This week the students read through chapters six and seven of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and - not unlike the rest of the book, but certainly not like the world we live in - discovered the likes of not-so-very-nice lullabys, babies that turn into pigs, grins that belong to cats (sans the cat), teaparties that never end, and riddles that have no answers.
"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
Yesterday, several students expressed confusion with Ch. 7: The Mad Tea Party. I remarked that their reaction could be right on, as Alice expressed her frustration with the situation as well:
"At any rate I'll never go there again!" said Alice as she picked her way through the wood. "It's the stupidest tea-party I ever was at in all my life!"
During class, students read scripted portions of the chapter out loud. Each student had the opportunity to "perform" by rotating up to the front of the classroom. Along the way, students had to rise from their desks between script portions and change tables (garnished with two-dimensional paper cups). This was done to provide a possible felt-sense, similar to Alice's experiences. Some students said that moving around was fun, but others felt that it was "tiring" and "annoying." However, many students who had been confused after reading the chapter on their own, said that they seemed to understand it better after hearing it out loud.
Though there is no denying that Carroll's entire story is filled with word play of one kind or another, Chapter 7, plays it to the hilt! If the reader doesn't have a firm grasp of actual word meanings, the word play in The Mad Tea Party can be very confusing.
We will be having a tea party, ourselves, during the week of September 14. A note will be going home next week regarding the event.
Other news this week: Today students had their first Vocabulary/Grammar and Spelling test. Though I haven't yet graded all the tests, students corrected their spelling tests in class today and it looks like most all of them did quite well on the spelling portion (Yay!).
We also began our Stone Age unit in Social Studies, reading about the Paleolithic period and examining tools and their uses (and what they can tell us about the people who used them).
Then, today, students brought together several of the skills we've been working on in drama: ensemble skills, vocal skills, and stage directions/blocking. Overall, the students are really "getting it." In the post below, you will find several different photos of our "final performances."
I was happy to see those of you who came to Curriculum Night last night. For those who were not able to attend, please call or email me and let me know if you have questions, concerns or are excited and happy about your student and/or what we are doing in class.
Wishing you all a safe, happy and relaxing weekend!
Cheers,
Ms. Nicky Pitman
