One School, One Book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author Biography:

Scott Westerfeld has written many acclaimed novels for adults and teens, including So Yesterday, Peeps, and the Midnighters and Uglies series. His books have been named New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and have won the Aurealis Award, the Victorian Premier's Award, and the Philip K. Dick Special Citation. Scott lives in New York City and Sydney, Australia.


 

 

 

The Secret Hour
(Midnighters Series #1)

by Scott Westerfeld

 

ISBN-13: 9780060519537

Pub. Date: March 2005

Age Range: Young Adult

304pp

Series: Midnighters, #1

 

 

 

Activities:
 

 Attention TCMS team!  Yay!  We have finally “officially” started reading the book.  I know, I know…your child read the book during Winter Break.  The math department is asking that the following schedule be followed to complete the book before the symposium.

 

Week 1 (3/2/9) – Chapters 1- 9 read

Week 2 (3/9/9) – Chapters 10-15 read

Click Here for the questions.

Week 3 (3/16/9) – Chapters 16-22 read

Click here for Week 3 questions

Week 4 (3/23/9) – Chapters 23-31 read

Week 5 (3/30/9) – Preparation for symposium

 

Here are the reading comprehension questions for week #1 

 

Vocabulary: 

radiance           sophomore                   traumatic                     sheepish          

trigonometry   translucent                   pristine                        boisterous       

obscuring         aglitter                         luxuriating                   malign

pandemonium cacophony                   maelstrom                    melodrama

harried             torrent                         perspective                  photophobic   

symbology                  

 

 

Chapter 1

 

1.  What does Rex mean when he wonders, “When did I become invisible?”

 

2.  What was the first thing Rex noticed about the “new girl”?

 

3.  Most years when Rex went back to school, he was miserable.  This year he thinks it might be different.  Why does he think that?

 

4.  What does it mean when Rex says that “her Focus hadn’t faded”?

 

Chapter 2

 

5.  Why did Jessica think that she had been treated like a “celebrity” on her first day of  school?

 

6.  Why does Dess take off her glasses and stare at Jessica?

 

7.  In what academic area does Dess excel?  How do you know?

 

Chapter 3

 

8.  Jessica said that the rain stopping in the middle of the night woke her up.  How could the rain stopping wake someone up in the middle of the night?

 

9.  What did Jessica mean when she said, “the air outside” was “full of diamonds”?

 

10.  The morning after her “dream”, how did Jessica discover her dream had actually been real?

 

Chapter 4

 

1.  Why does Melissa always have headphones on or the music turned up loud?

 

2.  Rex became very excited when Melissa told him that she had “felt’ the new girl last night.  Why did he get so excited?  Give two reasons.

 

Chapter 5

 

1.  Why were the girls in the library group listing ten things that make Bixby “special”?

 

2.  What caused Jessica to see her new friends in a way “that left a bad taste in her mouth”?  Why do you think she did not like the way these girls acted?

 

3.  What is so significant about the library logo? 

 

4. What was Dess referring to when she said that Jess will found out about her dream in 43,207 seconds?

 

 

Chapter 6

1)      Who does Jessica eat lunch with and what did they talk about?

2)      What does psychosomatic mean?

 

Chapter 7

1)      What does Jessica discover in her sister’s room?

2)      Jessica follows a stray cat. What happens to the cat as Jessica follows it through the streets?

 

Chapter 8

1)      Where are Dess, Melissa and Rex heading to on their bikes?

2)      Why is Dess counting in different languages as she rides her bike?

3)      How many different languages can Dess count in?

 

Chapter 9

1)      Why does Jessica feel as if the fence is alive?

2)      What does Jessica discover about the car she runs to?

3)      How does Dess help Jessica?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Symposium:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Book:
Book Description:

This is a fantasy fiction book set in Bixby, OK.  The main characters are a group of high school students who have the ability to spend a “hidden” 25th hour each day while the rest of the world is frozen in time.  A new student, Jessica Day, also finds out that she has this ability and discovers that the Blue Time, as it is called, is a wondrous and potentially dangerous secret.  There are creatures that exist in the Blue Time that are hunting Jessica, and she has no idea why. 

The book incorporates elements from across the curriculums taught at TCMS.  We are focusing on the mathematical connections via one of the characters, Dess.  We will discuss how math is involved in each of the other main characters talents, and have activities in each of the math classrooms during the third quarter that will enrich the understanding of the book.  Our annual Symposium is targeted for April 2, 2009, and will incorporate all of the departments at TCMS.  This book is truly an opportunity for each and every class to find a connection.