My Writing Portfolio

1. My Writing Portfolio Throughout the Seasons Sarah Leventhal

2. Table of Contents Slide 9……Pencil poem (“All About Me”) 9a………….Response Slide 10…..Round Robin poem 2 10a…………Response Slide 11…..Facebook review 11a…………Response Slide 12…..How to Overcome a Problem Journal (getting up early) 12a…………Response Slide 13…..Choice board project 13a…………Response Slide 14…. Back Page Slide 1……Title Slide Slide 2……Table of Contents (You are HERE) Slide 3……Dedication Slide 4……Teen Driving Persuasive Essay 4a…………..Response Slide 5……Persuasive Letter to Senator Bob Casey 5a…………..Response Slide 6……“How to” Cake Essay (intro) 6a…………..Response Slide 7……Romeo and Juliet board game 7a…………..Response Slide 8……Spider-Squid narrative 8a………….Response

3. Dedication I’d like to dedicate this portfolio to my friends.

4. Persuasive Letter to Senator Bob Casey Dear Senator Bob Casey, Hello. My name is Sarah Leventhal, and I recently lobbied to your representative in Washington D.C. with the Religious Action Center about a bill that has recently been presented. As you may or may not know, the House of Representatives has passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, a bill introduced by Congressman Barney Frank. This act will make it illegal to fire, refuse to hire, demote, or refuses to promote an employee based on real or perceived sexual orientation. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects the employment rights of women, racial differences, disabilities, and religious differences. The only group not protected is those of different sexual preferences. A person’s work ethic is not determined by who they are attracted to and/or what gender they choose to be. I know that you have been a supporter of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) rights in the past, and I feel that I can count on your support for this bill. This issue not only affects those in this minority group, but others as well.

5. Response • This piece is special because I actually talked to the senator about this issue. • I chose it because I wrote it with a lot of knowledge on the subject. • I had visited Washington D.C. with my Hebrew school, which inspired me to write it • It enhances my project because it is a serious topic. That’s him

6. Journal Prompt Dear Elizabeth, If you have this problem, I give you the advice to at least try to go to bed earlier. I know from experience that it can sometimes be hard, but for the times when you are able to do so it can really help you catch up on your sleep. Also, when you wake up, you should turn the lights on right away. Light triggers the brain into action, and it can help you wake up more. Also, get out of bed right away. It’s very tempting to press the snooze button and roll over and go back to sleep, but it will only make getting up later even harder. Another thing I do to wake myself up is I play music while I’m getting ready- it helps get me energized. Also, to solve the time problem, you can get your school bag ready and pick out your clothes the night before so your sluggish-ness doesn’t affect your time.

7. Response • This piece is special because it actually gives good advice. • I chose it because I thought it was actually helpful. • My friend Elizabeth inspired me to write it  • It enhances my project because it is the only piece that gives advice.

8. Me Poem (Pencil) I understand that I cannot last forever. I say whatever my writer thinks. I dream of becoming a flashy, colored pencil. I try hard to make pretty shapes when I write. I hope that my writer is proud of what she does with me. I am a pencil sitting on a desk.

9. Response • This piece is special because it is from a different point of view. • I chose it because its different. • Boredom inspired me to write it • It enhances my project because its very original.

10. Review of Facebook People often wish that there was a way to talk to someone who is far away from them. Could there be a way that everyone in the world can be connected and communicate? Facebook, an internet program located at facebook.com, is a blog-like site where students and alumni of high schools and universities can create social profiles. On these profiles, the users can upload pictures, display contact information, contact others through their profiles, join groups, decorate certain application, and much more. Facebook can be safe, is a great way to communicate with others, and is useful for expressing oneself. Facebook is becoming just as popular as MySpace, maybe even more. Despite the fact that Facebook is blocked in most schools, Facebook is sweeping the nation, connecting millions of people to one another in a safe, creative way.

11. Response • This piece is special because a lot of high school students can relate to it. • I chose it because I think I wrote it well. • Wanting to go on Facebook in class inspired me to write it • It enhances my project because it is about something that many people understand.

12. Choice Board Themajor theme in the article I read was the similarities betweencholera in the 19th century and the recent AIDs epidemic. It compared how the diseases came up unexpectedly, how the people with the diseases fled, and how the shunning of the infected people did not change, even after seeing it’s negative effects on the cholera epidemic in the 19th century. This is similar to the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide. People promised that an event like the Holocaust would never happen again because it was so horrible and it would be prevented. However, around 50 years later, the Rwandan genocide occurred, a similar situation where many Tutsi Rwandans were viciously murdered. The United States did nothing to stop it, not keeping up their promise to prevent major genocides from happening again. This is similar to the cholera epidemic and the AIDs crisis in that though people swore it (shunning of the infected) would never happen again, they let it happen.

13. Response • This piece is special because it talks about current events. • I chose it because its another serious topic. • Doing Trackstars about Anne Frank and the murals Inspired me to write it. • It enhances my project because it shows my opinion on a serious topic.

14. Game Project My game is called Romeo and Juliet: A Marriage Fret. The characters include Juliet and Romeo (two characters, but there may be teams). The setting is during the 16th century Verona, Italy- the Renaissance. The game board includes the Montague house on one side, and the Capulet house on the other. In between, there are other important buildings in the story like the church and the Capulet tomb, and other obstacles to get in the way. Juliet starts at the Capulet house on the board, and Romeo starts at the Montague house. The goal is to follow the winding path on the board (number of spaces moved is determined by rolling dice) and eventually meet at Friar Lawrence’s church in the middle. The first character to reach the church wins. However, if the character who got there second passed through less obstacles on the way there (a card is obtained at each obstacle with point values for each one) the points on the cards are added and the person with the least amount of points wins. The obstacles can include things such as a feud with the opposite house, a member of your house finding you and delaying you, having to stop at a cobbler shop to mend your shoe, et cetera. There are other pieces set up on the board (along with the 3-dimensional buildings) such as the other characters there to block the main characters (Juliet’s nurse, Romeo’s friend Mercutio), bridges, and animals. This game is appropriate for all ages and is only $19.99.

15. Response • This piece is special because its very creative. • I chose it because I liked the assignment in general. • Reading Romeo and Juliet in world studies inspired me to write it. • It enhances my project because it is a little different than my other pieces.

16. Round Robin Poem Stop. Listen. The sun emerges from clouds Can you hear it speaking? Laughing? Sending its beams down to us? People go outside again, only to find it too warm. Mud and dirt become dry and hot, wishing for the rain to come Again.

17. Response • This piece is special because it was compiled of random words. • I chose it because I like the way we came up with the poems. • Other words from my friend’s poem inspired me to write it. • It enhances my project because it’s a new kind of poem.

18. “How To” Project People often use the phrase “piece of cake” to indicate that something is easy. However, many people do not know that making cake can be hard work, and needs many ingredients and steps to be made correctly. Many materials are needed to make a cake: not only the edible ingredients, but the utensils as well. Mixing the ingredients in the right way with the right amounts of each ingredient is key, or else the cake can go horribly wrong. Last, but certainly not least, is the baking process. For how long should it bake? How high should the oven be turned up? These questions are easily answered. A delicious chocolate layer cake can be successfully made if the steps are meticulously followed and the use of ingredients and materials are adhered to.

19. Response yumm • This piece is special because it involves cake! • I chose it because it was fun to write with my friends. • I think it was Callie who inspired me to write it (she likes chocolate)  • It enhances my project because it’s a “how to” essay, which is different.

20. Persuasive Essay: The Legal Diving Age There is a constant debate going on about the legal driving age. Should it be lowered? Should it be raised? Many argue that sixteen year olds are not responsible or mature enough to be on the road. Nearly 4,000 teens die every year due to car accidents, and sixteen year olds are responsible for 20-30% of these deaths (1). These statistics lead people to believe that teenagers should get their licenses at an older age in order to decrease these numbers. The number of accidents caused by young teen drivers every year is overwhelming; therefore, the driving age should be raised so as to prevent accidents, lower the death rate due to car accidents, and have less irresponsible and immature drivers on the road.

21. Response • This piece is special because it addresses a current issue. • I chose it because I have a strong oppinion about this. • My camp friends getting their permits inspired me to write it. • It enhances my project because not many people share this opinion.

22. Narrative There I was, at the foot of the staircase, in that pretty blue dress. Then the spider-squid came down the steps. I screamed, only something was wrong with the dream. My mother didn’t come. So I closed my eyes and my body tensed up in fear. I tried to scream in the dream, but nothing came out. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my lower leg the spider/squid had bit me. I collapsed. Then I woke up, sweating. I felt my leg to make sure it was fine. I sighed. I was once told that it was impossible to die in dreams, but I swear that this time, that wasn’t the case. The strangest thing though, is that I never had that dream again.

23. Response • This piece is special because its based on a true dream. • I chose it because I think I’m best at writing narratives. • One of Elizabeth’s dreams inspired me to write it • It enhances my project because its one of the only things that is fiction.

24. Works Cited Songs Girl From Mars [Ash] http://youtube.com/watch?v=2MZwmy0OnPo You Can’t Stop the Beat [Hairspray] http://youtube.com/watch?v=Aw8ybll5SSc See You Again [Miley Cyrus] http://youtube.com/watch?v=EYfrF6w0YXY Bleeding Love [Leona Lewis] http://youtube.com/watch?v=_SoIfVuohGc Here Comes the Sun [Brooke White] http://youtube.com/watch?v=aM-05moJQrM Hero [Brooke White] http://youtube.com/watch?v=FwJ6b5AH0-4 Heels Over Head [Boys Like Girls] http://youtube.com/watch?v=VRV7thH8vag Hold On [Jonas Brothers] http://youtube.com/watch?v=xo0bpPbiUlM Pocket Full of Sunshine [Natasha Bedingfield]http://youtube.com/watch?v=I1qBhuo1yEM I’ve Just Seen a Face [Jim Sturgess in Across the Universe]http://youtube.com/watch?v=2j7Z5Q7ZDs4&feature=related Pictures Grand Staircasewww.classicsfproperties.com/.../JuliusKrafft.htm Chocolate Layer Cakewww.ginnysgifts.com/shop/index.php?main_page=... Romeo and Juliet Sketchetc.usf.edu/clipart/5700/5767/romeo&juliet_6.htm Facebook Logowww.gearyi.com/.../online-operating-system/ Teen Driving on CellPhone magazine.ucla.edu/exclusives/teen-driver-safety/ AIDsRibbon commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:World_Aids_D... Senator Bob Caseywww.fantasycongress.com/mc/Bob_Casey_PA Cartoon Teen WakingUp www.fredericpatenaude.com/LessSleepMoreEnergy... Black and WhiteCartoon Pencilschool.discoveryeducation.com/.../pencil.html Sun Behind Cloudspro.corbis.com/search/Enlargement.aspx?CID=is...

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