The Victorian High Tea
School Policy
clearly states that there are to be no parties in class. In keeping with
these sentiments, the Honors World Civ. program has developed a Victorian High
Tea - certainly nothing as wild as a "party" as these
photos attest. The teachers will provide the tea, cups and
saucers. Students provide the rest.
Purpose:
The purpose of this project is to give students a sense of the culture of
British (American and Western European), late 19th century culture through a
variety of media, including music, poetry, and of course, tea. Other
cultural elements of the 19th century are also acceptable: India, Japan, China,
Africa, Latin America, Russia, the Middle East, etc.
The Process (What to do):
A. Decide what your area of expertise is:
Every student has three (or more) options. Some students have musical ability -
they can choose to perform a work appropriate to the time period. This can
be done either solo or as an ensemble. Other students may choose to
perform a memorized poem from the 19th century. Others may decide to
prepare food for the class, in which case they will produce ample servings for
the class. Extra credit is available for students in period costume.
B. Sign Up!: (teacher
will have the lists)
Each student may sign up for one of the three main categories for primary credit
(50 - 100 points) as well as for a secondary (different) category for an additional
10 - 30
points.
Music - Students interested in doing music for the class need prepare a
piece or collection of pieces of approximately two and a half minutes in length.
The music performed may be longer, but a two and a half minute minimum is
required. Also, works may be from any time period up until 1914.
No music written after 1914 (the beginning of WWI) will be accepted.
Although it was not common in the Victorian era to perform music written before
1700, for the sake of ease, earlier works will be acceptable. Performances
may be in ensembles or solo. Taped accompaniment for singers is NOT
acceptable, nor are electronic instruments (guitars, keyboards, etc.). We
will reserve the music room on campus and access to the school's piano will be
provided for those students interested in playing on a keyboard. You may
use sheet music (get a page turner if you need one). You will also need to
introduce the piece you are playing to the class (musical period/style,
title and composer). If you wish to add any explanatory information, you
may do so, but it is not required. Performance grades will be based on
quality of the performance, not on complexity of the piece involved.
Before the performance, students must submit a 3" x 5" notecard stating their name,
period, the title and composer of the work(s) to be performed, and the
instrument(s) they will be performing on.
Poetry - Poetry of the Victorian and Edwardian eras was a passion for
many. Consequently, part of the grade on the poetry assignment will be
based on how well you emote. Poems must be memorized and of at
least 28 lines in length. You are also required to give a brief
introduction about the life of the author or the history of the work.
(You may use a notecard of information for this - it need not be memorized.)
A copy of the poem to be read must be turned in, and a 3" x 5"
notecard which includes the name
of the author, your name and period, and a copy of the biographical information
on the author. Poems in languages other than English are acceptable BUT must be approved by
the teacher.
Food - The third option for the Victorian High Tea involves food.
Students electing this option must prepare 30 servings of a Victorian-era
food, complete with the recipe and documentation that it is, verifiably,
from the Victorian era. "Modern" elements (such as flourescent gummi-worms,
Kool Whip, or Cheeze Wiz) will not be accepted, as they had not yet been
invented. Also not acceptable are simple foods such as apples. The
foods must be processed in some way and documentation showing that they were
used in the time period must be given. The teacher will limit the number
of items by type: (a) fruits and deserts, (b) main courses, (c) drinks, (d) appetizers,
(e) soups, (f) salads and vegetables.
Sign-ups will be done on a first-come, first-served basis. Students are
responsible for bringing their own serving dishes and utensils as needed.
If food needs to be kept warm, students must bring a crock-pot or other device
as well as an extension cord. Students need to prepare a 3 x 5 notecard
with their name, period, and name of the food they have prepared. These
notecards will be placed next to each food item and will be collected by the
teacher for grading shortly before the luncheon eating begins.
Set-Up and Clean-Up - Students who do not plan on wearing costumes and
who will not be performing poetry or music are eligible for set-up and clean-up
credit (20 - 60 points of extra credit). This involves (a) supplying all
the knives, plates, forks, spoons, bowls, and napkins for all students and
guests; (b) setting up the food and tables in the period prior to the luncheon
while students are performing their music and poetry, including any decorations
and table-coverings they chose to use; and (c) cleaning up the entire mess in
the period following the luncheon: vacuuming, sweeping, wiping, re-arranging,
etc. The number of students on the set-up and clean-up crew is limited.
Costumes - students who come, dressed in period costume will receive an
additional 10 - 30 points of extra credit. (Overall project grade values will be
determined afterwards on either a 50, 75 or 100 point basis.) Costumes need to be complete
(wearing a Victorian scarf and a ring, along with Nikes, shorts, and a baseball
cap will not qualify as "being dressed in period costume".)
Secondary Works - students may opt to do an "extra credit" piece of music
or poem or food item, provided it is in a different category than their primary
presentation. For example, a student could play a Chopin Nocturne for
music credit and then bake a cake for extra credit (different categories).
Students may NOT get extra credit for something in their primary category (ie.
students cannot play two pieces of music to get both music credit and extra
credit. They are certainly welcome to play more than one piece of music, but
cannot receive secondary extra credit for it.) These extra-credit
presentations are also worth 10 - 30 points, depending on the relative scale of
the primary projects.
Other - Creativity reigns! If you can come up with some other
cultural manifestation of the Victorian era and would like to present it (other
than food, music, poetry, or costumes), check with the teacher and see if it
will work! In the past students have contributed Victorian decorations,
and 19th-century era waltzing. This can be done for primary credit or
extra credit, pending teacher approval.
C. The Day
of the High Tea - If you have food that needs to be hot, I recommend
using a crock pot or having a parent deliver it at the end of 3rd period.
I will need a note from you the day before stating that your parent will be
making a delivery so that I can create a list for the front desk. If your
food needs to be cool, get it to me before school and I will put it in the
staff refrigerator. If it needs to be frozen, let me know a day ahead of
time so I can make arrangements with the school cafeteria for place to
store it the day of the Tea, then bring it in before school. We will
report directly to the music room 3rd period (both classes). A small group of volunteers
will help set up the food in another room (see above) while the
rest of us listen to the music and poetry.
Want to see what it's
looked like before? Check it out.
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Victorian High Tea
FAQ’s:
Question: How much time will we have to prepare in class?
Answer:
None.
Question: Is it going to be on the test?
Answer: No, I will not demand that students know about the pieces performed, the
poems read, or the food served. The goal is to *enjoy* these things, not
worry about how to get points off them.
Question: My drink requires carbonated water. Can I use 7-up or Canada Dry
Ginger Ale?
Answer: Nope. Find out how people made carbonated drinks in the 19th
century and do that.
Question: I really like Jazz. Can I play a jazz piece instead of something
from an earlier time?
Answer:
Sorry, no. Jazz is great - it's just not Victorian. I'm afraid I
don't want post-1914 music performed even as extra credit.
Question: I found a piece of music that's easy enough for my friends and I to
play. The only problem is, it wasn't originally written for the
combination of instruments we play. Can I re-write the piece?
Answer:
Yes - making an arrangement or a transcription of a work is perfectly
acceptable. That was a common practice in the 19th century and you are
welcome to make whatever arrangements you like. Be careful to preserve the
integrity of the piece itself, however. Don't make a rock-and-roll version
of a Mozart sonata (cool as that might be, it's not the point of the activity).
Question: I'm allergic to Victorian
food. Can I eat with my friends in the Quad instead of being with the
class?
Answer: If you're allergic to
Victorian food, you'll probably fare no better with the hormone-laden,
chemically-treated, artificially created, synthetic monstrosities that pass for
food in the big bad world out there. For the safety of yourself, we must
nix that proposal. Won't somebody, please, think of the children!?
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