In preparation for our fundraising night "Valentines in Venice" on Saturday, February 12th, all classes have started their rehearsals.
Please read the blog for upcoming instructions about props and costumes.
JK'S
We have created our formation and are practising to walk on and arrange ourselves on stage. Children are reviewing what it means to take their cue, and to start, end, bow, curtsey, together.
It appears for now that this class should start to think about dressing up in red.
SK'S
For now, this class is trying to master walking in a circle. We are starting to incorporate what we learned about animals to some of the roles that are to be taken during our presentation. We have learned that when talking about a character, it is sometimes easier to understand it when applied to an animal; for instance, sly and cunning as a fox; quiet as a mouse; ferocious as a lion; cold like a shivering bunny; etc. We are using this information to create an interpretive mosaic based on a love song.
We will need the following props: two baskets, a blanket, a big cup, a shawl, and a stuffed animal.
Grades 1 and 2
The class completed the blocking for their short play.
We will need the children to be dressed in long gowns, like Roman togas. If any of the children have long swords (plastic of course) could they please bring them in?
Three of our boys will need to be dressed up as Roman soldiers.
Grades 3 and 4
This class must practise the lyrics they have been given. They only need to learn the first four to eight lines. Most music should be easily found on the Internet just by typing in the first lines of their "secret songs".
They are also to listen to their "other song" on http://www.songdrops.com/ under silly songs. It is a very child friendly site.
We are still thinking about costumes.
Grades 5, 6, and 7
This group has much to memorize and to rehearse. We have discussed pausing at punctuation marks. We have discussed thinking about what we are to say, and for whom it was written, in order to add appropriate emotion and voice modulation. All of this needs to be practised at home, as time is of the essence.
Costumes: this group is to come dressed in something long and flowing akin to a "Midsummer Night's Dream" theme. They may consider something Victorian, something fairy-like, something "Romeoish". Either way they are to look dreamy and romantic. Yes, really!
Best Regards,
Mrs. Deras
Monday, January 24, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011
JK's
The class is, first of all, practising to enter the classroom and take their seats the way they would if entering and exiting the stage, in a theatre, AS A GROUP. We need to start practising now, as this actually causes the most trouble in preparing for productions. The children are encouraged to enter quietly, in a line, take their seats as they arrive in order. They are then practising to be very quiet while their fellow actors speak.
We discussed the poem "The Tale of Custard the Dragon" by Ogden Nash, who appeared to be very scared and timid, but was brave to eat the pirate. He simply was lazy and liked the comfort of his cage.
We then listened to the poem "The African Lion" by A. E. Housman and compared wild animals to domesticated pets. The consesus was that the wild animals are more likely to eat you regardless of whether you are well or ill behaved.
The children then offered individual presentations using full and complete sentences (most difficulty here) about their favorite animal, ending with a bow or a curtsey.
SK's
This class is also practising entering and exiting the classroom as if they were entering/exiting the stage. Please see the note regarding the JK's.
We reviewed the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and the role of the wolf. We then read a long poem entitled "Planning" which really spoke of a child getting ready to sleep, and thinking about growing up to be an animal. Each animal had characteristics that made it fast, hungry, cunning, tall, big, ferocious, gentle, etc.
One by one the children were then to introduce themselves clearly, and then give three clues about their favorite animal allowing the class to guess what that animal could be. We had some excellent clues using characteristics. Each presentation was concluded with a bow or curtsey. The children were focusing on being loud, clear, and thinking on the spot.
Grades 1 and 2
With this group we first discussed the comma, the semi-colon, and the period with respect to pausing and breathing when reading out loud or reciting. Each child then recited the poem "Sneezing" (minus four students) while carefully focusing on taking a breath at the required intervals.
We have also been discussing what to perform during our upcoming fundraising night "Valentines in Venice".
Grades 3 and 4
We continued our exercise in fluency with idiomatic expressions, and the students were reminded to read via phrasing with proper pauses for breath and comprehension and emphasis. The students then listened to two variations on the start of a fairy story - one read erratically and one read slowly with emphasis and emotion.
To further our study of presentation techniques, poetic recitation, and focus on punctuation, each student recited the poem "Sneezing" by an anonymous author. Their stance, and mention of the title, author and focus on pausing were of importance.
Once we clear the hurdle of phrasing and pausing, we will move on to adding emotion through voice modulation. To very few students in the class this comes naturally. Most will need to learn that they must develop an understanding of the subject, the way it is written and punctuated before they will be able to add required emotions. Therefore we might just stayed focused on "Sneezing" a little while longer.
Grades 5, 6, and 7
Today, we discussed our upcoming performance "Valentines in Venice". Seeing that the topic involves love and Italy, we are planning something very special. This will require memorization, dedication, and a little understanding about the topic. The boys and girls are to try to use their knowledge of punctuation, breathing, emotion, and phrasing to give a good performance. Pieces have been assigned and their memorization is required for next Wednesday.
Good Work Everybody!
Mrs. Deras
The class is, first of all, practising to enter the classroom and take their seats the way they would if entering and exiting the stage, in a theatre, AS A GROUP. We need to start practising now, as this actually causes the most trouble in preparing for productions. The children are encouraged to enter quietly, in a line, take their seats as they arrive in order. They are then practising to be very quiet while their fellow actors speak.
We discussed the poem "The Tale of Custard the Dragon" by Ogden Nash, who appeared to be very scared and timid, but was brave to eat the pirate. He simply was lazy and liked the comfort of his cage.
We then listened to the poem "The African Lion" by A. E. Housman and compared wild animals to domesticated pets. The consesus was that the wild animals are more likely to eat you regardless of whether you are well or ill behaved.
The children then offered individual presentations using full and complete sentences (most difficulty here) about their favorite animal, ending with a bow or a curtsey.
SK's
This class is also practising entering and exiting the classroom as if they were entering/exiting the stage. Please see the note regarding the JK's.
We reviewed the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and the role of the wolf. We then read a long poem entitled "Planning" which really spoke of a child getting ready to sleep, and thinking about growing up to be an animal. Each animal had characteristics that made it fast, hungry, cunning, tall, big, ferocious, gentle, etc.
One by one the children were then to introduce themselves clearly, and then give three clues about their favorite animal allowing the class to guess what that animal could be. We had some excellent clues using characteristics. Each presentation was concluded with a bow or curtsey. The children were focusing on being loud, clear, and thinking on the spot.
Grades 1 and 2
With this group we first discussed the comma, the semi-colon, and the period with respect to pausing and breathing when reading out loud or reciting. Each child then recited the poem "Sneezing" (minus four students) while carefully focusing on taking a breath at the required intervals.
We have also been discussing what to perform during our upcoming fundraising night "Valentines in Venice".
Grades 3 and 4
We continued our exercise in fluency with idiomatic expressions, and the students were reminded to read via phrasing with proper pauses for breath and comprehension and emphasis. The students then listened to two variations on the start of a fairy story - one read erratically and one read slowly with emphasis and emotion.
To further our study of presentation techniques, poetic recitation, and focus on punctuation, each student recited the poem "Sneezing" by an anonymous author. Their stance, and mention of the title, author and focus on pausing were of importance.
Once we clear the hurdle of phrasing and pausing, we will move on to adding emotion through voice modulation. To very few students in the class this comes naturally. Most will need to learn that they must develop an understanding of the subject, the way it is written and punctuated before they will be able to add required emotions. Therefore we might just stayed focused on "Sneezing" a little while longer.
Grades 5, 6, and 7
Today, we discussed our upcoming performance "Valentines in Venice". Seeing that the topic involves love and Italy, we are planning something very special. This will require memorization, dedication, and a little understanding about the topic. The boys and girls are to try to use their knowledge of punctuation, breathing, emotion, and phrasing to give a good performance. Pieces have been assigned and their memorization is required for next Wednesday.
Good Work Everybody!
Mrs. Deras
Monday, January 10, 2011
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011
ALL GRADES
Today the children were slightly horrified as they listened to the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
It was the original version, written by Charles Perrault, where the wolf eats the Grandmother and then eats Little Red Riding Hood - no one saves them.
They were then told that the many different versions arose from this one.
The next version listened to was Roald Dahl's - they unanimously preferred this one, as Little Red Riding Hood takes care of the nasty old wolf and her wardrobe. Unfortunately pistols and knickers were involved.
JK's and SK's
The Junior and Senior Kindergarten classes, upon hearing the story and poem, proceeded to act out scary ferocious animals without words. First we spoke of frightening animals and creatures. They then individually showed the class how the animal would walk, what other movements it would make, and what noises it would produce. The rest of the class had to guess what animal they were pretending to be. Some of your children were quite frightening!
Grades 1 and 2
This group is very eager to discuss any upcoming productions! They are more than willing to sing, dance, and act, but we did get down to basics. The moral of the story of Red Riding Hood was discussed and they all agreed that it is important to be polite, but not to enagage in conversations with strangers, unless okayed by a parent or close guardian.
The class decided the poetic version by Dahl was much better and the importance of learning to take care of yourself really helped Red Riding Hood in the end.
This left little time to put on a short production of the story, at which point every child thought that the wolf should be ignorned and or reported or "dealt with" according to Dahl.
Grades 3 and 4
We began with "fluency in reading exercises" through idiomatic and proverbial expressions. Children are to focus on proper expression, breathing techniques, and reading according to punctuation marks. This is important to comprehension, without which we cannot achieve proper expression on stage.
This exercise was followed by the story of Little Red Riding Hood, followed again by shock. We will review the poem the following week. The children are to focus on understanding the characters and their intentions, thereby helping to develop proper expression. They are just beginning to realize that the characterization can take on animal form, but refer to different types of characters of people.
Grades 5, 6, and 7
This group used the story and poem to delve deeply into the meaning portrayed. The analyzed the characters in each story and offered comparisons to the real world. The story was portrayed against the poem using descriptions from real life. The overlay of the moral was very clear to the group, and the poem allowed them to express themselves in similar situations, offering "stay-safe" techniques. We have to work on expression without giggling, but then again, the poem kept giving them "unrealistic" defense ideas.
Regards to All,
Mrs. Deras
Today the children were slightly horrified as they listened to the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
It was the original version, written by Charles Perrault, where the wolf eats the Grandmother and then eats Little Red Riding Hood - no one saves them.
They were then told that the many different versions arose from this one.
The next version listened to was Roald Dahl's - they unanimously preferred this one, as Little Red Riding Hood takes care of the nasty old wolf and her wardrobe. Unfortunately pistols and knickers were involved.
JK's and SK's
The Junior and Senior Kindergarten classes, upon hearing the story and poem, proceeded to act out scary ferocious animals without words. First we spoke of frightening animals and creatures. They then individually showed the class how the animal would walk, what other movements it would make, and what noises it would produce. The rest of the class had to guess what animal they were pretending to be. Some of your children were quite frightening!
Grades 1 and 2
This group is very eager to discuss any upcoming productions! They are more than willing to sing, dance, and act, but we did get down to basics. The moral of the story of Red Riding Hood was discussed and they all agreed that it is important to be polite, but not to enagage in conversations with strangers, unless okayed by a parent or close guardian.
The class decided the poetic version by Dahl was much better and the importance of learning to take care of yourself really helped Red Riding Hood in the end.
This left little time to put on a short production of the story, at which point every child thought that the wolf should be ignorned and or reported or "dealt with" according to Dahl.
Grades 3 and 4
We began with "fluency in reading exercises" through idiomatic and proverbial expressions. Children are to focus on proper expression, breathing techniques, and reading according to punctuation marks. This is important to comprehension, without which we cannot achieve proper expression on stage.
This exercise was followed by the story of Little Red Riding Hood, followed again by shock. We will review the poem the following week. The children are to focus on understanding the characters and their intentions, thereby helping to develop proper expression. They are just beginning to realize that the characterization can take on animal form, but refer to different types of characters of people.
Grades 5, 6, and 7
This group used the story and poem to delve deeply into the meaning portrayed. The analyzed the characters in each story and offered comparisons to the real world. The story was portrayed against the poem using descriptions from real life. The overlay of the moral was very clear to the group, and the poem allowed them to express themselves in similar situations, offering "stay-safe" techniques. We have to work on expression without giggling, but then again, the poem kept giving them "unrealistic" defense ideas.
Regards to All,
Mrs. Deras
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