Unit One

ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.

I think I understand this more because as we discussed the world of music is better to me because as I listen to music I listen to things I can relate to, such as relationships
such as Keyshia Cole who also relates to Mary J. Blige, as you think back to the past her music is like a influence to her, it is similar to Keyshia Cole because her lyrics are also talking about dealing with break ups & cheating.

It is similar to what we do in literature because as we read things in the past we can translate it to make us understand what it is saying & as we translate it, we realize that we also can relate to some of the things going on in the present.







Dancers Story


Each dancer tells a story,
Of the victories in his life.
Battles he has fought,
Lessons learned.
He tells of the life of his Ancestors.
The story of his people,
And their struggles.
The story of the Wisdom,
Held by Elders,
And the attaining of this through.
The years in their life
He tells of the strength
His People hold
In their hearts
In their spirits
In their traditions
The power of a People
Can be seen in the dancing of the men


-Unknown





This poem is about how dancing is a way of telling a story. It tells the spiritual beliefs, the struggles they go through, their strengths and weakness.




The Puritans believed that everyone was a born sinner, they also believed god saved only a certain few and that Jesus did not die for all. Every one else was going to hell, and it was no way to earn God's grace. It was up to saints like Jonathan Edwards to interpret the words of God, the way THEY chose. Also sinners were in the hands of a angry God is the best known of Edwards Sermons. They also believed that there was nothing between you and hell but the air, it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.



The Native Americans were spiritual people but they didn't exactly worship one God, unlike the Purtians they were very religious. They believed that God was the only God to worsip and that if you worshiped another God you were worshiping the Devil. In the example I gave, the navtive americans weren't exactly talking about worshiping a God but were worshiping they people, ancestors, and traditions. In the video the puritans also stated that there were only two places to be Heaven and Hell, and that you couldn't be reborn. Which means that the Native Americans were going to Hell in there eyes. But in the eyes of the Native Americans they weren't doing anything wrong, they worshiped a God but it wasn't the God that the puritans believed in.


Puritans-A person or group of people who thought that God was the reason for everything. They also thought that there are only two places you can go (Heaven or Hell).
Deism-A religion that some people worshiped God in, they thought that God created the universe but believed that God left it up to the people to run there own lives.
Deist-The people who followed the religion of Deism.
Rationalist-People who thought that things could be proven by scientfic ways, and didn't rely on God to give them what they wanted and instead turned to science for the answer to alot of things or theories.
Age of Reason-A time a frame were people started to think more then that God was the creator of everything, people such as Ben Frankin started to make theories to prove that God wasn't in control of everything.


The difference between the Puritans and the Rationalist would be they the Puritans thought that God was in control of everything and that he was the reason for everything, but the Rationalist believed in God but they didn't believe that he was in control of everything, they put some of their thoughts into scientific thoughts such as Ben Franklin, he didn't think that God was in control of everything such as lighting so he turned his thoughts into a scientifc experiment when he flew the kite and the key.


Ben Franklin was a good rationalist because he believed in God but also believed that he could do something else to make his life better then waiting on God to make it better. He also came up with a list on how he could make his life better and what he could do to make his life better. An example of one of the things would be his second thing on his list 'Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation'. In this it means to me that don't just talk about what is right and wrong but talk about what you could do to help change something in your life and the lives of others.


1)Don't speak: When there's nothing nice to say about someone or something do not say anything at all.
2)Don't eat: Do not eat after 10pm.
3)Cleanliness: Keep things in place, once you are done with something put it up where it belongs.
4)School: Keep grades up; turn in assignments on time.
5)Home: Follow by the rules.
6)Phone: Cut back on how much you talk and text. Try and make a time when you should turn your phone off or restrict the calls.
7)Driving: Slow down more and try not to talk and text when you are driving.
8)Exercise: At least three times a week.
9)Stay Focus: Focus on your goals and what you have planned ahead.
10)Family: Be nicer and helpful to the family.
11)Friends: Do not influence them in a negative way, and abide by the rules their parents have made for them.
12)Organzation: Try to keep things more organized when it comes to school. Keep things in your notebook in the right place.
13)Sleeping habits: Try to go to sleep earlier, no later then 12am.

By doing these things, I could be a better person. I wouldn't be so cranky in the morning, and I would be well rested to come to school. My grades would look better and I would be able to focus on the things I have to do. Such as driving, if I do not try to talk and text during the time that I'm driving I would be able to focus more on the road. Eating late at night will cause you to be worn down and not be able to get up and but exercising you would be able to go all day because being out of shape makes you slow down and causes you to be tired real quickly and you have to have energy to keep you going. By being nicer and helping my family more often we would be able to get along more, instead of always arguing about who is supposed to do what. I have to understand that I have to abide by the parents of my friends because they make the rules for their children and want them to follow them. Just like my parents they want the best for their children and me.


I used direct quote when I listened to the story about the puritans and I talked about the beliefs they had, I also compared the native americans and the puritans by the information that I had recieved. Such as their beliefs in God, the puritans believed that everything was created and controlled by the hands of God, and they also believed that if you didnt believe in God and that you worshiped another God you was worshiping the Devil, but the native americans were very spiritual and they worshiped another God but it wasn't the Devil.