Reading Response Blog #9

11/9/2014

Have you ever read a story where the main character has to make an important decision? Not just an everyday, common decision, like what to have for dinner, but a challenging, significant decision. Important decisions are ones that affect the characters' lives. These decisions change the course of the story for better or for worse.

Let me share an example of what I mean. In the story that I'm reading, called "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand, the main character Louie is a troublemaker. As a little kid, he was always stealing, getting into fights, and throwing himself into danger. As he got older, his brother decided to step in and encourage him to run on the high school track team. Louie tried it, but hated running, so instead, he decided to run away from home.

However, that is not the decision I am referring to. Let me explain. Once Louie ran away from home, he faced all sorts of hardships that he wasn't prepared for. He got kicked off of a train at gunpoint for hitch hiking. He had to seek shelter in a barn. The only food he had to eat was canned beans. Life away from home was not what Louie expected, even though he was used to trouble.

Louie realized that this was not the kind of life he wanted for himself. He knew he could be better. He decided to go back home and make something of his life. He decided to commit himself to running on the track team. With the help of his brother, Louie trained every day. He wanted to be the best runner. Because of his decision to change his life, Louie changed himself from a troubled kid into a champion. He became a star runner. His determination made him the best runner in the nation. He beat numerous world records. People who used to hate him for stealing their things and beating up their kids now adored him. People cheered and praised Louie wherever he went.

Imagine if Louie decided to remain away from home. What a different life he would have had! The book probably wouldn't be much of a story if Louie hadn't made the decision to go back home and be a better person.

This Week's Prompt:

Describe an important decision that a character has made in a book you have read.
Tell all about how the decision affected the character's life or how the decision changed the course of the story. Include enough background information so that readers can understand why the decision was so important and difficult.

Happy responding!

84 Comments

Mikey

11/9/2014 12:19:11 pm

Dear Class,
The book I am reading is called the Titans Curse by Rick Riordan.
One of the main characters, Thalia, has to make a very important decision that will change her life. Will she choose to stay with camp half-blood, become evil and battle against her own father, Zeus, or become a hunter and dedicate her immortal life to Artemis, the goddess of the hunters. I have not read what she chooses yet, but I am very excited to.
Sincerely,
Mikey

Danny

11/10/2014 10:33:07 am

Did you finish the book?

From Danny

Mikey

11/13/2014 07:31:27 am

Dear Danny,
I had finished the book just before I wrote the response.
Sincerely,
Mikey

Ms. Kimball

11/10/2014 11:06:36 am

Dear Mikey,

What an intense decision. I'm curious, why is Thalia's choice to either be evil or dedicate her life Artemis? What is forcing her to make this decision? What happens if she doesn't choose any of those options?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Mikey

11/16/2014 10:08:56 am

Dear Ms. Kimball
She had to choose where to go because if she didn't, she would have no place to live. Her father is Zeus, and she can't live with him, and I'm pretty sure that her mother died.
Sincerely,
Mikey

Talia

11/11/2014 03:31:13 am

Mikey,
That sounds like a real page-turner! What do you think Thalia will chose?

Julia

11/11/2014 02:32:46 pm

Dear Miley,

I really enjoyed reading your response. I was wondering what you predict Thalia will choose? I'm interested to hear what you think.

Sincerely,
Julia

Mikey

11/13/2014 07:37:07 am

Dear Julia,
When I was reading that part, I thought that she would stay with camp half-blood, but I was wrong. I will not say what she chose in case you ever want to read it.
Sincerely,
Mikey

Alec

11/10/2014 12:00:12 am

Dear Class,
Percy, (a character from the The Last Olympian) made a really big decision in the book. He had to choose to give a knife to a evil person that is begging for help, (That is Luke) or not to give the knife. Percy decided to give the knife because he couldn't resist to give the knife to his fallen friend so he gave it to him. He stabbed himself to kill himself and since he dies, the person that is using his body, dies too. (Kronos the Titan Lord dies which is a good thing because he wanted to destroy Olympus.) Everybody was surprised and were also sad because Luke had sacrificed his life to destroy Kronos. Thats a big decision that Percy had to make in The Last Olympian.

From,
Alec

Ms. Kimball

11/10/2014 11:11:33 am

Dear Alec,

Wow! What an epic choice Percy had to make, Alec! That must have been such a thrilling part. Enabling his friend's death to save Olympus must have been such a difficult decision for Percy to make. I guess by giving Luke the knife, he ultimately left the final decision to Luke. Thankfully, the story is a fantasy, but it's still a depressing decision. How did the author handle such a delicate topic?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Alec

11/16/2014 11:25:56 am

Dear Ms.Kimball,
I really don't know how Rick Riordan handles the delicate topic.

Alec

Marc

11/11/2014 11:49:32 pm

Dear Alec,
What a great discription, and what an interesting book. Hope you feel better!

From,
Marc

Alec

11/10/2014 04:59:18 am

Dear Very Special Class,
Thank you for giving me all of the great compliments and I miss you cards. I feel very touched by all of your cards. I appreciate all of the hard work everybody put into. I miss all of you guys too! I will always remember everybody in Room 9. I feel a lot better because you guys make me feel special.

Yours Truly,
Alec
P.S. I will be back on Wednesday. Room 9 is going to be my favorite class ever!

Ms. Kimball

11/10/2014 11:12:39 am

Dear Alec,

We can't wait to have you back! We loved making your card. You're a champion for making it through the torturous tonsil removal!

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Talia

11/11/2014 03:36:47 am

Alec,
I can't wait for you to come back! I think room 9 is going to be my favorite class too!
Talia

Rheona

11/12/2014 12:09:40 pm

Dear talia,
I HAVE to agree with that Ms.Kimball's Class 2014-2015!

Thx ms.kimball!'
rheona

Julia

11/10/2014 08:08:45 am

Dear Ms. Kimball,

When I read the first book in the warriors series, called Into the Wild, the main character Rusty has to make a difficult decision right from the beginning. He has to decide if he should go into the forest, or if he should stay in the safety of his backyard. If he hadn't chosen to enter the forest, then it would change the course of the story completely. That is one decision Rusty has to make in Into the Wild.

Sincerely,
Julia

Ms. Kimball

11/10/2014 11:15:16 am

Dear Julia,

What do you think Rusty's life would be like if he chose to stay in the safety of his backyard? Why did he choose to go into the forrest? Something must have attracted him to the forrest, which I'm inferring is dangerous and mysterious. (Am I right?)

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Julia

11/12/2014 12:42:49 pm

Dear Ms. Kimball,

If Rusty/Fireheart had chosen to stay in his backyard, than I don't think Erin Hunter would have been able to expand on the story like she has. Also I think it would be a very boring book if nothing exciting, such as Rusty venturing into the forest happened. You are correct, he got drawn into the forest because he had heard rumors of something living in it, and he had seen movement from his perch on the fence.

Your Student,
Julia

Ms. Kimball

11/14/2014 09:02:31 am

Thanks for explaining Julia!

Also, I realized I spelled "forest" wrong. I'm so used to using 2 "r"s in our classmate Forrest's name. Oops! It's actually a FOREST full of trees. Even teachers make mistakes!

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Sammy

11/14/2014 05:42:02 am

Dear Julia,
I read that book I never got to finish it though. I just didn't like the thought of nice cute kittens killing other nice cute kittens. But don't take it from me to judge your story, hope you like the book.

Sincerely,
Sam

Alec

11/16/2014 11:27:49 am

Dear Julia,
Why did Rusty have to make the decision? Was there something going wrong?

Alec

Danny

11/10/2014 10:29:07 am

Dear Class,
I am reading, "The Mysterious Benedict Society". The main character, Reynie, had a big change in his life due to a decision he made.
At the beginning of the book, Reynie lived in an orphanage, and he didn't have any friends. Most kids bullied him because he was smaller and smarter. At the orphanage he felt alone, which was his greatest fear.
He decided to join three other children, Sticky, Kate, and Constance, to form a team to spy on this very evil guy, Mr. Curtain.
They are trying to find out what he's up to for a man named Mr. Benedict.
Now, because he is with this group, he feels safer and not alone.
If he never decided to join the team he would still be at the orphanage, and kids would still be picking on him and he would still be alone.

Ms. Kimball

11/10/2014 11:22:40 am

Dear Danny,

Great job revising your first comment and thanks for the heads up! You explained clearly how Reynie's decision impacted his life. I know this book is super complicated, so well done.

I wonder if Reynie was nervous to join the team with the other kids. Was his decision a challenge in any way? I'm inferring that being a spy was somewhat scary for Reynie, but I could be wrong. You know best!

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Olivia D.

11/12/2014 12:50:07 pm

Dear Danny,

I also read that book and loved it as well! I wonder if he was nervous of fitting in with the rest of the spy team.

Sincerely,

Olivia D.

Danny

11/18/2014 10:07:04 am

Dear Ms.kimball
Reynie was nervous for sure but he wanted to know what mr. curtain was doing as well. He wasn't as excited as Kate

Talia

11/11/2014 04:00:19 am

Dear Class,
I am reading the book Every Soul A Star, by Wendy Mass. One of the main characters, named Jack, had to make a decision. He had to either go with his science teacher, and some other people to see an eclipse, or he would have to go to summer school. This is such an important decision because the place where the eclipse is is where all of the main characters come together. Jack decides to see the eclipse,even though he has bad memories of camping grounds.
From,
Talia

Sage Pollack

11/12/2014 10:03:50 am

Dear Talia,
I really like your description. I like that you mentioned that Jack has bad memories of camping grounds. If you were stuck in that situation, what would you choose?
Sincerely,
Sage Pollack

Talia

11/14/2014 12:43:28 am

Sage,
I would definantly choose to see the eclipse. I would choose that because it seems like an eclipse would be more interesting than summer school.
As myself I would choose to see the eclipse also. I would because I love space and space related things. How the world works is interesting to me too.
From,
Talia

Ms. Kimball

11/13/2014 12:50:51 pm

Dear Talia,

I'm curious why Jack would have to go to summer school if he decided NOT to go with his science teacher to see the eclipse. Personally, I would much rather seen an eclipse than go to summer school --hands down!

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Layla

11/11/2014 06:16:38 am

Dear Ms. Kimball,
I just read Runaway by Wendelin Van Draanen. The big decision the main character Holly made was to runaway and live on her own. She was living with foster parents. They were cruel to Holly and they accused her of doing things she didn't actually do. For example, they accused her of stealing fifty dollars from the husband's wallet, when it was actually the wife who took the money from the husband to buy jewelry. Since the husband assumed that Holly stole the money and the wife pretended that Holly did, they locked her in the laundry room and gave her only mashed potatoes for dinner.
Holly was miserable there and had no friends, so she decided to run away. This was a big decision because Holly became homeless and had to live on her own, having to take care of herself and to steal and fight for food. Her only comfort was a journal she wrote in. Holly faces many challenges along the way, but her decision pays off because at the end of the story Holly finds a family that cares for her and a good home.
From, Layla

Nathan

11/12/2014 09:15:05 am

WOW!
That is a big choice Holly had to make. If you had those parents would you run away?

Yours truly,
Nathan

Layla

11/17/2014 12:01:23 pm

Dear Nathan,
Yes, I would run away if I had those foster parents.
From, Layla

Ms. Kimball

11/13/2014 12:56:29 pm

Dear Layla,

Amazing job explaining Holly's decision! I can't believe how messed up Holly's foster parents were. The fact that the wife was stealing from the husband and let Holly get blamed is terrible. I don't know about you, but I'd get tired of mashed potatoes and laundry room life pretty quickly! Sounds like Holly made the right decision.

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

P.S. Did you already finish that book too? You seem like a reading machine! I hope you're finding time to run around outside and jump in piles of leaves :-)

Layla

11/11/2014 06:18:58 am

Dear Danny,
I read The Mysterious Benedict Society too! It is a very good book. What part are you at?
From, Layla

Marc

11/11/2014 11:47:37 pm

Dear class,
I am reading Four by Veronica Roth. In my book, Four has to make a hard desicion whether he should be a faction leader, or not. It didn't take him long to decide though, because it was a great offer. Four had taken the offer but he still had to take a year long class. Those are the reasons how Tobias had to make a tough choice.

From,
Marc

Amy

11/13/2014 09:30:41 am

Dear Marc,

Great description but I was confused at the beginning about who "he" was then when I got to the end I understood it more.

Sincerely,
Amy

Marc

11/14/2014 12:47:32 am

Dear Amy,
By he I am referring to Four.

From,
Marc

Ms. Kimball

11/13/2014 12:59:28 pm

Dear Marc,

I agree with Amy. I thought the character's name was "Four". You were actually talking about Tobias, right?

So what was so hard about being faction leader that made this a tough decision? Was it just the requirement to take a long class?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Marc

11/15/2014 08:59:56 am

Dear Ms. Kimball,
It was tough for Four, because he didn't want to take the class. He didn't want to take the class because he didn't want to wake up early and he didn't like Eric, who is another person in the class. However, he thought he would outshine Eric in the class.

Nathan

11/12/2014 09:12:28 am

Dear class,
I just started the book SYLO. In this part Tucker (the main character) and his friend are going on a nightly bike ride. They do this to shake off bad things that happen. The bad thing that recently happened is that an American Football layers dropped dead on the field. When they are riding around they see a shadowy blob. It is a UFO just I don’t think aliens are on it. The UFO explodes and they have a decision to make. Either they can call the cops and tell them about this (but this will result the parents knowing or they would not be able to bike at night). OR they can leave it be like nothing happened. Though they cannot pick the second option, something big just happened and it wasn’t a cloud. Tucker and Quinn (Tuckers friend) call the police and inform them about what happened.
That was a summary of a decision Tucker and Quinn had to make and I think it is pretty big.
Yours truly, Nathan :)

Ms. Kimball

11/13/2014 01:05:08 pm

Dear Nathan,

Your book sounds like an interesting mystery so far. Are Tucker and his friend American football players themselves? Do you think that the UFO has something to do with the player's death?

I hope they are able to get to the bottom of this. Were the police helpful?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Nathan

11/18/2014 07:42:01 am

Dear Ms. Kimball

Only Tucker is an American football player. And no, I do not think the UFO is related to the death of the player. After all, it happened after the death.
No, the police were not helpful, they didn't even believe the story that Tucker and Quinn told them

Sammy

11/12/2014 09:25:32 am

Dear class,
I am reading Divergent I will have finished the book already by the time you have read this. A hard decision that the main character Tris had to make was whether she would kill one of her best friends or be killed. All Tris’s friends and the friend that tried to attack her, Owen, were given a special shot that would allow Dauntless leaders to have full control over them. But some people are immune to this shot; they’re called Divergent and the government wants them exterminated. The situation affected Tris a lot and still haunts her in the other books. I need to find another book, anybody have any good suggestions?
Sincerely,
sam

Ms. Kimball

11/13/2014 01:09:37 pm

Dear Sam,

Yikes! Poor Tris. Are the Dauntless leaders and the government working together? Why would the government want Divergents exterminated?

I wonder if Book 2 is available for you. We'll have to ask around to see who is reading it. Check the "Books We've Finished" Chart to see if any titles intrigue you!

Congrats on finishing! You've inspired me to pick up the book again and try to finish it.

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Sam

11/17/2014 01:34:15 pm

Dear Ms. Kimball,
I have officially finished Divergent. Today I introduced my self to my new book, The Lost Hero. Heres a question, you've been basically bombarding us with book blogs and responses my question is what book are you reading? Now isn't that the question of the day, Can't wait to find out.

Sincerely
Sam

Sage W.

11/14/2014 12:45:56 am

Dear Sam,

I really liked your response and how you explained what being divergent is, and if your looking for another book you should read the second book in the Divergent series.

Sage Pollack

11/12/2014 10:00:30 am

Dear Class,
The main character in my book, Ungifted is Donovan. Donovan is a big trouble maker. Also Donovan doesn't do the best in school. Donavan got in this gifted school for gifted kids because some papers got mixed up and he got in. When there is a school dance from his old school that got moved to Donovan's school, Donovan isn't sure he should go. Donovan isn't sure he should go because some teacher from his old school is going to be there. That teacher saw something bad that Donovan did.
Now the teacher is trying to find Donovan, but luckily the teacher doesn't know Donovan's name. That teacher is going to be at the dance. Donovan doesn't know he should go because it could ruin his life. If Donovan goes to the dance the teacher will find him and punish him. If Donovan doesn't go to the dance he will fail at a homework project.
From,
Sage Pollack

Kathleen

11/13/2014 08:00:45 am

Dear Sage,
That sounds very mysterious to me when you are done with it I want to read it some day.

Ms. Kimball

11/13/2014 01:17:07 pm

Dear Sage,

The premise of your book sounds pretty interesting --a kid in a school he didn't actually get into. I'd love to know what kind of trouble Donovan likes to make. One big question I have is, why would Donovan fail a homework project if he doesn't go to the dance? I didn't think those two things are connected.

Maybe I'll have to assign a dance for the next homework project :-)

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Sage Pollack

11/14/2014 12:40:37 am

Dear Ms.Kimball,
In my book Donavon would fail his homework project, because the teacher assigned the homework project so the kids would go to the dance. The kids are not very social with kids so the teacher wanted to make sure they would go. I hope that answered your question.
From,
Sage Pollack

Ms. Kimball

11/14/2014 09:04:11 am

Dear Sage,

Thank you for explaining. That sounds like a fun homework project.

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Olivia D.

11/12/2014 12:47:23 pm

Dear Ms. Kimball,

I am going to talk about the book is called "As Small As An Elephant".
A very difficult choice the character Jack had to made was to go of campus in search of his missing mother or to stay hoping she'll return. This book is about a poor boy whose mother isn't very goo at parenting. They decide to go to a campsite but during the car ride they got into an awful fight. When Jack wakes up and looks out of his tent his mother is nowhere to be seen! Jack finally decides he will go search for her and roams streets and shops in search of his missing mother.
This book had a huge amount of adventure and really drew the reader in. I defiantly recommend this book to others.

Sincerely,

Olivia D.

Ms. Kimball

11/13/2014 01:40:44 pm

Dear Olivia,

Sounds like a complicated relationship Jack has with his mother. I am a little confused with the details of what happened. When you said campus and then campsite, I didn't know if you meant two different settings. Is Jack on a college campus or were they just out camping? Also, why were they camping? What did they fight about?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Olivia D.

11/14/2014 12:44:51 am

Dear Mrs. Kimball,

Jack is just out camping with his mother for a summer vacation. I meant to type "Jack has to make a hard decision to go out of the campsite in search of his mother or wait for him to return".

Sincerely,
Olivia D.

Ms. Kimball

11/14/2014 09:05:29 am

Dear Olivia,

Thank you for clarifying. Jack has to leave the campsite to search for his mother or wait for HER to return, right? I wonder where she went...

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Sage W.

11/13/2014 09:10:46 am

Dear Class,

I'm reading Insurgent by Veronica Roth but instead the decision I am going to share will be from Divergent [by Veronica Roth]. The decision I chose is when Tris has to chose to either kill Will or let him kill her. This was a tough decision because she was Wills friend but he's under a spell kinda, and since she chose one way to go she changed everything because she could have been Christinas friend and died, or she could have killed him and not been Christinas friend.
P.S. The reason I don't say what she decides is it will ruin the book.

Ms. Kimball

11/13/2014 11:18:12 pm

Dear Sage,

What a crazy decision to make. I believe Sam referenced the same decision. Sounds pretty intense. I'm curious who this Christina character is. Why would Tris want to be her friend if, in order to win the friendship, someone must die? Crazy!

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Sage W.

11/14/2014 12:41:51 am

Dear Ms.Kimball

I agree but Tris was already Christinas friend, and Christina, and Will were with Tris till the end.

Ms. Kimball

11/14/2014 09:06:44 am

Dear Sage,

Thanks for replying!

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Forrest

11/16/2014 08:42:35 am

Dear Sage W,

That decision was huge! If Tris didn't kill Will and Will didn't kill Tris then would both of them die or would they both live? It is amazing that it was life or death for one or the other! Christina sounds like a very important person.

Your class mate,

Forrest

Amy

11/13/2014 09:28:41 am

Dear class,
I'm reading Found the Missing book 1!. The main character is Jonah. Him and his friend (Chip) was playing basketball when Jonah got a letter. The letter had six words on it: You are one of the Missing. When Jonah got this letter he thought it was a joke. But later at dinner the doorbell started ringing over and over again. Jonah went to see who it was, it turned out to be Chip. He was panting like crazy. Jonah said "What happened?"
Chip said "I need to talk to you, now!" They went to Jonah's room and Chip said. "I got one of the letters too." Chip told Jonah he was adopted too. Jonah has to make a decision to believe it or to say it's just a joke...I wouldn't.

Sincerely,
Amy

Ms. Kimball

11/13/2014 11:21:38 pm

Dear Amy,

What does getting a letter and being adopted have in common for the main characters? Who are the Missing?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Amy

11/14/2014 12:45:20 am

Dear Ms.kimball,

I think the letter might have been sent from the actual parents of chip and Jonah. The parents might be trying to find them to do something with them or take them away.

Sincerely,
Amy

Ms. Kimball

11/14/2014 09:08:23 am

Dear Amy,

Oh wow. So you mean Jonah and Chip's REAL parents might be trying to find them? I wonder what the fake parents are like.

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Forrest

11/13/2014 12:42:42 pm

Dear Ms.Kimball,

In the story Wonder, August has to make a hard decision. The decision is to go from being home schooled to being in a normal public school. August’s parents decided that it would be a great idea because he could make friends and interact with other people. August didn’t want to, but soon after he felt it would be a great opportunity for himself. August is going into seventh grade. He had to have a lot of courage to do this because people react to his medical condition. At first it was hard for him but now he is doing well. Not all kids were nice to him so it was hard to make friends. He made great friends like Summer, Luke and Charlotte. The change was very hard but he stuck with it. This changed his whole life because he finally had true friends.

Yours truly,

Forrest

Ms. Kimball

11/13/2014 11:23:49 pm

Dear Forrest,

It must be very hard for a kid to make a decision about where to go to school. I never had a choice when I was growing up! August is very brave for putting himself out there, especially in middle school when kids are more conscious of their differences.

What were dome of the challenges that August had to deal with?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Forrest

11/16/2014 08:20:32 am

Dear Ms.Kimball,

One of August's challenges was bullying. He got called names and didn't have much support other then Summer, Luke and Charlotte. People stared at August because his face was so different. Some people were even scared of him. I cant imagine how August would feel. Just like August I switched schools once but I was in Kindergarten. I know that it is hard when you don't know anyone.

Your student,

Forrest

Sofia

11/14/2014 12:46:59 am

Forest,
Wow, what a decision! How did you feel about his choice? Which would you choose?

Sofia

Kaela Krieger

11/15/2014 12:35:58 pm

I agree that that was a hard decision but did it end up helping him.

Arim link

11/13/2014 12:52:09 pm

Dear class.

The book I'm reading is Alex Rider: Russian Roulette Story of an Assassin. The main character get's to chose something that will change his life. A bad person gave him the chose to shoot himself in the mouth with a gun with only 1 bullet in it. If he does not do that he will get shat by the bad person. Will he risk to make the decision to shoot himself with a fifty fifty chance or will he resist and get shot, you will never know unless you read the book.

From your friend Arim.

Ms. Kimball

11/13/2014 11:25:56 pm

Dear Arim,

What a crazy situation Alex is in! Good thing nutty situations like this don't happen in real life. What was Alex thinking as he faced this experience? I'm assuming he makes it out okay!

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Arim link

11/14/2014 12:50:51 am

Dear Ms. Kimball.

I forgot to mention that this book isn't about Alex, it's about Yassen's life. Yassen's feel's scared during that experience. And he does make it out safely but is a slave.

Ms. Kimball

11/14/2014 09:09:59 am

Dear Arim,

Oohh, so it was Yassen who had to make that scary choice. Is Yassen friends with Alex? I wonder what Alex is up to now while you read about Yassen.

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Sofia

11/14/2014 12:45:27 am

Class,
In the story Every Soul A Star, one of the main characters, Jack, makes an important decision in the beginning of the story. He chooses to go to see the eclipse with his science teacher, and meets Ally and Bree. If he hadn't done that the whole story would have been completely different. The story is mainly about Jack, Ally, and Bree meeting at this campsite and becoming friends. If he hadn’t made the decision to see the eclipse, the storyline would have changed completely. Maybe he wouldn’t even be in the story at all!

Sofia

Ms. Kimball

11/14/2014 09:15:00 am

Dear Sofia,

It's cool that Talia is reading the same story. You two should discuss what you thought about the first part of the story sometime! Do you like it?

Talia chose to write about the same decision that Jack made. Sounds like it was an important decision. Talia said that Jack had to decide between seeing the eclipse or going to summer school. Why would Jack (or anyone for that matter!) ever choose summer school over seeing a cool eclipse?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Sofia

11/15/2014 02:10:57 am

Ms.Kimball,
I'll be sure to talk with Talia about it! And yes, the story is amazing. I would definitely see an eclipse over going to summer school!

Sofia

Rheona

11/14/2014 12:45:38 am

Dear Class,
I am reading the book Durinda's Danger. In the book Dirinda has to decide whether to keep her power of being able to freeze time or people or not to keep it.This is important because The 8s can only get there parents back if they all get there power and gift. In the end she decided to keep her power but not to use it unless it is an emergency. The reason she would do this is that she really wants to see her parents or at least know where they are.
sincerely,

rheona

Ms. Kimball

11/14/2014 09:16:36 am

Dear Rheona,

Why would Durinda ever choose to give up her power? If I could freeze time I would TOTALLY want to keep that power forever!

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Layla

11/15/2014 10:09:04 am

Dear Ms. Kimball,
I agree with you that Holly's foster parents were messed up. I also did finish that book. :)

Yubin

11/15/2014 10:15:45 am

Dear Class.

I read the story called “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde. In this story, the main character, the very selfish giant, who did not allow anyone to enter his garden, made an important decision to put a little boy who was crying in the garden up on the tree, break down the high walls and fences surrounding the garden, and make the garden a children’s playground forever and more. After that the giant was no longer wicked, and now spring came to the garden, which had been cold winter for a long time!

Sincerely,
Yubin

Kaela

11/15/2014 12:32:07 pm

Dear Ms.Kimball
In The Truble With Rules Nadie has to decide if she should fallow Summer to the "boys side" of the cafeteria. She does and it is changing because no girl EVER sits on the boys side.

Ms. Kimball

11/17/2014 07:46:59 am

Dear Kaela,

1. You have 2 big spelling errors in your post. What are they?

2. Why is Nadie's decision to sit on the boy's side of the cafeteria an important decision? How does this affect Nadie?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Rheona

11/18/2014 11:44:12 am

Hi ms.Kimball,
I Don't think the story would be much either if he did not decide to run away from home. He would never be able to have the experiences that changed his mind to go back home.

rheona

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Ms. Kimball's Grade 5 At Underwood, 2014-2015

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