Monday, January 29, 2018

Queens, Queens Everywhere (and not the county in NY)



Lately there has been a spate of television series about queens. The first one I watched in its entirety was Reign, the highly imaginative and historically inaccurate show about Mary, Queen of Scots, one of my favorite historical figures. If viewers can get past its faults, which are many, they might be able to empathize with the ill-fated teen queen and her even more ill-fated young husband largely because of the endearing performances by Adelaide Kaine (herself a real-life descendant of Mary) and Toby Regbo. The second series I started last year is Victoria on PBS's Masterpiece Theater. This series has outstanding performances and amazingly fine sets, but I am not much interested in her life, so I don't always watch it and am a bit behind in its second season. The third one, which I am binge-watching on Netflix, is about the current queen, Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II, who has been the queen since before I was born. This show is also beautifully done with a stunning performance by Claire  Foy as Elizabeth. Why there are three highly popular series about queens right now is a mystery to me, but I hope to continue enjoying them. God save the Queens!

Vocabulary
spate (noun) -- a large number

imaginative (adj.) -- creative

inaccurate (adj.) -- not right or exact

empathize (verb) -- understand and share feelings

ill-fated (adj.) -- unlucky

endearing (adj.) -- lovable, cute

descendant (noun) -- a person that comes from a certain ancestor

outstanding (adj.) -- excellent

amazingly (adv.) -- surprisingly

binge-watch (verb) --view many episodes of a TV series all at once
stunning (adj.) -- attractive, remarkable



Vocabulary Exercise
Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word.
I am a _________________ of two famous ancestors, King Malcolm III and Queen Margaret of Scotland.

She was an  excellent or _____________ queen. The people, who loved her, found her to be  ____________.  For her _______________ (remarkable) qualities, the Church respects  her as a saint. King Malcolm was ___________ old for a warrior, who was in many wars, but he met his __________ (unlucky)  end when he was killed at the age of 62. Shakespeare, England's most ______________ writer, tells about Malcolm in the play Macbeth, which may be ___________ or not correct about some of the details of Malcolm's life. If Netflix ever makes a show about my ancestors King Malcolm III and Queen Margaret, I will ____________ until I have finished every episode. But for now, I am watching a ____________ of episodes of The Vikings, in which I can ___________ with another of my ancestors, King Alfred of England, who had to fight the violent Vikings to protect his people.



Grammar Point: Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives: Adjectives are words that describe nouns, while adverbs can describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
For example, in the sentence, "The very beautiful English actress Claire Foy plays the role of Queen Elizabeth II splendidly," very and splendidly are adverbs and beautiful is an adjective.

Write three complete sentences about the queens in my entry and their photos. Use at least two adjectives and one adverb from the vocabulary list in each sentence.


Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II

Want to watch Victoria? Click on this link.

8 comments:

Cristina said...

My aunt always encourages me to watch these shows, they are her favorites! I plan to start the White Queen soon. I wonder if the expanding Royal family news has encouraged an increased interest in these TV shows.

Amanda said...

I really like how you included whether each vocabulary word was a noun, verb, or adjective! I feel that this will help students to grasp a better idea of the individual function each of part of speech serves. It is also super helpful that you followed up with a description in the "grammar point" section for them to refer to!

Michael Augello said...

I can't get engaged in these types of TV shows. My mother loves "The Crown," but I think it's a bore. I like your activity - images can be so helpful!

Ms.Bermudez said...

I really like the grammar point activity. It allows students to brainstorm their ideas based on the pictures and text.

Elena said...

I recently began watching The Crown and I'm really enjoying it so far! I like the vocabulary words used in this post because they include modern words such as "binge-watch."

Ms. Landa's Blog said...

I never watched any of those shows before however, I used to watch the Tudors on HBO. I also like the activity you asked the students to complete.

Justine said...

Dear Dr. Nenchin,

I have never watched this show before, but you make it sound very interesting. I like how in your grammar point, you used example sentences about the show. I think that is a great way to tie your blog together, and to make readers interested in the show.

Teacher: Jackie said...

Thank you all for your comments. I also watched some of "The Tudors," until I just couldn't stomach Henry VIII anymore. He was so despicable.