Resilient Essay

In 1963, a march broke out onto the streets. There were banners, yelling, violence, and kids! Kids wanted everyone to be equal and the kids were the secret weapons because no one expected the kids would be the ones to help end racism. In 2008, a large amount of high school students from Kearney High took to the streets with their cause. This protest/march didn’t have violence or yelling, but there were banners and kids. The students and some parents’ protested at their school because they heard that some teachers were threatened to be fired or forced to quit because they couldn’t pay them much money. Though these two protests were different.

The Children’s March in 1963 was a resilient act because the kids did what ever they could so they can be equal like everyone else. The Children’s March took place in Birmingham, Alabama. They show kids that just because they are kids, don’t mean that they can’t make a difference. Children’s March can teach a lot of people and kids some important thing about doing what’s right and what seems right. The kids in the Children’s March didn’t mind or care if they went to jail, got sprayed by the fire hose, or got chased by dogs, as long as they get the word out and they made everyone equal, they would do anything just to make everyone equal. After the march, 4 girls were killed in a church where the march started by a bombing. Kids from everywhere came to the protest. They walked long distances to the protest because they wanted to help and be apart of it. They wouldn’t stop for anything until they made everyone equal. The Children’s March connects with my cousin because he did the same thing with some students from his school.

My cousin and some students in Kearney High made a protest at their school because they didn’t want the teachers to get fired because they can’t pay them that much. This happened on April 10, 2008. There were students, teachers, parents, banners, pizza, and a lot of things. Some students were holding up banners that said, “ Honk if you don’t want the teachers to leave.” And they also had petitions on clipboards because they wanted people to sign their petition so they could save their teachers. My cousin went to the protest and started to help them. He had a T-shirt and banners that said “S.O.S” which means “Save Our Staffs.” My brother also goes to the same school, but he didn’t go because he had homework. My cousin used his time protesting for the staff, so that’s why I think my cousin is resilient. My cousin doesn’t seem like the type who would go to protests, but he believed that he and some students could make a difference and try to change the principal’s mind. Since he is a teen, it seems like he would do something like going on Myspace or on the phone all day, but instead he stay to help his classmates and teachers protest. He decided to help others instead of hang out with friends and I think that is resilient because hanging out with friends can be done any day and any time, but that protest might only come once. He wanted to help his teachers to be resilient. My cousin and the Children’s March connects to my life because I joined my cousin in the protest even thought I didn’t know the teachers, staff, or the students there. That didn’t me stop from trying to help them keep my job. Ever since I did that, I like helping people and trying to make things better.

I connect with peaceful protest because I stand up for what I know is right. Protesting with my cousin made me think how other people feel and they want to make a difference but they can’t make a difference alone. Sometimes, they have to make a protest. We can protest and stand up for people on a smaller sale everyday. For example, recently I went to the store with my mom. I was in the game section getting something and I seen this girl and her mom. The girl wanted to buy this game but she wasn’t sure about the controls, so she asked one of the casher. He said that she did need this controller to play it. I didn’t want the girl to spend her money on something she really didn’t need for the game, so I told her that she could use any controller. This doesn’t have to do with protesting, but I did help someone save money. This can affect my life because doing that makes me want to help more people. I often try to help people at school. I just have a thing for helping others in need. I’m not sure if I can do what the Children’s March what my cousin, and his classmates did, but once I get older, I might be able to if I put my mind to it. In conclusion I can continue this legacy of peaceful protest by doing what I think is best for me and what I think is right. I’ am going to try and help people in the ways I can and when I get old enough, I can start a protest if I want something to change because I also want what’s best all people.

Querencia clipboard

My querencia are my pets Niko, Nakia, Brutus, Kirby, and Derby. Niko, Nakia, and Brutus are my dogs; Kirby and Derby are my Guinea pigs. Niko is a brown and white Jack Russell; Nakia is a brown Pomeranian; Brutus is a brown and black Rottweiler; Kirby is a brown guinea pig with a brown-orange patch on her head; and Derby is brown, white, and brown-orange. They’re my querencia because I feel comfortable and safe when I’m with them. When I pick up my guinea pigs, it feels like picking up a small stuffed animal that weight 5 pounds and is scratching me as I lift it up. I remember one time when I was in my room, I had the window open. Niko was running up and down the yard because he was trying to chase the neighbor’s dog, which was behind the fence. I was relaxing until I heard a loud yelp. I looked out the window and saw Niko limping. I ran into the living room yelling “Niko is hurt.” I opened the back door to let him in. He limped in and blood was dripping from his pad. Niko was dripping blood in the dining area, outside, and in the pantry. Niko left a trail of blood, like if he was making sure we knew where he was. He was sent to the vet. When he came back, his pad was stitched up. It turns out that something cut his pad open. I went out side to see what cut his pad, but I didn’t see anything. I still wonder what cut his pad open. I look out for all of my pets and in a way they look after me.

Publishing Project

Title: Trapeze

Author: Kadija Grant

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy

Pages: 4 1/2

Mentor Texts:
I got my idea from the movie jumanji. The movie has to do about a board game coming to life. My story is similar to the movie but for the movie you have to finish the game to making everything back to normal. In my story you have to collect all 300 pages, put the book back together, and close it. I remember seeing Jumanji last summer so when it came to this project, Jumanji came to mind.


Audience: I wanted 6th and 7th (even 8th) grades in High Tech Middle to read this because I (if I can) i want to hear what they like about the book. I also want people who likes the movie Jumanji to read too so they can see how similar it is to the movie. I also want to people to come up to me and ask "What was the thing that the pet buried?"

Writing Process: I think it took me 2-3 rough drafts until I could get it right. At first I was confused on what I had to do. Then when I started to work on it more it got easy and fun.

Publishing Process:
My story is put into a book with other people in my classes that has fantasy/adventure
stories. 7th and 6th grader will come and read our stories.


Feature Cast from the Past

Project Purpose:
To understand the difference between Cause/Effect Relationships and Correlations. To understand how and why major events in history are connected and intertwined (think yarn activity!). To research a major event from U.S. history in order to understand why it is significant and how it relates to other major events. To understand features of a feature article and podcast and to be able to create a feature article or podcast about your major event in history.

Project Requirements:
To present the 5Ws of your major event to the class. To write/peer edit/revise a feature article or podcast. To have at least three drafts in your Writing Portfolio. To present a polished version of your feature article or podcast on Media Night, as well as posting it online to our Team Featurecast from the Past web page (made by James).

Specific Concepts Learned:
One thing I learned from this was that Ponce De Leon was the first Spanish explorer who discovered Florida and he was also looking for the Fountain of Youth. He heard stories about the fountain and he wanted to find it. He went to America with Columbus when Columbus went on his second voyage and when Columbus went back, Ponce stayed a little longer. I also learned how Ponce found Florida. He found Florida when he went sailing again, but he went north and he went through the Bahama. Ponce went back to Florida in 1521 to build a colony. When he went back again, he took his crew and landed on the west coast of Florida and met a large group of Native Americans. They shot arrows at his crew and Ponce got hit. He died from his wounds in 1521.

Challenges:
A challenged that I faced in this project was that I didn't get what I was suppose to search for because I thought that I had to look up pirates, but I had to look up something different instead of pirates. We also had to do Podcast research which was hard to me because it was hard to find info about my character. How I over came it was that my partner and I found out what we were suppose to research on and I finished the podcast research paper.

Real-World Significance:
This will help me in the real world is when I get to collage (or high school), I wil know alot about history and what happened during thoses times and why they were importanted. Knowing all of this history can help me better on tests or projects that has to do about knowing histroy.