And just to show you how relevant these last few lessons were...
Words We Owe To Shakespeare
Monday, February 4, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
Multitasking - Not for the Weak of Heart
I think it's safe to say that there's rarely a dull moment during our classtime, whether it's random stories about my kids and students' lives or listening to British actors read a play. And a recent lesson was no exception.
We'd been working on breaking down Shakespeare's langauge to get a better handle on it and after doing the omissions and sentence structure work, next up was the poetic meter analysis. I know, sounds pretty awful - scansion is the technical term - but with the help of childhood songs and an A. A. Milne poem, we were eventually reading lines from A Midsummer Night's Dream with surprisingly good rhythm.
I wasn't sure how this was going to go, either, as I was typing up the lines from the play to project for the kids to read. Ask them to a) stand up, b) read unfamiliar words, and c) stomp feet seemed like a lot to ask. Sure would have been easier to hit play and listen to the audio recording, check for understanding, and move on. But I was determined not to play it safe, especially since I'd learned most of this technical stuff about Shakespeare's writing is brand new for the kids. So, I took a deep breath and worked through the activity.
There were only a few questioning looks as I asked kids to *gasp* stand up and then move away from their desks. We did the Milne poem reading to get a feel for the rhythm and rhyme, then I popped up the first of the Shakespeare segments. Kids were asked to read aloud the words, in unison as much as possible. So after a couple of do-overs and my keeping pace, that was successful. Next up was stomping a foot on the indicated syllables while reading out loud. A few more re-starts were needed, but I was impressed with how fast they caught on. And everyone was moving mouths, saying words, and stamping a foot. Awesome! Music to my ears!
There was another passage to read the same way, then we looked at the technical aspects - tetrameter vs pentameter and iambic syllables. So for a quick introduction, it went well and I'm thankful no one booed me off the stage. On to the memorization passage...
We'd been working on breaking down Shakespeare's langauge to get a better handle on it and after doing the omissions and sentence structure work, next up was the poetic meter analysis. I know, sounds pretty awful - scansion is the technical term - but with the help of childhood songs and an A. A. Milne poem, we were eventually reading lines from A Midsummer Night's Dream with surprisingly good rhythm.
I wasn't sure how this was going to go, either, as I was typing up the lines from the play to project for the kids to read. Ask them to a) stand up, b) read unfamiliar words, and c) stomp feet seemed like a lot to ask. Sure would have been easier to hit play and listen to the audio recording, check for understanding, and move on. But I was determined not to play it safe, especially since I'd learned most of this technical stuff about Shakespeare's writing is brand new for the kids. So, I took a deep breath and worked through the activity.
There were only a few questioning looks as I asked kids to *gasp* stand up and then move away from their desks. We did the Milne poem reading to get a feel for the rhythm and rhyme, then I popped up the first of the Shakespeare segments. Kids were asked to read aloud the words, in unison as much as possible. So after a couple of do-overs and my keeping pace, that was successful. Next up was stomping a foot on the indicated syllables while reading out loud. A few more re-starts were needed, but I was impressed with how fast they caught on. And everyone was moving mouths, saying words, and stamping a foot. Awesome! Music to my ears!
There was another passage to read the same way, then we looked at the technical aspects - tetrameter vs pentameter and iambic syllables. So for a quick introduction, it went well and I'm thankful no one booed me off the stage. On to the memorization passage...
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Yoda Speaks Shakespeare!
Stellar students I have!
In an effort to help students decode Shakespeare before we start "A Midsummer Night's Dream," we've been working with a few lessons and demonstrations about the language strategies The Bard employs such as contractions, omissions, and reversed sentence structure. And lo and behold, I think it worked! Though they were a bit skeptical at first, my seniors ultimately learned somthing, though I don't know how many of them will admit it.
To begin with, I presented a diagram of the Globe theater and a brief video highlighting elements of Elizabethan theater. Kids took a few notes, guided by my list of questions, and then we discussed a few things. A quick survey revealed all but about 3 of my students had the faintest idea of the Globe to begin with so this was pretty worthwhile in my eyes. And judging from their elongated attention spans and intent disucssion, they seemed pretty into it.
I followed that lesson with the language tricks. Pairs were given an envelope with 16 pairs of contraction, omission, and Elizabethan word pairs. They made a grid of the slips, face down, and then played a version of the MEMORY game, turning over papers and trying to find a match. I let them struggle with the words on their own to try to complete the pairs rather than give a cheat sheet so it was interesting to wander around and hear comments:
"Anon, what the heck is that?"
"Ope goes with open!"
"Often - I found it!"
So if nothing else, kids now have a bit of a visual of the words and some early exposure to the common ones before we get the text of MSND. There's a great outline here of the language strategies.
The next activity had kids building and rearranging a set of given words to make a variety of sentences. First they were to arrange the words to form one that makes sense in our standard, American language. Then I asked them to rearrange the words so it still made sense, but had a different structure. So "my mother is gone" became "gone is my mother." We did that a couple of times and ultimately ended up with some pretty good Shakespearean-sounding sentences. And when at least one student from each class observed "it sounds like Yoda!" I was thrilled! Yup, Yoda speaks Shakespeare.
So don't tell me, my lovely seniors, that you "don't get it" because you most certainly do!
And BTW, did I mention Shakespeare also invented texting shortcuts?
In an effort to help students decode Shakespeare before we start "A Midsummer Night's Dream," we've been working with a few lessons and demonstrations about the language strategies The Bard employs such as contractions, omissions, and reversed sentence structure. And lo and behold, I think it worked! Though they were a bit skeptical at first, my seniors ultimately learned somthing, though I don't know how many of them will admit it.
To begin with, I presented a diagram of the Globe theater and a brief video highlighting elements of Elizabethan theater. Kids took a few notes, guided by my list of questions, and then we discussed a few things. A quick survey revealed all but about 3 of my students had the faintest idea of the Globe to begin with so this was pretty worthwhile in my eyes. And judging from their elongated attention spans and intent disucssion, they seemed pretty into it.
I followed that lesson with the language tricks. Pairs were given an envelope with 16 pairs of contraction, omission, and Elizabethan word pairs. They made a grid of the slips, face down, and then played a version of the MEMORY game, turning over papers and trying to find a match. I let them struggle with the words on their own to try to complete the pairs rather than give a cheat sheet so it was interesting to wander around and hear comments:
"Anon, what the heck is that?"
"Ope goes with open!"
"Often - I found it!"
So if nothing else, kids now have a bit of a visual of the words and some early exposure to the common ones before we get the text of MSND. There's a great outline here of the language strategies.
The next activity had kids building and rearranging a set of given words to make a variety of sentences. First they were to arrange the words to form one that makes sense in our standard, American language. Then I asked them to rearrange the words so it still made sense, but had a different structure. So "my mother is gone" became "gone is my mother." We did that a couple of times and ultimately ended up with some pretty good Shakespearean-sounding sentences. And when at least one student from each class observed "it sounds like Yoda!" I was thrilled! Yup, Yoda speaks Shakespeare.
So don't tell me, my lovely seniors, that you "don't get it" because you most certainly do!
And BTW, did I mention Shakespeare also invented texting shortcuts?
Thursday, December 6, 2012
People Posters
They've done it again. I had an idea for a project to do during our study of The Great Gatsby and after working out the details and bouncing ideas off of my husband, I presented it to my seniors and, admittedly, wasn't sure how it was going to work out. But I needn't have worried. The posters were exactly what I envisioned - and then some!
The idea was to have students investigate the history behind some of the biggest multi-millionaires our country has seen, considering the old money and new wealth from Gatsby. Each did a different subject, then had to display their findings on a presentation board. Topics included biography, timeline, assets and fortune, philanthropy, legacy, pictures and a wordle display.
Reflecting on the rubric itself, I will probably make some adjustments considering some posters are embellished with lots of craft materials and others are pretty bare. But there was not lack of effort and interest. It was great to hear students comparing notes, assisting with online work, and sharing materials.
So proud of my kids for being such great guinea pigs. The slideshow here displays pictures (I apologize for some blurriness!) of the projects and I hope to revisit this next year.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Kids and Careers
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Our seniors have some great career plans.
A representative for a local college visited today and rather than do the typical sales pitch for the particular school, his focus was on getting the kids to continue (or begin!) to think about their post-graduate plans. His high-energy, fast-paced, incredibly informational presentation engaged all of them today and I hope they left with a better sense of where they are and where they want to go when they are finished at MHS.
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He then presented questions to consider as kids think about where they want to go and what they want to do, emphasizing the importance of visiting campuses and taking tours of facilities. And I reiterate this important piece: my college choice oh-so-many years ago hinged on WMU and Kalamazoo College and me stepping foot on each campus to get a feel for it. Meeting the faculty, seeing real students in action, peeking into lecture halls and labs is vital to making a good choice about where one might spend the next several years - and several thousands of dollars!
Of course Baker College and its many campuses and successful programs was a highlight - wouldn't be fair not to promote it! And some of our kids will probably choose one of the campuses as a place to study culinary arts (Muskegon, Port Huron), truck driving (Mt Clemens), vet tech (Port Huron and others), interior design, accounting, education, and any number of careers in the four hot career fields: business, medical, technology, and education/human services. So check it out if it is interesting to you.
Hopefully, the gears began to turn as the seniors continue to complete applications, see recruiters, and field questions about their plans from relatives. And by May, they should be ready to go!
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