Genre: 8th

Grade Level: 8th Genre: Famous Battles | Date: March 7, 2015

JASON XU

Fear was running through people’s minds and especially families who had loved ones sent to fight in the war. Back at home, they weren’t able to see what the war was like because TV wasn’t yet invented. Sometimes camera crews would follow some military units around during the evening, but it would take a week before they could play in newsreels at the movie theaters back home. At the time, citizens were not aware of how close their armies were to losing the important battle, and what hung in the balance. There are still some unanswered questions remaining about the battle to this day such as, was Callaghan justified when he put his radars in the back? What crucial mistakes caused Callaghan to die?

Student: | Grade Level: 8th Genre: Guy de Maupassant | Date: February 28, 2015

BRIAN WU

Mr Watt´s Literary Services

Guy de Maupassant was a writer who created many short stories during his lifetime, the most famous one being “The Necklace”. He is often referred to “the father of modern short stories,” because he wrote so many of them, and for his intriguing style of writing, which brings his pieces to life. 19th century France was a time when most people in the country were poor, but not as poor as described in “The Beggar”. However, most people living outside of Paris generally had a hard time trying to sustain the family and making ends meet. The four stories analyzed above give a sense of how Maupassant added irony to enhance his stories, making them more dramatic and interesting to read. Irony gives readers a sense of excitement leading up to the climax, but the plot entirely changes when the reader is expecting something specific. Irony is a very useful tool when writing stories, as it can greatly capture the reader’s interest. Guy de Maupassant clearly had a thing for irony – it was the building block that made his stories intriguing and interesting.

Student: | Grade Level: 8th Genre: Fiction | Date: October 18, 2014

HARRY WAN

“Fine, but if we can’t find this person in less than five days, we call the police,” June said. At this, Julia went pale and sunk back into her doorway. She hoped that June and George couldn’t see her expression in the dark. Julia was anorexic: her thin and and out-of-shape body could not get through enough doors to find the rightful owner. She would collapse right before the lunch she was trying to skip.

“Oh, alright,” she said, finding strength somewhere deep inside. “Why don’t you all come in, I’ll brew a pot of coffee, and we can start planning ahead.”

Student: | Grade Level: 8th Genre: State by State | Date: July 25, 2014

BENJAMIN ZHAO

Mr Watt´s Literary Services

It seems ludicrous for Said to complain about one of the greatest tourist attractions in South Dakota, even more, scold a national symbol of the US to be not worth his time. However, with nothing else to do, he and his wife rented an audio tour wand. At that moment, Said and his wife Karen were drawn in by the “firm, gentle and wholly optimistic [voice].” The couple followed a concrete path around the base of the mountain and what was a three minute disappointing gaze became three hours of relishing history from “the sculpture, the mountain, the Indians from whom the mountain had been stolen [to] the artist-Gutzon Borglum-whose idea it had been to carve the mountain in the first place.” At the end, “… We lay down on a bench and listened numbly as recordings of everyday people described what Mount Rushmore meant to them

Student: | Grade Level: 8th Genre: Claude McKay | Date: May 21, 2014

SOPHIA SU

Mr Watt´s Literary Services

Claude McKay wrote poetry, articles, and novels to depict the unfair life of a Negro in America. How did he discriminate in choosing friends? In one of his autobiographies, A Long Way from Home, McKay documented his emotions, personality, and experiences as he traveled from Harlem to London to Russia to France to Africa and back to America. Along the way, he met many influential people and made many dear friends. Some of these friends were revolutionists, most involved in advancing Communism. McKay fought the war against discrimination with these people and others. Figues such as James Weldon Johnson, Walter White, other leaders of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), black radicals of Harlem, and the Japanese Communist Sen Katayama. He was not racist when making friends, and he was aware that there were plenty of whites who supported his cause. Some white associates of McKay, such as Frank Harris and Max Eastman, were major figures of the time, but McKay also had personal companions. A prime example is Michael, McKay’s white friend who was also a thief and a gangster.