8th grade Biology
One thing that we learned about was the food web and the food chain. Learning about these helped me understand the system. We talked about carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores. I learned about what eats what and how the web and chain works. This all ties in with biology. We also learned about the ocean system. Humans rely on oceans for food, transportation, energy, and trade. The humans have changed the oceans through activities such as: pollution, overfishing, and climate change. We also learned about adaptations. There is behavioral and genetic. Behavioral changes in the way they act or react. Genetic changes in the physical characteristics of the species. We learned about ecosystem resources. Ecosystem resources are classified as biotic or abiotic. Biotic is living parts of the ecosystem. Abiotic is nonliving parts of an ecosystem such as: air, water, light, soil, PH, and temperature. We learned about heterotrophs and parasites. Heterotrophs have a relationship with what they eat described as predator and prey. Predator eats and prey get eaten. Parasites are heterotrophs that live in or on another organism. This is everything I learned from biology. 
The Stages of Grief in Swallowing Stone
The Stages of Grief in Swallowing Stones
| Stage | Character | Chp. | Excerpt from the novel |
| Denial | Jenna | 6-8 | She keeps saying, “I’m waiting for him to come home from work.” She is like this is not happening. She isn’t accepting it. On the other hand, Michael knows that he killed a man, and he has to accept it. |
| Anger | Jenna and Michael | 8-10 | Jenna is mad and wants to found out who the killer is. Michael is mad, because he knows he killed a man. Eventually, everyone is mad, because of Michael’s actions. |
| Bargaining | Michael | All chp. | In all chapters, he is thinking, if I wasn’t messing around, if I wouldn’t have shot that gun in the air, and if my grandpa wouldn’t have gave me that gun. Michael is thinking of all these what ifs. |
| Depression | Jenna | All chp. | In all chapters, Jenna doesn’t want to cry, because when her dad dies, she didn’t want to feel bad about it. She is kinda keeping it in. She won’t let it out, so it’s building up. Keeping it in, is going to affect her later, because something is going to happen and she is just now going to let it out, and she is going to get more depressed. |
| Acceptance | Jenna and Michael | 6-8
All chp. |
When Jenna got the letter that Amy got her, Jenna realized that it was okay to cry and to be sad. Jenna accepted that he isn’t coming back. She also realized that there was someone experiencing the same thing. For Michael, really in all chapters, he is saying “I killed a man.” He says stuff like “I am the Ward murder.” So, Michael is accepting that he killed someone. |
Swallowing Stones Book Review
”Swallowing stones” by Joyce McDonald, is a suspenseful book about an accident that turned a teenage boy’s life around. Michael Mckenzie had a fourth of July party, this party was on the day that Jenna Ward’s father died. Michael Mckenzie was showing off his gun around noon, that was when Jenna’s dad got shot. Throughout this book, Michael digs himself in deeper holes to not show evidence. The killer gets turned to different people, because they don’t really find evidence. At the end of the book, they think they have found the killer, but he isn’t the killer. The killer finally turns himself in, but you won’t be happy.