Summer teen reads: Reflecting on life struggles

There’s much more to read than the fluctuation of butterflies in the stomach and heartaches. Here are 6 books you should check out, if you’re up for a heavier side of teen reads.

All the Bright Places 

Author: Jennifer Niven

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death. Violet Markey lives for the future. Both of them are suffering from mental illnesses but no one else truly sees it. When the two meet on the ledge of a bell tower, both talked the other out of doing so. If The Fault in Our Stars and Eleanor and Park had a baby, it would be this heart-wrenching love story of a girl who learns to live the days from a boy who intends to die. A little bit on the heavy side, the book offers a more realistic plotline about teenage mental illness that will bring you on a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the story.

The Lost & Found 

Author: Katrina Leno

Via an anonymous online therapy group, two teens, Frances and Louis, from opposite coasts find themselves embarking on a cross-country road-trip to meet in real life in Austin, Texas. They both have an inexplicable tendency to lose things; well, more like things just disappear. But along their way to Texas, each begins to find important things that the other has lost. The Lost & Found is a reflective piece on connections (lost and found), family (blood-related and those you make for yourselves) and an unexpected journey (of the road and of the heart).

True Letters from a Fictional Life 

Author: Kenneth Logan

James Liddell lives a double life. There’s the James that everyone thinks he is: star athlete, decent student, the happy, funny, carefree boyfriend to sweet Theresa. But every time James sits down at his desk to write letters, which he doesn’t intend to send, he pours out the truth, and the James he truly is inside spills onto the paper. When someone steals his letters and begins delivering them to their intended recipients, James’ life starts unraveling and crashing down on him.

Still Life with Tornado 

Author: A.S. King

Sarah is facing an existential crisis. Her brother is gone, her parents are separating, and she is trying so hard to pull her life together. Although nothing about her pain is original, it still hurts. This heartbreaking story of a talented teenage artist’s surreal awakening to the horrifically-unoriginal brokenness of her family will linger in your heart after reading it.

Kay’s Lucky Coin Variety 

Author: Ann Y.K. Choi

A rebellious young girl struggles through an identity crisis and a conflict between her family’s culture and the society she lives in. Mary’s story spirals into a melodramatic blur, with ill-fate crashing down on her family members one after another. Family secrets, forbidden love and domestic assault soon trap Mary’s family in a web of deceit and violence. This bittersweet coming-of-age story set in the Korean community in Toronto will tug on your heartstrings as you join Mary in her struggle to pursue her dreams while not giving up on her family.

Everything I Never Told You 

Author: Celeste Ng

A profoundly moving story revolving around the Chinese-American Lee family who have to hold onto a delicate balancing act after their daughter, Lydia’s death. Exploring themes of identity crises, family ties and overt discrimination, this tale is set to cause readers’ hearts to pour out into a melting pot of emotions.

Here, the author try to suggest some books to read for teen. It means that this article is kind of persuasive. The book suggestions are good enough for teen who wants to read heavier materials than they usual read.

source:http://www.thejakartapost.com/youth/2016/06/17/summer-teen-reads-reflecting-on-life-struggles.html

Using Mystery Stories in the Language Classroom

Title                             : Using Mystery Stories in the Language Classroom

Time                            : 20 minutes

Pages                           : 29 pages

Thesis statements

This paper explores the ways that mystery stories can be successfully utilized to improve language proficiency and linguistic ability. Mystery stories provide interesting and enjoyable material in the language classroom.  Mysteries make the reader think, consider, discover, and, most important, begin to realize the importance and usefulness of studying English.

Research

This paper explores the ways that mystery stories can be successfully utilized to improve language proficiency and linguistic ability.

Questions

1.  Are the characters in mystery stories any less important than other types of English study?

2. Can the study of mystery stories make students realize that they can learn English and, in doing so, help them become smarter, and better prepared to deal with their future.

3. Can students realize that an understanding of the mystery story is a means of dealing with the challenges of learning language?

Methodology

The methodology that used is group discussion.

Findings

Students develop the ability to recognize and analyze, remember significant details, and form opinions as to the identity of culprits.

Conclusions

By studying and analyzing mystery stories, students can become more discerning readers and develop critical thinking skills. Students can learn that language is vital to their success and well-being and that by studying attitudes and surroundings of characters, they will begin to appreciate the learning process. They begin to understand English as a human experience, rather than a series of isolated structures and grammar points, and, most importantly, learn that it is not merely a matter of vocabulary to be memorized for a test.

Opinion

After I read the journal, I think using mystery stories in the classroom is an attractive way to learn English. 

Improving Bandung One Day at A Time by Zakir Hussain

Date : May 28, 2016

Title : Improving Bandung one day at a time by Zakir Hussain

Time: 5 minutes

Thesis statement

outline

It is car-free mornings on a main street every Sunday, free travel for schoolchildren on public buses every Monday, and no-smoking day every Tuesday. On Wednesdays, residents are encouraged to speak Sundanese to preserve their identity, but Thursdays are for speaking English so they can better communicate with the outside world. Friday is the day for getting around on a bicycle, while on Saturday, a section of the city centre is closed off to traffic and opened to food vendors for a weekly culinary night. These are not just plans to fill up or rebrand the calendar, but part of Ridwan's bigger strategy to fix the city's notorious traffic and infrastructure woes, improve the lot of its people after a long period of mismanagement and make it more liveable.

"My dream is to make Bandung a little like Kyoto, modern without losing its sense of identity," he said. "A bit like Singapore, but still Sundanese," he added, referring to the language and culture for some 30 million Indonesians mostly in West Java. Ridwan, 42, and a trained architect, is part of a new breed of politicians who are transforming the country's cities with a mix of decisive leadership and persuasive prowess, including Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo and Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini. 

There have been detractors of his hands-on approach, including controversial lawyer Farhat Abbas, who wrote in a Twitter post: "I suggest the Mayor of Bandung just wear a Superman cape, wear his underpants ( on the ) outside, so people and the world know we have a strange mayor." Ridwan said he just wants what is best for Bandung residents. His record speaks for itself: "Wasted spaces" like land beneath flyovers have been turned into city parks, complete with benches and free wireless Internet access. Work to revitalise rivers - these provide an outlet for stress - is under way. The city has also started installing automated parking meters, a move Ridwan said has cancelled out leakage and ensured more revenue for the city. City officials have relocated street vendors away from busy roads, amid protests, and also offered the homeless and those caught begging - many of whom hail from outside the city - jobs as sweepers or newspaper deliverymen, with limited success. Many of the urban problems, Ridwan noted, are created by migrants, adding that wider national solutions need to be found. In the meantime, he has stepped up work on improving the city's infrastructure, with ground-breaking for two monorail lines scheduled for early next year. Bandung sees some six million visitors a year, the second highest figure after Bali, and 80 per cent of them are domestic tourists. This is expected to change as more flights link Singapore and Malaysia with the city, renowned for its cool climate, factory outlets and creative buzz. That is why, Ridwan said, it is important to beef up public transport - including an ongoing bicycle-rental scheme he started before becoming mayor. He, himself, cycles to work regularly. Extolling the benefits of cycling, he said: "It is therapeutic... But most importantly, ideas flow when I bike." Ideas he expects more Bandung residents to come up with to help fix their city

Opinion : This article is kind of persuasive article. Where the object persuade Bandung’s people to be better by following his law. I think it is pretty good for us to read.

Source http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/01/20/improving-bandung-one-day-a-time.html

Biography of Bill Gates

Date  : May 28, 2016

Title  : Biography of Bill Gates

Time : 4 minutes

Thesis Statement

Outline

This article talks about biography of Bill Gates. William Henry Gates was born on October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington. As the principal founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates is one of the most influential and richest people on the planet. Recent estimates of his wealth put it at $56 billion, this is the equivalent of the combined GDP of several African economies. In recent years he has retired from working full time at Microsoft, and has instead has concentrated on working with his charitable foundation “The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation”

Bill Gates foundation of Microsoft

Bill Gates founded Microsoft in 1976 when he formed a contract with MITTS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) to develop a basic operating system for their new microcomputers. In the early days Bill Gates would review every line of code. He was also involved in several aspects of Microsoft’s business such as packing and sending off orders.

The big break for Microsoft came in 1980 when IBM approached them for a new BASIC operating system for its new computers. In the early 1980s IBM was by far the leading PC manufacture. However, increasingly, there developed many IBM PC clones; (PCs developed by other companies compatible with IBM’s). Microsoft worked hard to sell its operating system to these other companies. Thus Microsoft was able to gain the dominant position of software manufacture just as the personal computer market started to boom. Since its early dominance, no other company has come close to displacing Microsoft as the dominant provider of computer operating software.

Bill Gates – Windows

In 1990 Microsoft released its first version of Windows. This was a breakthrough in operating software as it replaced text interfaces with graphical interfaces. It soon became a best seller and was able to capture the majority of the operating system market share. In 1995 Windows 95 was released, setting new standards and features for operating systems. This version of windows has been the backbone of all future releases from Windows 2000 to the latest XP and Vista. Throughout his time in office Bill Gates has been keen to diversify the business of Microsoft. For example Microsoft’s Internet Explorer became the dominant web browser, although this is mainly because it comes pre installed on most new computers, and in recent years has seen its market share slip.

One area where Microsoft has never been as successful is in the area of search engines. MSN live search has struggled to gain more than 5 % of market share. In this respect Microsoft has been dwarfed by Google. Nevertheless the success of Microsoft in cornering various aspects of the software market has led to several anti trust cases. In 1998 US v Microsoft, Microsoft came close to being broken up into three smaller firms. However on appeal Microsoft were able to survive as a single firm.

Philanthropic Activities – Bill Gates

Bill Gates is married to Melinda French (married in 1992). They have three children Jennifer (1996), Rory (1999) and Phoebe (2002). With his wife Bill Gates formed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill Gates says much of the inspiration came from the example of David Rockefeller. Like Rockefeller, Gates has sought to focus on global issues ignored by the government; he also expressed an interest in improving the standards of public school education in the US. He has appeared with Oprah Winfrey to promote this objective. In respect to charitable, philanthropic activities Gates has also received encouragement from investor Warren Buffet, who has given away $17 billion, through the Gates Foundation.

From 2008 Gates has worked full time on his philanthropic interests. It is estimated Gates and his wife Melinda have given away $28 billion via their charitable foundation – including $8 billion to improve global health.

Gates has said that he has no use for money, and will only leave a small percentage of his wealth to his children. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Gates states:

“I’m certainly well taken care of in terms of food and clothes,” he says, redundantly. “Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point. Its utility is entirely in building an organisation and getting the resources out to the poorest in the world.” 

His main areas of interest in philanthropy have been improving health, and in particularly helping to reduce diseases, such as polio which affect young children. He has also given more focus to environmental issues. In 2015, he gave $1 billion to a clean energy project, as he sees supporting new ‘greener’ technologies as a way to help deal with global warming.

Opinion : This article is kind of expository article which is describe the story of Bill Gates’ real life. This is a good one because the writer clearly explain the content and very interesting to read. 

Citation : Pettinger, Tejvan. “Biography of Bill Gates”, Oxford,www.biographyonline.net, 25th Feb. 2015

5 Movies To Watch With Your Kids

Date    : May 27, 2016
Title    : 5 Movies To Watch With Your Kids By Keshie Hernitaningtyas
   Time    : 4 minutes
Thesis statement

   Outline

            This article talks about some movies that worth to watch with your kids. Taking kids to the movie theater offers a great alternative for an easy activity, as movies made for children are usually entertaining as well as educational.

            From this month until early July, there are at least five kids' movies slated to be released in Jakarta. Check out the trailers to see which one is the most suitable for your children. 

The Angry Birds Movie

In theaters: May 13

            Adapted from the oh-so popular video game series of the same name, The Angry Birds Movie follows Red ( Jason Sudeikis ), who is constantly angry despite living among peace-loving flightless birds on a small island. The peaceful situation quickly changes though, following the sudden appearance of green piggies led by Leonard ( Bill Hader ). Red, alongside other outcasts, namely Chuck ( Josh Gad ) and Bomb ( Danny McBride ), is determined to figure out what they are up to.

Alice Through the Looking Glass

In theaters: May 27

            A sequel to 2010's Alice in Wonderland, most of the previous cast members reprise their roles in this fantasy adventure, including Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Mia Wasikowska as Alice Kingsleigh and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. The story follows Alice on her latest adventure in the whimsical land of Underworld as she embarks on a mission to save the Mad Hatter from a part-clock creature.

Finding Dory

In theaters: June 17

            Those who enjoyed 2003's Finding Nemo can rejoice as the sequel is set to be released soon. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios, the movie takes place six months after the events of the first installment and follows the amnesiac Dory ( Ellen DeGeneres ) as she sets out to find her family, accompanied by Nemo ( Hayden Rolence ) and Marlin ( Albert Brooks ).

The BFG

In theaters: July 1

            Directed and coproduced by Steven Spielberg, the movie is based on the Roald Dahl novel that follows the friendship between Sophie ( Ruby Barnhill ) and a friendly giant named the BFG ( Mark Rylance ). As the human world is being invaded by evil giants, the duo set out on an adventure to capture them.

The Secret Life of Pets

In theaters: July 8

            Released by Illumination Entertainment, which made the Despicable Mefranchise, The Secret Life of Pets offers an intriguingly hilarious trailer as it follows a terrier named Max ( Louis CK ) who gets involved in a rivalry with a mongrel named Duke ( Eric Stonestreet ) obtained from a dog pound by his owner Katie ( Ellie Kemper ), who lives in a Manhattan apartment building. But a common enemy changes everything, in the form of a white rabbit named Snowball ( Kevin Hart ).

Opinion     : This article is kind of persuasive article. The writer suggest some movies to watch with your kids. This is a good article I think. Because children like to see animated and fun, full color thing.

 Source

http://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2016/05/07/5-movies-to-watch-with-your-kids.html

Summary Short Story Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault

   

One day, Little Red Riding Hood’s mother said to her, “Take this basket of goodies to your grandma’s cottage, but don’t talk to strangers on the way!” Promising not to, Little Red Riding Hood skipped off. On her way she met the Big Bad Wolf who asked, “Where are you going, little girl?” “To my grandma’s, Mr. Wolf!” she answered.

The Big Bad Wolf then ran to her grandmother’s cottage much before Little Red Riding Hood, and knocked on the door. When Grandma opened the door, he locked her up in the cupboard. The wicked wolf then wore Grandma’s clothes and lay on her bed, waiting for Little Red Riding Hood.

When Little Red Riding Hood reached the cottage, she entered and went to Grandma’s bedside. “My! What big eyes you have, Grandma!” she said in surprise. “All the better to see you with, my dear!” replied the wolf. “My! What big ears you have, Grandma!” said Little Red Riding Hood. “All the better to hear you with, my dear!” said the wolf. “What big teeth you have, Grandma!” said Little Red Riding Hood. “All the better to eat you with!” growled the wolf pouncing on her. Little Red Riding Hood screamed and the woodcutters in the forest came running to the cottage. They beat the Big Bad Wolf and rescued Grandma from the cupboard. Grandma hugged Little Red Riding Hood with joy. The Big Bad Wolf ran away never to be seen again. Little Red Riding Hood had learnt her lesson and never spoke to strangers ever again.

Novel review; TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer III/III

Title                 : Twilight

Author             : Stephenie Meyer

Genre              : Romance, fantasy, young-adult fiction

Published         : 2005

Pages               : 498 pages

Characters       :           Isabella Swan

                                    Edward Cullen

                                    Jacob Black

                                    Charlie Swan

                                    Alice Cullen

                                    Renee Dwyer

                                    Billy Black

                                    Emmet Cullen

                                    Rosalie Hale

                                    Jasper Hale

                                    Carlisle Cullen

                                    Esme Cullen

                                    James

                                    Victoria

                                    Laurent

Summary

While the Cullens are playing their crazy version of baseball (they're all incredibly strong and fast), three other vampires show up. One named James takes a liking to Bella (in the “I want to eat you” kind of way). Edward and his family get Bella away from James long enough to make a plan. They know that James is trying to track Bella, so Alice and Jasper (Edward's adoptive siblings) whisk her away to a hiding place in Phoenix, but James lures Bella to him by telling her that he has captured her mom. He’s about to kill Bella when the Cullen clan shows up. The only problem is that James has already bitten Bella. If Edward doesn't suck the venom-infected blood out of her, she'll become a vampire. Though it's difficult for Edward to control his urge to suck all of Bella's blood, he manages to cure Bella without killing her. The Cullens kill James and get Bella to a hospital, where she starts to recover from her many injuries.

Overall Bella’s OK, though banged up. She and Edward are more in love than ever. However, they argue because Bella wants him to bite her and make her into a vampire so that they can live together forever; Edward refuses. Regardless of their different species, they are devoted to one another completely.

Edward surprises Bella by taking her to the prom – she's horrified because she's uncoordinated and worried about dancing in public. Jacob shows up at the dance and delivers a message – Billy wants Bella to dump Edward. He also wants her to know that they “will be watching”.  Anyway, Edward and Bella go outside to have some time alone – it’s twilight outside. Again, Bella asks Edward to make her into a vampire, and he refuses. Edward says to Bella, “I will stay with you – isn’t that enough?” and she replies, “Enough for now”

Opinion

It is a good book, it's got so much detail and is very romantic, but I love the way at every moment there relationship was hanging on an edge. Edward hardly abuses Bella and when he does hurt her he doesn't mean to and when he stops her going places it's only because he is so worried about losing her. Anyway, I loved the book and how it made me feel excited and anxious.