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
