Chris+K.

=Research Reflection=

March 26, 2012
One strength I had in writing my research paper was my usage, mechanics, and grammar. The one area I need to improve on in my next research paper is my ending and conclusion. =Research Reflection=

March 10, 2012
I am researching the author [|Mark Twain]. I felt like the researching went pretty good but some of the databases didn't work very well. The most helpful thing was the note cards. The toughest part was finding great sources to use. I couldn't really find that great of articles on the databases. I thought books I used were very helpful in writing my paper. =March 3, 2012=

Research Paper
I am researching the author [|Mark Twain]. One interesting thing I have learned about my author was that he dropped out of school at the age of 12. I found it easier to organize all my notecards that I had before I did my outline and rough draft so everything went smoothly. =February 15, 2012= =Mark Twain= =__Characters__= Tom Sawyer is the main character and the protagonist of the novel. He is a sneaky kid that likes to get into trouble a lot but he has a good heart. Another character is Tom's friend, Huckleberry Finn. He is the son of the town drunk and a lot of people look down on him except for all the boys in the town. They envy his freedom to do as he pleases. He is Tom's good friend and they go on many adventures together. [|Injun Joe] a violent man who kills, robs, and plans to hurt Widow Douglas. Injun Joe wants to get revenge, he has been judged because of his race. Sid is Tom's younger half brother. He is the opposite of Tom and is a good boy who likes to get Tom in trouble.

__Summary__
Tom Sawyer lives with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother, Sid, in the town of St. Petersburg, Missouri. Tom skips school so he is made to paint the fence as a punishment. He convinces all his friends to do it for him and he ended up watching more then painting. Tom falls in love with a girl named Becky Thatcher. After awhile they get in a fight so he teams up with his friend Huck to go to an island to become pirates. They go home after a couple days when people are looking for them. Then they go hunt for buried treasure. They see Injun Joe kill Dr. Robinson and blame it on Muff Potter. At the trial Tom tells everyone it was really Injun Joe and not Muff Potter. After he did, Injun Joe runs to escape. Tom starts to worry because he thinks Joe wants revenge. Becky and Tom go into a cave while they were at a picnic. They got lost and can't find there way out. While trying to get out Tom finds Injun Joe hidding in the cave. Not knowing who Tom was in darkness, Joe got scared and ran away. The rest you'll just have to find out for yourself

__Rating__
I think I would give The Adventures of Tom Sawyer a 3 out of 5 because the book started off really slow and was kind of boring. But in the last half it got really good and I enjoyed reading it.

__Wiki Reflections__
I thought using Wiki was a pretty good idea because it made you talk about what was going on in your novel and it really helped me understand my book better. I thought the blogs took a lot of time even though they were helpful = = =February 6, 2012=

For everyone to read!
So far, I am on page 143 in my book. The novels greatest strength is that it is a story about a young boy and it is mostly meant for young children, but also for adults too. It reminds them of how they used to act when they were that young and how big the world was from their eyes. The story started off pretty slow but it is getting a lot better now. Also another big strength of this novel is [|Mark Twain] has a funny sense of humor. Sometimes it is hard to see but you have to read it a couple of times. = = = = = = = = = = = = =January 27, 2012=

Going to Church
"That is what you will say, Thomas- and you wouldn't take any money for those two thousand verses- no indeed you wouldn't." -[|Judge Thatcher].

This part of the story Tom Sawyer is in Sunday school and he gets to meet a famous judge. Every time a kid memorizes a versus in Sunday School he gets a slip. Tom convinced other kids to give him their slips and traded items for them. He even got the kids to paint his fence and give him slips. Once a child memorizes two thousands verses, he or she gets a bible. Tom wanting to meet the judge, went up to the front by the judge and asked for his bible. The judge was impressed and asked Tom a question. The judge said that there is no way Tom would take money for knowing all the verses but really, he traded kids for it and did the exact opposite. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =January 20, 2012=

The Troublemaker


I have just finished the first three chapters of Tom Sawyer. So far, it is a pretty slow book and the whole plot is still being introduced. The main charater is Tom Sawyer. He is about a 12 year old kid who lives with his Aunt Polly because his mother died. He is just typical kid who likes to have fun and gets into a lot of trouble. I think he is a pretty smart kid because he always seems to get out of his punishments. He is very sneaky when it comes to lying to his Aunt Polly. He skipped school so his aunt made him paint the fence on a saturday. All of his friends were out playing but some how Tom convinced kid after kid to do his work for him. He eneded up barely doing any work and sitting in the shade watching the kids paint. Tom likes to do whatever he feels like and he thinks he is a very tough kid. = = = = = = =The First Big Hit= January 13, 2012 http://wpplteens.blogspot.com/2011/10/reviewed-by-lalee-i.html

I am reading the book [|The Adventures of Tom Sawyer] by [|Mark Twain]. I do not know much about it, but I do know it was one of Mark Twain's first major books. The first day of the semester our class found out we are going to be reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn also. The book I am reading has Huckleberry Finn in it. From just looking at the book, I think Huckleberry Finn is one of Tom Sawyers friends. This book should be very helpful for reading Huckleberry Finn later in the semester. I have a feeling it will give me information on Huckleberry Finn and it looks like a book I would enjoy.