Last year, I debated for a long time what to use for the second week's teacher post. Should I talk about the author, the themes, or what is happening in the story? Maybe I should just find something related to literature and reading. I decided to search TED Talks, and when I watched the video below and heard her mention Jane Eyre, I knew I had struck gold.
In my last post, I gave the option to check out a link about lessons readers can learn from this book. Although many students viewed the site, I am using it to connect to this post as well. Below are the steps involved to complete this assignment.
- Watch the TED Talk video on the right.
- Review the lessons in this book here.
- Consider all the books you have read.
- Choose one of the books you read, and make a list of lessons from it.
- In your comment do this:
- Share your list of lessons from the book you chose.
- Pick one of the lessons on your list and write a paragraph explaining how the book taught this lesson.
Angelfall by Susan Ee:
ReplyDelete- no man left behind
- even in the dark times there are things to be thankful for or to find happiness in
- don't judge someone before you fix your own flaws
- Never give up
- Even the people who forget you, you should care for or treat with respect
- you find courage in life-threatening things
- people can change but you can always find your way back to them
- unity
- be tough
- keep moving on, don't dwell on the past
Lesson:
- Never give up
In Angelfall, Penryn the protagonist, looses her disabled sister to the Angels that have taken over Earth. Penryn goes on this treacherous quest to get her sister back. She has to go through many challenges and setbacks. She doesn't once give up even though it would have been easy for her to forget about her sister and take care of defending herself. The world is also under attack from the angels. Penryn finds a way to save the world and save her sister despite the hardships she faces. She does not once give up or back down from the challenges.
Unbroken by:Laura Hillenbrand
ReplyDeleteOvercome the past
Perseverance
Keep Positive
Revenge is not answer,forgiveness is
Mentally Strong
Selflessness
Self Respect
Lesson: Revenge is not the answer, Forgiveness is
This book is about the life of Louis Zamperini. He was a prisoner of war. During his time as a prisoner of war, he is treated extremely harsh by one of the camp officers, The Bird. The Bird's personal mission was to destroy Louis mentally and physically. Although The Bird never achieved this, Louis vowed to seek revenge for the unjust acts that was bestowed upon him. After Louis is set free from prison, he makes it his mission to kill The Bird. Louis desperately tries to find The Bird. Obsessed by the idea of killing The Bird, Louis eventually turns to alcohol. He is an hardcore alcoholic until he learns from a Reverend that forgiveness brings more peace than revenge. From that point on, Louis had more peace in his life. Louis finally meets The Bird again, and The Bird apologizes for his wrongs. Louis accepts this, and he gained peace of mind.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee:
ReplyDelete-Equality
-You shouldn't be judged by race
-Be open minded
-Don't try changing others
-Compassion
-Consider other people's feelings
-The most important kind of courage is moral courage
-Lead by example
Lesson: Lead by Example
Atticus, the father in To Kill a Mockingbird, is remembered as a really good father and definitely leads by example. There are a lot of different life lessons that Atticus teaches his children throughout the story. He is always very kind and protective with his children and makes sure that they are going to grow up to be good people and have empathy. Atticus was always honest with Jem and Scout, his children, and he was always honest with everything that he did. He read them the newspaper every night, which made Jem and Scout love to read anything that they could and he always taught his kids to be courteous and kind.
Moon Called by Patrica Briggs
ReplyDelete-Shouldn't be judged on species
-Overcome the past
-Tell the guy you want to date him already
-Don't let anyone tell you, you can't do something because you are a woman.
-Don't be afraid to speak your mind
Lesson: Don't let anyone tell you you can't do anything just because you are a woman.
Mercy Thompson is a mechanic in a small town in Washington. Not a role many people think can be done by a woman. he does her role very well. She is the boss and she makes sure people get that. Throughout the story she gets told that her job is something a man should be doing that and not her or that she should be taken care of by a man.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
ReplyDelete-Build off the past
-Don't let anything get in the way of happiness
-Learn to love life
-Accept things for how they are
-Look at the bright side of things
Lesson: Life is short, make the best of it while you are still here, no matter the obstacles.
Hazel Grace is a girl who suffered from cancer and is now facing the aftermath. She is told to attend a support group and heal from her cancer. At first Hazel hated the support group, but one day a young boy named Augustus Waters came which helped Hazel make a positive out of the support group: Hazel fell in love. Throughout the novel Hazel begins finding the positive in everything, which is how everyone should view life. Even if something appears bad, there can always be a positive side to it!
Harry Potter by John Green
ReplyDelete-Learn from your mistakes
-Love is the true power of the world
-Power can destroy you
-Where you come from/Who your family is does not define you
-You cannot always avoid heartbreak
-Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times
-Friendship is powerful
-Bravery comes in many forms
Lesson:Heartbreak is sometimes inevitable
The world can often seem against you as much as it is for you. You girlfriend/boyfriend breaks up with you, a family member dies, or a long time friend switches schools. Sometimes it's just gonna happen no matter what you do. But (and a lot of times people don't like to hear this) that's just how life is. Everyone struggles with something. Heartbreak allows us to feel emotion in a way the joy or happiness just can't. We can only feel truly put together if we know what it's like to feel broken.
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
ReplyDelete-Forget your mistakes
-Overcome the past
-Believe in yourself
-Be the best you can be
Lesson- Believe in yourself
Steve Harmon knew he was innocent from the beginning of the story. He knew that he wasn't the murderer and wasn't even involved in the crime. He was just very unlucky with the whole situation. While in prison he kept the same mindset though. That being he knew he was innocent all along. He believed in himself, which ultimately led to him being found not guilty.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
ReplyDelete-The world can be cruel
-People aren't what the seem
-Perspective matters
-Children may know more than you think
-Children Know More Than You Think-
In the book the kids are able to learn about what's happening around them. Even though the are not told most of what is happening they still find out. Children can still understand things you may not think they do. Little kids eaves drop, a lot. They're always listening, like the government. They can learn more than you think.
The Blind Side by Michael Lewis
ReplyDelete- You can overcome the past
- You control your destiny
- Loving and respecting yourself is essential
- Be positive
- You are stronger than you think
- Possibilities are endless for risk takers
- Don't be afraid to speak your mind
- The world can be cruel
- Believe in yourself
-You can overcome the past
In "The Blind Side", Michael has a devastating past. He is caught in the middle of a custody battle, as his mom is a drug addict, mostly cocaine. She doesn't want to give up her son, but the Child Services make her. He is then put in several foster homes, filled with parents who don't care for him, and only want the money that comes with it. He has a terrible childhood, until he moves in with a family, and starts at a new school. He is so large that he is then discovered as one of the best high school football recruits in the nation. He stays out of trouble, and goes to Ole Miss on a full-ride football scholarship. This shows that he overcame his past.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
ReplyDelete-Being different isn't bad
-You control your future
-The world will try to bring you down
-You can overcome your past
-don't change who you are for the world
-Being different isn't bad
In "Graceling", Katsa stands out from everybody. The issue she has is that her eyes are two different colors. This means that she has a special ability. Her grace or ability is survival. So basically she can't be killed and as you can imagine this draws a lot of attention from other Kings. She often has moments where she is wishing she didn't have this ability and so she could just be treated normal. But as she goes throughout the book she finds this ability to be incredibly helpful and she gets to fight for the right cause. So just because she is different it is not a bad thing. And this shows that she has got the idea out of her mind that being different is bad.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
ReplyDelete-Be positive
-Be strong
-Don't doubt yourself
-Fight for change
-Persevere
-You control your future
Persevere
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a book that doesn't skip any details. In it the protagonists, Mariam and Laila, both lose their parents at a young age, are married off to an abusive husband in Afghanistan, and stuck with the Taliban. However, through it all they persevere; they got past the deaths of their parents,attempted, and failed, to escape from their husbands, and eventually, through the sacrifice of one,they manage to escape their husband and avoid the Taliban. Perseverance is the one thing that allows them to do all this.
A Walk to Remember
ReplyDelete-Be positive
-Fight for love
-Don't change who you are for the world
-You are stronger then you think
-Look at the bright side of things
Look at the bright side of things
A Walk to Remember is all about looking at the glass half full. A young girl is diagnosed with leukemia yet she decides to look at the world with happiness and the glass is half full. The boy that falls in love with her had a problem with this because he believed it was all God's fault. As the story goes on he later finds out that with her having this is a blessing because he learns a life lesson and learns to love more.
Old Man And The Sea
ReplyDelete-Push through the pain
-Use what you have, not what you want
-Persevere
-Be Independent
-Do it for yourself, not for others
Perseverence
Old Man And The Sea is a novel about struggle and loss. An old man goes out to fish all by himself, even after not catching much for a while and slowly losing money. The Old Man then catches a gigantic fish and it takes him days to finally catch the fish. He has to not only catch a fish as big as his boat by himself, but with hardly enough equipment to do it. Throughout the entire book, The Old Man had to persevere through many trials only by himself.
To Kill a Mockingbird
ReplyDelete- Equality
- Courage
- Always have a positive mindset
- Do what's right, even if it's hard
- Follow your morals
- Societal Responsibilities
In to Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus defends a black male who is convicted of beating a white female. Going in to the case, the verdict was already set, the black male is guilty. That's just how it was back then. But Atticus stuck to his morals and did what he thought was right. He defended the man well and but his entire soul into the case, because it was the right thing to do. The man was clearly innocent, the only problem was that no one believed a colored person.
1. People are complicated. Learn about their lives before judging them.
ReplyDelete2. Bad things happen. It's better to just accept that and work with it.
3. Don't destroy the beauty in the world.
4. People aren't always what they seem.
5. Think for yourself, instead of following the crowd.
6. Remain calm and civilized, even when people are rude to you.
7. Courage comes from within.
8. Never give up, no matter the outcome.
9. Treat everyone equally; you're no better than anyone else.
10. Never be afraid to stand up for what's right.
The main lesson I took from to kill a mockingbird is to never judge someone without understanding them. This is a lesson very useful throughout life, and anyone can gain some knowledge from it. So often we see something and place a snap judgement on it but slowing down to really get to know people has been something that has helped me through much of school, and I suspect the rest of my life.
Naruto
ReplyDelete- Success is a state of mind not a location
- Everyone deserves a second chance
- Don't go back on your word
- Don't try getting revenge
- Believe in yourself and others
- Put your mind into all of the things you do
- Cherish your friends and the time that you have with them
- Never give up
Throughout the Naruto series, one thing has been repeated constantly: Spending time with friends. The series starts with Naruto having no friends. Then one by one he gains peoples' friendship. He gains more and more friends and helps others who are having a rough time be happy and get friends too. He loses some friends too. This series really makes you think and treasure the time you have with your friends now because you never know when they might not be there anymore.
Kite Runner
ReplyDelete-Forgiveness
-Love
-Regret
-Courage
-Revenge
-Friendship
In Kite Runner, Amir and Hassan are close friends. They are actually brothers. This novel is about friendship and suffering. Hassan gets raped and Amir just ignores it. He regrets hit his whole life. He feels like he ruined his friendship. Hassan died years later and in order to forgive himself and get closure Amir adopts his Hassan's son. This is a true friendship.
Looking for Alaska: John Green
ReplyDelete-You can overcome your past
-Tell them you want to date them already
-Be positive
-Beauty is in the eye of the gazer
-The possibilities for those who take risks are endless
-Don't be afraid to speak your mind
You can overcome your past
Caution: spoilers.
After Alaska dies Miles and the other friends begin to become depressed. They need to find a way to get over what happened. Miles thinks he needs to solve the mystery of her death, but that's all Alaska ever was and will be; a mystery. However, in the end they figure out that the only way to truly get over it was to come together and do something in her honor.