The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket--and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of war and peace. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar. Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship—and forgiveness—can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm. This is a kid friendly book and very good! It would be ages ten years and up. 

 
Bayleigh Bass

1-24-14

Period 5th


He’s running as fast as he can almost tripping over his shoelaces. Sweat dripping off of his face looking like he just got out of the shower. He can barely feel his legs he’s been running so fast! Its pitch black outside and it's around ten fifteen at night.  All these things spinning through his mind he doesn't know what's going to happen next. He looks back and they are catching up he tries running faster but he gets slower. The next thing he hears are sirens from all different directions. He sees this old broken down car next to this old building he has to get away and he cannot let the cops or the guys behind him see him. He thinks fast and decides to jump in it. He sits there trying to catch his breath but trying to be quiet. He listens for the guys that were behind him but he doesn’t hear them. Still trying to catch his breath he hears some people talking but doesn’t look up. He’s pretty sure its the guys that were chasing him. About ten minutes later he hasn't heard anything. He didn't hear any more sirens, just some dogs that sounded far away barking. The town was dead. He thinks it would just be safer to spend the night in the junk car and go home in the morning. So thats what he did.

My name is Corey i'm thirteen years old, My dad ran away when my mom was pregnant with me, he said he wasnt ready to be a father. My mom Is always stressed, never home, and doesn't try very hard to make money to provide for me nor her. For most of the time im a good boy but people just assume that i'm bad. sometimes I have to do bad things so I can survive. Cause you know my mom won’t do anything for me, so I have to do it for the both of us. I get out of the old nasty car and head home just taking it easy breathing in the fresh air. The sun is shining and he’s going to forget what happened last night. He says “Its going to be a good day.” He walks in the front door of his house and what he thought was going to be a good day turned bad with just the sound of his mother’s voice saying “Did you get me something to eat?! I was starving last night and you didnt even come home!” “Mom he said, when I went to the store last night they caught me stealing stuff and so i had to take off running and make sure they didn’t catch me so I spent the night in an old car.” “Well give me the food! his mother Gena said.” “Mom all I could get was some bread and Hot Pockets.” Corey sat down and let his mom eat first. He laid down on his bed and fell asleep dreaming of what it would be like to have a family, and nice things and having food all the time and what it would be like to have people care about him.



 
Dyslexia 


Bella Thorne shared, “Dyslexia has affected my life in a big way. At first, I was really afraid and self conscious because I didn’t feel like I was as smart as other kids and couldn’t read the way they did. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t do so many things as well as other kids, and why I was learning so much slower. After I found out I had dyslexia, I was confused about how I felt.” She continued, “In a way, I was happy to know that it was something that affects other people and that I wasn’t alone, but I also felt bad because I knew I had a big struggle ahead of me and that it may affect me my whole life. Now, I feel proud. I really work hard at reading and accept that sometimes I might get confused and that it is ok. I’m not alone. Dyslexia has taught me that if you work really hard, you can overcome great challenges.”

Dyslexia is a specific reading disability due to a defect in the brain's processing of graphic symbols. It is a learning disability that alters the way the brain processes written material. It is typically characterized by difficulties in word recognition, spelling and decoding. People with dyslexia have problems with reading comprehension.

Dyslexia commonly runs in families. Children don't outgrow dyslexia. It is important for family members and the person with dyslexia to remember that Dyslexia is not a disease. There is currently no "cure" for dyslexia. There are, however, a range of specialist and well targeted interventions that can help children and adults improve their reading and writing skills. Dyslexics tend to be more curious, creative, and intuitive than average. Dyslexics score significantly higher on test when they are given additional time and given the test orally.

It was once thought that dyslexia is more common in boys than in girls, but recent research had shown that this is not the case. An equal number of girls and boys are dyslexic. It is thought that boys are more likely to act out as a result of having a reading difficulty and are therefore more likely to be identified early. Girls, on the other hand, are more likely to try to "hide" their difficulty, becoming quiet and reserved.

Theres more than just one dyslexia. Trauma Dyslexia usually occurs after some form of brain trauma or injury to the area of the brain that controls reading and writing. It is a permanent brain injury rarely seen in today's school-age population because it results from severe head injuries.

Primary dyslexia is a dysfunction of, rather than damage to, the left side of the brain and does not change with age. Individuals with this type of dyslexia are rarely able to read above a fourth-grade level and may struggle with reading, spelling, and writing as adults. Primary dyslexia is passed in family lines through their genes.

Secondary or developmental types of dyslexia is felt to be caused by hormonal development or malnutrition during the early stages of fetal development. Poor parenting, abuse, neglect, and/or poor nutrition during the developmental years 0 to 5 are also known causes. Developmental dyslexia diminishes as the child matures. It is also more common in boys.

Visual dyslexia is the term used for the specific learning disability termed visual processing disorder. This form of dyslexia is the result of immature development of not only the eyes, but the whole process that gets information from the eyes to the brain.

Phonological (auditory) dyslexia This form of dyslexia involves difficulty with sounds of letters or groups of letters. When this form of dyslexia is present, the sounds are perceived as jumbled or not heard correctly. And just as with visual processing, the brain correctly interprets information that it correctly received.

Some famous people with dyslexia are:

  • Alexander Graham Bell - inventor of the telephone.

  • Lewis Carroll - author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

  • Albert Einstein - physicist who developed the general theory of relativity.

  • Tom Cruise - actor.

  • Steve Jobs - co-founder of Apple Inc.

  • John Lennon - musician, one of The Beatles.

  • Jay Leno - talk show host and comedian.

  • Jamie Oliver - celebrity chef.

  • Bella Thorne- off the disney show shake it up.





 
      Over Christmas break I spent lots of time visiting my family and opening lots of presents, which I am so blessed to have. Christmas isn't about Santa and presents and all that stuff, Christmas is about CHRIST. No body would be here if it wasn't for Jesus dying on the cross for us to have lives and for our sins. Anyway I got a chi straightener, clothes, a car, iTunes and Starbucks gift cards, makeup, boots, scarf’s, head massage, and a few other things. I had a great Christmas and hope everyone else did too. I woke up Christmas morning around 7:00 am to open presents. My dad made a scavenger hunt and gave me clues to find my presents. It was very cool. After that I got ready and me and my family went next door to my grandpas house and we did Christmas over there and had lots of snack food. Every year I have about seven Christmases. Thursday when we were in school I went to the intermediate school and had lunch with a little boy that i’m good friends with.  That was what I did during my Christmas break. 



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    I love helping people and giving to others. I am so blessed with all the wonderful friends and family that are in my life. (:

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