The Secret of Success: Teamwork

At last it's Friday, and as we look back on the week, we realize how important it is to contribute to the team goal. This picture of Hailey and Katie shows a true effort at teamwork! On Monday we'll be watching the results of our efforts as we share our presentations of Act III and part of Act IV. I can't wait.

For a little Friday humor, I've linked you to a video clip about why children need pets. Check this out for teamwork!

Friday is reading and writing workshop day. Bring your independent reading and we'll finish up polishing our presentations, and then we'll read and blog.

Speaking of blogging, have you read m1012's review of last night's Mr. KHS contest? If you missed attending Mr. KHS, you'll at least get a taste of it by reading m1012's post! Gratefuldead36 writes about weekend movie plans and, as always, this post includes interesting art that gratefuldead36 loves to discuss. Check it out. ShortIe discusses global warming, a topic you may wish to discuss, and Koala posted about yesterday's "think aloud" poetry.

As always, keep reading and blogging!

TGIF!

"Life in a Love": Connecting Browning to Shakespeare

Today's class begins with a think aloud poem, "Life in a Love" by Robert Browning. Isn't it interesting to see how each of us sees poetry and art through our own experiences? I can't wait to see how you interpret this poem and how you connect it to your life and your reading.

Since many of you will miss class tomorrow due to the matinee, be sure you find time to blog on your own, and let me know if you need help finding access. In workshop time today, you'll be finalizing your presentations for Monday. Your group is depending on you. If you know that you will be gone, please check with me and confer with your group. The show must go on!

Motivation for the Home Stretch!

I'm so fortunate that I still hear from former students and parents of former students. Just last week a former parent sent me this link to a short video clip about motivation. I've been meaning to find a few minutes to share this with you because I thought it was inspiring, and let's face it, at this time of year when we are so close to the home stretch, we could all benefit by looking back at our goals! (I think the video is intended to sell a book series about motivation, which I am not trying to buy or sell, but I thought you might find this applicable to our reading and writing goals.)

I saw some great collaboration yesterday as you read and studied your scenes for our play presentations. You'll have class time again today to continue rewriting, designing and polishing. Your art and powerful quotes can go on a poster or on Photo Story 3 or Power Point. So...go for it! Some groups are using costumes, some are adapting the scripts to fit a different setting, some are incorporating interpretation into the original script, and all of us are setting goals in an effort to contribute our best to our teams.

The Importance of Stage Directions

As Act III opens up, the boys of Verona are out in the public square, and once again, tempers are out of control and things literally heat up. Last we heard about Tybalt, he had "sent a letter" to the house of Montague, and we all know what that means: a challenge to a duel! Last we saw Romeo, he just married, and he is floating on the wings of love, and we all know what that means: he loves everyone! This makes for a lot of confusion amongst Romeo's friends since they know nothing about his love for Juliet, a Capulet. Since he won't seem to fight, Mercutio takes up the cause.

What comes next requires a bit of stage direction, close reading, and interpretation. Is it an accident that Tybalt wounds Mercutio when his sword slips under Romeo's arm as he is stepping between the two? Is it an intentional "cheap shot" when his sword finds a home in Mercutio's gut as Romeo steps between the two?

Meanwhile, Juliet is innocently waiting for the nurse to return with the rope ladder, and it makes the scene even more poignant when she soloquizes about her desire for night to come so that she can have her honeymoon! We, the audience, feel sorry for her because we know what horrible news she'll soon hear about her beloved Romeo and her cousin Tybalt. When the nurse finally does arrive, it is so frustrating to see how her ranting drives poor Juliet crazy as she tries to piece together the story.

At this part of the play, it almost seems like anything that can go wrong will go wrong. See how the Friar's good intentions - just like the marriage- go wrong. See what Lord Capulet's good intentions do for the situation. See what Lady Capulet and the nurse do to add to Juliet's feelings of abondonment and isolation.

As we break into teams today, you'll be collaborating on your scenes. It will take some study to determine stage directions, character motivation, and tone of the scene. Your artistic interpretation and group presentation will make for an enjoyable look at Mr. Shakespeare's third act of this play. So....break a leg...have fun with this....the show must go on!

Many of your poems are uploaded on the blog, and many of you still want to post yours, too. Computers will be available for posting at the beginning of class today. Katie's been commenting. I hope all of you will, too. It's so nice to get validation in our literature discussions on the web log. Please be sure no one is left out!

Praise, Question, Polish: Put On Your Poetry Hat!

Before I write about today's events, I want to give you a link to Lake_Wobegon's post about Act III, which is exactly where we are now. Wobegon links us to information about grief and loss and posts some related discussion topics. It's interesting to think about those stages of grief as they relate to Romeo and Juliet and even the other characters.








We're going back to our poetry today with time to revise, polish and conference before we finalize our publications. Plan on some time for "musical chairs" to gather feedback. I've wondered if Power Point might offer clearer text for those Photo Stories that are blurry. In our workshop time today, I hope to address all these concerns.

Many of you are gathering book ideas from the blog, and I thank those of you who have offered suggestions. In looking at our classroom library, I notice there are quite a few books out. If you've borrowed a book and are finished, please return it so that it can recirculate. (Anyone got a great romance novel for Scarlett Rose?)








Hope you have plenty of time to read and write today. We're breaking into our reading/acting groups for Act III. The show must go on!