Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The Island on Bird Street - Section 1

17 comments:

  1. Logan Spooner -1st Hour English
    1. Question-Why did the mom and daughter that came to where Alex found the food want to give Alex some of the food when the dad didn’t want them to and they needed it to survive the war? (54,15)
    2. Connect-When Alex talks about the pet mouse he has it reminds me of the pet mouse I had when I was young and how everybody in my family hated it and wanted to get rid of it just like Boruch wants to get rid of Alex’s. (8,2)
    3. Predict-I predict that a German will find Alex’s Dads gun and he will be killed or taken away and Boruch will have to raise him because that’s what I think Alex’s thoughts are foreshadowing. (6,2)
    4. Visualize-I can picture Alex scared and running into the cellar trying to squeeze as far in as he can while searching through the knapsack franticly because the Germans are trying to find him and he needs to find his father’s gun. (22,10)
    5. Determine Importance-I think that the end of section 4 is important because it’s provoking the idea that Alex’s mom might be watching him. (32,4)
    6. Use Fix-Up Techniques-I couldn’t remember who the Gryns were so I went back and read until I found them on p #2 paragraph # 1 and I found out that they are the family that Alex’s family shared the apartment with. (34,1)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mitchel Veverka - 7th hour

    1) Question- What happened to Alex’s mother? Where did she go? (6/5)

    2) Connect- When Alex would get mad at a game that he lost to his Dad, it reminds me of myself when I was little and would always get angry at my family when they would win in Monopoly and I barely won any. (11/4)

    3) Predict- I predict that Alex’s father and Boruch were killed during the shooting while Alex heard the gun shots go over Alex’s head. (24/2)

    4) Judge and Evaluate- Alex’s Dad seems to be very protective over Alex and himself by carrying a gun and teaching Alex how to shoot. He also seems unafraid of the Nazis soldiers by them not knowing he has a gun. (5/1)

    5) Build- Now after Alex went to his cellar and see the Gryn’s have all of his food, he becomes more cautious and to keep a low profile when he leaves the house to go back into hiding. (43/4)

    6) Visualize- I could really visualize the whole front of the house disappear and the smoking pile of rubble that was left of the home from the bomb explosion. (31/3)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mitchel,

      Where is your comment to another students?

      Mrs. Mayo

      Delete
  3. Hou Xeng Yang 5-hour

    1. Question: I wonder what they did with Ghetto B because it was cleared, and why Ghetto C had to be the war factory and Ghetto A was crowded with people? (35/3)


    2.Connect: I predict that the father is not going back to the hide out until the end, because he hasn’t gone to the hide out for days. Boruch even said that it could take Alex’s father days, week, mouth, or a year to reach him. (24/4)

    3.Infer: I believe that the mother should be dead or at a concentration camp because she left Alex and her husband for a while. (1/3)

    4.Use fix-up techniques: I didn’t get why the German’s would unlock every door of the Jews, but as I read it again I understood why they did it. It was pretty cool. (47/2)

    5. Visualize: I was funny when I read the paragraph because he was in a rush and at the end, most of the clothing he gather up was useless. He even said that he was a dope. (47/3)

    6. Determine Importance: What Boruch told Alex was that “No matter it takes a week, a mouth, or even a year”(24), helps Alex move on saying that I won’t give up because my Father is coming. (24/4)

    ReplyDelete
  4. To answer Mitchel's question about what happen to Alex's Mother. It said on page 1 paragraph 3 it says that she went to Ghetto A and never returned. So that may be answer your question.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jordan Steinagel-3rd Hour Honors English

    1) Question: Why did the Mom and the Daughter that came to where Alex found the food want to give food to Alex if they needed the food to survive? (54,13)

    2) Connect: When Alex starts to talk about his pet mouse it reminds me a lot of when I was about 3 playing with my dog Shady who is a 16 year old beagle because it is one of the only times that I was that young and I can remember playing with him. (8,4)

    3) Predict: I predict that when Alex wakes up and see’s his father putting a gun together that his father will use that gun to hurt and/or kill the Nazi soldiers and fight his way out of the ghetto. (2,3)

    4) Visualize: I can really see in my mind Alex running as fast as he can go and screaming when he is going to the cellar trying to squeeze in as far as he can go. (22,9)

    5) Determine Importance: I think at the end of section 4 it is important because it provokes the idea that the mother of Alex is watching him. (32,3)

    6) Use Fix-Up Techniques: I could only vaguely remember who the Gryns were so I went back top the beginning of the book and skimmed it over and I found on page 2 that they were the family that Alex’s family shared an apartment with. (34,1)

    Hou Xeng I also thought that the father would not come back to the hideout until the end. For that reason and because a lot of times in books it seems that sometimes a main character in the beginning will leave and not even show up for a long time or until the very end where you have sort of forgotten who they even are and what they are doing there

    ReplyDelete
  6. Derek Reiche- 3rd Hour English (honors)

    1. Question: Where is Alex's mom? (1/3)

    2. Visualize: I can really picture the house after it was bombed and now it is almost completely destroyed. (31/4)

    3. Connect: I can relate to Bourch and Alex's dad because I'm very competitive and I like to win so I can connect to how a game would feel or look like it was a war. (11/4)

    4. Summarize: The factory has been surrounded by police and soldiers. Boruch, Alex, and his father hide in the bales of rope. They were then found and taken out with all of the others. Bourch comes up with a plan and Alex sneaks away and hides in house number 78 to avoid being taken away. (Chapter 3)

    5. Infer: I think that Alex's mother has been taken to a concentration camp since she has not returned. (1/3)

    6. Predict: I think since Alex's dad couldn't get to the house that this is a sign of things to come and Alex could be on his own for a while. (24/3)

    Jordan Steinagel, I think that the woman and man think that he will be caught very soon so they will let him be because he won't survive and they think the will be able to find food somewhere else otherwise they will make it anyway.

    4.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Carly Baumgartner-5th hour english

    1.Question- How old is Alex? I think that he is probable 8 or 9. I wonder if Alex thinks his mother was killed and I also wonder if the dad knows that she was probable killed but never told Alex so he would not scare him (Throughout section one)

    2.Connect- When his dad was showing him how to use the gun my dad had to show/help my brother learn to clean and shoot it also. (pages 2-3)

    3.Predict- I predict that Alex will have to find a new place to live. Eventually if he does not move somebody will hear him and go after him. I think that its best for him to move because then chances is nobody will find where he is hiding. (22,9)

    4.Judge/Evaluate-I think the quote “If you relate to people with trust and human kindness, they will always help you” means have trust in others and become their friends that when you need help they will be able to help you out and care for you. (pg 30, 1)

    5.Infer- I believe that Alex’s mother had been taken to a women’s concentration camp and killed since she had not returned like she said she would. (pg 16, 2)

    6.Visualize- I can visualize when Alex is going down into the cellar and is reaching into the bag and feels the gun and the other things they packed in bag. (pg 22, 8)


    Derek Reiche- I also think that the mother went off to a concentration camp because she has not returned yet. To your question I think that she is in concentration camp or working to death.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cara Capodice
    1rst hour Honors English
    1. Question- Where is Alex's mom and will she ever come back? 1/3
    2. Connect- This book reminds me alot of the Diary of Anne Frank because Alex and his father are living in hiding just like Anne's family was. Also, they are hiding near a factory building just like Anne lived in a factory building. 4/3
    3. Predict- I predict that Alex's dad won't be coming back to 78 Bird Street anytime soon because the title of the book (to me) infers that this book takes place mostly on 78 Bird Street and I could see this book turning out to be about how Alex survived without the help of his father and how he keeps his faith. Chapters 3-5
    4. Judge/Evaluate- I think Alex's dad is a very good person because even though factory workers were forced to give up their children he loved his child so much that he is risking his own life to keep his child safe and near him and that is why Alex could not go outside without his father around because his father was not supposed to have him living with him. I also think Boruch is a good person because he risked his life to save Alex by directing him where to run and hide too while they were getting sent away. 20/4
    5. Visualize- I can visualize 78 Bird Street where Alex is hiding because he describes it as a hiding room beneath the floor with a small opening to enter and exit the cellar. I think it gave a good description of the ghetto and the hiding places. 26/2-Chapter 4
    6. Summarize- A boy (Alex) and his father are trying to stay alive during the Holocaust. After Alex's mother left and never returned, his father has to be the only parent of Alex. After soldiers come to take everyone out of their hiding place and into concentration camps, Alex runs to hide at 78 Bird Street and was directed (by Boruch) to stay there until his father returned wether it took a day, a month, or a year. Alex is trying to survive after his father doesn't return as soon as hoped for. Chapters 1-7

    Derek Reiche, I agree on Alex's mother being taken away to a concentration camp. She has been gone too long and even Alex's father is loosing hope on her returning. I also agree that I don't think Alex's father will be returning anytime soon because if it has been over a week you would think that the soldiers would have already shipped his father and Boruch away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mariah Larson -1st Hour English
      1) Question – What other things are located within the house/hole that Alex is hiding in? (page 25, paragraph 1).
      2) Predict – I think that in the chapters to come, Alex will assume that his mother has been taken to a concentration camp and has possibly been killed. I think that he will have to learn to accept the fact that this situation most likely is the same one that will eventually happen with his father and Boruch. (pages and paragraphs would be in the future chapters).
      3) Judge/Evaluate – Even though their plan to escape the gathering of the Jewish people and eventually Alex’s father would return to him followed through and worked, I don’t think that it was the best idea in the world. It could’ve ended up disastrous for all three of the characters (Alex, his father, and Boruch). (page 21, paragraph 4).
      4) Infer – At page 34, I inferred/predicted that Alex would eventually find someone else in hiding that he could work together with. This prediction somewhat came true as I continued to read. He did find a family, but he didn’t cooperate with them as much as he wished to. (page 34, paragraph 1).
      5) Visualize – As I read, I’m still trying to figure out what the hiding place that Alex is hiding in looks like. All the book has described so far is how small the opening is and how only a small child is able to fit through it. Also, it talked about how that specific house (Number 78) had previously been bombed by the Germans. (page 21, paragraph 4).
      6) Summarize – The final chapter in this section is chapter 7, I’m Hungry, But So Are They. This chapter is mainly about how Alex is on the search for food, because he’s running low on the things that the Gryns gave him in the first place. He eventually finds plenty of food for himself in the loft of a house, but soon after he finds the food another family barges into the loft just in time to take all of the food from Alex. The chapter comes to a close when finally the little girl of the family convinces her father to leave a small portion of food on the floor for Alex. (page and paragraph both consist of all of chapter 7).

      Cara Capodice- To answer the question you had in your post, I think that Alex’s mother has been taken to a concentration camp; in that case, the answer to the second part of your question where you asked if she would ever come back, would have to be probably not. I think that if Alex’s mom has been taken to a concentration camp then she has most likely been killed in one of the many cruel ways that the concentration camps had.

      Delete
  9. Tyler Gilles-7th hr english


    1. Question- (pg.5) chapter 1 why do you think the mom hasn't returned yet from the ghetto?

    2. connection pg.3/5 his dad taught his son to clean and also shoot the gun just for protection.its just like my dad because at a young age i also learned how to shot a gun but for different reasons like hunting.

    3.prediction pg.3/5 i think that the boys dad is teaching him how to use the gun because he thinks that his wife got taken so he has to make sure his son is ready for what might come a head if his father cant make it along with him.

    4. infer that when the factory was surrounded and alex and his dad got forced out of the factory and the father sent alex to sneak off to a different house that alex s dad knows that he is not going to see his son again .

    5. visualize i could see alex s Dad walking out of the factory and then alex sneaking off and alex s dad waling away with the rest of the people.

    6. summarize (chapter 1) his father thought alex how to hold a gun and also shoot it but he never really shot the gun because there not supposed to have guns because they are jews.and also the father brings alex to work with him and hides him and as he hides a man comes in and teaches him how to tie knots with the rope they make .

    ReplyDelete
  10. Julie Wagner-3rd hour English

    1.Question- What I really wanted to know was what is a Zionist or what is Zionism because they talked about it early on in the book before the Germans came.

    2.Predict- I think that Alex will have some sort of encounter with the looters that are moving around the ghetto like he is while he is searching the apartments and lofts for food. I think this because they seem to be all over the place and it is a very possible thing that could happen if he is not careful.

    3.Judge/Evaluate- The Gryns who are hiding in the bunker seem to be very greedy when it came to sharing the food that was both Alex’s and his father’s the Gryns’. Although I don’t think its all the Gryns and that it is mostly Pan Gryn being greedy and cruel.

    4.Infer- I think that Boruch and Alex’s father are in concentration camps and there is a high possibility of them not returning for Alex. Although I do think Alex’s father has more of a chance of returning because he seemed so determined to return to his son very soon.

    5.Visualize- while I was reading I visualized the apartments being small and very dark and dreary. Also they would seem like they are not very fit for people to have people living in them when I visualized it in my head.

    6.Determine Importance- I think that Alex thinking about what his father, mother and Boruch said are helping to keep him alive. I also think they are helping him make very mature decisions about what he is to do while hiding and searching the ghetto.

    Tyler, I also thought that was the reason for why his father taught him how to use the gun. His father didn’t know what would happen so he decided it was a wise choice to teach his son something like shooting a gun to protect him from the Germans and other threats.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Allie Fontana- 5th Hour English

    1)Prediction- When Alex’s father says “…Who knows when and how this war will end” and then sighs that makes me think that he doesn’t have a full assurance that the war will end the way him and Alex hope. He most likely thinks somehow its not going to be the best ending. (3/7)

    2)Question- When Alex says each morning he went to the ceiling hideout, I wonder if that means he is going to an attic type thing. (4/2)

    3)Determine Importance- Throughout reading chapter two I have realized that Snow is a very important part of Alex’s life. Without him I feel like Alex would be very lonely during the day and not have that special connection with anyone. (Pages 8-14)

    4)Visualize- When Alex starts to worry about Snow and how he is going to live on his own I can picture the little white thing in the apartment like it’s his own mansion type thing. Probably wondering if Alex will ever come back for him. (20/4)

    5)Connect-When Alex decides to go get Snow I can connect to this. There are those moments where you just don’t know what to do and sometimes you go with what will make you feel the best. In this situation Alex really knew he needed to go help Snow so he did. (32/1)

    6)Judgment/Evaluate- I don’t know if Alex is making the best choice by staying in hiding by himself in a place where no kids are suppose to be aloud. To me it sounds like it could be dangerous and possibly get him into worse consequences then he would have gotten into if he went with everyone else. ( 34/1)

    Julie-To answer you question Zionism means the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel, advocated, from its inception, tangible as well as spiritual aims.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kong Moua-7th hour

    1.Question- I wonder what the mother and father would be described as. On page 10 it only describes the father as handsome, but tells no other details. This makes it harder to imagine what he looks like.

    2.Connect- Being able to survive in a war zone is a lucky thing to happen. The holocaost reminds me of how my relatives/ancestors having to escape from Laos in the Vietnam war.

    3.-Predict- From what i've read so far i can guess that the Mother not will back and the she is most likely dead knowing that she has been gone for about a week, and if she was captured by Nazi soldiers then she would've been sent to a concentration camp to be killed.

    4.Judge/Evaluate- I can see that the main character Alex, is getting more and more experienced in how to survive if there is ever trouble.

    5.Visualize- I can imagine the mouse Snow that Alex keeps as a pet. From the clue saying that Snow is white i can guess that Snow also has red eyes. A small furry creature that could fit into the palm of a child.

    6.Infer- Since this book says, "From a secret perch in a cleared-out Polish ghetto, a boy of eleven waits for his father to return." on the back cover, and also how most books have fairly happy endings. The father will come back but possible in a bad condition from being beat up and tortured.

    Julie, the book said that a Zionist is a rich Jew who ships a poor Jew off to Palestine. (Page 13 paragraph 4)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 1)Question-im wondering where there gonna go? There like in a sewer.

      2)Connect-His dad told him to look both way, because hes not gonna know where the enemy is gonna attack front or back. My brother told me the same thing too (COD" ga,e.

      3)Judge/Evaluate-I dont get it? why would a boy care about his toy when his life is on the line? I understand why but still?

      4)Build-The main character is like a loving, caring person.

      5)Visualize- German or ghost? I would be scared of the German more than a ghost, because if they see you and know that your a Jews they will kill u!

      6)Predict-I predict that the Germans are gonna kill group A,b, and c.


      Kong Moua-1)I totally agreed with u. My guess would be that his parents are like loving and will be doing anything just to protect there family.


      2) Kong,it does remind of us the Vietnam war, but ours kind of different i think? we actually fought back, im not sure if the Jews fought back though,they might and might not?

      Delete
    2. Lou Lee 7th hour

      Delete
  13. Anthony Anderson 4th hour

    1) question- I wonder how Alex's father got a pistol?
    2) connect- just like Alex my father taught me bow to shoot guns.
    3) predict- I predict that Alex will get the pistol.
    4) judge/evaluate- i judge that Alex will be a good shooter
    5) build- i think that Alex will find more courage later in the book.
    6) visualize- i can visualize the parts of the gun on the floor.

    ReplyDelete