ELISE KRAM

MS. MCGEE 1A

Table of Contents:• 1. reflection on elementary school writing • 2. reflection on middle school writing • 3. reflection on high school writing • 4. 25 things I want to do before I die• 5. six word life story• 6. written assignment from class• 7. another written assignment from class• 8. another written assignment • 9. my soul picture• 10. book #1 from elementary school• 11. book #2 from elementary school• 12. book #3 from middle school

In elementary school I was the kid that hated to write. I loved to draw and color, but I couldn’t stand writing. Most of my writing was horribly misspelled, (just like it is today) due to the practice of stretch spelling, and most of my sentences were incomplete. I also had many grammatical and syntax errors.

ELEMENTRY SCHOOL

In middle school my writing had gotten better, because I had to learn how to spell (somewhat). I learned how to write in paragraphs, and how to write essays. In Maryland where I went to middle school they were called BCR’s (brief constructed responses) and ECR’s (extended constructed responses.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Most of what I know about writing today I learned in High school. In Mrs. Turners 10th grade honors English class. I learned MLA format, and how to ‘cite my sources’. I also learned how to write about different topics, from bibliographies to research papers. My writing has gotten better the higher I have gone up in my high school education.

HIGH SCHOOL

BUCKET LIST1. Travel the world

2. Get married3. Have kids

4. Own my own business5. Be ‘the boss’

6. Build my own home7. Design the interior and exterior of my own home

8. Graduate college9. Learn French

10.Learn Spanish11.Learn Italian

12.Learn German13.Explore the Amazon

14. Learn to sail15.Own a really nice car

16.Make a lot of money…

Bucket list continued…17. Learn to cook

18. Learn to read music19. Study psychology

20. Own a bed and breakfast21. Have a perfect body

22. Figure out how to hotwire a car23. Interview criminals

24. Live on a boat25. Learn to play guitar

SIX WORD MEMIOR“questions unanswered, never

to be answered”

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT FROM AP LIT #1Mastering the art of mummification, Ancient Egyptians believed that the body

must be preserved after death in order for the person’s soul to pass to the afterlife (Mummies). It was thought that if the corpse of a pharaoh did not receive proper care the deceased king could not carry out his duties in the afterlife, and then Egypt would fall into disorder (Egypt-Secrets). Mummification was a ritualistic process involving many people; the ‘hery shesta’ was in charge of the process, the ‘hetemw netjer’ was the assistant, the ‘hery heb’ read the spells during the rituals, and the ‘wetyw’ took care of most of the technical processes (Egyptology, Mummification). The mummification process took about seventy days in all, for forty of the days the body lay on the embalming table covered with a mineral called natron (Mummies). Natron is a mineral similar to sodium that was used in the ancient Egyptian process of mummification, because it absorbs water, and helps to dehydrate, and dry out the body (Wikipedia, Natron).

Shortly after a person died they were taken to a tent for purification where the body was washed, then the body was moved to another tent called the ‘per nefer’ where the actual mummification process would take place (Egyptology, Mummification). The dead person’s organs were then removed; the intestines, the liver, the lungs, and the stomach were removed, dried using natron, and individually wrapped in strips of linen, and placed in canopic jars. Then the body was covered and stuffed with natron bags, and left on the embalming table to dry out for forty days (Mummies).

After the body was dried out the natron bags were removed as were the rest of the organs, and the body was re-stuffed with new natron bags, the brain was removed with metal hooks through the nose, and thrown out, and the brain cavity was then stuffed with linen. The rest of the body would be coated in resin and bandaged completely in linen (Egyptology, Mummification). Linen was used to wrap the body in, because it was symbolic of purity and light, and was representative of the person’s wealth (Wikipedia, Linen). The bandaging of the body took about fifteen days, and a death mask was placed over the head of the individual allowing them to finally pass on to the afterlife (Egyptology, Mummification).

Pharaohs and queens of ancient Egypt were buried in tombs called pyramids, while more common people were buried under ground (Mummies). Pyramids were called ‘houses of eternity’ and often pharaohs began building their pyramids when they took the throne (British). The pyramids were constructed on grids that faced each side of the compass directly, with cemeteries on the west facing side, because the sun sets, or ‘dies’ in the west.

Pyramids took years to build and hundreds, sometimes thousands of men to complete the building (British). Most of the workers on the pyramids were not slaves, but builders, some fully employed year round by the pharaoh that took pride in their work, others were famers who worked during the flood season when their fields were flooded (Egypt-Secrets).

Most of the pharaohs life was spent focused on their death, because in the afterlife they were supposed to become gods (Egyptology, Mummification). When the pharaoh was buried in their pyramids they took everything with them because they believed that they could take it with them to the afterlife. This included treasure of all sorts like; jewelry, clothing, pets, food, furniture, and even servants (What). All of known pyramids have since been emptied by tomb robbers and later by historians, but in ancient Egypt if someone stole from the pyramids they were supposed to be eternally cursed (Tomb).

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT FROM AP LIT #2

Summary of “Realism, Convention, and Ian McEwan’s Atonement”This article focuses on realism which is taking things into the perspective of

reality, and how all stories no matter how real go in a certain pattern with a predictable movement. It also goes into how no one can perfectly describe reality, and argues if realism is a dead genre or a set if conventions. The analysis also states that certain elements make up all fiction and without them reality would not appear as real life. Relating to Atonement the article states that realism itself is Briony’s atonement, even though she changed around then ending and made it how she wanted to end. She gave them the happy ending they never got themselves because of her, and also because she couldn’t deal with the guilt of what she had done and the reality of the consequences that had actually happened. The analysis also focuses on how the novel itself is fiction so it’s all fake anyway.

ANOTHER WRITING…Thumbs Up 5th HorsemanThe novel 5th Horseman written by James Patterson is as wonderfully written as it was exciting. Everything was clearly conveyed making this novel a fast easy read. Patterson will have you with your fingers on the corner ready to turn to the next page before you know it. You will want more. But don’t worry he doesn’t leave you in suspense. You just have to wait for it. You will not want to put this book down.

The novel opens with one mystery serial killer, and then about halfway through the novel moves to the other story. Both stories are linked by Lieutenant Lindsey Boxer. Lindsey is the police officer in charge of investigating all the crimes. One of the stories is about a pair of serial killers, murdering prostitutes, and then displaying them in expensive clothing in expensive cars, leaving the crime scene virtually clean of any evidence. The second involves a set of hospital murders. You feel like you are keeping up with her as she is going through the crimes, trying to figure things out as she is. You feel as though you are part of the novel, and like you are helping to figure it the crimes.

Patterson makes it feel like you’ve known the characters forever, feeling what they feel, and knowing how they feel within their personal relationships, and friendships. The 5th Horseman had me on my toes the whole way through. I couldn’t get enough. When I got to the end I just wanted to know what happened, I felt like I couldn’t be left in suspense any longer.

I would highly recommend the 5th Horseman to anyone wanting to read a great murder mystery. You don’t know who the killers are until the end, so you feel like you are trying to figure it out with the detective. Anyone who has already read any of James Patterson’s first four novels of the women’s mystery club will not be disappointed with the continuation of the series. For further reading I suggest 6th target also by James Patterson.

SOUL SOUL

When I was in kindergarten my mom used to read me and my brother this book. I loved this book, because of the illustrations and, because of the monsters. I don’t really remember what else made me like this book so much, but I loved it. She read it to me almost every day.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

BY: MAURICE SENDAK

When I was in middle elementary school probably like first or second grade I liked to read all of the Junie B. Jones books. I could read them easily, and I thought that they were funny. She reminded me of my little sister, and read all of the Junie B. Jones books. I don’t really remember what they were all about, but I do remember I kept them all, and my younger sisters all read them too.

When I was in the seventh grade I read this novel and I loved it. I liked the way S.E. Hinton wrote and I liked the way the images seemed to light up in my head. I continued to read all of her other books, and other novels like them. I even thought I was going to name my first child after Ponyboy for a while.

THE END