What do you think the message of the story was?

- I think the message the author tried to send was to do what you yourself think is right. I think it tells us to do what we believe. There were several times in the book Charlotte showed that such as the part where she decided that she belonged to the crew, but I think the author made his point the strongest at the end of the book. At the end of the book Charlotte knew that her heart belonged with the crew back at the Seahawk and she made a big decision of returning to the ship, which perfectly shows that she had made her own decision without her father or any other person's opinion interfering.

4. How did you like the Literature Circles assignment? What suggestions would you make to improve it?

- I liked the Literature Circles assignment because it allowed me to think deeper about the book. In elementary school we stopped chapters by chapters but I never really thought so much about the story when doing previous literature circles. I think I enjoyed it first of all because I had a very interesting group, but also because of the elements of the assignment. Although it's an "assignment", I liked it very much because when we think more about the plot and characters we can understand more and uncover more of the story. Also when doing our discussions, we were able to gather more ideas than we already had, and we could think of the alternatives. One thing I wish I could change is how often we did it. I wish we could have had more discussions in our books.

5. After talking with your classmates, which of the novels that you did not read, would you like to read next?

- Out of the five books of choices we have, now I have 3 books so I don't really have much choice. Actually I didn't really talk so much about the literature circle books because my friends either had the same books as me or they had a book I had already read. But if I had to choose a book I would like to read next time, I would choose Thunder Cave. First of all, when Mrs. Narsiman read the blurb at the back of the books, Thunder Cave just sounded more interesting to me than Maroo of the Winter Caves. Also I haven't really read books with backgrounds similar to Thunder Cave which is Africa, and I would like to try it.

The T.C.C.D. Week 5

The final blog post is a choice of activities: 1. Write a prediction as to what will happen to the character next (The missing chapter). 2. Write a letter to the character . Include any questions that you may want to ask the character, provide specific evidence from the novel. 3. Write a letter to author. Information that could be included.. Where did the author get their ideas? What inspired them to write the novel? Questions that you may have? Minimum requirements - 3 well structured paragraphs.

- Dear Mr. Andrew Jaggery,
My name is Jared Matthews from Oxford University, and I am a student studying psychology. I have heard your case through my dear cousin Barlow. He has written me a letter about his journey to Providence from England. He has told me the whole story from the start to the end. Yes, about the death of Mr. Hollybrass, and the total truth. I am very interested in you, and not really the crew or the unnatural girl. They might seem a bit rude, but I have some very important questions for you. They are pretty basic.

So my first question is - what do you think of that unnatural Charlotte Doyle and did you ever on the voyage happen to like her? Listening to what Barlow had told me, he makes her sound as if she's a good girl, but I don't really think so. I mean the way she acted at the start of the voyage, what is that if not spoiled? Barlow has told me that she had not approved the ship or the crew and had only liked you at first because you were all nice dressed and you acted like you were from the high society world. Also Barlow later mentioned that she's just a talented girl, but I think she is totally unnatural. I wonder how many high society girls can use a knife so well with just a quick instruction. I have just read the words, unlike you who have lived it. Could you please tell me how she really was?

Here is my second thought. I think of the Doyle girl as unnatural, but that does not stop me from thinking that you could have been a bit more smart. There are several times where I think that you did not act the smartest (please do not be offended). First of all, when I read that you killed the first mate, I was shocked by your stupidity because in my opinion that was a horrible choice to make since I thought that someone would take it as suspicious since it had happened in the middle of the storm. But what I considered even more stupid was the fact that you chose to blame it on the unnatural girl. Of course the story would be very believable since it was her dirk, but did you really think that you would be able to get away with it completely without the girl ever noticing? I do not know what you were thinking, but as soon as I read that part I thought that the Doyle girl would somehow stand up and win against you. But anyway my question is, what were you exactly thinking and what were you expecting when you made these choices? You clearly had not made the brightest choices like killing Cranick and Hollybrass. You ought to have expected someone to dislike your actions.

And this is my last question. What were you hoping to gain from the voyage in the first place? And didn't you ever doubt Keetch? After all, Keetch could have told the crew about everything including the fact that you blackmailed him. You might have blackmailed him, but that doesn't necessarily mean he would just keep his mouth shut. According to Barlow he was always nervous and unsure. What made you so confident that you had perfect control over Keetch? I would like to know. So back to the other question. What were you hoping to get? Is it that you just love sailing so much or is there another reason as I am expecting? This doesn't have anything to do with the ironic voyage itself, but may I ask what has inspired you to become captain? Is it because you like order and you like to be at the top and control other people? That is what I am guessing so far but I would like to have the exact words from you.

Now, I hope I haven't disturbed you so much. I really hope for a reply from you, since I am doing a very big project. Although you don't exactly have to, I would appreciate it very much. One last thing to say, if you're having troubles with your mind because of my letter or anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me. We have very skilled doctors. Oxford University, Block F, Room 258.

Sincerely, Jared Matthews