What did I learn (so far) about 'Hatchet'?

Well, so far, we've read up to chapter two in the book 'Hatchet'. It's pretty interesting, and mainly about a boy called Brian Robeson (from the blurb) who is stuck in the Canadian wilderness with a shredded windbreaker, a dead pilot, the hatchet his mother gave him, and a crashed plane. In chapters one and two, we learn that Brian's parents are divorced, and that Brian is flying over to his father's home to visit him. While Brian is in the plane that is transporting him there, (he is in the copilot's seat), the pilot teaches him how to fly the plane. It's a good thing he taught Brian, because sometime later, the pilot has a heart attack and dies. Brian is now on his own, and is not in a good position, because he only knows the basics of flying the plane, and the radio transmitter is not working! He decides to keep flying until he finds a lake to land it. At the end of the second chapter, Brian throws up out of nervousness.

*Here's something that the group would like to share with you: We think that the pilot taught Brian how to fly the plane because he knew he was going to die and wanted Brian to be able to manage on his own when he died. When he told Brian how to fly the plane, we think that the author made him sound calm so as not to alarm Brian. What the group says is: It's really possible!

Okay. I was nervous, reluctant, hesitant, etc. To make things easier for you, I was scared. There were two wonderful months of summer vacation smack in front of me. And HOW was I supposed to spend those two months? According to my mom, by playing tennis every weekday. Gosh, I just wondered if I would be able to survive.

On the first day of tennis, I, along with my two sisters, met Coach Valeng. He was a bit of an elderly coach, but later, as I soon discovered, was a fantastic tennis player. The first warm up exercises made me feel ridiculous. They consisted of running around the court, some comments from Coach, ('Ay, hindi alam tumakbo' - 'Oh, they don't know how to run') and circular movements that involved the knees and waist. At least my sisters looked as ridiculous as I did!

I had never been taught how to play tennis before, and when we were presented our tennis rackets, I wanted to start hitting the tennis balls over the net right away. Instead, we had to catch the balls instead! We had to have the right footing, right hand for catching the ball, etc. But that was only the first lesson.

On the second lesson, we did practically the same thing, but we actually used our tennis rackets! I was so proud, even though I often whacked the balls straight into the net.By the fifth lesson, I had learn how to do the forehand, backhand, and was learning how to serve! Even my little brother, Mickoy, joined tennis lessons after he found out that we were having so much fun.

In the end, I actually realized that I enjoyed tennis! It was enjoyable, challenging, and was daily exercise for me! On the last tennis lesson, my three siblings and I had rallies against Coach Valeng, and after one last lesson on how to serve, the session was over. Now I know how to play tennis, and it fun to think of being a great tennis player someday!

'If you were a Social Scientist, which one would you be?'

I think I would be, out of the five to pick from: Historian, Geographer, Anthropologist, Paleontologist and Archaeologist, I would be a Geographer or a Historian.

Reasons for being a Geographer:

* I like to study maps, and it's fun to find out where certain countries are.
It's also interesting to find out what lies under the Earth's crust and the Earth's countries.

* I've always wondered how many countries, cities, towns, and so on are in the world. I'd want to be an expert on that.

* Geographers get to study nature, and I don't know a lot about animals or plants, so I think I'd want to know more about them. I also want to learn more about Mountains, land formations and erosion.

http://www.thesavvytraveller.com/agraphics/world_views/globes/replogle/childrens/81506_geographer.jpg


Reasons for being a Historian:

* I love writing, and I also like reading about history, maybe books about World War I and World War II. They are very interesting subjects.

*Historians usually read, and they reason. I LOVE reading, and even though I'm not exactly keen about reasoning, I'd love to try it.

*My last reason would be that I would REALLY learn a lot more than I used to, and I want to learn more about people in the past. After the two World Wars, I think Non-fiction books about Ancient Life and its people would be perfect. (I'd like to read books on the Egyptians and Ancient Egypt.)

List 5 adjectives to describe yourself.

* Bookworm *Writer *Time-Cautious *Responsible *Quiet

'What is your favorite vacation memory?'

I don't have one favorite vacation memory, I have two.

The first one is DEFINITELY seeing my grandparents again when we got of the van which brought my family from the airport to our house. I am very close to them, and when I'm lonely, I usually think about them.

The second one is playing basketball with my cousins, Ate Anica-16 years old, and in highschool. She's somewhat a book freak like me.- Kuya Javi-12 years old, about 7 or 8 months older than I am. Hmph! He's the ultimate basketball freak- Micko -He's seven, as old as Denise, my second sister and they're great playmates- and Ia, who's about 3 or 4 years old.

'What is one social goal you have for this year?'

That is another tough one. Maybe I'd like to make more friends. I'm not exactly what you'd call sociable, and I'd like to try to 'make more friends, and renew the friendships with the others.'

'What is one academic goal you have for this year?'

That is one tough question. My first thought would usually be 'I don't really know.' OR 'I'm not entirely sure.' But when I actually think about it, I'd like to get good grades in all my classes, and have them all year round. I'd definitely like that, and I know my parents would be proud of me.

'What is the last movie you have seen?'

The last movie I've seen is 'Ice Age 3. Return of the Dinosaurs.' It is a hilarious movie, the genre probably comedy. It wasn't really like the first Ice Age Movie, where it was a bit...well, 'sad'. On a lighter note, my favorite character will definitely be Diego, who is a Sabertooth Tiger, and he is VERY funny. I hope everyone else will have a chance to watch it, and get some good laughs out of it too.

'What are the last three books that you have read?'

The last three books I have read are:

* 'So Totally Emily Ebers' By Lisa Yee, who is also the author of 'Millicent Min, Girl Genius' and 'Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time.' These three books are a trilogy, and as Lisa Yee says, 'can be read any day of the week, and at any time, except when you're sleeping.'
*'Horrible Histories: The Slimy Stewarts.' By Terry Deary, and illustrated by Martin Brown. Terry Deary and Martine Brown have worked together to produce many 'Horrible History' Books. Here are a few titles: 'The Awesome Egyptians', 'The Rotten Romans', The Vicious Vikings', and 'The Stormin' Normans.'
*'The Spider Sapphire Mystery.' By Carolyn Keene, who is the author of the wonderful Nancy Drew series. Some of the titles include: 'The Secret of The Old Clock', and 'The Bungalow Mystery'. These can be read in any order, sotake your pick and start sleuthing with Nancy Drew.

All About Me

My name is Rita Camacho. I am a student at ISKL Ampang, and I am currently in sixth grade. Now here's something I might surprise you, the reader, with. I have five siblings, three brothers and two sisters! Now for my hobbies. I just LOVE reading, and I totally agree with the saying, 'So many books, such little time.' And before I stop typing/writing this paragraph, I am from the Philippines. Unfortunately, I can only visit my home-country during Summer and Winter Vacation, which is too bad, but that's always something I can look forward to.