Margin Notes

CRAFT STUDIO BY GUEST WRITER MICHELLE WUEST: ALL MY RAGE

Sep
07

What I Was Reading:

All My Rage by Sabba Tahir takes us from Lahore, Pakistan (then) to recount the story of Misbah and Toufiq (who are Salahudin’s parents) to (now) in Juniper, California to join the stories of Salahudin and his best-friend, Noor.

It is a fantastic YA novel told in three points of view– tackling issues of Islamophobia, alcoholism, and domestic violence; while also exploring the pressures of high school, the heartbreak of family, the beauty of friendship and the gift of forgiveness and compassion. Heartbreaking and tender, well worth the read.

What Moves I Noticed the Author Making:

Tahir makes some writerly craft choices worth exploring: using repetition, italics, and single word sentences that follow the rule of three.

  • The first repetition is the italicized “ Bang. Bang” taken from her reference to a song which is punctuated with the actual sound of gunshots. (Many young readers will likely get this reference.)
  • Her next paragraph employs the rule of three: the names of the three Universities that she has been rejected from in single word sentences, one after another– just like the gunshots. And, followed by yet another magic three: the repetition of the word rejection. Each letter, each rejection, are like gunshots to her hopes.

Here is the passage:

The letters come in hard and fast. Like the gunshots in M.I.A’s “Paper Planes.” Bang. Bang. Bang.

Yale. Columbia. Cornell.

Rejected. Rejected. Rejected.

  • The book itself is divided into six parts. Each part opens with a stanza from Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “One Art.” Noor selects the poem for her English analysis essay because she liked the first sentence. Or, she amends: “Well. Sort of. Mostly I picked it because it’s short. But it’s also weird. It’s about misplacing stuff, like keys and houses. How the hell do you misplace a house?” But the poem is really about accepting loss as inevitable. And so is this novel.

“One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

  • Tahir gives us Noor’s inner thoughts as she reveals the veneer of Noor’s college admission essays, juxtaposing the truth next to what she actually submits.

A problem I solved. (Truth: heartbreak. What I wrote: a poor English grade.)

A life-altering experience. (Truth: my entire family dying and the smell of their bodies rotting around me. What I wrote: working at Juniper Hospital.)

My biggest life challenge. (Truth: they don’t want to know. What I wrote: bullying in high school.)

  • Throughout the novel Noor is plugged into music or at the very least referring to it. Here is (a mostly complete) Noor’s Playlist. It already has some songs I do love, wonder what else I may discover? Check it out here.

Possibilities for Writers:

  • Experiment with the rule of three repetition in your own writing.
  • Play with one word sentences and short paragraphs to create effects in your writing.
  • Use the stanzas of a poem to create an outline for a piece of writing.
  • Play with offering a character’s (or your own) inner thoughts. You can copy Tahir’s set-up of: Truth… and What I Wrote… or Truth… and What I Was Really Thinking…
  • Make a playlist inspired by a novel you are reading. What might the characters listen to? What songs would be perfect background for a scene? Or, do you characters actually refer to songs, movies or other texts that may help you compile a playlist?

Michelle Wuest is and English teacher & SPR at Leo Hayes High School with over 20 years helping students find the right book. When not teaching or reading you’ll find her tap dancing, practicing yoga, walking her Doodle, seeing live music with her husband, or listening to her son rattle of random NFL stats for the eleventy-billionth time.

GUEST WRITER MICHELLE WUEST RECOMMENDS THIS GOLDEN STATE BY MARIT WEISENBERG

Aug
31

The choices we make, make us who we are.

Choices are also bets we make with the future. And, the bet Poppy’s parents have placed weave a complicated tapestry of anxiety-level unpredictability, fear, paranoia and danger into their lives.

Poppy is a high school senior. But Poppy isn’t like most high school girls. She can’t be. She is likely the only person at Lincoln West High School without a smartphone. She doesn’t make future plans– she never stays anywhere long enough to see them through. She doesn’t even really know anything about her own parents. But when she sees her family parked outside of the school that May afternoon, she knows exactly what it means: for seventeen years they have been on the run, and they’re running again.

Poppy has no idea why her parents have them living like fugitives, she and her sister just abide the Winslow family rules: They don’t use their real names; they don’t stay in one place for too long; when something feels weird, you take one thing and run; they keep the family together at all costs; and you never ask about the past. In their last exodus, they head to California, and things feel different. Different enough that she is compelled to break some of the rules she willfully abides. What she discovers will force her to make her own tough decisions– and make a bet on her own future.

This Golden State is a gripping page-turner. The mystery surrounding Poppy’s family is a tightly-wound ball of secrets– and her bold decision unravels it all. The thrill and suspense of discovering who the Winslows are, along with Poppy, makes the book hard to put down. Her accidental romance with Harry, is both bittersweet and tender. He also struggles with his parents, their expectations, and how to navigate relationships in his life. As intense as their life experiences may seem, they are all too relatable: what teenager doesn’t feel that their parents just don’t understand them?

Weisenberg delivers a thriller, a mystery and a romance all in one. Sure to be a YA favourite!

WELCOME TO THE 2023-24 SCHOOL YEAR FROM THE LITERACY TEAM

Aug
29

Well, that went fast! It feels like we were just wishing you a wonderful summer, which we hope you had. As sad as it is to say goodbye to summer, we are very much looking forward to the year ahead. There are many new literacy teachers in our district, so we would like to take a minute to introduce the literacy team: 

Jill Davidson – Literacy Subject Coordinator grades 6-12, FEC & OEC 

Jane Burke – Literacy Subject Coordinator grades K-12, WEC 

Christie Soucy – Literacy Learning Coach grades 6-12, OEC & FEC 

Melissa Walker – Literacy Learning Coach grades 6-12, OEC & FEC 

Sonja Wright – Literacy Learning Coach grades 6-12, WEC 

Lauren Sieben – Literacy Learning Coach grades K-8, WEC 

Our typical blogging schedule includes a weekly Book Recommendation and another post that is a Try This Tomorrow, a Craft Studio, or a Literacy Reflection. We hope that you will subscribe to our blog to gather ideas, inspiration and new book titles. 

Looking forward to connecting, learning and celebrating with you throughout the 2023-24 school year.  

GRACIE AND BEN RECOMMEND THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN BY KATHERINE APPLEGATE

Aug
15

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RACHELLE AND NIC RECOMMEND DOG MAN BY DAVE PILKEY

Aug
08

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ZANDER, SIGNE, COHEN AND DAX RECOMMEND ALONE BY MEGAN E. FREEMAN

Aug
01

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VERONIKA RECOMMENDS SWIM TEAM BY JOHNNIE CHRISTMAS

Jul
25

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AYLA AND KEIRA RECOMMEND THE LONELY GHOST BY MIKE FORD

Jul
18

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ALEXIS AND ELLIE RECOMMEND THE TRYOUT BY CHRISTINA SOONTORNVAT

Jul
11

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LUCAS AND ANDERSON RECOMMEND A WOLF CALLED WANDER BY ROSANNE PARRY

Jul
04

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