Mrs. Schyck's First #20Time Reflection

This year, my project is to write start a novel.  I have a love of young adult fiction, but I’d also like to cross it with an adult companion novel.  I think it would be really cool for adults to be able to read a similar story that intersects somehow with what their child is reading.  I am not sure how that will work, but I have had the idea in the back of my head for so long that it is time to put myself to work.  For my mentor, I belong to a creative group that is full of unique thinkers and a few writers that could support me.  I thought I could also ask Dr. Mac since he lives close by and is a recently published author of the novel Refuge.  A few people have suggested that I participate in NaNoWriMo, where you write 50,000 words during the month of November, but I am not sure that I will be ready for that.  Right now, my first steps are to solidify a mentor and to brainstorm the world that I will be creating, perhaps sketching out some story arcs or doing a bit of background research.

What is this #20Time of which you speak?

Mr. Brookhouser over at I Teach. I Think. describes 20 Time much better than I every could.  Check out his post over at http://www.iteachithink.com/2012/08/a-letter-to-my-students-and-parents.html to get a bigger picture of what it is and what it can do for us!

As for grading, like Brookhouser states, "In this class there is a place for perfection. Vocab quizzes and sentence mechanics come to mind. The 20% Project is no such place."  I will take grades on students' blog posts every two weeks.  Students must write in standard American English and be very mindful of their spelling and grammar.  Students can post more frequently and determine which posts they would prefer me to grade.  

Blog posts should be 150 words or more with a focus on their current learning and their upcoming plans - what they have learned, what they have tried, if what they have tried has been successful or not successful, what are their next steps, and reflection on the process, the product, and/or what they have learned about the ways in which they best learn.

I can't wait to see how our students learn and grow when they are passionate about something!

Achievement Unlocked: Story of a Life

Find the list of reading achievements here Possible Supply List and Reading Achievements

Book One of the Complete Persepolis

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

by Marjane Satrapi

Translation publication 2003

ISBN: 0-375-71457-X

153 pages

Memoir in graphic novel form

     Imagine for a moment that you were suddenly under rules that you did not understand--rules based on beliefs different from yours or your family's.  Once upon a time in a faraway land, a girl who loved punk rock and protests came to live half hidden behind a veil.  The first page will have you hooked when the veil comes down over your eyes.  Be transported to another world and find out how our lives cross paths in so many ways.  We are all both insanely similar, and uniquely different in our experiences, but we are all still human-scared and loved.  #WeBelongToEachOther.

Achievement Unlocked: The Rebellion Begins

Find the list of reading achievements here Possible Supply List and Reading Achievements

Book One of the Chaos Walking Series

The Knife of Never Letting Go

by Patrick Ness

Published July 14, 2009

ISBN: 978-0763645762

479 pages

Dystopian fiction

What would happen if you could hear the thoughts of everyone around you?  How would you use the thoughts of others?  Would you benefit the world, further the goals of a few, or benefit yourself?  These questions and more arise in the dystopian adventure series Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness.  This is true dystopian fiction at its young adult best.  The series begins with the story of Todd, a near-grown boy surrounded by The Noise - the thoughts of the other men in the town.  According to the town leaders, The Noise is a result of biological warfare by a species called the Spackle.  This germ not only laid bare the thoughts of men but also killed all of the women.  The constant Noise fills a reader's head as Todd tells his story, but when Todd discovers a quiet spot - free of noise - everything he knows to be true is challenged in heart-wrenching ways.  Not only does Todd's thinking grow, but also every reader is forced to challenge his or her own beliefs.  The first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go, pushes you on and creates a tension that will keep you reading through the third book. 

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Steampunk Flamingos

Discover the Magic

     I never used to be a lover of grammar.  Rules and diagramming held little appeal for me.  All that I needed or wanted as a reader was to have the words paint pictures in my mind and to take me away to another time and place.   As I became an English teacher, and more recently a teacher of students with English as a second language, I find the ways in which words fit together unbelievably daring and magical.

     In Grade 8, we have the standard of discovering verbals (gerunds, participles, and infinitives) which often is maddeningly frustrating.  Each year, as we review these "verbs gone wild," I find myself noticing them everywhere I read.  I find myself rereading certain passages desperate to share them with my cohorts-in-shenanigans on the Grade 8 hall.

     I love imagery and sensory language and diving in headfirst into another world, and lately, that has included the grammar side of things.

     Just tonight, I read a passage in the book Sabriel by Garth Nix that I keep returning to.  I noticed the beauty of the word choice itself - personification, imagery, specific language.  But then - then I noticed the participial phrase, and I stumbled on the noun clause.  I reread the sentence over and over and thought to myself, "Self, if you diagrammed this sentence, it would like like a spell written in an old spell book.  Wouldn't that be something - sentences as spells, words as magic."

     Of course, words ARE magic.  I only hope my students can discover that magic for themselves.

    The sentence, if you care to know, can be found on page 137 and is as follows:

"Books lined the walls, following the curves of the tower around, save for where the stair rose from below, and the ladder climbed to the observatory above."

    *sigh*

     I think I shall work on putting that one in my Word-Spell book.

It feels like armageddon

Do you ever get used to the chaos of #20Time?  Kids everywhere doing 100 things all at once-fun, fast, and furious.  They are great though - really diving into their work.  Today, they should be sending blog links, so I will get those up and running and hope you will stop by and comment on their progress.  Click on Student Blogs tab above to check them out!

Hello World!

Welcome to #Room817 where the teachers are energetic, the admin is supportive, and the students are above average. My name is Erin Schyck (or here in south--MizRiz Schyck), and I teach English language arts and nearly all the special populations.  I love my job and my kids, and each year brings amazing learning opportunities for me. I hope you visit every now and then to check out what we are doing and to check in on student blogs once they are up and running.

If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to e-mail me or post a comment. We are avid readers here, so please feel free to drop  your favorite series suggestions!  See you soon!