Finishing Mythology

Hello All,

     We have finished Norse Mythology here in Language Arts, which means we will be moving on to poetry after vacation. Yesterday afternoon, I started recording a few videos of some of the stories; while I couldn't get the same amount of energy as we had in the classroom, with the limited space in front of the camera, I will be posting some or all of the stories online for listening later or recapping at another time. Here is the link to the first part of the first story; go to YouTube to see the rest as they are posted!

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris

Mythology

Hello Everyone!

     Right now, our classes are working on Norse Mythology — the stories of Odin, Thor, Freyja, Loki, Authumla, and the rest give insight into old Germanic lives, and they are fun to tell and listen to. While they are traditionally told aloud, attached you may find some PDFs of the basics of each story.

     In class, I am telling the stories and acting out the best parts in proper, traditional form. Each one has some connection to the old-fashioned "just-so" stories — a myth, after all, explains why something is the way it is. So, the Norse Germanic creation story, the history of swans, the shape of the sky, and even how Thor got his mighty hammer are all myths.

     Click here to learn about the creation of the world.

     Click here to learn about the Gods and their lives.

     Click here to learn about how Thor got his hammer, and Loki learned to shut his mouth.

     Students will produce their own myths before February vacation; in the spirit of traditional mythmaking, their final project will be a verbal presentation of the myth, preferably recorded as well, so they can experience and demonstrate storytelling as well as listening skills. One class has already begun, and is doing a splendid job of it.

     Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,
Mr. DeMaris

Quiz Tomorrow!

Hello Students,

     As we have explained since last week, we have a quiz tomorrow on the following terms. You may bring one single-sided page of notes with you. The quiz will be entirely multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank. On the latter half, spelling will count. As you will be allowed notes, that should not be a problem for you.

     Here are the terms on which you will be quizzed.

Places (8)	People (20)	Creatures (9)	Things (2)
Asgard	Aesir	Authumla	Draughts
Bifrost	Vanir	Bygul and Trjegul	Mjolnir
Midgard	Baldur	Fenrir
Muspell	Buri	Jormungand
Niflheim	Frey	Managarm
Urth’s Well	Freyja	Nidhogg
Valhalla	Frigg	Ratatosk
Vanaheim	Heimdall	Sleipnir
	Hel	Teeth Gnasher and Teeth Grinder
	Idun
	Loki
	Mimir
	Nari
	Njorth
	Odin
	Sol
	Surt
	Thor
	Tyr
	Ymir

This looks like a long list, but you have had three days with the words on the board and knowledge that you may take a page of notes on them to the quiz. Quiz questions will be arranged as follows. For the multiple choice questions, it will ask something like:

Odin is
a) Loki's wolf son.
b) the first giant.
c) king of the gods.
d) a gossiping squirrel.

For the fill-in-the-blank questions, it will ask something like:

What is the name of the moon wolf who chases the sun and the moon across the sky?
_________________________

All your answers can be found in the packets you worked on for the last four days in class. You may find PDFs of them at the following links.

Packet One - The Creation of the World

Packet Two - The First War and the Norse Gods

Study well, and do well.

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris

This Week in Preview

Dear Students,

     This week, I will be able to stay after school tentatively on Wednesday; I have meetings on Tuesday and I work in the Learning Lab on Thursday. I will let you know if any of this changes.

     Our work this week will involve discussing the district writing contest, free writing to develop our grammar and spelling skills, and building a greater understanding of Norse Mythology through a combination of reading and listening assignments.

     On Monday, you will discuss the details of the school writing contest; any student may submit a writing assignment that is up to two, single-spaced, size twelve Times New Roman pages. The writing assignments are due by January 30; I will explain the submission process later in the week. Then, you will read silently and write when you are done.

     On Tuesday, you will review the terms for the Norse Mythology quiz taking place on Wednesday. Then, you will free write a minimum of one single-spaced, twelve-point font page, or one handwritten page. This will be graded on the minimum length, grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

     On Wednesday, you will take the Norse Mythology basics quiz. This quiz is based on the terms written on the board on Friday. You will be allowed one hand-written page (one side) of notes for the quiz, as spelling is required for credit on each answer. After the quiz, you will work on MobyMax.

     On Thursday, you will learn more about Norse mythology, including the story "The Three Gifts, or How Loki Learned to Shut his Mouth." Read quietly and answer the questions that follow. You will be graded on your accuracy, spelling, and grammar.

     On Friday, you will have a Review and Improve day to catch up on missing or low-skill work. Next Friday is the last day of the quarter, so you should take full advantage of this time to fix assignments or hand in back work. If you are currently failing or in danger of failing this quarter, this time is critical to your success.

     Finally, some students will be retaking their NWEA tests this week during their Allied Arts and Tutorial times. If you did not reach the benchmark in Reading or Math in the fall, you will work on that this week. Stay focused, do well, and avoid distracting others.

     Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris

This Week in Preview

Dear Students,

     This week, I will be able to stay after school to help students on Tuesday and Wednesday. If this changes, I will let you know. On Monday I have a staff meeting to attend, on Thursday I have personal plans, and on Friday there is no late bus.

     Our work this week will involve writing a persuasive essay based on your assignment 04-10, having classroom and then clan spelling bees, and transitioning into Norse Mythology.

     On Monday you will spend class writing an essay based on assignment 04-10; this will be the final part of your persuasive unit. This will be due at the end of school on Tuesday, so you can finish writing it during Tutorial on Tuesday.

     On Tuesday you will have a spelling bee, wherein we will pick the top three students from each class.

     On Wednesday you will begin Norse Mythology with an overview of the grisly Creation of the World and the formation of human beings.

     On Thursday you will learn about the major gods and all the Nine Realms on the World Tree. You will have the clan spelling bee during Tutorial on Thursday as well.

     On Friday, you will have a Review and Improve day to catch up on missing or low-skill work. If you do not have work to do, you are wrong.

     Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris