Let the Adventures Begin!

Last Friday, students followed Theseus on his adventure into the labyrinth to slay the minotaur, thus saving future Athenians from being sacrificed to this creature.  While the story is a grand adventure in which the hero Theseus eventually becomes king, we can understand it on more personally relevant levels.  For example, his journey necessitates leaving his mother, and her letting go of her adolescent son.  Theseus leaves to meet a father he has never known, and along the journey encounters many obstacles and villains.  So the story can be read on the level of the labyrinth symbolizing Theseus's mind, and the adventures representing his inner journey through his tumultuous emotions, including courage, his wisdom to do the right thing and use the gifts of the god(desse)s wisely, and to ultimately develop into a fair and wise king.

This week students are working in groups to read chunks of Theseus and the Minotaur in their mythology books, making comparisons to the version they heard Mr. Kachulis tell, and presenting their chunk of the story to the class using a visual illustration and essential quote.  On Wednesday they will hear the story of Persephone and Demeter, a myth that on the surface is an explanation of how the seasons came to be. 

Students are also preparing this week for their Poetry Cafe on FRIDAY!  I hope that they gave you the invitation, which is also linked below.  Each student will read one of their poems as well as a published poem, and students are welcome to bring in nut-free snacks and drinks.  HOPE YOU CAN ATTEND!

Homework:

Monday:  domain pic due Wednesday; reading pgs. 1-21 w/chart due Thursday.

Thursday:  reading pgs. 22-38 due next Wednesday.

Poetry Cafe Invite

Domain pic instructions

"A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom." -- Robert Frost

Frost's thought about poetry has been personified in our class for the past several weeks.  Not only have students played with language, employed new words, and experimented with form, but they have revealed deep observations, ideas, and emotions through their poetry writing.  This week's inspiration comes from French artist Francis Picabia (1879-1953) who once said, "Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction."  This intriguing statement fits his art work which shifted styles throughout his career, ranging from industrial diagrams to impressionistic landscapes and human figures to abstract paintings.  Students are exploring in these poems an idea of their own, which at some point and for some reason, changed direction.

We will celebrate the culmination of our poetry unit with a Poetry Cafe on Friday, May 4.  Families are invited to attend, and to send/bring in a snack if possible (no nuts, please!)  See attached invitation for times of each class period.  We hope you can attend!

On Thursday, we will sail off to ancient Greece!  We will embark with a brief introduction to this oral culture, including the role of mythology and its colorful cast of characters.  Our artist-in-residence, Nick Kachulis, will launch our ship with the story of "Theseus and the Minotaur" on Friday.  Nick will be telling several myths throughout this unit, including "The Odyssey".  He will share his knowledge about Greek art, music, and drama, and if time allows, we'll kick up our Greek dancing heels!  He will also be available to help students conduct research into a character of their choice as well as for other projects, all of which will be showcased at our "Celebration of Ancient Greece" in June.  This artist-in-residence program is made possible by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the JFK PTO.

Homework

Monday-Tuesday:  Heads are round poem due Thurs.; poetry test Wed.

Wednesday:  final draft heads are round poem due tomorrow.

Thursday:  review Theseus setting/cast of characters handout; answer prompt on back

Friday:  LAST CALL: If you owe anything poetry-related, turn in on Monday.

Poetry Cafe Invitation

"Our Heads Are Rounds" Poem Instructions

Our Heads Are Round poem brainstorm chart

"Poetry is an echo asking a shadow to dance." --Carl Sandburg

What an elegant image Sandburg's metaphor creates for the reader!  Students this week are cooking up their own metaphors to give fresh new ways of thinking about ordinary things.  They will use one of these metaphors as inspiration for a poem.  Mid-week we'll take a look at some free verse poems, which will be a springboard into writing a free verse on a topic of their choice.  Students will also be wrapping up their final device pages.

Homework:

Monday/Tuesday:  Device pgs. 5 & 6 due Wednesday; metaphor poem due Friday.

Wednesday:  metaphor poem due tomorrow.

Thursday:  work on free verse poem (due by Monday 4/23).

Friday:  Free verse poem due Monday 4/23.

Metaphor Poem

Ode to...Salt...Artichokes...Onions...Tomatoes!

In homage to Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, students are composing odes to foods this week.  After exploring the word choices and devices Neruda used in his food odes, students are attempting to describe their food items in fresh new ways, using descriptive words and poetic devices such as personification, hyperbole, similes, metaphors, alliteration, and onomatopoeia.   They are also creating, this week, two more device pages for their poetry folders.

This week brings spring snow showers and MCAS testing!  Students will test on Tuesday/Wednesday mornings.  Please make sure that they get a good night's sleep (sans electronics!) and eat breakfast, so that their brains are working on maximum fuel.  I am confident that they are prepared to take the test and perform well.

This is a good week for catching up on missing assignments, if need be.  Aspen is current and 0s are standing in as placeholders for missing work.  If it is turned in this week, I will score it and put it into Aspen so that it counts towards the upcoming report card.

Homework:

Monday-Wednesday:  Device pgs. 3 & 4 due Thursday.

Thursday:  Food ode due Friday.

Literary Device Pages

Neruda's food odes