Final Response

Topic: Write a literature response to The Revealers showing how and when you used the reading strategies of reflecting, predicting, questioning, summarizing , and visualizing in your reading of the novel. Include page numbers for examples from the text. Refer to your Daybook if you need a review of the strategies.

I reflected a lot in 'The Revealers.' This is because Russel describes and talk about what is going on a lot. I reflected the most when I read the story Catalina wrote about herself (pgs. 69-72). I thought about why she's being so truthful, and why she isn't afraid to tell everybody about her personal life. To make my reflection more connected to me, I thought about if I would do the same thing. I said to myself that I probably could come up with a story, but I definitely wouldn't let others read it.
Predicting was one of the exciting parts of this story. There was a lot going on in this book, and there were details and descriptions that helped you predict what was going to happen next. On page 19, when Russell calls Elliot, he had to wait a while to talk to him. Russell says he hears whispering twice, so you can kind of tell that Elliot's family is making sure nobody mean is going to talk to Elliot. Pages 17 and 18 also helped me predict this, because Russell describes Elliot and how he gets bullied by almost everyone.
Questioning was the second easiest strategy for me. I liked questioning because it helped me stay focused while reading. I would form questions in my mind, and then search for answers while reading. I asked myself the most questions when Elliot fell into the water (pg. 59). I asked myself why Jon and Burke ran away, but Chris stayed to help. I wondered if Elliot would survive. And I thought about if this would have happened if Elliot had not fought back. Some answers were pretty straightforward. Like I found out if Elliot survived or not. But I had to come up with my own answers for the other two questions, because the text didn't give direct answers, even though it gave clues.
I found summarizing the hardest to do. I didn't really do that much summarizing, except for at the end of some chapters. I also summarized Catalina's story (pgs. 69-71). I read the story twice, and then sort of put it in my own words, in a shorter version, so that I could understand it better.
Visualizing was pretty easy for me. Most of the time, images just came into my head withouth me having to think about them. My images were the clearest in the bullying scenes, especially the bridge scene. The author described the scene very well, so on pages 58 and 59, I had a picture in my mind of Elliot dangling upside down, looking and feeling scared, but acting brave. Burke and Jon had red faces, and were shaking with fear. Chris was with them, but not as angry. And finally, Russell, was really scared, incase they let go - which they did.
These were the five reading strategies I used to help me understand and analyze the story better, and each one of them helped in different ways.

Perspectives

Envision yourself as Russell, Elliot, or Catalina. Describe how you would feel and react to the bullies in the story.

If I was Elliot, then I would also dread going to school everyday. I would try to avoid everybody, but sometimes, I probably would'nt be succesful. In this case, I would just ignore insults, like Elliot does. It would be harder for me than it is for Elliot, though. If people were physically mean to me, then I would'nt know how to react, because I don't think violence helps. I would be really mad, and would want to fight back, but I probably would just ignore them because fighting back would most likely put me in an even bigger problem. In page 56, Elliot couldn't stand it anymore, and fights back, resulting in him almost dying. I felt proud when Elliot fought back, even though I don't believe in violence, because he did something. The reason I would'nt fight back is because I would'nt have the courage to do what Elliot did. If things got really bad at school, I would talk to my parents, and ask them if I could go to a different school. Most people probably would'nt do this, but I would because your parents are there to help, even though you might get mad at them sometimes.

Keeping Quiet

Q: Should kids solve their own problems, or should adults/parents get involved?

I think adults should step in on kids problems only when it is serious, and something kids probably can't manage by themselves. If the problem is something like trying to earn money to pay for something, then I think adults should help with ideas, but let kids do the actual solution by themselves. This way, kids can know that they solved their own problem, and feel happy about it. Suppose the problem was serious, though. Like in 'The Revealers,' Russell's mom want to help him solve his bully problem, but he doesn't want to be known as a tattler in his school, and tells his mom to ignore the problem (p. 45). My opinion is that Russell's mom should inform someone from the school, and tell them to keep an eye on Richie, but also tell them to not take any action unless Richie tries to, or does harm Russell again. This is my opinion, because Richie could have easily hurt Russell more, whether on purpose or on accident. A problem like this needs attention, and should not be left for kids to solve by themselves, because problems like these could put a lot of stress on kids, and scare them a lot.

Two Truths and a Lie

1. My favorite fruit is mango.
2. My favorite brand is reebok.
3. I love the colors blue and red.