Three Musketeers Week 6: What's Up, Duke?

Welcome! This blog post is related to my Three Musketeers class at our homeschool co-op, Homeschool Out of the Box. We have an academic section, reading Richard Pevear's translation of the book, and an enrichment section, reading the Usborne Young Readers' abridgement of the story. For all lesson plans related to this class, click the Three Musketeers tag at the bottom of this post.

HOMEWORK: Today we reviewed all our French and also learned how to ask someone their name and tell someone our names. We practiced on each other -- my, we're getting polite.

DISCUSSION: Our review of the reading comprehension from last week led us straight into our topic for today: Queen Anne. We learned her life story, and the background gave us a lot of insight into why she is found in the predicament Dumas creates for her. Learning about the real stories of historical figures that appear in this novel forces us to examine the way Dumas uses his material -- where he stretches the truth, where he invents, and where he uses real events to move his plot along. Queen Anne was a child bride, uprooted from her country and culture, and she was doing the best she could. It's my reading that Dumas treated her pretty well in the novel -- she seems like a victim trying to survive the royal turmoil. That may be a kind presentation.

In the junior class we talked about how in lots of movies (I used Shrek as an example, but lots of the kids had also seen The Princess Bride, which is another good one) a princess is being forced to marry someone she doesn't love. They all recognized this trope and agreed that arranged marriages were wrong and troubling. We talked about how usually in stories or movies, someone rescues the princess at the last minute and she doesn't have to marry the bad guy. In Queen Anne's life though, no one rescued her. No one busted down the doors of the church at the last minute, no one swept her away, no fairy godmother helped her, and she had to marry that guy she didn't know or love. So we can understand why she met someone later in her life that she did fall in love with, since her marriage was so unfair and not based on love. I think they get it.

ACTIVITIES: We had a wonderful time dancing and singing today, and in fact learned the very beginning step of what will become our minuet. The kids were great at this! They should practice at home -- any song in 3/4 meter would be appropriate for practicing. If they've forgotten the step, maybe the phrase "Step step step, tap tap tap" will help bring it back.

SKIT:

In the senior class, we acted out the arrest of M. Bonacieux:

Characters: D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, Bonacieux, Guards

Action: D'Artagnan and the three musketeers are sitting around his house, just partying like it's 1632, when M. Bonacieux busts in and begs for their help in finding his kidnapped wife.

Bonacieux: Help! My wife's been kidnapped! And now they're after me.
D'Artagnan: We'll protect you, no matter what.

But oh no! Here come the guards to arrest M. Bonacieux. D'Artagnan not only refuses to help him, he encourages the guards to take him away!

Bonacieux: Help! Help! They've got me! Help me!
D'Artagnan: That's right, guards. Do your job. Take this man to the Bastille!

Porthos is outraged, but D'Artagnan explains that they can do more good for M. Bonacieux if they are not arrested with him, as they surely would be if they'd fought for his freedom.

In the junior class, the kids are a bit farther along in the plot, so we acted out the Duke's visit to the Louvre.

Characters: D'Artagnan, Constance, Duke of Buckingham, Queen, Scar-faced man, Cardinal Richelieu, King.

Action: We set up the room as best we could and used our imaginations, but we basically needed a doorway, a street, a bridge, the Queen's chamber, Cardinal Richelieu's office, and the King's office. When we started out, the Queen, the Cardinal, and the King were in their places, Constance was outside the door, the Duke of Buckingham was on the bridge, and D'Artagnan was inside the door. We also had a box of diamonds.

Constance (coming through the door): I escaped my captors!
D'Artagnan: How?
Constance: I tied my bedsheets together and went out the window!
D'Artagnan: Why were you kidnapped in the first place?
Constance: That's not my secret to tell. In fact, I have to go!
D'Artagnan: Let me go with you!
Constance: No, stay here. I have to go by myself.

Constance sets off on the streets of Paris and D'Artagnan sneaks behind. As she reaches the bridge, the Duke of Buckingham puts his arm around her and D'Artagnan protests.

D'Artagnan: Hey! What are you doing? Get your hands off her.
Constance: No, this is the Duke of Buckingham. I was sent here to meet him.
D'Artagnan: Oh, sorry! What can I do to help?
Duke: Follow us to the Louvre and protect us.

So the three of them set off to the Louvre with D'Artagnan guarding the rear. They enter the queen's chamber.

Duke: Oh you're so beautiful, so wonderful, blah blah blah.
Queen: Yes, yes, but we can never be together.
Duke: NOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOooooo!
Queen: Well, I'll give you a present to remember me by.

The queen gives the duke her diamonds. The scar-faced man, who had been hiding in a corner, snuck off to tell Cardinal Richelieu.

Scar-faced man: Hey, the queen just gave the Duke of Buckingham her diamonds!
Richelieu: Ah, that gives me an idea.

Richelieu goes to visit the king.

Richelieu: Hey, I have an idea -- why don't you have a party for the queen. She can wear the diamonds you gave her -- it'll be awesome!
King: That's a great idea.

The king goes to visit the queen.

King: Hey, I have an idea. I'm going to throw you a party. Make sure you wear your diamonds!
Queen: NOOOOoooOOOOOooo!!

If it seems complicated, consider we did this four times, mixing the parts around so everyone got a chance to be the part they most wanted to be. It was so much fun, and I was amazed with the kids, their awareness of the storyline, and their ability to take on these roles and really ham it up.

POETRY: Today we read "More Strong Than Time" by Victor Hugo so we could compare the love scene that Dumas wrote between the Queen and the Duke with Hugo's love poetry. The kids did a great job understanding this poem and were very good readers. I'm interested to see what they will think of some of the lines that Dumas gave the Duke compared to Hugo's images.

ASSIGNMENT: Here are the vocabulary words:

Indifferent
Discretion
Idle
Repudiating
Equivalent
Coquetry
Ransacked
Posterity
Calumny
Indulgence

And the reading comprehension questions:

D’Artagnan makes the same promise to Constance that the Duke of Buckingham makes to the queen. What is it?
What object does D’Artagnan keep noticing, and what initials are embroidered on it?
Why was Athos arrested?
What does the Duke of Buckingham tell D’Artagnan to do?
How many times has the Duke seen the Queen before?
What does he plan to do in order to see her more often?

I'd like them to consider if they'd let themselves get arrested for a friend, and think about Athos' sacrifice for D'Artagnan. Was it wise for him to be arrested, given how fierce the Cardinal was, and how unjust the justice system could be at the time?

Three Musketeers Week 5: The Mousetrap

Welcome! This blog post is related to my Three Musketeers class at our homeschool co-op, Homeschool Out of the Box. We have an academic section, reading Richard Pevear's translation of the book, and an enrichment section, reading the Usborne Young Readers' abridgement of the story. For all lesson plans related to this class, click the Three Musketeers tag at the bottom of this post.

HOMEWORK: We tried reciting the days of the week in French today, and also learned how to say "I'm awesome!" which is very important for a Gascon. We went over some vocab from last week, specifically lackey, bourgeious, apprehended, swaggering, and rendezvous. We also traded sketches and tried to identify each others' musketeers. Some of the students are brilliant caricature artists!

One of our most interesting points from the reading comprehension involved dissecting the phrase: "In prosperity one should sow meals right and left, in order to harvest some in adversity." This is a musketeer's idea of a savings account! How nuts is that? A very Alexandre Dumas type sentiment, we decided.

DISCUSSION: Today we discussed the Louvre, from its beginnings as a medieval castle on the banks of the Seine through its use as a royal palace as it was during the time of the Three Musketeers, to its current life as an art museum. The kids have some assignments on their worksheets relating to the most famous treasures in the Louvre.

ACTIVITIES: In the senior class, I had the kids choreograph a ten-move fight scene. They split their paper into two sides, and then figured out and wrote down ten moves for each side of the battle. Then they went outside to practice and fine-tune their moves.

In both classes, we talked about passwords and the different situations in which they are used, like Constance and D'Artagnan used a password to get D'Artagnan recognized at the Louvre. In the junior class, we played Password, which is just like "Telephone" in that you try and whisper a three word password around the circle and get it safely around without any changes. We had a lot of fun with that.

Another game we played in the junior class was designed to get them started reacting to the literature in a thoughtful way. We sat in a circle and passed a ball around. When each child held the ball, it was his or her turn to speak. The first round we had to say the name of any character from the book. The second round we had to say the name of a character and then whether they were a hero or a villain. The final round we had to say our favorite character and why. It was fascinating to me to see these children, as young as five, really thinking about their choice. Several of them chose Milady DeWinter as their favorite, and when asked why, Elsa for example said, "Because she's powerful and knows how to get things done." I thought that was pretty insightful. Those who chose D'Artagnan as a favorite seemed a little horrified that anyone would pick the scar-faced man, for example. But I could tell from the discussion that they are all reading and all absorbing the material -- excellent.

ASSIGNMENT: I challenged the students to set a password with a friend or relative, so that in case they needed to send a message to that person, they could verify that it was an authentic message. We also had these vocab words to look up:

Uninhabited
Apparition
Customary
Persecute
Reproach
Incontinence
Writ server
Vigilance
Alguazil
Alibi

And these reading comprehension questions on chapters 9 and 10:

What two countries does the Queen love, and why?
The scarred man mistook Aramis and the doctor’s niece for two other people. Who?
Why is Porthos upset with D’Artagnan after Bonacieux is arrested?
What is a 17th century mousetrap?
D’Artagnan listens to a lot of interrogations without interrupting. But when does he interrupt?
Who is D’Artagnan’s alibi?

Three Musketeers Week 4: Lackeys and Abduction

Welcome! This blog post is related to my Three Musketeers class at our homeschool co-op, Homeschool Out of the Box. We have an academic section, reading Richard Pevear's translation of the book, and an enrichment section, reading the Usborne Young Readers' abridgement of the story. For all lesson plans related to this class, click the Three Musketeers tag at the bottom of this post.

We began class today reviewing our French vocabulary and checking out our homework and reading comprehension. The students had put some effort into their visions of the abandoned monastery, and we contrasted their ideas with the ones in the video clip I sent out in email. Here's that video. One of the most important things to absorb from this reading is the fun, witty patter the combatants toss around during the preparations for the duel, which is paid homage in a scene from The Princess Bride -- and you can see that video here. Fun stuff!

DISCUSSION: We talked last week about Victor Hugo and how he wrote more serious intellectual drama and Dumas wrote more popular entertainment and adventure. We talked today about the similarities in The Three Musketeers and popular stories, even fairy tales or bedtime stories. What common elements could we find in this novel and some of our most familiar stories? Damsels in distress, sword fights, chase scenes, very easily identifiable villains and heroes, uncomplicated good guys and bad guys, kings, queens, palaces, secrets, etc. One of the most obvious of these elements, and yet the most difficult to identify, is the number three and the repetition connected to that number. We all remembered "The Three Bears" and "The Three Little Pigs" as well as all the things that come in threes in plot lines of familiar tales. We'll see as we go forward that not only are there three musketeers, but there will be repetitions in threes in the action as well. This was very challenging material for the kids, and even the junior class was able to follow this discussion, and did a great job making this connection.

POETRY: We read the Victor Hugo poem "The Grave and the Rose." I gave them an English translation below the French poem on the page, and we compared how difficult it is to tell who is speaking in the English version, compared to the original French. We continue to look at different challenges of reading literature in translation, and this is one of them. I assigned the children to use two colors of highlighter or colored pencil to delineate the speakers in the quoted parts of the poem.

We also worked on the second line of "Demain des l'aube" and put the first two lines together.

ACTIVITIES: We sang our songs inside today -- no dancing around in the rain for us, but that's okay. It gave us more time to look at the French. We did Il Court le Furet, Sur le Pont d'Avignon, and le Petit Prince, and the junior class also worked on Claire de Lune. No swordfighting today either due to the rain, although the junior class still managed to slash and cleave a little bit!

ASSIGNMENT: On the worksheet for today are four ovals. I'd like the students to draw the faces of the four main characters on those ovals, using whatever props or clues they can draw so that they can trade with a partner and be able to identify which face goes with which character. Here are the vocabulary words they should find and highlight in the text:

Lackey
Misanthropic
Arabesques
Damascened
Rendezvous
Swaggering
Bourgeois
Apprehended
Bastille
Decamp

And here are the reading comprehension questions for chapters 7 and 8.

Who is Athos’ lackey, and what rule does Athos enforce with him?
Who is Porthos’ lackey, and what does he look like?
Who is Aramis’ lackey, and what three problems does he have?
What does this mean: “In prosperity one should sow meals right and left, in order to harvest some in adversity.”
According to the landlord, what is the queen’s situation?
What person does the landlord suspect of kidnapping his wife?

Three Musketeers Week 3: Alexandre Dumas vs. Victor Hugo CAGEFIGHT!

Welcome! This blog post is related to my Three Musketeers class at our homeschool co-op, Homeschool Out of the Box. We have an academic section, reading Richard Pevear's translation of the book, and an enrichment section, reading the Usborne Young Readers' abridgement of the story. For all lesson plans related to this class, click the Three Musketeers tag at the bottom of this post.

HOMEWORK: We began class today by reviewing the vocabulary words they looked up, the musketeer terms they researched and going over the reading comprehension questions.

Important comprehension points:

1. Understanding the difference between the King's Musketeers and the Cardinal's Guard and getting how there were different armies and regiments and whatnot.

2. Understanding why M. Treville pretended to like the Cardinal and praised him. This was a very very tricky one but I did have a few spectacular little readers tell me it was because it was a test for D'Artagnan, to see if he was a spy. We discussed spying and how that works, and how that would have been a foreign concept for naive D'Artagnan.

3. D'Artagnan is insanely impetuous, and for the second time loses an important letter of introduction because he's following his temper into a fight. What would we have done? Finished up with M. Treville and secured our futures and careers. What did D'Artagnan do? Go charging off into the street to die. D'Artagnan! Such a temper! We focused a lot on this in the enrichment track class too.

DISCUSSION: Today we learned about Victor Hugo and compared his biography to that of Alexandre Dumas. Hugo was writing at the same time, but he was a very serious writer, much more intellectual and dark than Dumas. He was less interested in swordfighting and romance and more interested in despair and hopelessness. We talked about how Hugo's life in some ways paralleled Dumas' story -- political involvement, exile, and major shifts in opinions and beliefs. Dumas, however, was more fun. Hugo was such a nut that he ended up making his own furniture by chewing up wood. Seriously. We talked about how great genius sometimes comes with eccentricities (say it with me: eccentricity) and that what we love about Hugo is also what made him a total nutburger. Dumas wrote cookbooks and got fat. Hugo turned out to be some kind of mad beaver.

We also had a great discussion about how reading Hugo might be more interesting in terms of really delving into 19th century French literature, but that it wouldn't be appropriate for their age group. This led to a comparison between the "real" translation of Three Musketeers and the Usborne abridged version. Many kids in the older class have younger siblings reading the "junior" version and have noticed differences. For example, in the junior version, Constance is the landlord's sister, not wife. We talked about how in the 9-12 year old class we can discuss how different marriage was back then, how adultery was much more common and expected, and how marriage in the 17th century was not so much based on love. We talked (patronizingly) about how our little brothers and sisters cannot be expected to make this kind of ethical distinction, and therefore the book they read makes it easy for them by changing some details. Very excellent discussion -- I was so proud of the kids.

POETRY: Instead of reading a Victor Hugo novel, we're going to read and learn some Victor Hugo poetry. The one we're going to memorize in French is "Demain, des l'aube" which is definitely Hugo's most popular work, and perhaps the most famous poem written in French. It is, as you would expect from Hugo, very dark and gloomy. For next week, we're tackling just the first line:

Demain, des l'aube a l'heure au blanchit la campagne

Next week we'll do the second line, and so on. It seems daunting when you look at the whole thing, but I know they can do it. They will amaze themselves and you. Here's a funny video someone made, animating a famous portrait of Victor Hugo as if he is reciting his own poem:

SWORDPLAY: Today the kids learned two new moves -- the cleave and the high block. These are two handed moves. Cleaving looks like you're coming straight down on your opponent's head, the high block is how you would stop someone from cleaving your skull in half. Super fun!

SKITS: Today we acted out two scenes: D'Artagnan comes to Meung and gets in a fight with the scarfaced man, and D'Artagnan chases the scarfaced man through the streets of Paris, enraging the three musketeers in the process. This was great fun, and the children were wonderful at acting! I think it's particularly important in the enrichment class that we bring the story to life in this way, and it was highly entertaining for the children. They did great! This is something we can't do at home with our own books and our own kids, so I want to do this as much as possible as we go forward through the book, whenever we get to interesting scenes that lend themselves well to drama.

VOCABULARY: Here are the vocab words for next week. Please highlight and define.

Casuist
Dispatch
Eloquence
Nimble
Combatants
Miserly
Deign
Edict
Degenerating
Impartial

I also asked the kids to consider the abandoned monastery as a scene -- what might it look like, feel like, what characteristics would make it a great place to duel? Here's a link to the fight scene from the 1993 Disney movie, "The Three Musketeers" that shows how this particular director imagined it.

ASSIGNMENT: Please read chapters 5 and 6. Not all of chapter 6 needs to be read word for word by the kids themselves. There is a lot of dialogue and some of it drags. Honestly these conversations are not that critical to the plot. This is a place in the text where you can summarize for your kids if they're overwhelmed by the material! :) Here are the comprehension questions:

1. What does this mean: “Suffer nothing from anyone except the King, the Cardinal, and M. de Treville”?
2. Why did Athos decide to fight D’Artagnan left-handed?
3. What happened to interrupt the duel D’Artagnan and Athos had started?
4. How did M. de Treville misrepresent the fight to the King?
5. What were the Musketeers doing when D’Artagnan got into a fight with Bernajoux?
6. What was wrong with the King when D’Artagnan and M. de Treville went to visit him?

Three Musketeers Week 2: A Bridge, a Ferret, and a Little Prince

Welcome! This blog post is related to my Three Musketeers class at our homeschool co-op, Homeschool Out of the Box. We have an academic section, reading Richard Pevear's translation of the book, and an enrichment section, reading the Usborne Young Readers' abridgement of the story. For all lesson plans related to this class, click the Three Musketeers tag at the bottom of this post.

HOMEWORK: We began class today by reviewing the vocabulary words they looked up, the musketeer terms they researched and going over the reading comprehension questions.

The most important thing to remember from chapter 1 is the way D'Artagnan responds to offense, throwing himself immediately into life-threatening conflict over what seems to us to be a small irritation. D'Artagnan's behavior at the beginning of the novel is "provincial" and unsophisticated. He doesn't understand the way the world works, he's not into trickery and subterfuge -- he is aggressive and uncomplicated, and of course this gets him into trouble. This is D'Artagnan "before."

The most important thing I want them to remember from chapter 2 is the contrast between the way D'Artagnan was raised (to respect the King and Cardinal) and the way the Parisians behave, making fun of both. We talked about how Paris is a whole new world for D'Artagnan, and how he respects and loves the musketeers as if they are superheroes. Meeting Porthos, Aramis and Athos would be kind of like a kid today walking into a room with Superman, Spiderman, and Batman. He also believes at this point that the King and Cardinal are both noble figures worthy of reverence and obedience. Again, this is D'Artagnan "before."

FRENCH: Here are our French words for today:

Merci Thank you
Du rien. You’re welcome.
Tres bien Very good.
S’il vous plait Please

We talked about the many uses for the phrase "tres bien" and practiced saying it with correct slang pronunciation, which does not at all sound like it is written.

DISCUSSION: We read about Alexandre Dumas and learned some biographical information. Three important points here: First, Dumas was multiracial, and that was a big deal in 19th century France. His African ethnicity possibly made people take him less seriously, maybe affected the way he was received in literary/academic circles. Second, The Three Musketeers was written as a serial novel, which means there were lots of cliffhangers, and Dumas profited by getting his characters into hairy situations and then getting them out. Dumas was an adventure writer -- his books were meant to be exciting and entertaining. He was a pioneer in this genre, combining action, romance, and drama. Third, Dumas lived large -- he traveled a lot, loved to swordfight, cook, eat, and was a major womanizer. He was a big character, physically and figuratively -- a very alive and exciting kind of guy.

DANCE: We practiced our three dances: Il Court le Furet, Le Petit Prince, and Sur le Pont d'Avignon. Silliness ensued. We're getting our movements down, and picking up some of the French. No stress on learning this; we have all semester to absorb it.

SWORDPLAY: Today in the academic track class I introduced the idea of choreography and how in movies and plays, swordfights are not just free-for-alls that the actors can play out however they want. We talked about staging fights with a partner and I gave the kids time to get together with a partner and stage some moves. As of now, they know how to slash supinate and pronate, and how to block those slashes with the opposite slash in a figure 8. They also know how to thrust and block the thrust, and how to salute. And yet, all the choreographed demonstrations that resulted from our efforts ended in a bad death.

VOCABULARY: Here are their vocabulary words for next week. They should find them and highlight them in the book, and look them up or ask for definitions when necessary. Note: There is a swear in here, not necessary to translate it directly, just translate as "Zoinks!" or whatever. I include these swears because they appear in the book. It's Dumas' fault. Blame him.

Daredevil
Mordieu
Entreaty
Subsidiary
Tenacity
Viaticum
Flattery
Fanfaronade
Reprimand
Interim

ASSIGNMENT: The children are to read chapters 3 and 4 in the Pevear, or chapter 2 in the Usborne, and the academic track should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What made M. Treville angry at Athos, Porthos, and Aramis?
2. Why did Treville tell D’Artagnan that he was devoted to the Cardinal?
3. What did D’Artagnan leave in Treville’s office when he ran after the unknown man?
4. With what three people did D’Artagnan arrange to duel?
5. How did he get on each one’s bad side?

Three Musketeers: Week 1: In Which We Learn to Swear in French

Welcome! This blog post is related to my Three Musketeers class at our homeschool co-op, Homeschool Out of the Box. We have an academic section, reading Richard Pevear's translation of the book, and an enrichment section, reading the Usborne Young Readers' abridgement of the story. For all lesson plans related to this class, click the Three Musketeers tag at the bottom of this post.

OPENING: We began our class by throwing our books on the floor and seeing what a satisfyingly loud and intimidating sound they made. I explained to the kids that this is a very hard book, very challenging for them to read, and that they wouldn't normally be expected to read it until they're in high school or even later, but I expect them to read it now, and I know they can! Then we learned a swear in French. One of the great things about the Pevear translation, for teaching purposes, is that he leaves some of the exclamations in French. Today we learned to exclaim "Sangdieu!" just like the musketeers do, and I comforted (or disappointed) the children by telling them that this is a mild swear, along the lines of "crap" or even "yikes." One translator suggested "Gadzooks!" So having thrown our books on the floor and hollered "Sangdieu!" we began class.

FRENCH: Our French words for today:

bonjour (hello)

salut (hi)

au revoir (goodbye)

a bientot (see you later)

We'll be adding more French every week! But no more swears. Well, maybe two or three more. But then no more.

BOOK DISCUSSION: Each class will include some discussion of the chapters of the book we read for the day. I want to spend some time each week going over what might be confusing or interesting about what they read, and also giving them a preview of what they're going to read next. The key to getting them through this book will be to give them plot signposts to recognize and ancillary historical information to make the book seem familiar as they go through it.

Historical stuff: Today, since we hadn't read any book yet, we looked at the map of France, talked about how Gascony was a relatively wild and untamed area in 1630, one of the last areas of France to be conquered and subdued by the French nation. Dumas himself was from Gascony, and so it is with love and respect that he characterizes the Gascon as a feisty and unruly type of guy. We talked about how our hero, D'Artagnan, was always cruising for a fight, and fancied himself a tough and dangerous guy. We also talked about how there were different regiments and armies within France, some connected to important nobles, some connected to cities or regions, and then the two main rivals: the Cardinal's guard and the King's musketeers.

Plot stuff: We talked for a while about what it might be like to leave home to seek your fortune, in 1630. There wouldn't be cell phones or internet or even telephones. There wouldn't be a post office with mailboxes on the corner so you could write home to Mom. There wouldn't be newspapers so you could keep track of what was going on back in your home town. It would be a very different prospect than you might face today, and I asked the kids to think about what they might take with them if they were going on such a journey. We also talked about the dangers and benefits of going somewhere new, where no one knows you -- this might be an exciting chance to reshape your identity, but it also might be scary to know there's no door you can knock on for aid if you get in trouble.

DANCE:

We learned three songs and dances today:

Le Empereur et le Petit Prince

Il Court le Furet

Sur le Pont D'Avignon

To learn them, we're using the versions by Petit Ours Brun. If your child is burning to hear them again, you can download MP3 versions from Amazon.com here. I'm sure they're on iTunes too. We'll be mixing it up a little later on, doing our own version with guitar, but for now I need my hands free so I can dance with them and show them the (awesome) moves.

ACTIVITY:

Today we talked about having a motto, and the kids came up with great definitions. On their worksheets there are five examples of mottoes in Latin for them to look up and translate:

Semper Fidelis (The Marine Corps)
Citius, Altius, Fortius (The Olympics)
Per Mare, Per Terrum (Royal Marines)
Semper Paratus (US Coast Guard)
Carpe Diem

If they've got through all those, here is a page with more Latin mottoes from the time. I gave the kids the assignment of coming up with their own personal motto. Maybe they will get some ideas from that page, or invent their own! It doesn't have to be in Latin.

SWORDPLAY:

We learned two big words today: pronate and supinate. Pronate means a position of the sword hand with the knuckles up, and supinate means a position of the sword hand with knuckles down. When you slash, the direction follows the little finger, if that makes sense. So a pronate slash goes from your left to right, and a supinate slash goes from your right to left. We learned how to salute, how to do slashes both ways, and how to do a thrust, where your hand goes from supinate to pronate. This is all we'll be working on this week and next week -- just in different combinations. Then we will add decapitation and we'll be done! Just kidding. We will not be adding decapitation.

Disclaimer: I do not know fencing! I do not know medieval swordplay! What I do know is how to give the children vocabulary to use to describe the moves I want them to safely make so that we can choreograph an awesome battle and have lots of fun! I will try not to directly violate any kind of fencing rules, and if I do, I am open to correction.

VOCABULARY:

Here are their vocabulary words for next week. They are to highlight them in their books and look up or ask for definitions as necessary.

Provincial
Connoisseur
Patois
Irascibility
Deference
Adversary
Insolence
Physiognomy
Protégé
Cardinal

I also gave them some musketeer words to look up and draw. We'll have vocabulary words every week for them to "treasure hunt" in the assigned chapters.

ASSIGNMENT

The children are to read chapters 1 and 2 in the Pevear, or chapter 1 in the Usborne. Here are their reading comprehension questions (these are also in their notebooks):

1. What three gifts did D’Artagnan’s father give to him before he set off for Paris?
2. Why did D’Artagnan get angry at the unknown man in Meung?
3. How did D’Artagnan misrepresent himself to the strangers in Meung?
4. What was Monsieur Treville’s father’s motto?
5. What surprised D’Artagnan about the men hanging out in Monsieur Treville’s antechamber?

It's not at all necessary for them to write down the answers for these. I won't be collecting anything. Just some questions we'll be discussing in class, and again something for them to seek out in the book to make the text more manageable and accessible.