Let's Talk!

 Drama 8:

Good work on your reciting.  If you want to redo your recitation, check with me about how you could improve and then practice and pop in during PLT to recite again.

Directing and Scriptwriting 12:

Write a scene at a funeral.  Include:

- a monologue

- a surprise

-a confession

- music

Senior Drama:

Which format seems to be best for our interactive Hallowe'en show?  Ms. Kosar is leaning towards the game show.

English 8:

Using the handout as a guide for how to write a conversation, write a dialogue for ONE of the following situations:

- Patroclus and Achilles before Patroclus goes into battle

- Cassandra telling her mother what to do about the Trojan horse

- Helen talking to Menelaus after the end of the war

ANOTHER long weekend for you!

 We are missing another Friday!  I hope you get a chance to spend some time outside enjoying the crisp fall weather and thinking about the images in "To Autumn" by the great poet, John Keats.  Find out about him.  It is a sad story -- he didn't think his work would live on, but of course, it has.  The first day of autumn never comes around without me thinking of the "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness".

English 8:

Make sure you answer the questions about the story of the Trojan War that you picked up as you left class.  Read Parts 4 and 5 of the section on the Trojan War in Mythic Voices.  You should also be thinking about your upcoming oral book report.  If you think you won't be able to finish a book in the next two weeks, you need to start reading more at home.  I find it pleasant to read right before I fall asleep.

If you are interested in the Trojan War, there are some good novels about it -- this summer I read two by Pat Barker -- The Silence of the Girls (which sees events through the eyes of Briseis, the girl/woman given to Achilles as a reward for the destruction of her city and family) and The Women of Troy (after the war is over and the Greeks want to leave Troy and go home -- with their captives, the women of Troy, including Hecuba, Cassandra, Andromache and Briseis). 

Drama 8:

You will be reciting the Shakespeare passage on Monday, so be prepared.  If you are not sure of the words, you need to practice OUT LOUD!  You will not learn it if you just think the words.  Remember, we will likely do a journal on Thursday of next week, since we are missing so many Fridays.

Senior Drama:

Be prepared to perform your "review" play on Monday.  You need a tableau at the beginning and the end, a mime that is specific in the middle, a choral speaking of the line "Have you got to go?" and music.  You need a script so the theatre production people know what to do.  It is not enough to let them "wing it".

Practice Antony's speech.  We will be reciting soon.

Drama Club:

We have added Tuesday at lunch for auditions, so if you want to act in the play make sure you take the handout outside the theatre and memorize the speech.  Try to understand what you're talking about and make it exciting to watch.

Journal #2 - Senior Drama -- Staging a Funeral

 Have you ever attended a funeral?  What was it like?  Because I am quite old, I have been to a number of funerals and although you would think they would be sad, usually they are quite comforting.  Imagine that a great leader has just died (like Julius Caesar, for example). 

Theatre Production:

 What would you do to commemorate the leader's life?  (You could watch the Queen's funeral to get some ideas if you need them.) What music would be effective?  What would the officials in charge of the funeral wear?  How would you deal with the actual ceremony?  (You can draw the different stages if you like, but include a description as well.)

Directors/Scriptwriters:

Write the eulogy for the famous person.  (You can choose an existing famous person, the Queen, or a fictional person or even someone you know.) You want to focus on the positive elements of the person's life.

Actors (Performance):  

Watch the Queen's funeral (or news about it).  Choose one of the mourners.  What are they thinking about as they say goodbye to the Queen?  (Try to be empathetic and provide details -- you can make up memories, if you like.)

Directed Studies:

Choose one of the above topics and answer it.  Also, write about what you want to get from doing "directed studies" -- on what do you want to focus in Drama this semester? 

Day of Remembrance

 We will not be in school on Monday, September 19, because the federal government has declared a day of remembrance in honour of the Queen's funeral.  There will be a ceremony in Ottawa to commemorate the occasion and will be televised on CBC at 11 a.m.  You can learn more by googling National Day of Remembrance September 19 (I can't seem to copy the link).

English 8:  Make a chart of pros and cons for the government declaring this one-time holiday.  "Pros" means reasons in favour of the declaration and "cons" means reasons against the declaration.  After you make the chart, decide what you think about having a day off.

Drama classes:  Try to catch some of the coverage on the news about the day.  Be ready to discuss this on Tuesday when we come back to class.  We will be creating tableaus based on the events of the day.

HAVE FUN AT CAMP!

ENGLISH 8:

I won't see you for the next three days, so here is something to work on over that time.  

Create a detailed illustration of one of the creation myths we have read.  You don't have to show everything in the story.  (Try to think of the style of the story and how each one uses metaphors.  Be clear on what a metaphor is.) This is due on Monday, September 19.

Read "The Judgement of Paris" on page 120 in Mythic Voices. 

DRAMA 8:

Your journals are due today.  Make sure you practice "All the world's a stage" -- we will be reciting sometime next week.  Make sure you are ready to lead the class when it is your turn to ask the question of the day and present the warm-up activity.

English 8 - Oral book report

 Show the book to the class.   Tell us the title and the author's name.  Tell us something about the author.

Talk about the plot in two sentences.  Don't give spoilers.

What genre is the book?  Do you normally like that kind of book.

Talk about one thing that is interesting about the book (the setting, the characters, etc.)

Read a short excerpt from the book.

Would you recommend the book?  To whom?  Explain why or why not.

It's Journal Time! First Journal of 2022 - 2023!

 Drama 8:

What should Ms. Kosar know about you?  What pronouns do you use for yourself?  Do you have stage fright?  Have you ever been in a play or done any drama before?  (If you have, what was it?) Do you do any performance-based activity?  (That would include playing sports, music, dance, public speaking.)

Is there anything else you would like me to know?

Senior Drama:

What should Ms. Kosar know about you?  Tell me your pronouns.  If you are new to my drama class, make sure you tell me why you chose Drama.

What was the last Hallowe'en costume you wore?  (You can draw it, if you like.) Has anything scary ever happened to you on Hallowe'en?  (Tell me about it, if it has.) What scares you the most?

English 8:

The eight parts of speech are: noun, preposition, pronoun, article, verb, conjunction, adjectives and adverbs.

Read the following sentence:  

The magical queen waved her wand at Clarice and Clarice slowly changed from a girl to a mouse!

Try to identify each word as one of the parts of speech!

On Monday, you need a notebook you can divide into sections -- grammar lessons, notes, reading logs, and creative writing.  Remember to bring something to read on Monday.

If you missed class on Friday, we answered the following questions about "The Woman Who Fell From the Sky":

What would the world be like if it was "nothing but water"? What would the "people" be like?

What benefits do humans gain from the woman?

What do the twins represent?

In your opinion, are certain animals "good" or "bad"?  Explain.

With whom do you agree about the river current? Explain.

Why does the story say that "dead Indians" lived "in the far west until "Christian missionaries" came?

Read "Yhi Brings Life".

Welcome back to class!

 It feels great to be back at school, but perhaps not so great to be getting up in the dark!

Here is an update on what we have done so far:

English 8:  Please bring a book to read for silent reading by Monday!  Umar will ask the question of the day on Monday -- then each of you will get a chance.

Homework for Friday:  Read "The Woman Who Fell From the Sky" on page 10 in Mythic Voices.

Drama 8:  We will be starting with mime.  Each of you will be expected to lead the class with a question of the day and a warm-up activity.  Be thinking of what you could do.

Senior Drama:  Our first big project is to create an interactive Hallowe'en show, to which we can invite other classes.  Be thinking of what we can do.

SURVEY YOUR FAMILIES!  IS JUSTIN TRUDEAU HANDSOME?  (This follows a discussion by Drama 8 C Block.)