Fall 2009-- Week Four

Hello, Dear Shakespeareans!

I'm sorry my letter is late this week. :-(

Here are this week's assignments, due next week, on October :

READING ASSIGNMENT:
For next week, they should read Act II, the rest of Scene 2 of Hamlet.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT:
How would you feel if your parents hired someone to be your friend?

BONUS Question:
Where do the names Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Ophelia originate?

Race to Royalty:
Amber Dye read *7* plays last week!!! Awesome job, Amber! We also had HeatherJane who read *6* plays, and Shelly Warner who read *4*! Other readers were Jana, Sarah, Tex, Eilee, Brennan, Lliam, Hannah, Jacob, Courtney, Andrew, Ryker, and Monica! Excellent work!!! I can't wait to see how many everyone reads, watches, or listens to 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. Google is your friend! ;-)


PRESENTATIONS:
We had great presentations this week by Anika, Elizabeth, and Lewis! Nice job, guys!!! :-) 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.

• Eilee Fahnestock: Witches, Fairies, and things that go "bump" in the night
• Lliam Keppner: "Off with His Head!": Crime and Punishment
• Amira Jones: Natural Order and Social Position

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

UPCOMING PARTY!!!

*Our family will be hosting a costume/Halloween party for Shakespeare students at our home (20 N. 3500 E. in Rigby) on Saturday, October 24th. We'll have a costume contest (no masks, please!), games, karaoke, yummy food, music and loads of good, clean FUN! We'll also be watching AT LEAST one Shakespeare movie that will count toward the students' readings! ;-) If you don't want to come in costume, that's fine, too-- come anyway! Shakespeare students and their siblings 12 years and older are welcome to attend. It's going to be a BLAST, so come!

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 went over this in class Wednesday!)
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"

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