Music Appreciation: Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy. Antonio's father, Giovanni Battista, a barber before becoming a violinist, taught young Antonio to play the violin and then toured Venice playing the violin with him.

At the age of 15, Antonio began training to become a priest. At the age of 25, he was ordained a priest and soon after became known as the II Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest", because of his red hair. Due to his health, he left the priesthood in 1703 after only 3 years. But he was still able to pursue a career in music.
Vivaldi's music is joyful, almost playful, revealing his own joy of composing. In addition, Vivaldi was able to compose non-academic music which means it would be enjoyed by many people rather than just college professors. It was these qualities that made Vivaldi's music very popular.

Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, composed in 1723, is a set of four concertos for violin. It is his most popular work and is among the most popular works of the Baroque Era. For this composition he wrote sonnets to match each season.

This week the students listened and discussed Vivaldi's "Winter" from "The Four Seasons". Ask your child how many movements or sections "Winter" contained and the differences in tempo and mood. Below you can listen to this piece from YouTube with some really cool sand art to accompany it. The students are also being introduced to the theme from "Spring" from "The Four Seasons" as well via boomwhackers. We will do some breaking down of parts next week and put this together for our Spring concert.

Bible: Dec 3-7

Memory Verse:

“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.”

John 1:6-8

Gospel Comic Updates: You now have a project "Jesus as a boy in the Temple" to submit your current comics to. Correct anything I have pointed out to you and edit your comics so they can be published this Monday. I have also created a personal category for each of you under your name for any personal comics that do not relate to our bible projects so that I do not have to search through all of your personal comics to find your bible assignments.

Monday: Read together and discuss "Ministry of John the Baptist" card then complete corresponding worksheet. Read and compare Matthew 3 and John 1:19-34. You will find similarities and differences between these two Gospel accounts, this is call "harmonizing" the Gospels. Since each Gospel has its own characteristics, we will go through these and find facts that match and facts that are different from one other accounts.

Wednesday: John the Baptist Chapel!!!

Friday: Finish any work left from our bible reading assignment on Monday. Hidden Object worksheet, here you will find 9 hidden objects in a picture, then you will write one sentence describing how this object is related to our lesson on John the Baptist.

In our Hymnal you can find a hymn specifically for this lesson and occasion which we will learn on Monday. Hymn 75 "There's a voice in the wilderness crying".

Bible: Nov. 26-30

Memory Verse: 

And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”

(Luke 2:48-49 ESV)

I hope you all have had a wonderful Thanksgiving break! We are going to jump back into our Gospel studies with Jesus as a young boy. You will be creating your first comic with this lesson. I will be having class in the math classroom so we are close to the computer lab. Most of your comic work will be done AT HOME, but if you have finished classwork while in bible class, then I may allow you time to go into the computer lab to do a little work. Remember that I will be logging online and either approving your work or sending it back to make improvements. Always check your messages from me so that you know what is needed. 

Monday: Jesus as a boy - reading cards and worksheet, read Luke 2:39-52 from our bibles then take a list of prepositional phrases and number them in the order that they occur in the scripture. 

Friday: Complete any classwork not finished on Monday and Computer Lab time. 

LITERATURE & HISTORY: November 26-30

Hello, Students!

I hope that you and your families and friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We only have four more weeks of school before the first semester is over and we have our Christmas vacation!  There is so much to get done during this time, so I'm going to try a new class plan.

Each day when you get to history and lit class, you will know what has to be finished for you to stay caught up.  We will have a short time at the beginning of class when I will read a chapter of Treasure Island to you, or we watch a short film, or discuss our reading.  But the remainder of our time together is up to YOU to plan.  You will be working on:  your explorer layered book (Christopher Columbus) in history; reading the book, The First Voyage and taking reading notes; reading the novel, Treasure Island and filling out a plot/character chart for each chapter; practicing your new spelling words and their meanings, using cursive writing; completing Grammar with Columbus; and your book report for Treasure Island.

I will try and keep my part to no more than 45 minutes each day, which means that you will have over an hour to read your books and work on your assignments.  I hope that you will work hard so that you don't have homework every night.  Since we will be reading two books this week at the same time, you will really have to stay focused in class.  You will be able to count your individual reading during class for your 30 minutes for your reading log.

I will be available to help you with any questions you may have.  You must stay busy the whole time, and if you do finish the day's (or week's) work, I have some extension activities I need help with--especially creating our Exploration bulletin board downstairs.  You can work ahead on assignments for the rest of the week.

Your schedule for the week is below, and  you will also have a hard copy of this on Monday.  DUE dates and TEST dates are included below.

MONDAY:
     LARGE GROUP TIME (or LGT):
         Intro author and characters, story charts for Treasure Island;
         Listen to Chapter 1 of Treasure Island read aloud; fill in Following the Story chart;
         Watch short film on Christopher Columbus; use info for layered book;
         Grammar explanation using Monday's example in Grammar with Christopher
            Columbus.
    MY  INDIVIDUAL TIME:  (or MIT)
           *Read Chapter 15 in The History of US:  A Boy Named Christopher Has a Dream
           *Work on Christopher Columbus page in Explorers layered book;
                   DUE MONDAY, 3rd 
           *Read Chapter 2 in Treasure Island and fill out Following the Story chart.
                   DUE TUESDAY
           *Write your spelling words in cursive 2 times each (trace and write = 2)
                   DUE MONDAY, 3rd; 
                   SPELLING/VOCAB TEST MONDAY, 3rd

TUESDAY:   
    LGT:  Discuss Chapter 2 of Treasure Island with class
               Listen to Chapter 3 of Treasure Island read aloud;  fill in FtS chart;
                    DUE TODAY
    MIT:  *Read Chapter 4 of Treasure Island; fill in FtS chart; DUE THURSDAY
               *Read Preface (pp. 3-15) and Epilogue (pp. 88-91) from new book:
                    The First Voyage to America and answer reading comprehension
                    questions from packet; DUE WEDNESDAY
               *Complete Grammar MYTH/FACT summary sentence for Tuesday from packet;
                    DUE FRIDAY
               *Finish writing spelling words 2 times each in cursive
               *Finish Columbus page for layered book

WEDNESDAY: 
     LGT:  Discuss Chapters 3 & 4 of Treasure Island with class
                Listen to Chapter 5 read aloud; fill in FtS chart; DUE THURSDAY
                Discuss the Prologue and Epilogue of First Voyage;  turn in completed
                   questions.
     MIT:  *Read Chapter 6 of Treasure Island; fill in FtS chart; DUE THURSDAY
                *Read First Voyage pages 16-27; answer questions on NOTES I;
                     DUE THURSDAY
                *Complete Grammar MYTH/FACT summary sentence for Wednesday;
                     DUE FRIDAY
                *Work on looking up definitions for vocabulary spelling words and writing them
                      on cursive handout.  DUE MONDAY, 3rd 

           

THURSDAY:

     LGT:  Discuss Chapters 5 & 6 of Treasure Island with class; turn in FtS for
                    Chapters 4-6

                Listen to Chapter 7 read aloud; fill in FtS chart; DUE FRIDAY

                Discuss pages 16-27 from First Voyage;  turn in completed questions.

                Learn to sing the Salve Regina.

     MIT:  *Read Chapter 8 of Treasure Island; fill in FtS chart;  DUE FRIDAY

                *Read First Voyage pages 28-43; answer questions on NOTES II;
                  DUE FRIDAY

                *Complete Grammar MYTH/FACT summary sentence for Thursday;
                  DUE FRIDAY

                *Finish definitions for vocabulary spelling words

FRIDAY:

     LGT:  Discuss Chapters 7 & 8 of Treasure Island with class

                Listen to Chapter 9 read aloud; fill in FtS chart;  DUE TODAY

                Discuss pages 28-43 from First Voyage; turn in completed questions

                Get information about Treasure Island book report

                Go over writing assignment

     MIT:  *Read Chapter 10 of Treasure Island; fill in FtS chart; DUE MONDAY

                *Read First Voyage pages 44-57; answer questions on NOTES III;
                  DUE MONDAY
                *Complete Grammar MYTH/FACT summary sentence for today;
                  PACKET DUE TODAY
                *Write your letter to Christopher Columbus; DUE MONDAY

SPELLING/VOCABULARY for TEST on Monday, December 3
     * indicates that the definition for the word must also be learned--you will have
        to recognize it on a matching test.  All definitions should relate to sea travel.
1.  testament*
2.  Gospel
3.  character
4.  Christopher Columbus
5.  league*
6.  caravel*
7.  admiral
8.  uncharted*
9.  reckoned*
10. amplitude*
11. commencement*
12.  stationery*
13.  stationary*


MONDAY, DECEMBER 3rd
   Spelling Test over words from this week
   Cursive handwriting practice for words; Vocabulary definitions for words
   Chapter 10 from Treasure Island with Follow the Story chart
   Pages 44-57 from First Voyage and questions from NOTES III.
   Letter to Christopher Columbus

                                                         

Other Explorers Research

Avery and Roshan:   GENGHIS KHAN

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan

http://www.biography.com/people/genghis-khan-9308634

http://www.enotes.com/topics/genghis-khan  (Quote)

Molly and Hudson:  CHENG HO

http://geography.about.com/od/historyofgeography/a/chengho.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He

http://library.thinkquest.org/20176/chengho.htm

 Austin and Cassie:  MARCO POLO

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo

http://geography.about.com/cs/marcopolo/a/marcopolo.htm

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/p/polo.shtml

Wesley and Sophia:  IBN BATTUTA

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200004/the.longest.hajj.the.journeys.of.ibn.battuta-editor.s.note.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Battuta

http://www.ibnibnbattuta.com/p/who-was-ibn-battuta.html

LIT & HISTORY November 12-16, 2012

Happy Veteran's Day, Students!

Today, we give thanks for and remember the thousands of men and women who have protected our country throughout the years of our history.  And in less than two weeks, we will be giving thanks for our many blessings as we celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends.  Our Sharing Feast will be this Friday, November 16--which is also our last day of school until Monday, November 26.

This year, you get a whole week off for Thanksgiving.  Friday, we will have our school Sharing Feast at 11:00 and only a half day of school.  Extended Care will be available to those who are signed up for that program.

We are responsible for the mashed potatoes on Friday!  I will be contacting your parents early this week to make plans for our contribution to the sharing feast.  We will also be planting our bulbs this Thursday, weather permitting.  Please bring some gardening clothes that you can change into (and out of) when we have finished planting.

In History this week, we will be discussing the "other" early explorers of our continent:  the Portuguese and Italians.  We will also learn what was going on in the rest of Europe and Asia as other countries sent men to explore those continents.

Our readings this week in Literature will come from the folklore of Portugal, Italy, and China. You will be reviewing the characteristics of the genres of legend and fairy tale.  You will have reading homework each night, with a reading chart to fill out as you read.  This reading can count toward your 30 minutes for your reading log, which will be due on Friday.  You will not have a reading log over the Thanksgiving break.

You have a spelling test tomorrow over our last set of "political" words.  You need to be able to sing The Preposition Song by memory with a partner this Wednesday.  But there will be no new spelling words this week, and we will wait until after Thanksgiving to begin Treasure Island.

Have a wonderful week!

SPELLING TEST tomorrow over last week's words (see last week's blog post for list)
MEMORIZATION TEST over The Preposition Song this Wednesday.

READING ASSIGNMENTS for Week of November 12-16
For Monday:  Read the Viking packet of myths, and fill out reading chart;  study for spelling test.
For Tuesday:  Read the Portuguese folk-tale, The Wolf-Child and fill out reading chart.
For Wednesday:  Read the Italian fairy-tale, The Three Citrons and fill out reading chart.
For Thursday:  Read the Chinese folk-tale, The Talking Fish and fill out reading chart.
For Friday:  Bring in Reading Log

GARDENING on Thursday--bring gardening clothes and a spade if you have one.
SHARING FEAST on Friday at 11:00;  Mashed Potatoes; Early Out

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bible: Nov. 12-16

No Memory Verse this week!

Don't forget we did a review for your test on Friday, even though the comic book Gospels are exciting, we cannot forget to review our materials throughout the week so we are ready for our test.

Monday: Begin our Illustrated Gospels
We will go to the computer lab and I will get you started on your Pixton.com accounts where you can start illustrating your next bible lesson. Remember you can work on each lesson throughout the week so you do not have to spend hours on the computer. If you can, do one panel each day so it is spread out throughout the week. This way you have time for other homework and time to spend with family and recreation!

Friday: TEST
Birth of Christ, Simeon Meets the Christ, Visit of the Magi, Flight to Egypt

Sharing Feast is also this Friday!

One more reminder...

Math November 5-9

Center A – Angle Words

Center B – Superstars Problem Solving (you must work alone)

Center C – Wixie Math Project

Lessons for the Week

Mon – Go Over Weeks Work

Tues – Lesson 30

Wed – Test

Thurs  - Lesson 31

Fri – Lesson 32, Superstar Review

Multiplication practice Speed Test 

Multiplication Games 

Wixie

Scootpad

LIT & HISTORY November 5-9, 2012

Hello, Fellow Citizens,

This is a very exciting week in our country, as the National Election for the 45th President of the United States will be held on Tuesday, November 6!  You will continue learning about our political system, and will even get to read excerpts from books that have been written by our two candidates for President.

On Monday, you will have a spelling and vocabulary test over the words from the Preamble to the Constitution.  I have included some definitions below that you might want to study before Monday.  Our new words are also below for a test on Monday, November 12.

On Tuesday, you will be required to say the Preamble  from memory.  You will also get to vote for President, Vice President, US Senator from Texas, and two Texas seats to the US House of Representatives.

Your homework for Tuesday evening, with your parents' permission, will be to try and watch at least one hour of incoming election results before you go to bed.  I would suggest either television channels CNN or C-SPAN--neither will be too partisan.  Your assignment is to take home an electoral college map of the US, and as a state's electors are awarded to one of the candidates, you will color that state the appropriate color for that political party:  Red=Republican=Romney;  Blue=Democrat=Obama.  If your parents would rather you not watch the television news, you can probably find an online source for this information when you wake up on Wednesday morning and can color before school.  We will finish this process in class on Wednesday.

Before the week is over, we will have time-traveled back to the year 1000 and the "discovery" of North America by the Vikings (NOT the Minnesota sort!) who probably had no possible way of predicting that this land they settled in for a short while would eventually be a leading world power!  They might have stayed had they known!

I have included some website connections to several Viking sources that you will use on Friday in the computer lab. I thought it might be easier to access them from the blog.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vikings/

Enjoy your Sunday and be blessed!

Mrs. H

READING ASSIGNMENTS for Week of November 5-9, 2012

Monday night--read the excerpt by Mitt Romney from his book, and fill out analysis
Tuesday night--read 30 minutes in a book of your choice; watch 1 hour of election
     returns and color in the states on your electoral college map for either Romney=red
     or Obama=blue as they are announced.
Wednesday night--read 30 minutes in a book of your choice.  Begin to memorize the
     list of prepositions to the tune of Yankee Doodle--DUE on Wednesday, Nov. 14.
Thursday night--read Norse legend that will be given to you in class.  This will be due
     on Monday, November 12, with the reading guide filled out.
Friday-Sunday--read Norse legend, fill out reading guide, and read 30 minutes each night
     in a book of your choice.  Study for spelling test on Monday.

SPELLING/VOCABULARY TEST for Monday, November 5
STUDY THESE DEFINITIONS!
The verbs are highlighted--I think they are the hardest to remember!

Preamble=an introduction to a document (must be capitalized)
Constitution=a document that organizes how a country is to be ruled (must be capitalized)
establish=to set up on a firm and lasting basis
justice=fairness
ensure=to make sure or certain
domestic=of a home or homeland
tranquility=calmness or peacefulness
provide=to give what is needed
common=belonging equally to all
defense=protection
promote=to further or make important
general=common to many or all
welfare=health, happiness, well-being
secure=make safe and lasting
blessings=gifts from God
liberty=freedom
posterity=future generations
ordain=pass or establish as law

SPELLING TEST for Monday, November 12

candidate
Electoral College
president
election
nominee
Constitution
amendment
citizen
democracy
republic
liberalism
conservatism
political
campaign
federal

Music Appreciation: Bach to Baroque with Handel

Well we are getting ready to move on from J.S. Bach and look into another exciting Baroque composer. Before we move on, I wanted to share this modern take and arrangement on Bach's "Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1: Prelude."  Enjoy the beautiful warm timbre of the Cello.

  

Music Vocabulary: TIMBRE & ORATORIO

tim-bre: Noun
Timbre is the unique quality of an instrument's sound; its "voice."

Timbre describes the difference between two tones played in the same pitch and volume. For example, timbre is what you observe when you decipher a piano from a guitar; or an acoustic guitar from an electric.

This week we will begin study on George Frideric Handel, well known for his oratorio, the "Messiah." 

What is an oratorio? An oratorio is a large musical composition that includes the orchestra, choir and and soloists. Very similar to opera, except opera is musical theater and oratorio's are strictly for concert purposes. 

Messiah an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text collected and taken from the King James Bible, and from the Psalms included with the Book of Common Prayer, which we use in our chapel services here at school!

We will listen to portions of this composition this week in class!

Bible: Nov. 5-9

Don't forget the Book Fair start this coming Monday!

Memory Verse: Matthew 2:17-18

Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah,  weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

 Monday: In your packet on "Flight to Egypt" the last page has us reading Matthew 2:13-23 from our bibles and discussing how certain prophecies from the Old Testament have been fulfilled. We will complete the corresponding worksheet. You will then create a pyramid depicting three scenes from this lesson.

Friday: We will begin our review for the past four lessons in preparation for a test next week.

I have created an account for our bible students on Pixton.com. On this site, which your student can log into from home and school, they will start creating their own illustrated book of the Gospels. So as we go through the year, they will create a comic book page for each lesson. These pages can be printed out to create your own Illustrated book to have as a keepsake.


Here's a sneak peak...Click to enlarge :)