Month: May 2012

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Renaissance Narrative

Hello patrons, artists, merchants, and apprentices! It’s time for an adventure, one that you will pen in first person as you write from the perspective of someone from the Renaissance.

Renaissance pic

YOUR TASK: Write a short first-person account of daily life for a person living in the Renaissance. You should make up a name, develop a voice, and describe your life as a person living during the Renaissance. Feel free to give yourself a family and describe them as well. Most importantly, please have fun with this writing assignment.

Don’t forget to go through the stages of the writing process so your writing will be of top quality! Use all the resources available to you – WriteSource, text-to-speech, teacher feedback, etc.

To be successful you need to remember all the narrative techniques we used previously in our personal narratives. Don’t forget to show instead of tell, use sensory details, incorporate meaningful dialogue, hook your reader at the beginning, and end in a good spot.

Our trusty Six Traits Rubric will be used to assess this piece for Ideas, Voice, and Conventions. Publish your story to your blog by the end of your class period Thursday, May 31.

Use the resources below to help you come up with some  ideas and provide you with necessary details.

Focus on Florence

Women in the Renaissance

Children in the Renaissance

Family life during the Renaissance

Renaissance life

The rise of the merchant classes- the Medici family

The new middle class

Exploration and trade

Italian Renaissance

Trade and commerce

Dawn of a new idea

An Artist’s Life

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Everyday life in the Renaissance – questions

Watch the video, take notes, then answer the following questions.

Everyday Life in the Renaissance

Follow up questions

Making Connections: This assignment will be a bit different. Fewer questions, but much more depth. I want you to take notes and work on the questions. You may discuss the questions afterword, get clarification, then work on your responses. I’m looking for high-quality answers that are well thought-out, insightful, and full of connections to life today.

1.  During the Renaissance, sumptuary laws were passed to create an obvious distinction between social classes.  How are social classes indicated in contemporary society?  How can you tell what class a person comes from today?

2.  Compare and Contrast the wants and needs of contemporary people (today) with the wants and needs of people living during the Renaissance.

3.  During the Renaissance, European cities grew larger and faster than ever before.  How do highly populated and fast growing cities impact the environment?  What effects do highly populated cities have on the people living in them?

4.  What were some of the advantages and disadvantages of life during the Renaissance?  How might it have been better than contemporary life?  How might it have been worse?

Homework – Due Friday 5/24/12

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“Renaissance Art, Music, and Literature” Video Questions

Copy these questions into a Word/Pages document. As you watch the movie, take quick little notes for each. After the movie, you’ll have time to form full answers.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WRITE FULLY FORMED ANSWERS AS YOU WATCH THE MOVIE!

1. Name some of the important artists and writers of the Renaissance.

2. What contributed to Renaissance painting being different from the painting of previous periods?

3. What were some of the causes of the artistic boom during the Renaissance?

4. What is the relationship between anatomy, painting and sculpture?

5. Why was the concept of making things look real important to Renaissance artists?

6. How did artists create fresco?

7. Why was Machiavelli nicknamed “Old Nick”?

8. What was the role of the patron during the Renaissance?

9. Describe what it might have been like to have been a commoner attending the Globe Theatre.

10. What made Shakespeare’s plays so popular?

11. What were some of the hardships that Renaissance artists faced?

12. What literary form was used to compose madrigals?

13. What were patrons trying to achieve by commissioning artists?

Homework – answer all questions by re-stating the questions in your answers. Be ready for a table point question challenge tomorrow! (know the answers and be able to explain in detail)

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Renaissance – What inspired this age of balance and order?

Click here for an introduction to the Renaissance. Read through each of the following sections, and take notes on key points.

The Renaissance

Renaissance*Introduction

*Out of the Middle Ages

*Exploration and Trade

*Printing and Thinking

*Symmetry, Shape, Size

*Focus on Florence

As you are reading, reflect on the essential questions:


1. Why do people create?

2. What makes a “Renaissance Person?”

3. What compels people to explore?

4. How can a individual impact society?


Classwork / Homework: Post a copy of your notes to your blog. Don’t forget to include a title for your blog post.

Bonus table points: Based on your notes, prepare 10 questions to ‘test’ your classmates with tomorrow.

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Renaissance video questions – A History of the Renaissance

ren video1

A History of the Renaissance – video focus questions

Directions:  Answer all questions by re-stating the question in your answer.  All responses should be well thought out and well-written.

Ex.              The word Renaissance means…………………

This is an appropriate name for what occurred in Europe between 1300 and 1600 because….

  1. What is the meaning of the word “Renaissance”?  Why is this an appropriate name for what occurred in Europe between the 1300s and 1600s?
  2. What did Henry VIII, Louis XI, and Ferdinand and Isabella manage to do during their reigns that caused their respective kingdoms to become wealthier and more powerful?
  3. What is humanism?
  4. Why was Francesco Petrarca so important to the Renaissance?
  5. What was the connection between increased trade in the Mediterranean and artistic output during the Renaissance?
  6. What impact did the printing press have on the Renaissance?
  7. What were some of the methods that the monarchs of the Renaissance used to consolidate their power?
  8. What is an indulgence?
  9. Why did Martin Luther object to the sale of indulgences?
  10. What were some of the factors that contributed to the erosion of the Church’s authority during the Renaissance?
  11. What is the link between the Reformation and Protestantism?

This is classwork/homework and is due on Tuesday, 5/15/12 in class.

(typed and complete with your name, class and date)

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SLAM Poem Presentations

Screen shot 2012-05-02 at 9.59.14 AM

  • Practice, practice, practice. Look over this presentation rubric and prepare yourself for your Slam presentation on Thursday.
  • Remember, you are expected to have your poem memorized!
  • Get yourself mentally prepared (practice and visualize yourself presenting)
  • Get yourself physically prepared (get a good nights sleep, have a good breakfast, take deep breaths before you present. Practice your stance and gestures)
  • Get yourself emotionally prepared (get yourself in the right frame of mind for your poem – think drama)