Reading Journal Responses - Language Arts - Homeless Global Learning Project

Reading Journal Responses - Language Arts

7/21/2011

After reading one of the books listed, please state the title of the book you read and a breif summary of the story. After which, please post your response to the characters thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and situation as a comment below.

*For privacy purposes, please only use your first name when posting.

8 Comments

Jaylon Nelson

12/12/2011 10:30:53 am

I am reading Monkey Island by Paula Fox. Today I read chapters 1 and 2.

This book is about an eleven year old boy named Clay whose parents have both lost their jobs. His dad left the family because he couldn't support them, so Clay and his pregnant mother ended up living in a hotel room. Clay was sad that his dad left them. I couldn't imagine having my dad abandon our family.

Clay was very scared because his mother had been gone for five days straight. She left him at the hotel room and he kept thinking she would come back. I would be worried and scared too that my family hadn't come back yet.

He started to wander around the streets of New York in hopes of finding his mother. He thinks about his parents everytime he sees something that reminds him of when his family was together. He is really missing them. If that were me, I would be scared because I was by myself.

At the end of chapter 2 Clay ends up in a park, in the middle of the night, looking for a place to sleep. It is full of homeless people and there are two men talking about stealing his jacket. He is afraid and ready to defend himself. If it were me, my adrenaline would be pumping and I'd be ready to defend myself too.

After reading the first two chapters I can tell that Clay is very scared about whats going on and about whats going to happen to him next. I would want to get out of there and find somewhere to sleep where there wasn't a lot of people.

Jaylon Nelson

12/13/2011 08:14:20 am

I am reading Monkey Island by Paula Fox. Today I read chapters 3 and 4.

The beginning of chapter 4 is about Clay figuring out who the two men were. Their names were Buddy and Calvin and they are two homeless guys living in the park. Clay is a litte worried about talking to the two strange men. If it were me, I would be a little cautious to talk to the two men.

Clay starts to live with the two men. They look after Clay like he is one of their children. If that were me, I would be thankful that they had brought me in to live with them in their portion of the park.

Clay finds out that the van he had slept under the night before was actually a van that someone had parked there so that he could serve food from it. The man who served the food was named Gerald and he served coffee, milk and doughnuts to the homeless people. I would be so glad to find out that someone would provide food for the homeless people in the park so that we could have food.

Clay decides to go back to the hotel room that he and his mom lived in to see if she was there. While Clay is at the hotel he sees his friend named Tony that lived on the seventh floor who was physically abused. Clay feels very bad for the boy. If I had a friend that was physically abused by their alcholic dad I would feel bad for them. I would be afraid to be around their family and especially their dad.

When Clay got to his room and saw that his mom wasn't there, he was very disappointed and angry. He took some of his stuff with him so that he could be comfortable in the park. I couldn't imagine not living with my mom, being on the street and not being able to find her.

Calvin was trying to talk Clay into going back to school so that he wouldn't live on the streets his whole life. Calvin wa also trying to talk him into going into foster care. I would be mad if someone tried to talk me into doing something that I didn't want to do, or if it could cause me not to find my mother.

Jaylon Nelson

12/14/2011 07:53:03 am

I am reading Monkey Island by Paula Fox. Today I read chapter 5, 6 and 7.

In the middle of chapter 5, Gerald's van got taken away from the park by the police where it was parked which left all of the homeless people without food. If I were there, I would be very upset that the police took away the homeless people’s source of food, now they would scourge even more than usual.

In the middle of chapter 5, Clay got to go to work with Buddy so that they could get some money for hotdogs and potato salad. For the first time in a long time Clay was happy to be doing something. I would be super happy to get to go do something instead of just sitting in the park.

At the end of chapter 6, there were a group of teenagers that were roaming through the park destroying the homeless people's belongings. They destroyed Buddy, Clay and Calvin's home. All of the homeless people had to run and Calvin got separated from Buddy and Clay. I would be terrified and extremely mad if someone came and tore our house down and made us run from our home.

In the beginning of chapter 7, Buddy and Clay went and slept in a church because of the teenagers destroying their home. It was night time so it was super dark in the church and Clay got scared. I would be terrified too if it were dark and I didn’t know where I was or what building I was in.

In the middle of chapter 7 they went back to the park and found Calvin lying on the floor under a pile of rubble from the teenagers, unconscious. The night before when they had run, Calvin went the totally opposite way of them and he went and off and got drunk. After a while an ambulance came and got him. I would be horrified to see someone that I had been living with unconscious under some rubble. I would also be mad that he didn’t come with us in the first place.

At the end of chapter 7, Buddy and Gerald were looking at Clay and he had red cheeks and he said that he felt like he was burning up, so Gerald had a taxi come and pick him up and take him to a hospital. If I were sick like Clay I would be thankful that they had sent me to the hospital so that they could find out what wrong with me and get me well again.

ASDF

12/11/2013 08:36:59 pm

NEXT TIME FINISH WRITING ABOUT THE WHOLE CHAPTER

Jaylon Nelson

12/16/2011 12:48:34 am

I am reading Monkey Island by Paula Fox. Today I read chapters 8, 9 and 10.

Chapter 8 is about Clay finding out that he has pneumonia and him staying in the hospital for a very long time. During his stay in the hospital Buddy came and told him that Calvin was in a coma and ion the next visit Buddy brought him a Christmas gift. Also a lady from social services came and that him tell her about his life and all that happened a then she said that they are going to try and find his mother. if I were sick in a hospital I would be glad that I had people to come visit me and I would also be glad that someone had gotten me a present . Also I would be sad that one of my friends had been in a coma from drinking too much.

Chapter 9 is about Clay finding out that the social services lady has found him a foster home. The lady that came and took him to her house was named Edwina Biddle. She took him home and gave him a nice big meal and then the next day she went and bought him clothes for school and because he had outgrown his. Also Clay went back to school the next day that he was at the Biddles. Clay also made a new friend named earl. Clay walked to the park every Saturday to see if buddy was there so he could talk to him. Last at the end of the chapter, social services found his mother and his new baby sister named Sophie and they took him to her to go live with her in their new apartment. I would be super happy if someone had found me a home even if it wasn’t my own, also I would be extremely grateful if someone was kind enough to buy me all new clothes and enrolled me in school. Last it would be amazing that if after 5 weeks of living on the street that social service finally found my mother and baby sister and that I was able to live with them.

Chapter ten is about Clay finding Buddy and talking to him about Calvin and their new lives. Also it is about Clay’s new home and about his new baby sister. Buddy told Clay that Calvin had died while he was still in a coma and that buddy has a job and a place to live. I would be glad to see my friend again but sad to hear that one of them had died. Also I would be happy to finally live with my family again.

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9/22/2013 09:50:04 am

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Kyle

12/11/2013 11:26:36 pm

I went without the internet for 24 hours.Going without the internet was a very tough experience. I choose to go without the internet because it is a resource that I use very often. There was many negative effects because I wasn't able to keep up with my favorite sports teams and look up important history that I look on a daily basis. Positive effects I had with going with this was showing that it is good to go without technology and knowing when to take a break from it ever once in a while. The lesson that I have learned it is good to take a break or don't use technology at all because it can have a bad infulence on you.

David F.

12/11/2013 11:28:01 pm

It was life changing giving up TV. When I get home I always watch TV so I decided to give up TV. One negative effect is that you have to adjust to a different routine. Another one is that I had to miss my basketball game and it was my favorite team to watch. One positive thing about giving up TV is that I didn't procrastinate with my work at the last minute. I learned that you should do your work first and then relax.

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