Kyle T. The Yellow Brick Road of Life: 7th Grade Writing

Modes of Literature Response

Author’s Note: This is my second reading response to the book Peace like a River. This is going to be a modes of literature response. In this analysis I am going to be working on the other traits; organization and idea development and content.

Tragedy strikes everyone. It is a sickness that will hit every single person on Earth at least once in their lives. Sometimes it is simply a human mistake, a long life shaping into reality with death or it’s another human’s fault. In the story Peace like a River the event that made it a tragedy was another human’s fault. The story has crisply follows the tragedy plot line. When the family thinks that all bad is complete, it comes roaring back at them like an incoming freight train.

The mode of tragedy starts out with there being a problem. The setting of the story starts out in the locker room of the football team that dad coaches. While his team heads out to start warming up for the second half of play, dad stays back and talks with one of the coaches for a minute or two. On his way out he hears some screaming. He goes over to investigate and finds that two boys are beating a girl inside the girl’s locker room. Dad steps in just in time. Israel Finch and Tommy Basca were the two kids that were beating the young girl.

Coming after the problem in the tragedy plot line comes the rise to power. With the rise to power, the story gets better for the main characters. Everything is going well for the family after the incident involving dad. They were successful in hunting; getting several birds and eating them. Also the family had a lot of fun at church.

The tragic flaw of the story is the next part of the mode of tragedy. So far in Peace like a River the tragic flaw is when Israel Finch and Tommy Basca get revenge on dad and his family when they enter their home at night with guns. They invade the home and fire several at the family members. Davy, the oldest found a rifle and shot them both. Once they were both dead the family got out from hiding and found that there was a lot of damage to the home.

The final part of the tragedy plot line is the tragic fall. Davy who shot them was charged with murder for both of them. Davey then was sent to the town’s jail. The whole entire town could not believe what was occurring because Davy did nothing wrong. Everything was going downhill. Then a few weeks later dad lost his job as the school janitor at the local school.

We know that life is a value. You want to live every second with pride and glory. Tragedy could strike at any time, and everyone will have to learn to handle it. Bad things happen to good people, but that is how life is. This even happens in real life, the police put the wrong people in jail for something that they did not do and it is a tragedy because they made a mistake that they make.

Thursday April 5th, 2012

Hunting

Author’s Note: I am reading Peace like a River by Leif Enger. Throughout the first two chapters the main character goes out on a little hunting/camping trip. They shot a goose that was flying over head and it reminded me of all of the hunting that I see and hear about over the course of every fall. I am going to writing reading response that is not a summary.

These days in life it is all about guns. We know all of the names of them and ones that are very similar to them. Some people even play different kinds of video games that involve them. I have nothing against the hunting but it is the point of knowing all of that information about guns is just terrible. Though I have never been hunting before, I can make a connection to the text by real world events.

“A lone snow goose was approaching, fighting the wind. Take him Rube”. (PG7) Every hunter dreams of the time when they have an open shot at some the animal that they are hunting. As page seven states, Rube takes two shots at the snow goose before she actually nails it. And of course there is a sigh of relief once it is clearly dead. “I’ll get ‘im, I’ll get ‘im” stated Davy. (PG7) Davy was really excited that his friend shot a goose.

I can make a connection to this part of the story because many people love to hunt. If it is deer, doe, moose or any kind of bird people love to hunt. People hunt not just to always kill different animals, they do it to so they can have fun with friends and spend time outdoors. And also, friends getting really excited about different accomplishments that other people get, and that is cool. In the story Rube and Davy seem to have fun while they are hunting, and that is what should happen.

Dark Matter/Dark Energy

Author’s Note: I have just completed a project on Dark Matter and Dark Energy. I have spent a long time working on this getting research on this topic. I originally wanted this project to be on the Milky Way Galaxy but I was not able to get enough information on the topic, so I changed the topic to dark energy and dark matter. In this piece I would be working on transitions.

There are many topics in science that experts don’t know much about, such as curing diseases, the brain, the dinosaurs and certainly dark matter and dark energy. Albert Einstein even knew a little on this topic because he discovered a few different theories such as the gravity theory and that universe is flat. Dark matter and dark energy have expanded a lot in the universe over billions and billions of years. Dark matter and dark energy has expanded to the point where they cover 95% of the universe combined.

About 25% of our universe is made up of dark matter. Dark matter has taken over the universe in the past fourteen billion years. We know that dark matter is invisible, because matter attacks other matter, due to the laws of gravity. The stars are moving around much faster than they should be. In other words, all the matter we can see is not enough to produce the gravity that is pulling things around. This problem occurs a lot. Not only do stars in galaxies move around faster than expected, but galaxies within groups of galaxies do too. In all cases, there must be something else there, something we can't see, something dark. Fritz Zwicky discovered dark matter in the mid 1930s. It is unknown what dark matter is made up of but scientists believe that it is made up of stars, dust, and black holes.

Sense 25% of the universe is made up of dark matter, the other 70% is made up of dark energy. There are many theories about what percentage of the universe it is made up of dark energy. Most of the universe is made up of dark energy. Dark energy does not reflect anything; it is invisible just like dark matter. It is invisible and it takes in the rays from the Electromagnetic Spectrum such as radio waves and X-Rays rays. Albert Einstein discovered a few different theories such as gravity, which helped prove that dark energy really exists. He discovered that “empty space” can provide energy and energy is a property of itself. That means that dark energy provides energy so it must be out in space.

Dark matter and dark energy are both very important to science, yet there are very few people that understand it fully. The research that has occurred in the past sixty years is just astonishing, and it will continue for as long as we know. Space has amazing properties and as Isidor Isaac Rabi would say "[Science is] a great game. It is inspiring and refreshing. The playing field is the universe itself."

Asteroid Impact and Volcanism theories of the Great Extinction

Author’s Note: I am doing a project on the Great Extinction and I am doing a writing piece on the theory of an asteroid impact and the volcanism theory. There are many theories out there but these two are the ones that I believe are most accurate. I have contacted a guy from the Milwaukee Public Museum who has studied the extinction for many years and he has given me great information about it. I am going to be focusing on transitions in this piece.

Over the past thirty years archaeologists all over the world have been discovering dinosaur bones. The closest ones to us have been found in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and a few in Wisconsin. They are mainly found out in the western United States area in Montana and Colorado. Multiple dinosaurs have been found out there. But the question is how they died. There are many theories out there; but are they accurate and true. The asteroid impact and volcanism theory are the only ones that I believe would be true. All of the animals on land and ocean died because of a major event and to this date it is still a major mystery in life.

The K/T extinction is one of five extinctions that have radiated animals on Earth. K/T stands for Cretaceous/Tertiary. The reason that it is not C/T is because the other two extinctions start with the letter c. The K/T extinction is the only extinction that has the possibility of the asteroid impact. The other four have the possibility of volcanic fields and glaciations. The K/T extinction occurred 65 million years ago.

The K/T extinction is the time of period that this occurred so what exactly happened? Asteroids are something that we all fear falling from the sky. Although that rarely happens it is still a possibility. Anyway an asteroid about 100 miles wide came down from Earth and hit in Mexico. There are two possibilities of what happened next. The first one is that dust rose up into the air and blocked the sun for six months. It would have killed all mammals and food sources for them. The second possibility is that dust and water rose to create a giant climate change. The temperatures would be very cold. If the dinosaurs would not die then they would eventually because their food source would die because of the extreme temperatures. The mammals were lucky to survive because would eat the dead dinosaurs, roots, worms and dead plants. Also most plants survived because their roots systems that regenerated. From the research that I have done on this theory I believe that the first one is the more realistic then the other but they both could have a possibility of occurring.

The volcanism theory is that 250 million years ago the Earth was engulfed by lava and rock. The lava would have spread all around the world killing all of the animals that were on Earth. But I do not know if lava would still have a great temperature if it was to hit water. And if it did then how long would it would stay that way because the water would eventually cool it. Would there be enough time for the water to cool and for it to kill every animal that lived in the water? Also there is some evidence that there are some rocks that still exist that suggests that this theory still is a possibility. There are rocks in Hungry, Japan and China that suggests that this theory could have occurred.

All in all scientists still do not know what occurred back then. From all of the research that I have conducted over the last month or so ago I think that the asteroid impact is the most reasonable possibility of this occurring. There is evidence in Mexico and all of the bones of animals all over the world. I just do not think that if lava entered the ocean it would kill every animal that was living there. I also do not think that it would stay warm enough to kill every animal in the sea.

Reading Response to the Hunger Games

Author’s Note: I finished reading the Hunger Games and I am going to write a response about the book. I tried already writing a response but it turned out to be more like a book report so I am going to try again with more of a literature response. I am going to be working on word choice by not using words such as “this” or “stuff”.

The horn goes off, 24 tributes sprint their hearts out towards the golden cornucopia. Everyone is hoping that these breaths that they take would not be their last ones. They all scamper in every which direction as they try to get as many supplies as possible. Dodging swords, knives and bows as they are released at each other. Tributes grab as many supplies as possible and spread out on the incredibly large arena. Getting enough food and water, finding a hiding place are key in The Hunger Games, and these 24 tributes are going to find out how much it takes to survive.

In the modes of literature The Hunger Games is two modes, comedy or romance. If it is a comedy it starts out as every day normal which in this case would be that Katniss is living her normal life hunting with Gale in the woods. Then there is a conflict which sets up the plot which is Prim being selected to be in the Hunger Games but Katniss volunteers to be in the games for her. Then it has be a resolution, in the story that would be when Katniss and Peeta win the games. And then the story returns to normal when the two of them return home. If it would be romance then it starts out with a mild conflict which would be that Katniss would be in the Hunger Games then it ends with a marriage or friendship which in this story would be a friendship between Katniss and Peeta. In my opinion it is a romance.

By looking at the modes of literature you know to have some symbols to support your thought. For a romance it would end in a great friendship, or a marriage. In The Hunger Games it does not end in a marriage but it ends in a great relationship between Katniss and Peeta. In the official games they eventually pair up and become a team. Then they become a romance and kiss plenty of times. Also another symbol is that The Hunger Games can never happen in our time period, it is an unrealistic thought. Lastly good is all powerful, Katniss is on the good side so she can not die or else what would be the point of the other two books.

As you know The Hunger Games series has two more books before it is complete -- Catching Fire and Mocking Jay. I am currently reading Catching Fire and Katniss is in some trouble from what she did in the end of The Hunger Games when she pulled the poisonous berries from her pocket. I also think that the friendship between Katniss and Gale is going down the drain. I would have thought that if Katniss would not have entered the games they would have possibly have been a couple. Think that Katniss still likes Peeta, but he is not happy about when she lied to her. Overall I think they will still be friends. In the next book I think that Katniss is going to be given some sort of punishment but it will not be severe. Why possibly kill her in the second book? That would be really weird.

All in all The Hunger Games has a very important lesson to be learned. The lesson is freedom; it tells us that we Americans should be lucky that we are free unlike other countries. We are lucky that our government does not control us and rule the entire nation. It also tells us what life could be like one.

Great White Sharks

We fear them all around the world. Little kids do not want to go into the water because of them. They are the kind of sharks everyone has heard of -- the Great White Shark. These animals live in the oceans all around the world and they are no threat to us who live in the middle of the United States. Great White Sharks can be a very interesting animal to study but they also can be very deadly to humans.


The Great White's live in the tan area

One of the things that people study is their length and size. A great white sharks are the largest predatory fish in the world. They can be anywhere from 15 feet long 20 feet . That is a little shorter then your average school bus. These animals can weigh up to 5,000 pounds, the weight of an average car. When great white's are all in a group they can be called a school or a shoal.

The Great White shark has a stale-gray body which lets it blend into the bottom of the ocean floor. They have a very interesting kind of swimming motion, they swim like a torpedo. The cool part about is that they can swim as fast as 15 miles per hour. Great White Sharks live all over the middle part of the world. They can not live in the upper and lower parts of the world because the water is colder then down in the middle of the world.

Great white sharks have a wide verity of food that they can hunt. When they are young, they can start feasting on fish, rays and other sharks. As they get older they switch over to marine mammals. Their first mammals are small harbor seals, but as they increase in size, they become large enough to eat sea lions, elephant seals, and small toothed whales. Sometimes when they hunt, they can go onto the beach for a little period, commonly they can be on the beach for five to ten minutes. Once that time is up, they need to go back into the water. Their strategy to for attack is go down below their pay and then speed up and ATTACK. Once they get to their biggest size they will eat other sharks, dead whales and sea turtles. Great white's can scene a drop of blood from three miles away. That is how incredible their scenes are.

Great white sharks are considered an endangered species. There are only 3,500 left on Earth. We may not like them because they attack us. But they do not mean it, we look like sea lions. They are very fascinating animals, with their eating habits and overall behavior. We can continue to research them and enjoy what they offer but someday they might all be gone.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Author’s Note: I just recently finished a project on the electromagnetic spectrum and with every project we are supposed to do writing on it. In this piece I am going to explain the 7 rays just like in the Vuvox and describe how they interact with matter and a little history on the discovery of it. In this piece I am going to work on organization and voice.

William Herschel discovered the Electromagnetic Spectrum in 1799. He wanted to find out how light and heat were connected. He used a glass prisms to break up the white light. When he did that numerous, colors were projected on a nearby surface. They were the colors of the rainbow.He measured the temperatures of all the colors discovering that red had the highest temperature and violet had lowest temperature. That is how the Electromagnetic Spectrum was born. The discovery of the Electromagnetic Spectrum was one of the biggest discoveries during that time period, and now we are improving our knowledge on it every single day.

The first wave in the Electromagnetic Spectrum is the Radio Waves. Radio Waves are the longest waves in the Spectrum. They can be as long as a football field or as short as a football. When you have the radio on, you receive signal from other stations.You get signal from every single station in the viewing area, so when you do not like a song and you change the channel you hear what is on that station so quickly. The same thing also works with TV stations. When it interacts with matter, the station would sort of fuzz out for those few seconds. The perfect example is when you go under the bridge with the radio is on, it fuzzes out because it cannot give you signal because the bridge is matter, but when you are completely under it your signal returns.

The second wave is the Microwave wave. It is the second largest wave in the Electromagnetic Spectrum. Microwave waves are good for transporting things from one place to another. They are used to penetrate snow, haze, light rain or clouds. The shorter waves are used for Doppler radar to show the forecast. There are also tall towers that are used to transport phone calls. When Microwaves interact with matter it would do just nothing, if you put food into the microwave it would just heat it up to make it warm.

Infrared waves are the third longest waves in the Electromagnetic Spectrum, behind the microwave and radio waves. We use these waves in our TV remotes. When we point it at the TV to turn up the volume, or change the channel. The shorter lengths of these waves are not very hot but the longer ones are. We experience infrared wave’s everyday from the sun. Humans give off about 10 microns of infrared waves. A micron is about one millionth of a meter. You can use special cameras to detect how much infrared waves are on Earth’s surface. Infrared light comes from large clouds, gas, stars and galaxies. On Earth there are dark clouds and clear clouds. The darker ones are warmer because they are closer to the ground and the clearer clouds are colder and further up in the atmosphere.

The next ray in the Spectrum is the visible rays. They are the only waves that are visible to our sight. The only time you really see it is when it is raining out and that sun is out and once the storm is over you can see a rainbow. Visible rays are the fourth longest rays in the Electromagnetic Spectrum. When all of the visible rays are together it makes white light. There are two kinds of color; there is true color and false color. True color is when satellites record the colors of the rainbow; the data can be combined on a computer and showed to us. And false color is made when the satellite records data about brightness of the light waves reflecting off the Earth's surface.

In order of length, the next wave is the Ultraviolet Waves. They are one of the shorter waves in the Electromagnetic Spectrum. One of the animals that can see these waves are bumble bees. The Ultraviolet rays are divided up into three different groups, near ultraviolet, far ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet. Near is the closest to visible rays. The extreme is closest to X- Ray rays which in order they are next in length. And far is in the middle of the two. Ultraviolet light can cause sun burn, and that is pretty much how it interacts with matter. Scientists study ultraviolet light by using special telescopes to study the stars. A cool fact is that the Earth glows in Ultraviolet light.

As I said before the next ray is X- Ray rays. They were first observed by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen a German scientist is 1895. A few years later people suggested to change the name to Roentgen Rays in honor of the person who discovered them. It is impossible for X- Ray rays to enter Earth’s surface. Doctors and Dentists take X- Rays of our teeth and bones to make sure they are in the right place and are working correctly.

The last ray in the Electromagnetic Spectrum is the Gamma Rays. The Gamma Rays are the smallest ray in length in the Electromagnetic Spectrum. An interesting fact is that Gamma Rays can kill living cells. Gamma Rays are the most electric form of light, and if we could see them the night sky would look really weird with different colors. Also if we could see Gamma Rays then we could pear into some of the most interesting things in space such as supernovas and black holes. Gamma Rays are the most interesting rays in the Electromagnetic Spectrum.

We have learned so much about outer space, and other things on Earth. We can improve technology and even improve our safety. Most people have not heard of the Electromagnetic Spectrum. They probably do not know what it is. I hope that you got something out of this. And there is always something more to explore on Earth and in space.

Christmas Traditions

“Author’s Note: Christmas is coming up and my family has many traditions that we do during the holiday season. This time of year is a wonderful and I hope that everyone can celebrate this wonderful time. I am working on organization.

Many families have their own things that they do for the holiday season, they bake cookies; go singing around the neighborhood at night of just sitting down with the family and watching a movie. This time of year is supposed to be spent with family doing many activities. Although we might not like all of the things mom has planned for you to do it is always important to spend time with people you love and my family does just that.

Throughout the month of December my family does numerous activities as ice skating at a local ice area, sledding (if there is snow) decorating the Christmas tree and baking cookies. When we ice skate we would go to the Naga-Waki ice area of their open ice time and just skate freely. Some of us in the family are not that good but it is a good time for all of us. On Saturday’s we would go to this big hill in Pewaukee and just spend an hour or two going down the hills. There are always screams and laughs. That is one of my favorite things to do in the winter. One of the other things that we do is bake Christmas cookies. We would get some cookie dough, roll it out and make different characters that resemble the holiday. My dad does not usually participate in this activity because he does not like making cookies.

About two weeks before Christmas we have a family Christmas with my dad’s side of the family. They live in Appleton, Wisconsin so we always drive up there; they live about 250 miles from us. They are very religious so we do not give gifts such as a basketball, of video games, we sort do a thing where you buy stuff such as animals for people in third world countries for entertainment or food. In this Christmas we give, not get.

On Christmas Eve we always go to church at 2:00 and celebrate the birth of Jesus. After all of that we have our Christmas Eve dinner, which is a very big meal. Once we are all stuffed we would watch a movie as a family. Some families have their Christmas on the 24^th but we wait until the 25^th to celebrate ours.

On Christmas Day we wait till 7:00AM till we rush downstairs to open our gifts that Santa gave us. Once we have opened every give and there is torn wrapping paper on floor my dad cooks us a wonderful Christmas breakfast with pancakes, ham and may other things. It is the best! Then in the afternoon we go over to my aunt’s house to have Christmas with my mom’s side of the family. They do this major gift exchange that you have to be 18 to participate in. We all have a great time with that.

On the day after Christmas we have my grandma, grandpa and my aunt and uncle over. We get many cool gifts and my brother and I have a great time. We have many snacks, and play many games and we just spend all important time with the family.

All in all my family does my fun things for the holidays, we ice skate and sled and we even make cookies. But the most important thing is spending time with the people you love.

Oceans

Author's Note: In our Support Group we did a Word Association and we had to write about one of the words that we put down during the duration of the minute. I am going to write about Oceans. This is going to be a paper on why we should keep our Oceans clean. I am going to focus on Word Choice and Organization.

Our oceans are disgusting, with trash, litter and all of other junk. We just through stuff out into the garbage or into parks, bodies of water, and open areas because we just are to lazy to throw it in a garbage can or recycle bin. People dump soda cans, sandwich rappers, paper and all of that stuff into our waters. It is very important that we keep waters clean because the Oceans have many things to offer that other parts of the world don't.

This is a dirty Ocean and from the Oil spill in 2010

There are many things that we can get from our oceans such as water and food. We need the water because we need to stay hydrated. Anyhow all of that water is salt, we can convert it to regular tap water by getting one of those survival kits and do the following steps to get that water edible. Also we can get food from our oceans. About 90% of all animals/plants that have ever been discovered live in our oceans. We catch crab in wire cages, eat shrimp and fish for meals during or regular days . We need to keep these animals healthy because if we don't then we could loose some of our favorite meals. Plus people that catch these things for a living. And they would loose business and might go bankrupt. And all of this occurred because us humans can not find a garbage and we are clumsy and make big mistakes like oil spills and that stuff.

There are many ways to travel around the world. You can take a car, bus, train, fly on a plane or take a boat. These days we usually do not take boat to travel anywhere because it takes a while to go from one place to another. Boats are used only for transporting goods from one place to another. Buses and cars are good for getting us to places that are not super far away and back in a small amount of time. And a train is good for possibly getting people to further distances at an incredible speed. Last but not least is the plane, we can get from country to country in a couple of hours or from city to city in two to four hours. More things need to be sent plane because a plane would only pollute the air and a ships would pollute the water and possibly the air too. Only heavy things should go over seas.

This is what a clean Ocean would look like

The seas give us many awesome things such as Coral Reefs. Many animals call a coral reef home. The live and hide in and around them to protect themselves. Coral Reefs have beautiful colors, a coral reef is made up of millions of tiny animals that form a coral reefs. Over 50% of all coral reefs are gone because of pollution, and animals are eating them.

Our Oceans are very important to the world, they provide us with water, food and transportation. Our Earth is very dirty and we need help cleaning it. So I hope after reading this you understand what the world is offering us and that we should not waste it. If we do then it will all be gone one day.

Should Humans Explore Space

Author’s Note: I am writing this piece because I originally was just writing a paper on Mars but I decided to write an essay on if humans should be traveling into space There are definitely some good things that could come out of this and there are bad things. I am going to be working on Word Choice and Organization with my body paragraphs.

NASA just launched a robot rover that is headed for Mars to explore if it really has signs of life or not. There have been many rumors about life and possibly other things living on Mars. Many advantages come out of space travel but there are a quite a few of disadvantages to this. The United States knows very little about outer space, let alone Mars. Continued exploration of space is important, we have learned so much about space and if it was not for the Cold War we would not have gone up into space when we did.

The United States went up to space in 1969 because we wanted to out do Russia in the space travel category in the Cold War. Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first people up to the moon when they took in Apollo 11 up there. Since then, we have found out many interesting things about space. We have figured out seven other planets in our solar system. Now that the Cold War is over, that should not be our reason not to go up into space.

There might not be political reasons to go into up into space but there scientific reasons to go too. We learn a lot about outer space, other planets and possibly other galaxies. We also can improve our knowledge on the topic of technology. Getting all of the information that we have learned, we can improve our health, travel, and safety. It improves our travel on highways because they have been cutting into the concrete to improve friction and improve the safety of drivers on the road. We also have better software for our computers; workers at NASA have been able to come up with 3-D maps of the moon and Mars and some simulation training. NASA has created fire retardant gear that helps fire fighters so they can get more into the flames without getting burnt.

There are many reasons not to go up into space and some of them are political reasons. Some of the many dangers of going up into space are the rocket blowing up and possibly not having enough fuel to get back to Earth. Some parts of the rocket may not be working correctly and when they launch a part might fall off, and if it is a key part then the entire rocket could explode and everyone would die. If they would not have enough fuel left to come back to Earth they would all die, that would most likely not happen. Other negatives are how long it takes to plan the entire mission, from the first thought to BLAST OFF. It takes about two years for the mission. So it most definitely takes a while for people and things to go up into space. Another negative is how much money it costs. All of the money is taxpayer dollars. An average amount for each mission about is 450 million dollars. That is a a lot of money to send people to space to explore what is up there.

Even though there are many political reasons not to go up into space anymore, the scientific reasons are more important to our health, and safety and the country overall. We need to cure some of these diseases that kill millions of humans every single year. We can learn about other galaxies and even learn if other planets have signs of life or not. We have improved our safety on the roads and less deaths occur because there is less slipping and sliding on the road. The technology can even improve all over the world if we keep going up into space. But why stop now when we can learn so much more.

All in all NASA has done amazing things to improve technology all over the world. We have improved safety, of water purification and many other things. July 7^th,2011 was the final time that the United States sent people up into space. We should keep sending people up into space because we have learned so much already about space and why stop now when we can improve more and more about technology with every mission.

Trip to Arizona

Author’s Note: I just came back from my trip to Arizona and I thought it was amazing. We saw many things in Arizona that make the state one of a kind. I am very sad to leave but I cannot stay forever. But it is very good to be back to school. I am going to be working on Sentence Fluency.

I am sound asleep, thinking about all of the things that we will be doing in the next week when (BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP) my alarm clock is goes off. It is 4:30 AM; my grandpa was picking us up and 5:15 for our 8:07 departure to Phoenix, Arizona. I get up, and went go down stairs to where my mom and dad are finishing packing our bags. I had some breakfast and we were almost ready to go. It really stunk because it was something like 42 degrees in Milwaukee but when we land it will be around 85 degrees in Phoenix. This trip was going to be a chance to see some new living styles for people, some new things and most of all to spend time with my family.

We boarded the airplane at 7:30 and we found our seats in a row eleven of the airplane. We took off and flew for about three and a half hours until we landed in sunny Arizona where we were going to start our vacation.

Once we got off the plane we went down to the rental car place and picked out a car from their lot. Once we chose our car we drove 100 miles north to Sedona, Arizona. During the drive it was very scenic, we saw different mountains, rock formations, canyons, small towns and many other things.

Once we got there we checked into our hotel, we went on a hike. We did a lot of hiking over the course of the six days while we were there. We hiked on two trails, on the first one we hiked through some wooded area then once it cleared we saw a ton of rock formations in front of us. Once the trail ended there was this big hill of rocks. We climbed it and it was so worth it, you could see above all of the trees. It felt like I was king of the world.

Then we worked our way down and we started to hike back. Later that day we went on another trail, we started in this area full of cacti but it turned out to be one of those trails that lead you up to this big mountain. It was not quite a mountain, but you got very high in the air. There was a large rock (that if you were daring you could climb) I was not able to climb it because it went pretty high up.

It was for sure the coolest trail that we hiked.

The next day we got up, ate breakfast and drove about five miles east of Sedona to the pink jeep tour place. The pink jeep tour would take us through one of their special trails that only jeeps could take. Once we got on to the trail we had to go over a (jeep speed bump) it is pretty much like a small rocks that was stuck in the ground. You had to get over it to actually go on the real trail.

Once we got over we could see all of these amazing rock formations. We learned about different plants, animals and rock formations that are out in the area. We made two stops along the way. At the first stop, we got out of our jeep and walked up and looked up at the view ahead of us.

We took many pictures as we explored the sites that were right in front of us. There were all of these white dots in front of us but for some reason the dots were not completely lined up. Our guide told us that there is a fault line right where the dot is and over the course of years one side of the dot has moved. It did not move very far but it was for sure noticeable.

Once we got back into the jeep we rode a little ways over the bumpy trail while we looked at the beautiful scenery. The next place that we got to was called Chicken Point. The reason it is called that is because the person who founded the town would come down here and play the game with a couple of friends. There is this really cool rock at Chicken Point; you can sit of lay on it. If you sit on it you get an awesome view behind you, or if you lay on it and put one leg up and one arm up, it looks like you are hanging off of that rock. That was for sure the highlight of that day.

On the third day on our Arizona Adventure we got up, and drove to one of the seven natural wonders of the world “The Grand Canyon”. We had to drive about 100 miles up to the Grand Canyon Village. It was not that nice of a drive because it was just flat land and trees. Once we entered the park it was all full of trees and signs telling you to watch out for elk, deer and mountain lions. After about five miles of driving we finally could see the Grand Canyon. You could see parts of the canyon as drove by. We checked into our hotel called The Thunder Bird Loge. The hotel was probably 75 yards from where the Canyon was.

After we checked in we went to look for a hiking trail. There are many trails but the one that we chose was Bright Angle Trail, the Bright Angle Trial goes about 16 miles down into the canyon and it leads to the Colorado River. It is a very hard trail because right from the beginning it is very steep. You do not have very good footing as you go down, most people that passed us going and down were using walking sticks. We only went a mile in because we were getting tired and we did not have a lot of water left. Also there was a very long hike back up the hill. It took us a lot longer to hike up the hill then back down, but we managed it.

The next day we got up and we had to drive to Page, Arizona to go on the river rafting trip through the Colorado River. There is no road through the Canyon so we had to drive two and a half hours to this small town about 20 miles from the border of Arizona and Utah.

We were about ten miles out of Page when we stopped at House Shoe Bend. House Shoe bend is a place that the Colorado River goes makes a right turn around the corner then goes down, makes the turn heads up and then makes a left turn and goes up. You can take many cool pictures from that place. When we got there we checked into the place so they know that we were here then we got on the bus and drove a little ways to where we began rafting at the Glen Canyon Dam.

Our guide taught us many things about the canyon that were interesting. That day there was rain that was on and off. At one point there was a thunderstorm moving its way through. When it was thundering, the thunder was rumbling though the canyon. Once the storm passed through water started to fall down from the canyon walls. It was the coolest thing in the world. Halfway through the trip we got out to look some ancient Indian writing. Once of the other guides gave us a description of what he thought the symbols meant.

We saw a many different rock formations such as Pack Man’s Ghost, Yogi Bear and the finger. Pack Man’s Ghost is a rock formation that is 120 yard tall that just fell out of the canyon. It got its name because after all of the rock fell it left behind an imprint that looked like Pack Man. There is a really tall rock that looks Yogi Bear, it has a hat and it looks like he has a pickanick basket. And the finger rock sticks straight up. (Legend has it that the guy who founded this part of the canyon did not want the Glen Canyon Dam to be built. They think that the finger is the middle finger because that is what the guy thought about the Glen Canyon Dam.)

The next day we got up and went hiking in the Canyon. We took a bus out to one of the points to look. We were on a trail that if you walk it, it leads you back to where you first got on the bus. In total it is about five miles that we walked that day. We stopped at a total of seven points and took many pictures of the beautiful sights. We could not stay in the Canyon forever, so at noon we got in our car and drove 200 miles south to Scottsdale, Arizona.

The ride down was very long, just sitting there looking at miles and miles of trees. Finally when we got there we had drive on this road that was about five miles long, the problem was that there were a ton of stoplights. We seemed to get caught by every single light. So it took us about ten minutes to travel four miles to our final hotel in Scottsdale.

This hotel was by far the nicest of then all; it had two bed rooms, two bathrooms and a mini kitchen. It was like a mini house. After we settled in we went out to do some shopping. There were so many stores it was hard to choose what one to go in. Most of the stores were selling Indian things like necklaces, shirts, headbands and that sort of stuff. Once all of the ships closed we went to dinner and then back to our hotel to chill and eventually went back to bed.

Today was the last day of our trip to Arizona. We got up, ate and went to do some hiking before it got really hot. We chose a trail that climbed to extreme heights. Is started out pretty easy, but once we got about a half mile in things got a little challenging. We would swerve back and forth as we climbed. At this one corner we stopped, there was a cactus that was probably 70 feet tall. We all got our pictures taken by it. Once we got up really high we stopped and look at downtown Phoenix. We could have kept going but we were running out of water so we started to head back.

Once we got back to the car we headed back to our hotel to get more water and rest for a little bit. We were most likely going to go on one more hike and then we would be done for the trip. We went to this nature place that had a 1.5 mile hike. There were a lot of cacti, lizards and rocks on the trail. We had to take in the nature of this place because in 24 hours we would be on a plane heading home. Throughout the trail we could see this pretty set of mountains. We could go up the mountains to get an extremely cool view, but that would be a two hour hike and that would take a while in the heat. Once we finished I was happy and sad, happy because we would no longer have to hike and sad because we would have to leave soon.

Later that day we went to the Fiesta Bowl Museum. Every year the Fiesta Bowl is played in Glendale, Arizona so they created a museum to show all of the history of this game. They had helmets and jerseys from all of the teams that have played in the big game. We walked around looking at all of the jerseys and reading the captions under some of the pictures. Also in the museum they had some trophies that are given out to players such as the Heisman, Coaches Trophy, Doak Walker, Best Quarter Back of the year and so many others. Going to the museum was most definitely the highlight of Scottsdale. For the rest of the day we swam at the hotel’s pool and just enjoyed the warmth.

The next day we got up and drove to the airport to fly home. It was very sad, but it was time to go because we need to get back to school, our normal life and friends. We sat at the airport for a while before or flight. Once the time was done we boarded the plane and headed home.

All in all it was a really fun trip; we saw many cool things like the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River and some really cool rock formations. We learned a lot form things in Sedona to Grand Canyon. I hate to come home but it was the best for all of us. I was a wonderful trip and I for sure would want to come back again.

Washington Monument

Author’s Note: I am writing this piece because I am very interested in our countries history. We had many great leaders in our history and they have been honored in many ways. My focus is on the Washington Monument for this writing piece. I am going to focus on Sentence Fluency and Organization.

Only a select few people in our country get honored, great leaders, people that have changed our country and just people that have died serving our country. Some of the best presidents have memorials or monuments and the leaders have statues of themselves. I takes great dedication, leadership, and lots of responsibility to be able to lead our nation, and that is actually what George Washington did and that is why there is a monument in his name in our city capital.

In 1832 a large group of citizens gathered and formed a group called the Washington National Society They got together and raised over 28,000 dollars, that was enough to make the monument. 1832 was to 100^th anniversary of Washington’s berth so they wanted to do something special for the event, they wanted to make a monument.

Architect Robert Mills was the big winner; he was the guy who would be in charge of building the Washington Monument. The Washington National Society wanted the monument to be just like him, it was to be constructed it was to be built with gratitude, liberality, and patriotism.

You would think that the Washington Monument would only take three or four years to build. Well that is incorrect; it actually took 40 years for it to climb 555 feet. The building process was divided up into two phases. Phase one started in 1848 under the supervision of Superintendent William Daugherty. The Washington Monument was only 152 feet tall at the end of the phase which was in 1858. The building process was on hold for 20 years because there were no more funds from people. Then after the 20 years of stoppage then, government funded for the rest of the project to be finished.

Then phase two started. Phase two went on for 10 years until 1888. This phase was completed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After both of the phases the Washington stood an amazingly 555 feet tall. In all there were many different kinds of rock that were used such as granite, marble limestone, sandstone and a few different others.

The design of this monument called for a tall obelisk, four sided pillar tapers that has a nearly flat top. They wanted to Washington to be standing on the top of the monument. Inside the colonnade would be statues of 30 prominent Revolutionary War heroes. The cost of this would be over 1,000,000 dollars (21,200,000 dollars in 2010 money. )

On February 21^st,1885 the Washington Monument was dedicated to George Washington in D.C. Over 800 people attended this to memorial. John Sherman (the senator of Ohio) and John W. Daniel (Virginia Governor) spoke to the people. Chester A. Arthur was the President at the time.

At the time when it was completed it was the tallest structure in the world. It has been surpassed but it is the tallest stone structure on Earth. There are 841 steps that you need to climb to get to the top. About 55,000 people visit the monument each month and 800,000 visits each year.

The Washington Monument is a great symbol of our countries history. George Washington led the troops in the American Revolution and that is why he has this monument in his name. It has had a very interesting history with all of the remolding that is has had, the construction process and all of that stuff. It is a great way to symbolize our countries history, and we Americans should be proud.

The History of Thanksgiving

Author’s Note: I am writing this piece because this past week we celebrated Thanksgiving. I was just thinking about what the history of this holiday so I thought that I could turn it into a writing piece. I am trying to work on sentence fluency and word choice.

Many people think that Thanksgiving is about stuffing your face with turkey and mashed potatoes. That is not the case; it is a day where we need to sit down and think about what we are thankful for. We usually eat a very big meal that day, much bigger than the one you eat on a regular day. It is just like the pilgrims who sat down at the table and had a large meal. The history of thanksgiving is very interesting, with traditions, big meals and all of that stuff, great people put great amounts of time into making the fourth Thursday in November a holiday.

Thanksgiving has been around for a very long time; it first occurred in 1621 when the pilgrims gathered around a table and gave thanks for a wonderful harvest that year, with a very big meal. Over 90 people were there including their including Great Sachem or chief of the Wampanoag who made a two day journey to be there.

On November 30^th, 1777 General George Washington set aside December 18^th of that year for the first Thanksgiving Day in the new United States of America. That day was to celebrate their recent victory over the British in the American Revolution War.

In 1841 an amazing piece of history was found by New England historian Alexander Young, he discovered a letter written by Edward Winslow who was one of the original colonists from the first Thanksgiving in 1621. Winslow described that autumn day as “the first Thanksgiving.”

Around the 1860’s many people wanted this to be a holiday including Sarah Josepha Hale who wrote letters to President Lincoln starting in 1846. Her campaign would last 17 years. She was requesting that the final Thursday in November would be a national holiday called Thanksgiving. After the Civil War was over, in 1863 Abe Lincoln make the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving.

That lasted for about 80 years until in 1939, when the tradition was broken. Thanksgiving was celebrated on the next to last Thursday in November. The National Retail Dry Goods Association encourages President Roosevelt to change the day to extend our Christmas shopping season one week. That is why there was a Black Friday because it was the next to last Thursday in November. The entire country at that time is very confused. And in 1941 President Roosevelt signs a legislation which makes Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.

There are many interesting traditions that occur on Thanksgiving such as The Macy’s Day Parade, some football games and much more. The Macy’s Day Parade has been around since 1926. The parade includes famous balloons such as Sponge Bob Square Pants, Shrek, Mr. Potato Head and many other famous cartoon characters. NBC has been the official TV Broadcaster of the parade since 1955. The NFL on Thanksgiving has been around since 1892 and since 1950 the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have played at home. Football on Thanksgiving has been a big hit for people that like sports.

The Thanksgiving holiday is a great time of year for people get together and realize how many things they can be thankful for such as family, friendships, food/water and many other things. This holiday has an extremely interesting history, with the changing the date and all of the traditions involved. It is a day where we sit down and think about all of the things that we are thankful for. It gives us lessons to learn like even though there is always someone who might have more then you; there is always someone who does not have as much as you do.

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is a very large area. It consists of 20 countries. They are all different in many ways. They differ in the standard five themes of geography. The five themes are location, region, humanenvironmental interactions, movement and place. Each county’s themes are different than others. Here are the 20 different countries in Eastern Europe.
The largest country in Eastern Europe is Russia. It is the northern most country in Europe. The area of the country is 17,095,000 KM2. Water covers 0.47% of the country. Lake Baikl is located in one the Eastern side of the country. It is one of the clearest lakes in the world. TheDniester River runs through part of Russia.The capital of Russia is Moscow. The big cities in the country are Moscow and St. Petersburg. Both cities have populations over 5,000,000. Some of the resources that Russia has are pigs and oxen. The main language that is spoke in that country is Russian. The climate in this country can range from anywhere from 12. 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 66.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

One of the smaller countries in Eastern Europe is Estonia. The area of the country is 45,200KM2. Water covers 4.5% of this country. The biggest lake in this country is Lake Preipus. It isn’t very deep at 17.6 meters. There are no main rivers in this country. The capital of Estonia is Tillinn. The larger cities in this country are Tillinn and Tartu. Both cities have a population under 500,000 people. Some of the resources that Estonia has are barley and potatoes. The languages spoken in the country are Russian and Estonian. The climate in this country can range from 21.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the summers.

Another country in the region is Latvia. The area of the country is 45,200KM2. There is not much water in the country. Lake Rázna is the biggest lake in the country. The capital is Riga. Some of the larger cities in this country are Riga and Daugavpils. Both cities have populations over 100,000. Some of the resources that they have are oxen, steel and potatoes. A record that this country has is the ratio of women (54%) to men (46%). That is the best in the world. The main languages in this country are Latvian and Russian. The climate in this country can range from 23 degrees Fahrenheit in the winters to 64.4 degrees in the summer.

The next country in Eastern Europe is Lithuania. Lithuania is a very small country. The area of the country is 65,200KM2. The Northern European Plain runs through this country. The biggest lake in this country is Lake Drúkśiai. It is about 110 feet deep. The capital of this country is Vilnus. Some of the larger cities in this country are Vilnius and Kaunas. Both cities have population are over 400,000. Some of the resources that this country has are Barley and Linseed. The main languages that are spoken are Lithuanian and Russian. The climate in this country can range from 21.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

The next country in Eastern Europe is Poland. The area of the country is 312,000. Water covers 2.6% of this country. The biggest lake in this country is Śniardwy. The capital of the country is Warsaw. Some of the larger cities in this country are Warsaw, Lodz and Cracow. The populations of these cities exceed over 700,000 people. Some of the resources are Wheat, Barley and Lead. The language that is spoken in this country is Polish. The climate in this country can range from 32 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

After Poland comes the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic is another small country in this region. The area is 78,860KM2. Water covers 2.6% of this country. The biggest and deepest lake in this country is Černé jezero. It is about 40 meters deep. The capital of the Czech Republic is Parague. A larger city in this country is the capital Parague. Some of the resources that this country provides are wheat, lead and Barley. A record that this country holds is that it has the largest stadium in the world Strahov Stadium in the capital holds 240,000 people. 81% of the country speaks Chech, and the rest of it speaks Moravian. The climate in this country can range from 37.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 66.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

Another small country in Eastern Europe is Slovakia. The area of this country is 49,035KM2. Water covers 0.1% of this nation. Velke Hincovo Pleso is the biggest lake in this country. The capital of this country is Bratisbra. The big city in this country is Bratisbra. Some of the resources that this country provides for the world are iron and coal. 90% of this county speaks Slovakian. The rest of the country speaks Hungarian. The climate of this country ranges from 30.2 degrees in the winter to 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

The next country on our list is Hungry. The area of this country is 93,030KM2. Water covers 0.74% of the land. Lake Balaton is the largest lake in all of Central Europe. The depth of this lake is about 30 feet. The capital of this country is Budapest. In this country there is only one really big city and that is Budapest. Over1 million people live there. Some of the resources that this country provides are barley, wheat and pigs. Practically all of this country speaks Hungarian. The climate in this country ranges from 30.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

Another country is Slovenia. Slovenia is not a very large country. It is 49,035KM2. Water covers 0.1% of this country. The largest lake in this country is Lake Bohinj. It is about one and a half miles long and about 120 feet deep around. The capital of the country is Ljubljana. It is located in the south center part of the country. The biggest city in this country is Ljubljana. The population is a little over 300,000 people. Some of the resources that this country provides the word are brown and coal. The only language that this country speaks is Slovene. In this country the climate can be 30.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 66.2 degrees in the summer.

Another very small country in Eastern Europe is Croatia. The area of the country is 56,540KM2. Water covers 0.23% of the country. The biggest body of water in this country is Lake Varna. The area is 5.8KM2 wide and 74 meters deep. The capital of this country is Zagreb. The population of the capital is 980,000. Zagreb is the only big city in this country. Some of the resources that this country provides are pigs and corn. The language Croatian is the main language spoken in this country. The temperature in this country can range from 32 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 69.8 degrees in the summer

Bosnia is the next country. It is a very small country; the area of it is 51,130KM2. The largest body of water in this country is Buśko Blato. It is located on the west coast of Bosnia. The capital of Bosnia is Sarajevo. The population of Sarajevo is 460, 000 people. Sarajevo is the only larger city in this country. Some of the resources that this country provides are corn and wheat. The two main languages are Serbian and Croatian. The climate in this country ranges from 28.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 69.8 degrees in the summer.

A medium country in Yugoslavia is the next country. The area of the country is 102,170KM2. Water covers 0.21% of this country. There are really no lakes or rivers in this country that are big. This country has no capital. The big cities are Belgrade. The population is over 1.5 million people. Some of the resources that this country provides are copper, silver and corn. The main language that is spoken in this country is Serbian. The climate in this country can range from 32 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 73.4 degrees in the summer.

The next country is one of the smallest countries in Eastern Europe. It is 28,750K2. Water covers 4.7% of this country. Gramé Lake is the largest lake on Mount Korab. It is 1,750 meters above sea level. The capital of this country is Tirana. The big city in this country is Tirana. The population of this city is 650,000 people. Some of the resources that this country provides are bauxite and nickel. The languages that are spoken in this country are Abaian and Greek. The climate can range from 44.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 75.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

Next is the most south country in Eastern Europe. It’s Greece. It is one of the bigger countries in this region. It is 132,000KM2. Water covers 0.86% of this country. The largest lake in Greece is the Great Prespa. It is mostly in Macedonia but a part of it in Greece. The capital of Greece is Athens. Most people know this capital than any other in the world. Some large cities are Athens and Thessalonica. The populations of all of these countries are over 700,000. Some of the resources that these countries provide the world with are corn and silver. The language that is spoken in this country is Greek. The climate in this country can range from 48.2 degrees in the winter to 80.6 degrees in the summer.

The next country is Macedonia. The area of this country is 25,710KM2. Macedonia is the second smallest country in this region. Water covers about 1.9% of this country. Lake Ohrid is the largest lake in this country. It is 18 miles wide and 945 feet deep. The capital of Macedonia is Skopje. The largest city in this country is Skopje. The population is just a little under 500,000 people. Some of the resources that this country provides the world with are nickel and coal. The main language that is spoken in this country is Macedonia. The climate of this country can range from 32 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 73.4 degrees in the summer.

The next country is median size. It is Bulgaria. It is 110,910KM2. Water covers 0.32% of the country. Lake Burgas is the biggest lake in the country of Bulgaria. It is a little over 27KM wide and 105feet deep. The capital of the country is Sofia. Sofia is located on the western side of the country. The big city in this country is Sofia. The population of the country is over 1 milion. Some of the resources that this country provides the world with are lead and copper. The main language that is spoken in this country is Bulgarian. The climate of this country can range from 28.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 69.8 degrees in the summer.

The next country is Romania. Romania is one of the bigger countries in this region. It is 238,500KM2. Water covers about 3% of this country. The biggest lake in this country is Lake Razim. It is 164 square miles wide. The capital of this country is Bucharest. Some of the larger cities in this country are Bucharest and Iasi. The populations of both cities are over 350,000 people. Some of the resources that this country provides the world with are wheat, zinc and argent. The climate in this country rages from 26.6 degrees in the winter to 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

The smallest country in Eastern Europe is Moldova. Moldova is 33,700KM2. Water covers about 1.4 of this country. There are really no big lakes or rivers in this country. The capital of Moldova is Chisinau. Chisinau is the largest city in this country. The population of this city is 750,000 people. Some of the resources that this country provides with the world are grapes and wine. The main language that is spoken in this country is Moldavian. The climate of this country ranges from 23 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 73.4 degrees in the summer.

The next country is the second biggest in Eastern Europe. That is Ukraine. Ukraine is 603,700KM2. The biggest lake in this country is Lake Kremenchuk. It is 2,250KM long. The capital of Ukraine is Kyir. The larger cities in Ukraine are Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Odessa. The population of all of the cities is over 1 million people. Some of the resources that this country provides the world with are natural gas, nickel ad potash. The main languages that are spoken in this country are Ukrainian and Russian. The climate in this region ranges from 21.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 68 degrees in the summer.

The last country in our tour around Eastern Europe ends at Belarus. Belarus is 207,600KM2. The biggest lake in this country is Lake Druksiai. It is about 79KM wide. The capital of this country is Minsk. Minsk and Gomel are the bigger cities in this country. Both populations are over 500,000 people. Barley is the resource that Belarus gives to the world. The languages that are spoken in this country are Byelorussian and Russian. The climate in this region ranges from 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 62.6 degrees in the summer.

People in Eastern Europe move around differently than people in Western Europe. People in Eastern Europe don’t usually use cars because there aren’t really any roads. Where is Western Europe they travel by car because there are good roads. For far distant traveling people will take an airplane or take a train. For the shorter distances people would take the bus.

If you would open a world map, lay it out on a table and look at it Eastern Europe would be in the north center part of it. This region ranges from about 41-70 degrees latitude to about 17 – 59 degrees longitude. Europe and Asia is one big land mass, Eastern Europe is the center of the land mass.

Humans need to interact to different changes in the environment. When it gets cold temperatures like 20 degrees Fahrenheit. So when it gets cold outside you would have to wear a heavier coat. Also when it gets up to 75 degrees people would wear a short sleeve shirt and shorts. Throughout the region there are rivers, forests and mountains. People rely on rivers like the Vistula River, Dniester River for transpiration and water.

In Eastern Europe there are many different physical characteristics like the Vistula River, Dniester River, Northern European Plain and some different mountains. The Vistula River runs through Slovenia and Poland. It also runs into the Black Sea. The Dniester River runs through the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Other bodies of water that surround this region are the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, White Sea and the Sea of Azou. Also there is the Northern European Plane. That runs through Poland, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Belarus. That is it for the geographical fetchers for this region.

PHOEC on the Pewaukee River

Problem
    -   Does the chemicals found in the Pewaukee River affect the current?

Hypothesis
    -    I think that it does affect the current because in the river is not moving then it is a bad thing because the chemicals in the river could kill the fish. If it is healthy and there would be less chemicals and it is moving then it means that the river is healthy. Most of time I think that the river is healthy because all of the water comes from Pewaukee Lake. Fish don’t die in the lake unless eaten or caught by fishermen so I think when the lake has a problem with chemicals then the river would too.

Experiment
    - On the 18th of October we went down to the river of a couple of other people. We walked down did the experiment and then walked back up.
Materials Used
    - Test Tubes: I used about eight of them for each of the tests that I did. We put between 5 and 10 millimeters of water into the tubes. Then we put the right amount of chemicals into the water to see if the chemical was in the water. We also used pond/river water. We put the water into the test tubes. Another material that we used was called a chemplate. It is a rectangular thing with about 12 holes in it called cavities. You put the water into the cavities and then you put all the test solutions into the water. A spatula was used when we had to mix the liquids solutions in the test tubes or chemplates. The last materials that we used were the Chemical liquid and solid solutions. We were asked to put different liquid samples into the water. We then were asked to shake of stir with spatula. Sometimes we were asked to put solids (powder) into the water and shake or mix with a spatula.   For each chemical we put different liquids and solids into the test tubes or chemplates. If we followed all of the correct steps then it would turn the color we want if that chemical is in the water or it would just be clear if it wasn’t.

Producers
    - First thing that we did was get the chemical boxes that we needed for the tests.
              Second thing that we did was step up where we were going to do our testing. ( Quinn current, Kyle pond, Kevin dam and Zoe and Kendall by the bogs.)
               Third thing that we did was get water samples for our test.
                Fourth thing that we did was add all of the liquids and solids and wait out the time. that we needed to for the full color to develop. Then we would record our results.
             Repeat steps three and four ten more times.
              Fifth thing that we did was talk about what chemicals were positive and what were not in front of our laptop camera.
               Sixth thing that we did was when we clean up our mess.

Variables
    - Constant: The test tubes and the chemplates staid the same through out the entire tests. Also the spatula staid the same throughout the entire test.
    - Independent: I changed what kind of liquid and solid chemicals I used. I also changed the water that I used for each chemical test. Lastly I changed the test tubes and chemplates that I used f or each chemicals.

- Dependant: As a result of that the change for the water, the color of all of the waters will change. The test tubes and chemplate would change there are water and chemicals in there.

Observation

- Quantitative

Only 3 out of the 11 chemicals on the list turned out positive for me. (See One Note page for the graph or chart.)

        - Qualitative
             I think that looking at my results that the pond is pretty healthy. Not many chemicals tested positive for me so that is kind of good.

    Conclusion
    My conclusion is that the chemicals do affect the flow of the river. When Quinn did his tests almost every single chemical on our list tested positive. Compared to mine that only three on the eleven test positive that means something. Quinn had the rushing water of the current and he had about 8 of the eleven. I had the pond where there was no movement in the water and there were only three chemicals that were tested positive. Zoe and Kendall had the bogs and the water wasn’t moving so they had less chemicals like I did.

We went down to the river and did an experiment on the 11 chemicals. We put the different solids and liquids into the test tubes that were filled with water and recorded our results.

All in all I think that the river is pretty healthy. All of the water that came from the river came from Pewaukee Lake so the lake really isn’t polluted so I think that the river is ok. If some of these chemicals got into the lake then it would be sort of a bad thing.

Color Positive or Negtive

Ammonia Nitrogen Orange +

pH Green +

Chlorine Clear -

Chromium Clear -

Copper Clear -

Cyanide Clear -

Iron Wine Red +

Nitrate Nitrogen Clear -

Phosphorus Clear -

Silica Clear -

Sulfide Clear -

Fall District Writing Assessment

About two weeks ago, I received a top secret letter saying that I was one of 10 people going on a trip to the Haunted City. The letter had no return address and it was signed by Albert L. And of course it has to take place on October 31^st Halloween. I currently live in Ransburg, Nebraska. My name is Ryan O’Conner. No one else in my school not even my best friend Greg Scott got it. I don’t even know if I will go, but the letter said “If I don’t go the whole haunted city will come up and send them me to their world. It also said that I have to go alone, which stinks.

We have contacted the government and I said that someone is threatening me with some kind of letter saying that I need to go to Haunted City. Kevin (the government agent) said that there is no such place, and we shouldn’t go because there is no other world besides ours. He asked if we wanted him to come to us and travel to (Haunted City) with me. I told him that I was only a loud to go on my own. “Who cares” Kevin said “ I am going with you”. “Do you want me to report it to the News?” “ No “I said. “Great I will be over on the 30^th.

I am walking to school with Greg and I am telling this story to him and he is still giving me the same advice every single day, “Don’t go you might die.” (I hope that that doesn’t happen.) The school is decorated with ghosts and all of the fun Halloween stuff. But, I might encounter the real thing in about 48 hours. For first hour we have a class gathering, celebrating the 550^th Anniversary of the Holliday. I’m not thrilled at all. Half way through the class gathering Principal Mr. Steven calls me down to his office. Going to Mr. Stevens office is one of the worst things that could happen to anything at Ransburg Middle School.

When I got down to his office he told that I need to leave school right away. “Why” I asked. “There is a government agent at you home and you need to meet with him right away. When he called he told me that you needed to leave school right away. So I went to my locker (hopefully not for the last time), got my things and when I stepped out of school. There was a black limo that was going to take me home.

When I got home I was asked about a billion questions. Really I would just want to be at boring school. I told him that the letter said that there is a private jet for me and that I am the only one that is aloud on it. After a long silence Kevin said “Well, I can get a government jet out here and I can fly it as close to your jet as I can.” I replied “Ok I guess that will work.” Kevin stated “Great, I will make all the arrangements. Where are you flying out of?” “Omaha International Airport.” I answered. “Ok, I will send the plane out here tonight.” Kevin said.

I got to the airport at 10:28 AM. I was wearing my favorite shirt the Mt. Rushmore shirt I got last Christmas. I had to go through all the fun stuff like secretary and all of that. My flight left at 12:09 heading southeast, and shortly after Kevin and his plane took off. We flew over Lincoln, Nebraska, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Dallas, Texas and over Houston, Texas. It seemed like we were never going to stop. Once we were in the middle of the ocean the pilot called on the loud speaker and said that I would need to skydive into Haunted City. He also said I would be doing this in less than 10 minutes.

I immediately called Kevin on my Droid LX phone and told him what was happening. I told him, that I have to jump out of the plane in 10 minutes. 5 MINUTES 5 MINUTES repeated the captain. “I got to go” I shouted and I hung up. There was all this gear for me sitting on the seats. There was a snorkel, scuba gear, an oxygen tank and a parachute. When 20 Seconds arrived, there was a countdown. The captain opened the side door of the plane and I jumped out just when the clock went to zero.

I was free falling for about 10 seconds and then I opened my parachute, and floated down to the open water. I got out all of the gear that I needed to get down there. I got all of it on and then dove under the water. I was using my snorkel and scuba gear when I spotted another kid. I swan over and told him to come up to the surface with me. When were up I asked him his name and he told me that his name was Devin. I also asked him if he was looking for Haunted City and he said yes too. I asked him “so do you want to look for Haunted City with me?” “Sure” Devin replied and then we went under the cold water again.

We didn’t have to swim for long, about a half mile in we saw a box and it had a key pad to it. We pressed enter, and what came up was the word NAME. I typed my name in and hit enter. A door opened up and I got sucked in. Devin did it next and he also got sucked in.

After I got sucked in I fell into this very deep whole. I probably fell about 5,000 feet and I landed on this pile of lots of hay. About 30 seconds later Devin fell. It was a strange silence until someone was speaking to us on the loud speaker. He said “Greetings my friends and welcome to Haunted City. You names please” I said “Ryan and Devin” “Great, said the guy on the microphone.” After all of the talking we got up and started walking around. We saw a door and Devin grabbed it, turned the knob and when he opened it and we saw lots of ghosts and creepy things. We quickly closed the door. Right after that the floor dropped out from underneath us and we fell into this made up city of ghosts and scarecrows. I looked just like any other city only creepier.

Devin and I ran into a store where they were selling ghost mobiles. They were just like motorcycles but they are not for humans, they are for creepy people. We asked the cashier where we were, he said “You are in Haunted City he said. You guy look like humans correct.” “Yes” we said. “Well you guys need to go to the Monster Hotel. Jeff will be there and you will take a test and that will decide if you need to take the Haunted Adventure or if you hang against your will while sharks try to bite your legs off. But first you have to take the test.” “Who is Jeff?” I asked. “He is the guy that you should have heard on the PA system when you got there.” “Where is the Monster Hotel?” Devin asked. “You go two blocks down then you turn left on Candy Street , and then you walk all the way down the street and it is the last building on you right.” The cashier said.

Devin and I walked down the Skull Avenue, there was all of this Halloween stuff up and everyone in the city was in a very good mood. We turned on to Candy Street and sure enough there it was. We walked in and asked for Jeff. The attendant guy got on the phone and called Jeff down. He told us “Jeff will be down in a minute. So you guys can wait in those chairs till he comes.” Devin and I picked two chairs to sit in. He was in a black and red one and I was in an all red one. About two minutes later Jeff came down and told us to follow him into his conference room. He opened the door and in front of us there were 8 kids.

We all introduced ourselves, after that we were invited to eat in the other conference room. We all got up and walked with Jeff to the Food Room. We sat down next to Noah. I asked him where he was from and he said “Tama Bay, Florida” He asked me where I was from and I told him I was from “Ransburg, Nebraska.” After that we were given ribs, steak, pizza, and Cheeseburgers. I gobbled down 4 burgers, 3 ribs, 1pound of steak and 12 slices of pizza. Following our meal Jeff handed out the test to us. He told us that we will hang against our will with sharks trying to bite our legs off our, go on the Haunted Adventure. (All stuff that Devin and I have already heard.) I looked at the test and it is 42 questions long. Jeff stated “When you are ready begin.” And I flipped the cover page question one.

The test was very easy it was just simple questions about Halloween. When I went to turn it in Jeff told me that you need to get more that 30 questions right to go on the Adventure. I was frightened; I closed my eyes and crossed my fingers as he scanned it. After the noise was done I opened my eyes and he handed my paper back to me and I looked at it and it showed a 35 on it.

I was blessed after that. I prayed to God and thanked him for giving me this opportunity of doing well and to help me get out of here as soon as possible. Jeff also told me to tell no one else my score because he didn’t want anyone to know how anyone else did. I sat down and glanced at the ceiling. It was very boring sitting there waiting of the others to be done. Finally, about a half hour later everyone was completed with the test.

We sat in silence of five minutes and then Jeff said. “Sadly only 3 of you passed the test. They are Ryan O’ Conner, Greg Slob, and Michael Hoots. The rest of you are going to be strung up by your waist and be held against your death for 10 hours. If you are still alive after that, then you get to go home. The other three of you get to go on the Adventure with me. First we will do the 7 of you with the great beasty sharks. We will be going to the Haunted City’s Center.

We walked out of the hotel and down a couple of streets to the Haunted City Area. There is a giant pool about 100 feet wide and 200 feet deep full of the beasts. Jeff called over the 7 kids over and told them that Peter will hook them up to and then tie them to the ropes. They followed Peter up 11 flights of steps to the harnesses. He hooked up each and every one of them and then told them. “You are going to leap off all at once on his count. You guys will land about 15 feet short of the water. The sharks could jump out of the water and hit any of you at any minute. You will be out there for 10 hours. If the one of the sharks bites your leg off, well, you will most likely die. Are you ready” Peter stated “Yes” all of the kids replied. “One, two, three jump!!!” shouted Peter. And they all jumped.

They all fell for about 10 seconds and then they snapped into place. They just talked and talked for the first hour. Everything was fine until one of them jumped out and missed Devin by about 6 inches. He got soaked but nothing bad happened. Jeff said that we were going to the Adventure not.

We took a ghost jet to this top secret area of the city. We were all searched for weapons and objects like that. The guard said that they are searching us because they don’t want to wreak the course. “Simple instructions go through the maize without screaming and you pass, you go home. If you scream you die” said the leader of the Adventure. “Ok we all said. We were lead into an elevator and went down 42 floors to the Adventure room. The doors opened up and there was the Adventure room.

We started walking in the pitch black until this red light came on and there was blood all on the floor. I could barely hold it in, and sure enough there was a fake dead person who pretended got shot. We rounded the bend and there were lots of ghosts and I really thought I heard someone scream, but I didn’t. Lights were going on and off on the sides as if there were street lamps. After we got past the ghosts it was pitch black, until this gigantic light came on and Frankenstein character came walking right towards us. We all stayed calm as he was moving towards us. I ran to the right and the other two ran left. The monster grabbed Greg, picked him up and pinned him up against the wall as if he was about to beat him up. In addition to that Greg started screaming. The monster put him down and the floor dropped down from his feet and there went Greg.

After Greg vanished, the monster just went away. It was just the two of us alone in the dark creepy room, with no lights, and who knows where there are eerie objects. Once all of that happened we kept walking around the bend until we met this gigantic hallway. We waited for about two minutes, just staring at the darkness in front of us. Finally we started walking. We were about half way down the hallway when something jumped on each of our backs. We both shook them off and kept walking. We were almost done when this huge light came on and blinded us. Lots of terrifying people were coming towards us, and very loud music was playing. I couldn’t take it anymore so I let out a scream. The people got off me and floor opened up and I fell down and down and landed on a stack of pumpkins.

When I fell, I landed flat on pumpkins. I clearly felt the pain throughout my body. A few minutes later, after I hit the pumpkins Michael came down. He miserably landed on his head. He was bleeding and I thought he was going to pass away, until someone came in. He introduced himself as Albert L. He was holding a first- aid kit. He fixed up Michael and it doesn’t even look like he fell and hit his head. “Why are you doing this?” Michael asked “You wrote us this mean letter and now you are helping us. I don’t get it.” “Yes it is true I wrote all of those letters to you guys. I only do it because I want to keep my job here in the city. It is my favorite place in the world.” Albert said “Can you get us out of here” I whispered. “I can try; I think I know a way follow me.” Albert exclaimed

Michael and I followed Albert to his submarine. We climbed aboard, he told us to sit as far back as possible because we need to even the weight out. He started it up and we were off. He had to open a gate that let some water in and then we were out. We were floating in the crisp blue water. The ride was nice and relaxing until something hit us. I didn’t quite know what is it was until Albert shouted that were have been hit by Jeff.

We were all hesitating and didn’t know what to do; I saw a roll of tape on the floor of the submarine. I grabbed it and unwound some and put it on the hole. It didn’t work fully, but we were rising, sort of. We finally got to the surface, along with that Albert popped the hood of the submarines and it turned into an amazing blue and red boat. It only took it about two seconds for it to start up and we were going at least 60 miles per hour.

We speed into this launch on the southern coast of Texas. The three of us got out of the boat and sprinted away from the boat and towards a little town called Blackville. On the way some guy offered us a ride and we took it any day. We just wanted to get away from Jeff as fast as we could. When we got to the Police station, we told the guy in charge that someone was after us. He police interviewed Albert and asked him what was going on. “This guy, he has been after me forever, he has followed me around for the past five years.” After about a five minute meeting we were escorted to the nearest town which was eight miles away. We climbed in the cop and we were driven away. We were driven about 12 miles to Hattiesburg, Texas. The police officer let us out and we were on our way. I found the nearest pay phone and called my mom. “Hello” my mom said “Hi mom it is Ryan.” “Oh my god where have you been, are you ok, where are you.” Mom shouted. “I am fine and I am in Hattiesburg, Texas.” I said. “Where is that” my mom asked? “It is only 25 miles southeast of Houston.” Great dad will fly down tomorrow. Love you” my mom stated and she hung up.

The next day, I reunited with my dad in Hattiesburg. He was so happy to see me. He was hugging me, and just thanking god that I’m safe. We flew home to Omaha the next day on Southwest flight number 562. My mom meet us at the airport, and when she saw me she was weeping and screaming as she ran up to hug me. It was one of the best days of my life when I returned home, and I hope that something like this never happens again.