"That Shakespeare was a typical man of the Renaissance is clear from his zest, his boldness, his humor, his love of beauty, and his incisive faith in that enterprise of living. This appears nowhere more obviously than in the sources of his plays, for these sources were to him records of various things that had happened to men and women under the will and providence of God." - Hardin Craig, An Introduction to Shakespeare
Hello, Our Shakespeare plans are well underway, with each student having received line assignments on Wednesday before the long weekend. Students should be practicing their lines each night to be prepared for in class rehearsals and the big performance on the morning of December 16th. Student involvement in this performance will be a large part of their grade for this quarter, so please arrange travel plans after the end of the school day on the 16th. We will be assembling some simple props to represent each character, therefore, I will be reaching out for some "stagehands" for support in that task. Additional excitement this week includes the in class Spelling Bee on Wednesday, and the Bard Competition on Thursday. All scholars will participate in the Spelling Bee, but only those who have registered to recite a poem in the Bard Competition will be reciting poems for their peers Thursday. Spalding words will be taught on Monday and Wednesday, with a test on Friday. In class time will be given for students to continue working on rough drafts completed in last week, with a focus on comma splice errors. Have a great week! Warm regards, Mrs. Baird 11/30 - Classroom Spelling Bee 12/01 - First Round Bard Competition 12/08 - Winter Concert, 6-7PM 12/16 - Shakespeare Festival
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“I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character…like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy…the turkey…is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America.”
—Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Sarah Bache, Jan. 26, 1784 Hello, During this short time together this week, we will focus most of our attention on understanding the plot and themes of Shakepeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. We will discuss the characters and the language used in order to better represent these parts during the Shakespeare Festival, which has been moved to Friday, December 16th. Students will receive their line assignments and scripts on Wednesday before the R& R weekend. Mrs. Herrmann forwarded a link for A Midsummer Night's Dream, in case you have not obtained a copy of the book. I have posted the link on the "Links" page. Thank you, Mrs. Herrmann! Line numbers from the play are listed in agendas for nightly assignments in case student's have a different book than the one used in class. In Writing & Grammar this week, we will complete a summary of an earthworm article in class and students will peer edit each others' work. Students will also annotate and create a one level outline of an article about the history of the Thanksgiving holiday. Have a restful holiday weekend with your loved ones! Warm regards, Lisa Baird Important Dates: 11/23 - Half Day - Noon Release 11/24-11/25 - Thanksgiving Break 11/30 - Classroom Spelling Bee 12/01 - First Round Bard Competition 12/08 - Winter Concert, 6-7PM 12/16 - Shakespeare Festival (Moved from Monday to Friday) "Where you tend a rose, my lad, a thistle will not grow." - The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden has sparked a lot of conversation among classmates about experiences related to caring for those who are ill or disabled in some way, which has fostered deeper levels of sensitivity in our classroom culture. We have all been enriched through Mary and Colin's journey from negativity to joyful living through the development of friendships. This week we will complete our study of The Secret Garden with a seminar discussion on Tuesday. Scholars should prepare for this discussion on Monday night to contribute their thoughts and opinions effectively. We will enjoy some crumpets at this discussion in celebration of finishing this novel. Scholars will need Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream for the next literature selection, for which reading assignments will begin on Tuesday. Please make sure that your child has this novel available by then. This week we will begin focusing on writing strategies once again. Students are being guided in summarizing articles in chronological order, using complete sentences with correct conventions. Additionally, students will create one-level outlines for articles in order to identify the main ideas in paragraphs. Peer editing will allow students to support each other before final drafts are written. There will be many exciting events over the next month. Students may purchase books at the Book Fair on Tuesday, and dress as their favorite Literary or Historical Figure on Friday. The fifth grade will be preparing for a Shakespeare Festival. The class Spelling Bee will take place on November 30th and the Bard Competition will be held on December 1st. Scholars will also be rehearsing for the Winter Concert that will take place on December 8th. Please check your child's uniforms for length. They grow like weeds at this age and can outgrow skirts and pants overnight, it seems. Skirts should fall just above the knee and pants should touch the shoe but not drag on the ground. My compliments to your excellence in having your children looking so sharp each day. We rarely have DCV (dress code violations) aside from the occasional forgotten belt, so thank you for maintaining the standard of the Archway Trivium East community. Have a great week! Warmly, Mrs. Baird Important Dates: 11/18 - Literary & Historical Figure Day 11/23 - Half Day - Noon Release 11/24-11/25 - Thanksgiving Break 11/30 - Classroom Spelling Bee 12/01 - First Round Bard Competition 12/08 - Winter Concert, 6-7PM 12/12 - Shakespeare Festival “Two worst things as can happen to a child is never to have his own way - or always to have it.” - The Secret Garden Hello, There has been great discussion related to the interactions of the characters in The Secret Garden. Many students have expressed relating to the actions of Mary and Colin at times, an example of how literature can generate self-reflection. This week we will pick up the pace a bit with our literature reading. Students should expect to have about 30 minutes of reading each night, and should answer three comprehension questions for each chapter completed. We are building academic muscle and capacity for our next Literature unit on Shakespeare's, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Students will be memorizing "Sonnet 18" from this book as a precursor to the play. Prepositions and prepositional phrases will continue to be our focus in Grammar as we work towards diagramming more complex sentences. Students have been eagerly looking for a song that captures the prepositions to make them easier to memorize - there are many! Most importantly, students should be able to recognize prepositional phrases and be able to identify what word it is modifying in the sentence. Spalding homework will come home on Monday night and Wednesday night only due to the short week. The spelling test will be on Thursday. Remember that Friday is Veteran's Day and there is no school; however, students will have homework, since it is not an R&R weekend. Have a great week! Warmly, Mrs. Baird Important Dates: 11/11 - Veteran's Day, No School 11/18 - Literary & Historical Figure Day 11/23 - Half Day - Noon Release 11/24-11/25 - Thanksgiving Break 11/30 - Classroom Spelling Bee |
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Mrs. Baird Archives
February 2017
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