Week 6

This week we had WIMS Football up in Hamilton, on Tuesday, which sucked because we missed out on making bread or pizza. It was really fun though, but we didn't end up getting into the semi finals unfortunately. Our first game was good, 0-0. Our second game was worse, we lost 3-1. In that game Michele (our coach) put me in Striker instead of defence for the first half, because I have a really good kick. I don't like striker as much as defence though, because I always feel the urge to protect the goalie. Our 3rd game was alright, but the referee from the other team was really unfair and biased towards his team. He didn't even know the rules properly. We ended up losing 1-0. They got that goal when they were down on our side and the goalie kicked the ball away but it ended up hitting Nikyla (on of our team mates) in the face. We went to see if she was okay and they sneaked in a goal. It is mufti day today, and the theme was first response, but no one really dressed up!!! We had a volleyball session with Ashleigh again, which we spent working on our accuracy skills and teamwork. In maths we are starting on geometry. So far I have been working on area. BYE!!!

Reading task two: What makes a good mystery story

Explain what makes a good mystery story based on your understanding of:

‘The Red Room’ by H.G. Wells

‘Adventure of the Speckled Band’ by Arthur Conan Doyle

And ‘The Signalman’ by Charles Dickens

To me, the setting of a mystery story is very important. It sets the scene, and can enhance a story a lot. A good setting for a mystery story can be set anywhere, but they are normally somewhere that sound either, frightening, bleak, creepy, haunted, or old. I found that all three stories had good settings. The Signalman was set by a lonely railway, with a big dark tunnel. Here is an extract describing the story. ‘His post was in as solitary and dismal a place as ever I saw.’ The place is described to be extremely bleak and isolated. The Red Room is set in an ancient castle, looked after by three very queer, and very old custodians. ‘The long, draughty subterranean passage was chilly and dusty, and my candle flared and made the shadows cower and quiver.’ The Adventure of the Speckled Band was set mainly in an old manor, called Stoke Moran. ‘The boards round and the panelling of the walls were of brown, worm-eaten oak, so old and discoloured that it may have dated from the original building of the house.’

A good plot is also very important in mystery stories. A good mystery plot should keep you guessing, and doesn’t have an obvious ending, or answer to the mystery. It should keep you hanging, stumped, and waiting to read what comes next. You should not get bored. Building up tension, and suspense is very important as well. Throughout the story you should be wondering what's going to be happen, and the story needs to get its readers interested right from the start. There was suspense in The Signalman, and The Red Room. I found there was not much suspense at all in Adventure of the Speckled Band. There was also not much tension in the story, apart from a little at the end. The Red Room and The Signalman had quite a bit of tension throughout the story.

Good characters are essential to a good story. Dynamic, round, or protagonist characters are a lot more interesting to read about than flat, static, or protagonist characters. If the main characters is relatable to yourself, or if you feel for them, it can get the reader more involved in the story. Characters also need to be believable. The characters in the three short stories were all different, but were all enjoyable and added interest to the story, especially the signalman from The Signalman story. He was very quiet, dutiful and fearful, solitude man. The narrator in the story appeared to be very curious and practical minded. The main character in The Red Room was quite sure about himself, and was also practical minded. At the end he was extremely nervous and tense. In The Adventure of the Speckled Band the main character was Sherlock Holmes, who remained calm throughout the story, even when someone came in and threatened him. He was practical minded, and was VERY intelligent.

In all three stories, old english was used. I find that is more effective than writing normally in mystery stories, even though I normally dislike reading it. All writers were very descriptive, and set the scene right from the start, except from The Signalman. The stories all had a range of sentence starters, apart from The Red Room. They were all long or medium. There was hardly any short sentences, but there were lots of different sentence starters.

Overall, I believe that there are many things that make a good mystery story. You need an appropriate setting, good characters, a decent plot, suspense, tension, and good language and description.

One of my reading tasks

Learning Intention

To compare  and contrast some of the elements in two short stories

‘The Signalman By Charles Dickens

Lamb to the Slaughter By Roald Dahl

SETTING

The Signalman story is set in England, by a railway that goes into a tunnel. I believe it be around the 1860’s. Lamb to the Slaughter is not set around that time, because the speech mannerism is different, and the objects and everything included in the story seem modern. It was set in a town or village, because in one part of the story she walks down the corner to buy some groceries, which you can’t do in the country.

CHARACTERS

The main character in The Signalman is the narrator, who tells us the story from first person. The other main character is the Signalman. The Signalman seems to be very scared, and lonely. He is very vigilant and good at his work. The narrator is curious, intelligent and is very practical. I think this because whenever the Signalman says something supernatural, the narrator always thinks of a practical explanation for it. I think this also may also mean he is a doctor. In Lamb to the Slaughter, the main character is Mary Maloney, the wife. Mary is a round character. She changes after Mr Maloney talks to her, saying that he is moving, or cheating on her I believe. Mary goes on autopilot and seems to be in daze. She decides to cover up her crime because she feared for her unborn child. Mr Maloney seemed to be very solemn, and he didn’t seem to love his wife as much as Mary loved him. He might have been a little detached that night though because of what he had decided to tell his wife. There isn’t much description or information about him. I found that the characters in both stories were completely different.

OPENING

The openings in both stories were different. In Lamb to the slaughter the mood starts of being peaceful and calm and you don’t expect anything bad to happen. An example of why I think this is: The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight- hers and the one by the empty table chair opposite. This was the first sentence in the peace. It portrays everything being all peaceful. It starts to change when he has lots of whisky in his drink. In The Signalman the story starts off being sounding dreary when the narrator described what he saw, and what the Signalman looked like. An example is: So little sunlight ever found its way to this spot, that it had an earthy, deadly smell; and so much cold wind rushed through it, that it struck chill to me, as if I had left the natural world. I didn’t like the opening in The Signalman, because I found it hard to understand and get into. I also found the language was annoying, but it made the story better. The opening in Lamb to the Slaughter was more enjoyable, I found.

THEME

The theme of The Signalman is when the narrator (who is not described throughout the story), visits a man, who tells him he has been seeing a mysterious ghost. The narrator is told that after each sighting, a bad event followed. One day the ghost appears, trying to warn him about something. Later that day the signalman died. I think the point or what he was trying to get across was how ironic his death was, as the ghost had said the same words as what the train driver which had run him down had been trying to say. In Lamb to the slaughter the theme is about a husband and a wife (Mary). It is set their house, which is described to be lovely and homely. The husband returns from work, and tells his wife something. After he told her, she went to the freezer and got out a leg of lamb. She kills her husband with it, then sticks it in the oven. She then fakes being innocent, and fools the police, so she and her unborn child would not die. Lamb to the slaughter is also ironic, as the police are having a conversation which goes like this; “'That's the hell of a big club the guy must've used to hit poor Patrick,' one of them was saying.'The doc says his skull was smashed all to pieces just like from a sledgehammer,' 'that's why it ought to be easy to find. 'Exactly what I say.' 'Whoever done it, they're not going to be carrying a thing like that around with them longer than they need.' One of them belched. 'Personally, I think it's right here on the premises.' 'Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?' They say this while eating the leg of lamb that Mary killed her husband with.

STYLE

The style that Roald Dahl uses in Lamb to the Slaughter is very descriptive, and he uses lots of adjectives. I like how he does that, because you can get a clear picture in your head of the story. It is written in third person, while The Signalman is written in first person. The Signalman isn’t as descriptive as Lamb to the Slaughter in my opinion, but Charles Dickens describes the scenery around lots, which is quite drab, dreary and dull, so I think he wanted it to sound like a very miserable place. He used quite a lot of direct speech, but it was easy to follow. He described the Signalman lots, and told us of his background and what he was like. There is nothing written physically about the narrator, but you can pick up on his personality.

SUSPENSE

There is suspense in both stories, though I found there to be more in The Signalman. This is because death followed when the ghost appeared the first two times, so you wonder what is going to happen when it appears the third time. It also keeps you wondering for longer than Lamb to the Slaughter, where there was only suspense when he had a lot more whisky in his drink than normal, and the part where he 'Sit down, 'just for a minute, sit down.' It ended once he had spoken what he wanted to say to Mary. The suspense in The Signalman ended when the narrator learnt of the Signalman's death.

PLOT

The plots of both stories are not very similar. Also, the setting and year are both completely different. The only way the characters are similar is that one of them die in each story. Another way the plots are similar is that they are both have irony in them, and something unexpected happens.

ENDING

Both stories have a twist at the end. In The Signalman, the twist is when the narrator finds out that the Signalman had died because a train had run him down, and the driver of the train had been shouting out “Below there, look out, look out!”, which is what the ghost had been saying when he had last appeared. The twist in Lamb to the Slaughter is when Mary Evans kills her husband, Mr Maloney. I didn’t expect her to be able to get away with the crime, which she did. I admire her for being so clever and smart about destroying the evidence. In both stories, I didn’t know what was going to happen in both stories, which is really great, as there is nothing worse than knowing what is going to happen at the end.

OVERALL

Overall I liked Lamb to the Slaughter the most, because it was funny, surprising and kept me interested the whole time.

Week 5

We have not done much this week. We had our second lot of HPV injection which hurt, but not as much as the first time, which is weird because the lady said they were the same!!! We had soccer practice today at lunchtime, and nearly all of my kicks result in the ball going up in the air, not along the ground like they used too. We had volleyball in the ALC, which was fun, and this year I can serve it over the net, and am good at digging it over. For science Amelia and I made green sherbet, which was really nice, but really sour!!! That lesson we also made bath fizz, which is like a bath bomb. You sprinkle the powder into the bath and it fizzes up!!! We have winter games this Friday, and I am doing socc (of course :) ). Next Tuesday we have WIMS soccer tournament, which will be in Hamilton.  am really excited about it, as I LOVE soccer. I will play defence, my normal position, but I am quite good at attack or goal so I might play those positions if there is blank spaces. For reading I did an book summary (essay really because it was really big) about the stories 'Lamb to the Slaughter'  by Charles Dickens and The Signalman' by Rohld Dahl. I also read the mystery stories 'The Red Room' and 'Adventure of the Speckled Band', which I will write a report on what makes a good mystery story. For maths I didn't learn much, but I did two tests, one about percentages, fractions and decimals, and the other on geometry which we will be starting on soon. I am reading some really good books lately, which I have got out from the library. So far I have read Exposure by Kathy Reichs, the Childs Elephant, Blood Red Road, and the Fear. They are all amazing books that I recomend you too read, though some of the are the 4th or 3rd in a series.

Week 4

Today I did a maths test, which five others in the class did also. It was really hard, and I took all of the given time, (which was an hour and a half) to do six questions. I got really frustrated them, because they were really hard!!! We have started doing soccer practices on Friday afternoons and Wednesday lunchtimes. We are also going to do soccer on Monday as well.
We made soap for mothers day on Monday, but some egghead spilled water on everyone's, so we had to redo them on Friday. It worked out better though, because Mrs Tyson cut out love hearts to put on top, they were a better colour, and they smelled REALLY good. Amelia (my best friend), Rain and I also did an experiment with blue salt water, a hot plate, two beakers and a tube. The experiment was too change the salt water into drinkable fresh water. To do that we put the salt water in the beaker, which we put on the hot-plate. We then attached the tube to the other beaker on the bench and turned the hot-plate on. How it worked was that the steam that rose went into the tube and condensated into fresh water. One of the things I really liked about it was that the fresh water wasn't blue like the salty water. On Monday we learnt about acids, bases, and neutrals. We did taste taste and smell tests on 6 different beakers filled with an unknown liquid. We had to guess what group it belonged to based on our senses.  We then confirmed our answers by getting some red and blue paper. You dip it into the liquid and it either stays the same or changes colour, which tells you what the liquid is, (acid, neutral or base). After that we got a yellow piece of paper, which, when dipped into he water changes colour to tell you what the pH level was.
 In the weekend we had a production overnight stay, which was really good. I'm still tiered four days later though!!! I spent most of my time with the band, practicing my pieces. Were actually starting to sound alright, even though all our music is REALLY hard!!! The food was nice too, and the sausages were too die for!!! The breakfast was the best I thought. We had spaghetti, toast, scrambled eggs, tinned fruit, cereal, and Milo. Everyone slept in the ALC, and the earliest anyone got to sleep was 10:30. I went to bed around midnight!! There was a movie option, big hero 6, but me and Amelia had both already watched it, so we stayed in the ALC and talked... most of the time. Ayway we are doing jump jam today, yay, and passion hour, double yay!!! So bye!!!

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Our bare feet leave emerald wounds on the grass as I race my sister across the field. The frigid air stings our skin as we run into the wind, making our bodies go red. Dew flicks up onto my  pale legs and togs. I reach our destination, the river, first as my tall willowy build allows me to go a lot faster than my younger sister.

“Come on slow poke! I yell. What’s holding you!”

I giggle hysterically as she angrily puts on a burst of speed, and slips over, falling face forward. A loud snort escapes my lips, and I double over as I hear her frustrated cries. After a while I straighten up and wipe tears from my face. Still smiling I walk towards the river. Arriving at the edge, I start to have doubts about having a swim this early. ‘I can’t back down now though,’ I decide, it was me who came up with idea

Dipping my foot into the water, I gasp. It’s freezing. Squaring my shoulders, I take a deep breath. I stare at the water, my emerald eyes set in a determined gaze. I dive. The cold hits me hard, snatching my breath away. My body goes numb instantly. I quickly swim back up to the surface. Gasping for breath, I shake my head, my long auburn hair flicking water everywhere. Suddenly, I see my sister standing on the bank, looking like she is unsure if she wants to hop in. A mischievous glint appears in my eyes.

“Come on, hop in, it’s not cold at all! I say, while straining to stop my teeth from chattering.

“I don’t think I will,” she says, “it looks awfully cold.”

“Does it?” I reply, “That’s weird because it’s actually very warm!”

“Okay then, I will hop in.”

I quickly suppress a smile, and am careful to keep my face straight.

I watch vividly as she looks at the water, then runs and jumps.

As soon as her feet leave the ground I squeal with laughter. I watch as she hit the water with a mighty splash, and comes up spluttering, a look of shock on her face.

“I am going to kill you,” she manages to stutter, paddling towards me. I just laugh harder, and swim to the bank. I hop out, and sprint home, giggling the whole way.

MY MEMOIR

Christchurch Earthquake

I toss and turn, unable to fall asleep. I feel uneasy, but I can’t understand why. I shake my head, close my eyes, and try to push the feeling away.

My eyes snap open, widening in fear as the bed starts to jump and buck about like a bull at a rodeo. I scream out. “Mum!!!” Tears start to flow down my face. What’s going on? I think. Why is this happening to me? I hear books falling from my bookshelf, and Monty meowing and hissing. I start to panic, fear overriding my senses. My mind shuts down and the only thing I can think of is finding Mum.

Throwing off my blankets, I stumble to the door, shivering in the night air. I can’t see anything. I grope around for the light switch and flick it on. Nothing happens. I try again and again, frantically willing it to turn on. The room stays dark. Why is this happening? Is this a dream? What is this? I walk out into the corridor, and see a dark shape coming towards me.

“Are you alright!?” Mum asks anxiously, pulling me into her arms. I give a small nod. “We’re going to be alright” she says soothingly.

“What's happening?” I ask, my voice wavering.

“It’s an earthquake, come on, let’s go into my bed”.

I manage a small smile.

We stumble clumsily across the floor, and clamber into her big bed, where we wait for the ground to stop shaking and the rumbling noise to subside. I listen to the groaning of the house, the smashing sound of fallen plates, and car alarms going off. I cuddle into mum, and as the earthquake stops, I fall asleep, shaken but glad to be alive.