Are You Still Writers?

Hello out there in the great big, wide world of sixth grade!  

I'm here to ask you: Are you still writers?  If for a moment words sparked your excitement last year, do they still sizzle like tiny fireworks on the page, or have they merely fizzled out?  Do you let your pencil dance upon the edge of your notebook with poems & unusual characters' names scribbled in all directions (no compass in sight)?  Have you given a happy sigh when a writing assignment has come your way, or was it a loathsome groan instead?  Do you still remember azure & zephyr?  Can you recognize a portrait of Shakespeare or do you still confuse him with George Washington?  Have you plopped down & written a play lately?  Do strong words from the narrative of your own story still move you to tears?  (I hope so.  There's healing in that - & we all need that at times.)  Has the definition of personification been lost, or is it still there sitting comfortably in your memory?  Do you know the precious power you possess when you hold a pencil in your hand?  
Never forget - no matter your answers to the questions here - that you are a writer.

Love Always,
Ms. Dawn
your writing teacher

P.S.: Can you pick out the spices?

Postcards From Verona

Verona, Italy is the setting of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.  Today, you can still visit the fair city.  Take a peek...

Valentine's Day in Verona

You can even write a letter to Juliet and stick it on the wall of her 'house' in Verona.  She might even write back, as some Italian ladies still answer the letters sent to Shakespeare's famous character each year.  In 2010, a film called Letters to Juliet came out about the mysterious letter-writing secretaries of Verona and their many stories.   

These wedding locks with couple's names written on them represent eternal love, locked up, and lasting forever. 

the Juliet statue in Verona

'Juliet's House' - Don't you just love the balcony?

Ciao,

Ms. Dawn

P.S.: "Dear Juliet" translated in Italian is "Cara Giulietta."  Each year on Valentine's Day in Verona they present "Cara Giulietta" awards to the most romantic heart-wrenching letters received the previous year. 

{all images via Pinterest}

Revisiting Shakespeare {Swagger Inventor}

We're revisiting William Shakespeare as we prepare for our class play, Zomeo & Kooliet (title inspired by a student (D.M. - the muse) and play written by me (Ms. D. - the playwright)), a modern retelling of his masterpiece Romeo & Juliet.

Will's Stats

born: 1564 * died: 1616

hometown: Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

parents: John & Mary

wife: Anne Hathaway

kids: Susanna, Judith, & Hamnet (J & H were twins, but sadly Hamnet died young)

works: over 150 sonnets & more than 30 plays

play categories: histories, comedies, tragedies, romances, & tragicomedies

acting company: 'Lord Chamberlain's Men' (changed name to 'King's Men' in 1603)

theater: The Globe (located in London, England)

Other Cool Facts

-Will created tons of words (literally thousands) that we still use today (for example: downstairs, watchdog, eyeball, leaky, luggage, majestic, moonbeam, priceless...).

-One of Will's words that he created was...(wait for it) =)... swagger!  Can you believe it?  Shakespeare invented that word!!!  He used it in some of his plays, like A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear, and Henry V. 

-In Will's day only men could perform/act in plays (all parts male or female had to be played by men or boys).

Shakespeare All Around Us

   

Nearly 400 years since his death, Shakespeare's words, plays, and poems are still being spoken, read, and explored.  Writers can change the world...

-Ms. D.

{all images via Pinterest}

William Shakespeare in the House!

AKA: Bard of Avon * 1564-1616

Some say, "William Shakespeare in elementary school?  What?!" However, in Ms. Dawn's writing class, we say, "Yes!" and work to prove naysayers wrong.


Fabulous quotes from the famous Stratford-Upon-Avon playwright:


"All the world 's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."
-As You Like It

"This above all: to thine own self be true."
-Hamlet 

"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt."
-Measure for Measure (This is one of my favorite quotes! -Ms. Dawn) 

"Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble."
-Macbeth (Cauldron is one of our million $ words of the day!  A trio of creepy witches chant this quote in the bloody play of Macbeth.)

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
-Romeo & Juliet

"It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." (That's a metaphor!)
-Romeo & Juliet

Click HERE to watch the video we watched in class!
Click HERE for more Shakespeare fun!

Writing students, what else have you learned about old William Shakespeare?  Leave me a comment! =)

"Parting is such sweet sorrow..." (That's another quote from Romeo & Juliet.)
Ms. Dawn

(Image Source: Getty Images)