Homework:
Read for at least 20 minutes each night.
Book Reports:
You will have five book reports to complete this year. Four of the book reports will be completed at home. The last book report is a group project, which will be completed in reading class. You can choose which books you would like to read for each book report, as long as it is on your reading level. Students will be given directions for the book reports and the rubric that I will be using to grade the book reports. The due dates for the book reports are:
Read for at least 20 minutes each night.
Book Reports:
You will have five book reports to complete this year. Four of the book reports will be completed at home. The last book report is a group project, which will be completed in reading class. You can choose which books you would like to read for each book report, as long as it is on your reading level. Students will be given directions for the book reports and the rubric that I will be using to grade the book reports. The due dates for the book reports are:
10/11/16
11/14/16
2/13/17
3/27/17
5/19/17 *Group Project
Poems:
Introduction to Poetry
How to Eat a Poem
Nothing Gold Can Stay
A Day
8th Grade - "The Raven" Poem
8th Grade - Edgar Allan Poe WebQuest
7th Grade - Vocabulary Practice
6th Grade - Diamonte Poems
9/11 Observance Day
Jack & the Giant
An English folk tale becomes known world-wide:
The story of Jack and his adventure climbing the bean stalk has been told for centuries. The tale began in England but wasn’t published until 1807. Benjamin Tabart wrote his version of the story, followed by Henry Cole in 1842 who made the story famous in his popular book The Home Treasury. In 1890 Joseph Jacob rewrote the story in his book English Fairy Tales and his version is the one most of us are familiar with. This tale is also told using other forms of entertainment. The most common is movies, as hundreds of feature-length films and animation have been produced. But even during the height of live theater the story was told in Vaudeville and Burlesque venues, the most famous one being The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean first documented in 1734! The story is not without controversy. In many of the early versions Jack is a thief. Tabart did not like to tell children that so he rewrote the story to justify Jack’s actions by stating that the Giant had killed Jack’s father. Later versions expanded on this theme, thus making the Giant into the villian we are familiar with today instead of the victim of the early tale.
Weird facts about Jack, the Giant, and beanstalk:
In English folk tales Jack appears many times, making him an archetype. Found in both English and Cornish folk tales, Jack is almost always portrayed as lazy and unprincipled. These stories are known as Jack Tales. Some of the better know Jack Tales are Jack Frost, The House that Jack Built, and a sequel to Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack the Giant Killer. Today the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant Killer are often combined. When English immigrants to North America settled in the Appalachian Mountains, they retained the strong tradition of story telling. The Jack Tales came with them but over time they became “Americanized” by making Jack more honest and having him right moral wrongs by his heroism. Often the Giant is replaced by some corrupt official (usually a sheriff). Appalachian Jack Tales often identify Jack’s brothers Will and Tom who help him in his adventures. This reflects the agrarian culture of the Appalachian and the need for family and communal cooperation needed to survive. The Giant often is not named in versions of this story, but the most common name used when he is named is Blunderbore. Blunderbore is the name used in Jack The Giant Killer. The Giant’s rant of “Fee, Fie, Fo, Fum” is actually a parody of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. In Act 3, Scene 4 you will find the following: “Fie, foh, and fum, I smell the blood of a British man.”
Theatre magic:
Staging a show requires the director to make many compromises. The director has to deal with physical limits such as the dimensions of the stage and the physical size of the actors. The director must also work within the resources available such as hand and set properties, costumes, and available lighting and sound instruments. This is why the director depends heavily on a team of creative artists to help make the production successful:
• Costumers make ( or modify) clothes. A costumer has to be not only a skilled designer, but must also be a researcher and fabricator. Usually making the costume is the easiest part of the job!
•Scenic Artists research, design and fabricate the set of the show. Examples of Scenic Artists are carpenters, scene painters, property makers and set dressers.
•Lighting Designers are responsible for the “look” of the show. Light intensity and color have emotional impact and the director depends on the light designer to convey the meaning and the feeling of the show to the audience.
•Sound engineers have the job of making the actors heard, often over music and sound effects. This difficult position requires a trained ear capable of noticing nuances most people wouldn’t usually notice.
Pick one version of Jack and the Beanstalk to read and compare to the Jack & the Giant play:
Jack and the Beanstalk Play
11/14/16
2/13/17
3/27/17
5/19/17 *Group Project
Poems:
Introduction to Poetry
How to Eat a Poem
Nothing Gold Can Stay
A Day
8th Grade - "The Raven" Poem
8th Grade - Edgar Allan Poe WebQuest
7th Grade - Vocabulary Practice
6th Grade - Diamonte Poems
9/11 Observance Day
Jack & the Giant
An English folk tale becomes known world-wide:
The story of Jack and his adventure climbing the bean stalk has been told for centuries. The tale began in England but wasn’t published until 1807. Benjamin Tabart wrote his version of the story, followed by Henry Cole in 1842 who made the story famous in his popular book The Home Treasury. In 1890 Joseph Jacob rewrote the story in his book English Fairy Tales and his version is the one most of us are familiar with. This tale is also told using other forms of entertainment. The most common is movies, as hundreds of feature-length films and animation have been produced. But even during the height of live theater the story was told in Vaudeville and Burlesque venues, the most famous one being The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean first documented in 1734! The story is not without controversy. In many of the early versions Jack is a thief. Tabart did not like to tell children that so he rewrote the story to justify Jack’s actions by stating that the Giant had killed Jack’s father. Later versions expanded on this theme, thus making the Giant into the villian we are familiar with today instead of the victim of the early tale.
Weird facts about Jack, the Giant, and beanstalk:
In English folk tales Jack appears many times, making him an archetype. Found in both English and Cornish folk tales, Jack is almost always portrayed as lazy and unprincipled. These stories are known as Jack Tales. Some of the better know Jack Tales are Jack Frost, The House that Jack Built, and a sequel to Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack the Giant Killer. Today the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant Killer are often combined. When English immigrants to North America settled in the Appalachian Mountains, they retained the strong tradition of story telling. The Jack Tales came with them but over time they became “Americanized” by making Jack more honest and having him right moral wrongs by his heroism. Often the Giant is replaced by some corrupt official (usually a sheriff). Appalachian Jack Tales often identify Jack’s brothers Will and Tom who help him in his adventures. This reflects the agrarian culture of the Appalachian and the need for family and communal cooperation needed to survive. The Giant often is not named in versions of this story, but the most common name used when he is named is Blunderbore. Blunderbore is the name used in Jack The Giant Killer. The Giant’s rant of “Fee, Fie, Fo, Fum” is actually a parody of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. In Act 3, Scene 4 you will find the following: “Fie, foh, and fum, I smell the blood of a British man.”
Theatre magic:
Staging a show requires the director to make many compromises. The director has to deal with physical limits such as the dimensions of the stage and the physical size of the actors. The director must also work within the resources available such as hand and set properties, costumes, and available lighting and sound instruments. This is why the director depends heavily on a team of creative artists to help make the production successful:
• Costumers make ( or modify) clothes. A costumer has to be not only a skilled designer, but must also be a researcher and fabricator. Usually making the costume is the easiest part of the job!
•Scenic Artists research, design and fabricate the set of the show. Examples of Scenic Artists are carpenters, scene painters, property makers and set dressers.
•Lighting Designers are responsible for the “look” of the show. Light intensity and color have emotional impact and the director depends on the light designer to convey the meaning and the feeling of the show to the audience.
•Sound engineers have the job of making the actors heard, often over music and sound effects. This difficult position requires a trained ear capable of noticing nuances most people wouldn’t usually notice.
Pick one version of Jack and the Beanstalk to read and compare to the Jack & the Giant play:
Jack and the Beanstalk Play