See you after the break! Make sure to get some reading done!

This (short) week in ELA...

Tomorrow morning, the entire middle level grades are going to be treated to a production of William Shakespeare. We have a group of performers coming to the building around 9:30 to act out scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Wednesday will be a special Holiday edition of Silent Sustained Reading!

Don't forget, Romeo and Juliet Projects are due Wednesday!!!

Shakespearen Piece!

Over the last few weeks, we have been reading and discussing the Shakespearean classic, Romeo and Juliet. We have spent many minutes of class using reading guides to discuss the connection between the themes and actions of the play and their relationship to our modern life. Now, we’ll take it a step farther.

I am confident that you have heard of or use the following social interaction websites:

Ø MySpace

Ø Facebook

Ø Twitter

Your assignment will be to use one of these sites as a guide to create a project for one of the characters in Romeo and Juliet. For example, you might use construction paper to make up a Myspace page for Romeo, where you list his friends, some of the conversations he has with other characters, and some pictures. Or, you might tell the entire play’s plot through the Twitter posts of Juliet!

The point is, I want you to use a modern style to tell a classic story. This assignment will be due in class Wednesday, December 23^rd. The grade breakdown is as follows:

Grade Points

Shakespearean Content/References 60 points

Structure/Design/Execution 40 points

Friday Half-Day

There will be a half day of school on Friday for all students. Dismissal will be at 11:30.

Welcome Back! Up next in ELA...

ROMEO & JULIET!

We are going to spend the next three weeks reading the William Shakespeare classic, Romeo and Juliet in class. Due to its difficulty, students will be provided with daily study guides, as well as response questions to do for homework that will help them understand the reading. The unit will culminate with a production of Shakespeare here at Ed Smith by the Syracuse Shakespeare Festival!