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!