Thursday, December 11, 2014

Fall Poem


Brynn Goldman 
K6
English Free Verse Poem
30 September 2014

Fall 


Fall is coming
As the trees begins to shiver
We all recognize the crisp
In the air
On our lips
Through our hair

Even though it may not be clear
Fall is coming
Fall is here

(better late than never…)


Periodic Table of Figures of Speech

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Re2pect

Hearing the fans chant,
Jeter, Jeter!! has a big grin,
Way to finish your career!

Monday, December 1, 2014

Purdue OWL: Verb Tenses

Purdue OWL: Verb Tenses:




Sequence of Tenses

Summary:
This handout explains and describes the sequence of verb tenses in English.
Contributors:Chris Berry, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli
Last Edited: 2013-09-14 09:29:01
Strictly speaking, in English, only two tenses are marked in the verb alone, present (as in "he sings") and past (as in "he sang"). Other English language tenses, as many as thirty of them, are marked by other words called auxiliaries. Understanding the six basic tenses allows one to re-create much of the reality of time in their writing.
Simple Present: They walk
Present Perfect: They have walked
Simple Past: They walked
Past Perfect: They had walked
Future: They will walk
Future Perfect: They will have walked
Problems in sequencing tenses usually occur with the perfect tenses, all of which are formed by adding an auxiliary or auxiliaries to the past participle, the third principal part.
ring, rang, rung
walk, walked, walked
The most common auxiliaries are forms of "be," "can," "do," "may," "must," "ought," "shall," "will," "has," "have," "had," and they are the forms we shall use in this most basic discussion.

Present Perfect

The present perfect consists of a past participle (the third principal part) with "has" or "have." It designates action which began in the past but which continues into the present or the effect of which still continues.
1. Betty taught for ten years. (simple past)
2. Betty has taught for ten years. (present perfect)
The implication in (1) is that Betty has retired; in (2), that she is still teaching.
1. John did his homework. He can go to the movies.
2. If John has done his homework, he can go to the movies.
Infinitives, too, have perfect tense forms when combined with "have," and sometimes problems arise when infinitives are used with verbs such as "hope," "plan," "expect," and "intend," all of which usually point to the future (I wanted to go to the movie. Janet meant to see the doctor.) The perfect tense sets up a sequence by marking the action which began and usually was completed before the action in the main verb.
1. I am happy to have participated in this campaign!
2. John had hoped to have won the trophy.
Thus the action of the main verb points back in time; the action of the perfect infinitive has been completed.

Past Perfect

The past perfect tense designates action in the past just as simple past does, but the action of the past perfect is action completed in the past before another action.
1. John raised vegetables and later sold them. (past)
2. John sold vegetables that he had raised. (past perfect)
The vegetables were raised before they were sold.
1. Renee washed the car when George arrived (simple past)
2. Renee had washed the car when George arrived. (past perfect)
In (1), she waited until George arrived and then washed the car. In (2), she had already finished washing the car by the time he arrived.
In sentences expressing condition and result, the past perfect tense is used in the part that states the condition.
1. If I had done my exercises, I would have passed the test.
2. I think George would have been elected if he hadn't sounded so pompous.

Future Perfect

The future perfect tense designates action that will have been completed at a specified time in the future.
1. Saturday I will finish my housework. (simple future)
2. By Saturday noon, I will have finished my housework. (future perfect)

Review

1. Judy saved thirty dollars. (past)
2. Judy will save thirty dollars. (future)
3. Judy has saved thirty dollars. (present perfect)
4. Judy had saved thirty dollars by the end of last month. (past perfect)
5. Judy will have saved thirty dollars by the end of this month. (future perfect)






Notice: There can be only one "would have" action group in a sentence.

The Struggle

I feel like I’m being ripped apart.
Nothing good will come out of this.
I feel my heart twinge as he says goodbye.
I want to scream, “NO!”
But no words form on my dry tongue.
Would he listen to me?
No, he wouldn’t, not now.

I struggle to hold in my tears.
My heart stops working, and I let it.
I don’t have anything to live for now.
I stand tall,
Raise my head,
And smile,
Though on the inside,
I’m collapsing.
                   
I keep a poker face as I walk into school.
Why must people mock me so?
They are so happy,
They have a happy life,
Yet here I am, dealing with a soul crippling from a loss.
Here I am, dying on the inside.
I can never be happy again; unless he comes back.

Babysitting Problems

As I step into the house with my huge duffle bag, I feel a strange feeling. I’ve been here before you don’t need to worry, I think to myself as I drop the bag, and gaze around. The house is one floor with antiques and flowers crowding the house like they are in a party. It’s an old styled house, so how can the kids live here?

“Sorry, I know it’s creepy, but don’t worry, you’ll find this place great!” Mrs. Gonzales reassures me. I nod, not finding any words to say. “Alright, I’ll leave you to it. Have a good time! The kids are great! Goodbye!” she waves happily as she leaves. I wave back, and smile. She seems to leave in a hurry, I guess she has a lot less time then I would've thought.

I bolt to the room where the kids are, so I don’t leave them too long. Anna, 12, is playing with her younger sister, Casey, who is 3 years old. Little Tommy, 5, is sitting alone in the corner playing with his toys. I greeted them, and played along with them. Everything passed along fine, but every time I looked into Tommy’s gray eyes, an uncertain feeling washed across me. I can’t put my finger on it…

The time flew by so fast, and then it was time for bed in a flash. I put Anna, Casey, and Tommy to bed, and went downstairs to watch the TV. I cuddle up on their flower couch, grab my phone to text their mom about the kids, and fall asleep, having a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I wake up at the cry of Tommy, “Miss Emma! Can you come please?”

“Coming Tommy!” I shouted back, and almost fly to Tommy’s room hoping he’s ok. I pass the antique dolls, plates, and flowers on the way as if they were all looking at me with saddened eyes. The hallway seemed to stretch as I kept running, hoping more and more that he is ok. As my fingers skin the doorknob, I feel this unholy feeling crawl up my back. I jerk my fingers back as I shiver, but reach back and open the door. I need to help Tommy because behind this door I hear his crying.

As I enter his room, his eyes are glued to the wall, and he’s shivering under his bed covers. “You've gotten rid of him before? Can you do it again?” Tommy asks in a shaky voice, and then he looks at me with tears filling his eyes. What’s he talking about?

“Who?” I reply as I slowly walk to him, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I try my best not to look at the wall, though temptation fills inside me like lava about to pour out of a closed mountain.

Tommy’s gaze shifts back to the wall, and he yells as loud as he can, “Look at him! He only wants me to do his work, but you seem to scare him! You did it before! Just do it again!” He squeezes his cover and cries, “Just look at him! He’s right behind you!” At his words I freeze; who is behind me? I turn around and look at the wall. No one is there, but the door is moving. I approach the door and close the door for the room. A short, kid-size shadow was sitting on the floor giggling. He has no features except a wide mouth that stretches across his face. It opens up wide as he laughs like a lion. He shows his teeth as he stands up; what is he? I back up a bit, and he giggles more as the shadow gets out of the wall and crawls toward us. He looks at me and tilts his head in circles. He laughs as he becomes dust and flies toward my body. I’m so scared I can’t even move. My head is spinning by the argument in my head, but my feet won’t move. He flies toward my face, and goes into my mouth, nose, ears, and more. I can’t breath like this! My heart starts running as I start to loose consciousness. I collapse on the floor as I feel my strength fading. He comes out of my body, and stands over it. He giggles and walks to Tommy, “I finally figured out a way to get rid of you.” He jumps into his body, and Tommy falls asleep. Was it all a trick? I feel my heart stop as I gasp for air. “It’s over.” I whisper and gag. It’s all over.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Archetype - Examples and Definition of Archetype




Archetype - Examples and Definition of Archetype: "Archetype Definition

In literature, an archetype is a typical character, an action or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature.

An archetype, also known as universal symbol, may be a character, a theme, a symbol or even a setting. Many literary critics are of the opinion that archetypes, which have a common and recurring representation in a particular human culture or entire human race, shape the structure and function of a literary work.

Carl Jung, Swiss psychologist, argued that the root of an archetype is in the “collective unconscious” of mankind. The phrase “collective unconscious” refers to experiences shared by a race or culture. This includes love, religion, death, birth, life, struggle, survival etc. These experiences exist in the subconscious of every individual and are recreated in literary works or in other forms of art."



'via Blog this'

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

NERF Business Letter

NERF Customer Service
1027 Newport Ave.
Pawtucket, RI 02862

Whoever It May Concern:
I very much enjoy your products. However, I have encountered a problem with your NERF Zombie Strike Crossfire Bow Toy.
When I bought this product, I was delighted.  I am a huge fan. The Crossfire Bow was perfect, the first of its kind that I am aware of, with an adequate number of darts, and a realistic string to make it look like a real crossbow. I was so pumped up because finally a real NERF crossbow had been made! However, I had two small problems, the first problem being the zombies. My family and I are not really into zombies, but this wasn’t a major problem because as soon as I pulled it out, I attached stickers to cover it up. The second problem was much more important. As soon as I loaded the gun and pulled the trigger, a bullet flew out. Perfect. But the second time I shot it, one bullet came straight and fast, like it’s supposed to, but the second bullet barely came out of the socket.
            This was very disappointing because I purchased the Rough Cut gun knowing that it shot two bullets at the same time. I didn’t really care for this feature so I bought the Crossfire Bow knowing that it didn’t shoot two bullets at the same time. If I would have known that the bow shot like this, I never would have purchased it in the first place. I tested the bow five times recently, and three times this occurred. This is very frustrating because I have had little problems with your toys, and they all work wonderfully. Now all of the sudden it is malfunctioning.
            As a dedicated consumer, I request that I will be given a free Crossfire Bow as a result of the poor quality and performance. My friends and I love playing an occasional NERF battle, and this is very disappointing.

Sincerely,

Ethan McFerren




Time Lapse


Sunday, November 9, 2014

Storyteller Project Poster

Sorry its hard to see, but here's my storyteller project

Lost Dreams



Lost Dreams



Shivering and sweating, I woke up startled to find myself on the cold bare floor. All I could remember was my name, Serena Riley. I didn't know what was going on. All I could see in my head were blurry pictures of random people. I felt like my heart was racing faster than lightning. As my cat-like green eyes searched across the room, a knock on the door startled me. I turned around to find myself staring at a boy with shaggy brown hair, tanned skin and piercing blue eyes.

"Serena, right?" he asked with a bright white smile. I nodded wondering how he knew my name, “I’m Charlie," he said.

"Hi," I replied meekly, "where am I?"

"You’re in the Caribbean," he said.

"Oh," I responded. I walked over to the tiny window, next to some pictures of what looked like Charlie and a girl, whom I thought I saw in my dreams. I shivered as I thought about it. "How did I get here?" I asked Charlie.

"You were unconscious in a stranded boat, right over there," he pointed outside to the boat that was still floating in the clear blue water, "my sister, Amanda, took you to the clinic nearby."

“What did he say?” I asked, maybe it would explain my strange dreams.

“He says that you must have hit your head on something that made you lose your memory,” he told me.

Before I could say another word, the lights turned off, books started falling from the shelves and the ground started shaking. Just then, Charlie and I looked at each other and we knew exactly what was happening. We screamed.

"Earthquake!” I turned around to see the girl in the photo, pale faced running towards us yelling.

Then I heard Charlie scream my name as the ground started to split apart. As I tried to reach for his hand I fell into an endless black pit. I plummeted towards my death, thoughts about what would happen to Charlie scared me. I felt a tear roll down my cheek. Charlie, I thought. Suddenly, everything stopped.

I woke up with my heart pounding so loud that the whole world could hear it. I took a deep breath. It was just a dream, I thought, just a dream. I sighed as I looked at the time, 7:30 am, the first day of high school. Ugh high school, I thought. I threw on a pair of jeans and a hoodie and ran downstairs to catch the bus before it left.

As I reached downstairs the aroma of my mom's famous homemade chocolate chip muffins along with freshly squeezed orange juice reached my nose eagerly. I finished up my chocolate chip muffin, and looked at the time-8:00 it flashed. Oh no I’m going to miss the bus, I thought, so I gulped down my orange juice and raced to the bus stop in the nick of time. I got on the bus and sat down in the front.

Everything about today sucked, and all I could think about was my dream. When they first started I thought it was a normal nightmare, but then it kept on reoccurring day after day. All my life I’ve been homeschooled until now. I’ve actually never been anywhere other than my house, this neighborhood, and my nana’s. But then again I know it means something, this dream, it just has to.

"Earth to Serena," a voice poked in my thoughts interrupting me.

“What,” I snapped as I turned around to see who I was talking to.

"Sorry I didn’t mean to bother you," Rachel said quietly pushing up her glasses.

“Sorry Rachel, I didn’t see you there,” I said feeling bad. I just met Rachel a few weeks ago when she moved in; she’s okay quiet and sensitive, not my kind of friend though. I sighed and turned around staring out the bus window at the foggy sky, thinking about my dream.

And there it was the big old grayish brown building, a pile of bricks and cement, staring down at bus with the words “Melaonre High School” like a black curtain shutting out all my thoughts.

First day of high school. Yay. I think sarcastically.

I entered the halls of Melaonre High the home of Worms, and peeked at my schedule, I have pre-calculus first and my locker combo is, 35-19-6. I checked again to make sure and wrote down the combo on the side of my shoe.

I hurried to my locker to put my stuff away, when I ran into someone, dropping my binder and its contents. Embarrassed I picked up my belongings and looked up to say sorry, but then my mind went blank. It was like I couldn’t form words or speak in full sentences anymore. I just stared and stared until he looked at me and his face went as pale as mine. A part of me wanted to ask him his name and another part of me wanted to run away and hide in a dark corner. He had the same piercing blue eyes and shaggy brown hair; I swear he looked exactly like him.

Finally I started to speak, "Hi, I'm Serena Riley. What's your name?”

"Charlie Gates,” he said hurriedly, his eyes darting back and forth as if he were looking for someone. A few moments passed by and he started to speak again, “Um I got to go talk to my sister, but um, it was nice meeting you Serena, so I’ll see you around,” he quickly said and took off.

"Ok,” I said still trying to recover from shock. This isn’t real, this isn’t possible. How do you dream of someone you never even met? None of this makes sense! I wonder worriedly. I looked back and found Charlie whispering to what looked like his sister, the girl in the photo, from the dream. And for a while it seemed as if they were staring at me trying to figure out if I were real or not. I tried to make out their emotions through their facial expressions but I got nothing. Yet, something in Charlie Gate’s eyes told me that he knew something about me that even I didn't know about myself.


                                             

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