An assignment for my 5th-6th grade co-op students... Look at each of the nine pictures very carefully. You can click on them to enlarge them. The dates listed are approximately when the art was created. All of the ones in this post are related to the birth of Christ. The paintings are from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (I had to take the pictures from a slight angle because otherwise I was getting a glare from the flash.) These paintings and sculptures were created during the Renaissance. Some of them are gilded. Many of the the titles contain the words madonna and adoration. Click on each of these four bold words and write down definitions. There are Bible passages linked below three of the paintings. Read each one. Writing assignment: Tell which one is your favorite piece of art and why. Then describe this picture or sculpture in at least three sentences.
"The Adoration of the Shepherds" by Giorgione, 1505-1510 Read Luke 2:1-20and copy verse 14.
"Adoration of the Shepherds"
patterned after a piece by Annibale Fontana,
1600s, Terracotta
"The Adoration of the Magi" by Benvenuto di Giovanni in 1470-1475 Read Matthew 12:1-12and copy verse 11.
These links and information are for the students in our home school co-op's 5th-6th grade English class. They are learning about medieval life in their history class, so I am trying to customize some of their literature selections to complement that. This week, at the start of Advent, we are learning how the Druids (pagans who practiced child sacrifice and a lot of superstition) came to accept Christianity, and how their existing winter solstice traditions were adapted to express the glad Christmas tidings of Jesus.
"How St. Boniface Kept Christmas Eve"is from the vintage book American Normal Readers, Book 5. Print pages 212-227. This will show up as numbers 207-222 on the book pages. You can also find "Yuletide Customs" in the same online book. Print pages 200-202, which will show up as 195-197 on the book pages. Questions:
In
what year did this story take place? How many years ago was this?
The
first paragraph of the story describes the setting. Write two
sentences about it.
The
story next describes the main character. What is the man wearing?
What
virtues is the bishop said to have on the first two pages?
The
bishop's birth name was Wilfred, but he has been renamed Boniface by
the pope. What does Boniface mean?
What
are Boniface's specific goals for ministering in Germany, following
the example of Augustine?
What
does Boniface plan to do to the sacred Druid oak tree, and why?
What
did the Archdruid intend to do with a small child at the oak tree,
and why?
What
message did Boniface bring to the Druids about Jesus?
What
does Boniface do with the wood from the oak tree?
What
does Boniface want to do with the Druid traditions of the mistletoe,
Yule log and holly?
What
kind of tree will now be used to celebrate Christmas?
Find
three words in this story which are unfamiliar to you and look them
up. What do they mean?
"The Holly and the Ivy"
“The
Holly and the Ivy”
The
holly and the ivy, When they are both full grown Of all the
trees that are in the wood The holly bears the crown O
the rising of the sun And the running of the deer The playing
of the merry organ Sweet singing in the choir. The holly bears a berry As red as any blood And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ To do poor sinners good O the rising of the sun And the running of the deer The playing of the merry organ Sweet singing in the choir.
The
holly bears a blossom As white as lily flower And Mary bore
sweet Jesus Christ To be our sweet Saviour O the
rising of the sun And the running of the deer The playing of
the merry organ Sweet singing in the choir.
The
holly bears a prickle As sharp as any thorn; And Mary bore
sweet Jesus Christ On Christmas Day in the morn. O
the rising of the sun And the running of the deer The playing
of the merry organ Sweet singing in the choir.
The
holly bears a bark As bitter as any gall; And Mary bore sweet
Jesus Christ For to redeem us all. O the rising of
the sun And the running of the deer The playing of the merry
organ Sweet singing in the choir.
The
holly and the ivy Now both are full well grown, Of all the
trees that are in the wood, The holly bears the crown. O
the rising of the sun And the running of the deer The playing
of the merry organ Sweet singing in the choir.
Question:
The
middle four verses of “The Holly and the Ivy” start with the words “The
holly bears a...” What four items are mentioned, and what object
is compared to each one? The third line of each of those verses is
“And
Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ.”
The word bore
is the past tense form of the word bear.
So the author is also comparing the holly to Mary. We are studying other tales, songs, and poems during Advent. Stay tuned! Virginia Knowles www.ContinueWellHomeSchool.blogspot.com
This is a fun little quiz for middle school aged kids. Answers are at the bottom in very tiny print! Don't peek until you think you've guessed most of them!
Obfuscated Christmas Carols Quiz
Can You Name These Religious Christmas Carols?
Approach Everyone Who Is Steadfast
Ecstasy Toward The Orb
Hush, The Foretelling Spirits Harmonize
Hey, Minuscule Urban Area Southwest Of Jerusalem
Quiescent Nocturnal Period
The Autocratic Troika Originating Near the Accent of Apollo
The Primary Carol
During the Time Ovine Caretakers Supervised Their Charges Past Twilight
Celestial Messengers From Splendid Empires
The Tatterdemalion Ebony Atmosphere
What Offspring Abides Thus?
Removed in a Bovine Feeding Trough
Seraphim We Aurally Detect in the Stratosphere
The Slight Percussionist Lad
The Event Occurred At One Minute After 11:59 PM—Visibility Unlimited
Are You Experiencing Parallel Auditory Input?
ANSWERS TO OBFUSCATED CHRISTMAS CAROLS QUIZ
1. O Come All Ye Faithful 2. Joy To The World 3. Hark The Herald Angels Sing 4. O Little Town Of Bethlehem 5. O Holy Night 6. We Three Kings, of Orient are 7. The First Noel 8. While Shepherds Watched their Flocks By Night 9. Angels From The Realms of Glory 10. O Holy Night 11. What Child Is This 12. Away In A Manger 13. Angels We Have Heard On High 14. The Little Drummer Boy 15. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear 16. Do You Hear What I Hear?
The silent skies are full of speech, For who hath ears to hear; The winds are whispering each to each, The moon is calling to the beach, And stars their sacred mission teach Of Faith, and Love, and Fear.
But once the sky its silence broke, And song o'erflowed the earth, The midnight air with glory shook, And angels mortal language spoke, When God our human nature took In Christ the Saviour's birth.
And Christmas once is Christmas still; The gates through which He came, And forests wild and murmuring rill, And fruitful field and breezy hill, And all that else the wide world fill Are vocal with His name.
Shall we not listen while they sing This latest Christmas morn, And music hear in everything, And faithful lives in tribute bring To the great song which greets the King Who comes when Christ is born.
~~Phillips Brooks~~
(He is better known for his carol, "O Little Town of Bethelehem." I have assigned this to my middle school English class in recent years.)
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