Ahh....the ceremonies begin!

The first day of the Ceremonies has begun. Hmmmm...what do we know so far?
At 1 babies get a family and a name.
At 7 kids get a front buttoned jacket.
At 8 start volunteer hours. Get a jacket with smaller buttons and a pocket. Lose comfort object
At 9 girls get rid of their hair ribbons.
At 9 both boys and girls get their bicycles.
At 10 kids get their hair cut.
At 11 new clothing ...undergarments for girls and longer trousers for boys with a small pocket.
At 12 kids get their assignment.

On the first day, they had the ceremonies of one through eight. The second day began with the nines and they all left for lunch after the elevens.

We also found out that the "committee" watches people, pairs them together with a spouse and after 3 years they may apply for children.

What else? What else?......Oh, yeah.....If you get released, you go Elsewhere. There is a ceremony for the loss of a child....."The Ceremony of Loss" and a ceremony to replace that child...."The Murmur-Of-Replacement" ceremony. (Totally strange and kind of spooky) At the end of the chapter the crowd of people head into the auditorium for the ceremony of 12. FINALLY! :)

Stirrings!

So, today we find out that there is another ritual in this community.....Dream Telling. Citizens are required to tell their dreams in the morning. Jonas doesn't dream very often but last night he had a dream. He dreamt about Fiona in the bathing room at The House of the Old. He wanted to bathe her, but she was laughing and wouldn't let him. He says he knew something was wrong about it, but it was a pleasurable dream. His parents explain that this is his first "stirrings" and he will need to take a pill.....for the rest of his days until he goes to The House of the Old. (when he is old) Jonas takes the pill, it is a kind of "rite of passage" toward adulthood. He begins to forget his dream right after he takes the pill and leaves his house for school.
There are a lot of strong feelings in class about this whole idea! Isn't having feelings for other people what makes us human and not robots? Isn't have feelings for others part of what makes life exciting? WOW, most 8th graders don't want to live in this community!
Keep Reading!

Rules about Nakedness????

In chapter 4 Jonas and his friends, Asher and Fiona, go to the "House of the Old" (a euphemism for a nursing home) to BATHE the old people as part of their volunteer hours. How weird is that? This is where we find out the rules about nakedness. No one can view another person's nakedness. (this rule does not apply to newchildren or the old)
Jonas does a little bit of everything when it comes to his volunteer hours, so he has no idea what his assignment will be.
Larissa (the woman he bathes) tells him about Roberto's release. She describes the ceremony and then says that no one really knows what happens after the ceremony, the person just goes through a door into the releasing room. Hmmmmm???? I wonder........???

Term to remember: EUPHEMISM: a word or set of words used in place of other words that may seem offensive. (eg. used car = pre-ownwed vehicle)

NO MIRRORS??????

Chapter 3......What did we discover today? Jonas has pale eyes and so does Gabriel. (the newchild that father has brought home)Pale eyes are unusual and we discovered that it is rude to bring attention to differences in this community. There are very few mirrors ....they don't need them! Wow, how different would our society be if we had no mirrors! It would take a lot less time to get ready to leave the house everyday!
Jonas noticed an apple change as he had a catch with Asher. He can't figure out what happened exactly so he takes it home for further study. The Speaker makes an announcement that food is not to be taken home....hmmmm.....how does the Speaker know he took it??????
There might just be a quiz tomorrow! 5 questions on chapters 1-3 and vocabulary. You must choose 3 vocab words and write effective sentences for each......good luck!

Rachel's Challenge

Wow! what a powerful assembly. I hope you accept Rachel's challenge!

Here are the FIVE GOALS/PRINCIPLES
1. Eliminate prejudice
2. Dare to dream
3. Choose positive influences
4. Practice small acts of kindness
5. Start a chain reaction

Did I get those right? I was so choked up during the assembly I can hardly remember it all. Were you affected by the assembly?

Chapter 2......

The EXPOSITION!!!!
So, chapter 2 is still part of the exposition.....we are getting to know the characters and we are discovering the "setting" .....a Utopia?????
The language they use in this community is curious, it seems to be devoid of emotions. A baby is called a "newchild" and a home is called a "family dwelling." (among others) We are wondering why they chose to use this type of language. Does it reflect some of the rules in this community? Does it reflect a theme in the book?
One other interesting fact is that there are no animals in this community. Your assignment for Monday is to write a creative description of an animal, without using the name of the animal and using the language of the community. Good Luck!

Finally!!!!

WE HAVE FINALLY STARTED TO READ!!!! Today we begin the novel .....October 21st......and we are, at last, reading a book!
The first chapter establishes the setting and introduces us to Jonas and his family! We learn about the evening ritual in their community. Things seem to be very strange in this place.
Jonas is almost 12 and his sister Lily is a 7. Jonas' father is a "nurturer," an important job in the community. Nurturers care for the newchildren in the community, in their earliest days. Jonas' mom works for the Department of Justice.
The big question is, WHAT IS RELEASE? We have found out that it can be a punishment, something that is celebrated by old people, and it can happen to newchildren. (that is a sad occasion)
As we continue one other question is: Why is Jonas so apprehensive about the upcoming ceremony?

Let's start reading already!!!!

Today we finish up the group presentations and answer some pre reading questions.

1. What if you were only allowed to read books that were chosen for you? How would you feel about that?

2. What are some daily routines or schedules that are followed by your family?

Describe them


3. How far back can you remember in your life? What is that earliest memory?

4. Think about the rules and regulations that affect you at home, in school, and in your community. Are there any that you consider unfair? Do you think there are ever circumstances under which you would be justified in breaking an important rule? Explain your reasoning.


I ask you to give The Giver a chance. The first couple chapters of the book are the "exposition" and sometimes they can seen boring and pointless...I promise it will get better! Please don't make any judgment until after chapter 4!
I am looking forward to reading this with you! It is one of my favorites!

Utopia!!!!

The last two weeks have been all about exploring the idea of Utopia. We have looked at the history of Utopias both real and imaginary. We are preparing to read The Giver by Lois Lowry. Today the presentations started, We have seen Utopias that contain sports arenas, campgrounds, water parks, and movie theaters. On Wednesday, we will begin reading the novel, exploring the vocabulary, and themes, as well as figurative language.