Mrs. Abrams' Virtual Language Arts Class

I just starrted playing on a new team called the Georgia Fire. On my team there are a few of my old friens from the Knockouts. We goof off a whole lot. For instance, One time we had a picture day. While we were waiting we were throwing a football. I acidentaly threw the ball on top of the firetruck that we were posing in front of. The fireman had to go up and get it. I felt so bad! When he threw it down the dalmation got to it. It started chewing it all up. I didn't want to take it from it so i let it keep it. Oops!

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Golf is so much fun! Even though it seems really easy it is not. First you have to hit a tiny ball. But you have to make sure that your swing is correct or you won't hit it corectly. Second when you are in the fairway you have to make sure you get under the ball or it wont get in the air. when you are in a fairway bunker you have to hit the ball first. But if you are in a bunker close to the green you have to hit sand first. When you are putting you have to make sure that you are lined up then you have to make sure that you don't move the putter when you take your back swing or you will hit the ball off line. That is the basics of golf fun but very hard.

Posted by at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 13, 2006-2nd Draft

Environmental Impact Statement
BSA-Requirement # 6, Environmental Science Merit Badge

A hypothetical construction project is to take all of the mud out of Gunner’s Pond, which is a neighborhood, so that fish and other aquatic organisms will be able to live there. The pond is about half a mile in diameter. The community will benefit from this because the pond will look nicer and it will give fish and other organisms a place to live. The only plant life at the pond is weeds. The area has not been disturbed before. The soil in Gunner’s pond would not be in danger of erosion during construction. In fact, the mud is there because of erosion from another new neighborhood.

There is a stream that flows into the pond that cannot be blocked during construction. The pond does not have any fossils or artifacts that are known. There are houses being built on the other side of the pond which is making the mud run down from the houses run down into the pond. When all of the mud is cleared out of the pond the homeowners will put fish in and they can multiply. Also people will be able to go canoeing and row boating.

The project will not cause soil erosion. It will also not destroy any ecosystems, because nothing much can live in it now anyway. The project will not destroy any endangered or threatened spices. Harmful things that cannot be avoided when taking the mud out of the pond are that the machines might tear up the grass when pulling up the mud. An alternative so that the grass would not be destroyed is to tear the grass first and plant new grass after the project is finished.

There should only be environmental gains in the new pond because it will start a new ecosystem. The pond couldn’t be used for anything besides recreation because it is just a small body of water. There is really no ecosystem in the pond right now. The new pond would give the fish a place to live. In addition to taking the mud out of the pond the homeowners could build a nice deck to go fishing off of.

This project will benefit people because it will give the neighbors a place for recreation and it will look much nicer. The pond will be permanently changed if the project goes ahead because we will start a new ecosystem in the pond. This project should go ahead because it will give a home to many animals and make the neighborhood look nicer.

Posted by at 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ah yes, the ESRB or Entertainment Software Rating Board is a gamer's worst "enemy". i personally think the ESRB is unfair with their ratings. my favorite game, SOCOM, is rated M for violence. wow, violence, it SHOULD be rated T. another game i have, SWAT 4, THAT i can understand WHY it is rated M: for blood, intense violence, and strong language, that is a fair call. the ESRB is kind of teasing you because if you see a game you REALLY want but it is rated M, you can get REALLY angry, i know i have in the past. the ratings can go from E-AO. E is for everyone while AO is adults only. as you can see i have a great deal to say about the ESRB, yet what gamer doesn't?

Posted by at 5:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If I were a teacher I would try to be the best. I would let my students pass notes and chew gum as long as they pay attention. But, they have to have and A or B average in my class to do it. if you get a 95 or above on a test you get a coke. If you get a 90 to a 94 you get a mini coke. if you get a 99 or a 100 on a quiz you get a candy bar. Every morning I will have my own studyhall in my classroom where kids can talk, do homework, and ask questions if needed. At the end of every class 10 minuites before you get out you put everything away and just talk with your friends. I would also let you out a little early if you were going to lockers so you could get your stuff and not get trampled by other kids. I would make learning fun and want to be the coolest teacher to all the kids. I wouldn't be mean and I would teach either Language Arts or Math. The grades I want to teach are 7th or 8th. I will never give homework for the weekend. I will do fun and cool projects, not dull and boring ones. If a student gets a C I will let them come into my class for help in the morning and they can retake it later after studying again. But that is only for tests. When it comes to the day of the CRCT i'll pass mints out to everyone. My room will look awesome and full of color. For my lunch class everyday 1 of my kids will be alowed to sit with their friends at another table. I choose that person by putting all their names in a bag, mix it up, choose 1 at random, and put that name in another bag. Once im done with the first bag all the names will be in the seconed bag so i can start all over again. When it's time to read they can sit anywhere in the room to do it but they can't pass noptes or talk during htat one time. i would like to be the coolest teacher and be nice to my students.

Posted by at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On days I don't have softball, I get to help coach my brother, Daniels', baseball team. His team is called the Braves (how original). The team has two girls, Rebecca and Megan. They are, in my oppinion, the best ones on the team. They husstle and they do every thing right. Rebecca pitches and is very good at making the ball go right down the middle. Megan plays catcher and outfield; she catches almost every single ball I hit at her. The down side of it all, is that the coaches son, named Presten, is the biggest pain ever. He will not listen to what anyone says. Presten wines and compaines about everything we tell him to do. At their first game, he caused them to lose the game because he wouldn't go play third! On the bright side, I think I am helping alot. I hit balls to the out field, and throw with them, and help them with their batting too. I think (not including Presten) they have a prety good team. their second game would be coming up soon and i hope the win.

Posted by at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It has been so hot today. i was outside most of today and yesterday. my brother ***** and i went out and climbed up trees. it was alot of fun. My brother ******** went out to his junior prom last night. he didn't get home until eleven. i was already asleep., so i didn't here him come home. with the windows open last night it was cool this morning and then it got really hot. my dad forced y two brothers to go outside with me. today we also did jaundry, i thought it was boring. well, someonw has to do it. friday night my dad let my brothers and me go out amd walk around our neighborhood. at least until we came to some teenagers having a pool party. ******** told us to go back in case they were drunk. it was a fun filled week-end.

Posted by at 6:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Environmental Impact Statement
BSA-Requirement # 6, Environmental Science Merit Badge

My hypothetical construction project is to take all of the mud out of Gunner’s Pond, which is in my neighborhood so that fish and other aquatic organisms will be able to live there. The pond is about half a mile in diameter. The community will benefit from this because the pond will look nicer and it will give fish and other organisms a place to live. The only plant life at the pond is weeds. The area has not been disturbed before. The soil in Gunner’s pond would not be in danger of erosion during construction. In fact, the mud is there because of erosion from another new neighborhood.

There is a stream that flows into the pond that cannot be blocked during construction. The pond does not have any fossils or artifacts that we know about. There are houses being built on the other side of the pond which is making the mud run down from the houses run down into the pond. When we clear all of the mud out of the pond we will put fish in and they can multiply. We will also be able to go canoeing and row boating.

The project will not cause soil erosion. It will also not destroy any ecosystems, because nothing much can live in it now anyway. The project will not destroy any endangered or threatened spices. Harmful things that cannot be avoided when taking the mud out of the pond are that the machines might tear up the grass when pulling up the mud. An alternative so that the grass would not be destroyed is to tear the grass first and plant new grass after the project is finished.

There should only be environmental gains in the new pond because we will start a new ecosystem. The pond couldn’t be used for anything besides recreation because it is just a small body of water. There is really no ecosystem in the pond right now. The new pond would give the fish a place to live. In addition to taking the mud out of the pond we could build a nice deck to go fishing off of.

This project will benefit people because it will give them a place for recreation and it will look much nicer. The pond will be permanently changed if the project goes ahead because we will start a new ecosystem in the pond. I think this project should go ahead because it will give a home to many animals and make the neighborhood look nicer.

Posted by at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

IDEAS
1.What will I do to make sure that i choose a strong report for my oral presentation?
The issues affect us, story board, visual aids chart, and rewritten first paragraph.

2.What will I do to make sure that I choose my graphics to help communicate my ideas clearly?
pictures that fit my topic and keyword sentences and grab the readers attention.

3.What did I do to make sure that each slide fits the audience and the purpose of the report?
they pertain to the topic and grabs and holds the audiences attention

ORGANIZATION
1.What will I do to make sure that I introduced my topic clearly in the beginning?
the key points that are apparent

2.What will I do to make sure that I included the main points in the middle part?
summurize the concluding and middle paragraphs

3.What will I do to make sure that I ended with a summary or wrap-up thought?
I will put my thesis stament and tell what we can do to help

VOICE
1.What will i do to make sure that I used an interesting formal voice?
I won't us pronouns like ya'll

2.What will i do to make sure that I choose my voice fits my audience and my topic?
I will try to put it into simpiler turms and make it more interesting

WORD AND MULTIMEDIA CHOICES
1.Avoid repeating what has already been said

2.What will I do to make sure I choose the best pictures and sounds for my ideas?
make sure the pictures and sounds match the key words

3.What will I do to maintain eye contact?
put cool graphics and cool sounds into my slide

PRESENTATION FLUENCY
1.What will I do to make sure my report flows smoothly from slide to slide?
have the last sentence of the slide match the first sentence of the next slide

2.What are at least 4 transitions used?
ALso, Usually, In Adition, Plus

CONVENTIONS
1.What did I do to make my report free of grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors?
I use spelling and grammar check

PREPARING FOR THE PRESENTATION
1.What will I do to grab my listener's attention?
say interesting facts and put interesting pictures in

2.Opening question?
Have you ever been snorkleing or scuba diving and seen beautiful coral?

3.Suprising fact?
coral helps cause global warming

Posted by at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Language Arts-3rd Period
January 29, 2006

Sleep Disturbances

Life can be hard for people who have sleep disturbances. While you can just lie down and fall asleep, people with sleep disturbances might lie in bed all night without even getting a wink of sleep. Since they did not get any sleep at night, it could leave them feeling tired during the day. This could be dangerous if the person fell asleep while driving. Sleep is something that most people take for granted. Sleep is needed to allow your body and its cells to rest and recharge. Sleep helps your brain to be able to concentrate during the day. However, natural sleep does not always come easily to people with sleep disturbances.

Description of Sleep Disturbances
There are many ways in which to describe disturbed sleep. Sleep is caused when the body is low on energy. Disturbed sleep is usually when you wake up many times at night. Sometimes disturbed sleep comes when you are afraid to go to sleep. For instance, if you just had a nightmare or even worse a night terror you might be scared to go back to sleep. Insomnia, or an insomniac, is a person that does not sleep at all or does not get enough REM sleep. You cannot live without sleep. Sleep apnea is when people stop breathing while asleep. Other descriptions of disturbed sleep are bedwetting and sleepwalking. As you can see, there are many types of sleep disturbances.

Causes for Sleep Disturbances
There are multiple causes for sleep disturbances. The most common type of sleep disturbance is waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep. To be able to stay asleep the body needs to stay a comfortable temperature. Asthma medicines, the medicine methylxanthinces, and high amounts of ethanol are thought to cause sleep disturbances. Nasal congestion, sleeping pills, smoking, and drinking alcohol all affect breathing and could make sleep apnea worse. Large amounts of stress can interrupt sleep. Kids that stay up all night do not get enough sleep and will most likely feel tired during the day when they are not able to sleep. Fatty neck tissue can press on the airway and makes it harder to breath. It looks as though breathing problems when asleep is one of the biggest causes of sleep disturbances.

Effects of Sleep Disturbances
Effects of disturbed sleep are dreadful and can sometimes be dangerous. Some people with sleep disturbances go days without even feeling tired; however, their brain will eventually shut down. People who live with sleep disturbances for long period of time cannot sleep during the night so they feel tired during the day when they are working and do not have the option to sleep. This could even be dangerous if the person falls asleep while driving. Also, during the day the person might be in a bad mood, or feel depressed. They might wake up with a stomach ache, or just feel miserable. Not resting well not only affects a person’s productivity and their relationships, but can also affect their health. Little sleep lowers the resistance that the cells in your body have in fighting viruses and harmful bacteria, which may cause sickness. Sleeping disturbances can drastically alter someone’s life.

Solutions for Sleep Disturbances
There are numerous solutions for disturbed sleep. Some are easy things that you can do at your house like lose weight, especially around the neck, do not eat right before bed, and you might even take a sleeping pill to put and keep you asleep. Other solutions are a little more involved such as stopping smoking and drinking alcohol. If these methods are not helping, you should go to a sleep clinic where they can suggest a treatment. Some treatments involve surgery such as jaw surgery to enlarge the jaw to make the air way larger, surgery to remove the uvula which will open the airway, and surgery to open the nasal passages. There is a device that is called the tongue restraining device which pulls the tongue towards the teeth and opens the airway behind the tongue. Many people inhale a gas to put and keep them asleep such as the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) which is a mask that blows air and keeps the airway from collapsing. So far there are only a few treatments for disturbed sleep that actually work permanently. Many drug companies are looking for new treatments to sleep disorders. Always keep in mind when taking sleep medication that most are not for long term use and some sleep medicines can be addictive.

There are many causes and effects for disturbed sleep. There are also many solutions. Sleep disturbances can have a big impact on people’s lives. Without sleep, people could not live. Therefore, sleep is required for life, yet people with sleep disturbances cannot get the sleep that their body requires and sleep does not come easily to them. Help is available and they should talk to their doctor right away before something serious happens.

Works Cited

Bradbury, Jane. “Common Drugs and the Pursuit of a Good Night’s Sleep.”
The Lancet. 12 January 2002:2. eLibrary. 18 January 2006.
.

Linder, Doug. Sleep Apnea Treatments. 1995-2006. 19 January 2006.
.

Nordenberg, Tamara. “Tossing and Turning No More.” FDA Consumer.
1 July 1998:6. eLibrary. 18 January 2006.
.

Parker, Steve. Dreaming in the Night. New York: Franklin Watts, 1991.

Silverstein, Alvin, and Virginia Silverstein. The Mystery of Sleep. Boston:
Little Brown and Company, 1987.

Silverstein, Alvin. Sleep. New York: Franklin Watts, 2000.

“Sleep.” World Book Encyclopedia. 2000 ed.

Posted by at 6:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)