Fall 2009-- Week Three

Hello, Dear Shakespeare Parents!

We had a great time on Wednesday, and I'm so excited to be mentoring your children in our YES class! Every week, you will receive an e-mail from me, telling you what assignments are due for next week.

Here are this week's assignments, due next week, on September 30th:

READING ASSIGNMENT:For next week, they should read Act II, Scenes 1-2 up to line 221 of Hamlet. We use the Cliff's Complete version, which is readily available on Amazon, and I understand that Hastings may also have it. This version is important, because we will also be discussing some of the commentary.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT:
Make a Plot Chart of the play so far. Describe the plots being laid.

BONUS Question:
Where is Wittenberg?

Race to Royalty:
Brennan Keppner read *4* plays last week! Way to go, Brennan!!! We had several others read one or two, as well. I'd like to challenge all my students to catch up, and see how far on the "royal ladder" you can get this week! :-)

TEN STEPS REMINDER: We will be having an AWESOME party at the end of the semester for those who complete ALL of the 10 Steps. Here are the Ten Steps so that you can help and encourage your student to reach their goals!

1. See, read, or listen to 7 or more Shakespeare Plays
2. Hand in the completed Vocabulary Sheets
3. Read "HAMLET" and discuss it in class
4. Help plan the Parents' Shakespeare Faire (which will happen the first Saturday in January)
5. Turn in the "Uncommon Usage" word list
6. Turn in the completed "Common Old English Terms" sheet
7. Explain "Iambic Pentameter" to the Class Mentor. (Mrs. Keppner will go over this in class.)
8. Make a 10 minute presentation on an assigned Elizabethan Era topic
9. Recite from memory the assigned Set Piece
10. Write a summary of the play, "HAMLET"


UPCOMING PARTY!!!

The main reason I love to teach Shakespeare-- besides the fact that I LOVE it-- is that I believe in building an inspiring, uplifting community of GOOD kids for my own youth to associate with. Those of us with young adults know that the temptation to put them in school grows as they get older, and want and need a peer group of friends. As I told the kids in class yesterday, we are not just a Shakespeare Class-- we are a COMMUNITY! :-) So throughout the year, my family will be hosting parties to encourage and nurture those relationships with other amazing youth that love to study, and appreciate the good things in life, such as Shakespeare. If any other family would like to have a party in their home at any time, let me know, and I'll help spread the word. You are also more than welcome to send fliers or announcements for such an event to class with your kids.

*Our family will be hosting a costume/Halloween party for Shakespeare students at the end of October, so keep an eye and ear out for the date and time. We'll have games, karaoke, yummy food, music and loads of good, clean FUN! Shakespeare students and their siblings 12 years and older are welcome to attend. More information is coming soon!

Let's build something GREAT here in Southeast Idaho for ALL of us! :-)

***PARENTS, PLEASE NOTE: There are many versions of Shakespeare's plays in movie form. PLEASE be careful and pre-screen the movie versions of the plays for your family. Usually the BBC version (with the exception of Hamlet, unfortunately) is fairly clean. ALL the works of Shakespeare have been filmed by the BBC and are available at Netflix. (Netflix.com) If you have a Netflix membership, they can even be watched for free online.

All of the play scripts are available for free online. Google is your friend! ;-)

PRESENTATIONS:
We had a great presentation this week by Shelly Warner! Well done, Shelly!!! :-) Below are the presentations for next week. Remember, you can be as creative as you want to be! Each presentation should last no longer than 10 minutes.

• Anika Lowry: "What On Earth Is a Fork?"
• Elizabeth Kendell: The King James Bible
• Lewis Kendell: A Man's Home Is His Castle-- Housing for the Rich and the Poor
  

(If your student has not signed up for a presentation yet, tell them to see me before or after class on Wednesday.)

If you have any questions or concerns, please call me at 754-9916. Thanks for all your support-- I am enjoying having your children in our Y.E.S. class! :-)

Sincerely,
Mrs. Rachel Keppner, Mentor

Fall 2009-- Week Two

We had a great time on Wednesday, and I'm so excited to be mentoring in our YES class! Every week, you will receive an e-mail from me, telling you what the assignments are for next week.

A Parking Warning to Parents: If you are staying at the library during our class, you may want to park in the next door shopping center's parking lot. I understand that a few families got blessed with parking tickets on Wednesday. :-(


Here are this week's assignments, due next week, on September 23rd:

READING ASSIGNMENT:For next week, they should read the rest of Act I of Hamlet. We use the Cliff's Complete version, which is readily available on Amazon, and I understand that Hastings may also have it. This version is important, because we will also be discussing some of the commentary.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT:
Is it better to let others share our burdens? When you share them, do you make better decisions about them? Why or why not?

BONUS Question:
What does "mote in the eye" mean?

Race to Royalty:
Blythe W. read *4* plays last week, putting her well on her way to becoming Queen! Way to go, Blythe!!! We had several others read one or two, as well. I'd like to challenge all my students to catch up, and see how far on the "royal ladder" you can get this week! :-)

***PARENTS, PLEASE NOTE: There are many versions of Shakespeare's plays in movie form. PLEASE be careful and pre-screen the movie versions of the plays for your family. Usually the BBC version (with the exception of Hamlet, unfortunately) is fairly clean. ALL the works of Shakespeare have been filmed by the BBC and are available at Netflix. (Netflix.com) If you have a Netflix membership, they can even be watched for FREE online!

All of the play scripts are available for free online.

PRESENTATIONS:
We had some great presentations this week! Way to go, Monica, Brennan, and Hannah! Here are the presentations for next week. Remember, you can be as creative as you want to be! Each should last no longer than 10 minutes.

* Shelly W.-- "Roles of the Sexes"

(If your student has not signed up for a presentation yet, tell them to see me before or after class on Wednesday.)

If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me or comment below. Thanks for all your support-- I am enjoying having your children in our Y.E.S. class! :-)

Sincerely,
Mrs. Rachel Keppner, Mentor

Fall 2009-- Week One

We had a great time on Wednesday, and I'm so excited to be mentoring your children in our YES class! Every week, you will receive an e-mail from me, telling you what the assignments are for next week.

Here are this week's assignments, due on the 16th:

READING ASSIGNMENT: For next week's discussion, they should read scenes 1&2 of Act I of Hamlet. In this class, we use the Cliff's Complete version, which is readily available on Amazon. (Barnes and Noble in IF doesn't have it, but they can order it.) Before their books come in, they can easily find the entire Hamlet script online for free.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT:
"What does 'frailty, thy name is woman' mean? Are women more frail than men? Explain."

PRESENTATIONS (10 minutes each):

• Hannah P.-- "Religions of the Times"
  
• Brennan K.-- "The Wars of the Roses"
• Monica W.-- "What Did People Wear?"
  

Each student should have received a student packet, (let me know if they did not get theirs!) so they will need a 3 ring binder to store it in, and a pen or pencil for taking notes in class, and their HAMLET scripts when they get them. We will be discussing the reading and the finished writing assignments in class on Wednesday.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call me at 754-9916. Thanks for all your support, and I look forward to having your children in our Y.E.S. class! :-)

Sincerely,
Mrs. Rachel Keppner, Mentor

The First Day of Class!!!

Heeeellllllooooooooooooo Shakespeareans!

Do we have the greatest class?

YES!!!

Did we have great time today? (Say it with me now, kids...)

YES!!!

Are you excited for next week?!

YES!!!

Well, *I* sure am! :-)

You guys were great-- really good sports to laugh at this crazy teacher's wacky antics.

I think we're all going to get along just fine.

;-D

(YES!!!)