Elementary Academic Connections Lesson Plan
Phillips Summer Fencing Program Week 4/5: August 1-5 and August 8-10, 2011
Topic
Title
Number of
Minutes
Example/Description
Materials

Academic
Connections
Poetry 101: “Fun with
Fencers” and/or
“Fencing Formations”
Academic
Connections
Poetry 102: “Featured
Fellow Fencer”
Academic
Connections
Who’s Hot?
Who’s Not?: Famous
Fencers
30
30
30
Introduction to Poetry
 Campers will review what a limerick is (show example)
 Campers will create limericks describing what happens to a silly fencer
who tries to master fencing—encourage campers to use fencing
vocabulary learned in previous weeks, other Word Warrior vocabulary,
and literary devices such as simile, metaphor, repetition, rhyme,
rhythm, onomatopoeia, personification, alliteration, etc.!!!
 Other forms of poetry may be used (review types of poetry briefly and
show examples of each)
 Poems can be about a fencer who is serious, committed, dedicated,
tenacious, industrious, etc. Encourage the campers to use their
creativity.
 Another poetic option is “Fencing Formation” poem
 Campers will think about events that happen on the fencing strip and
write shape poems, in the shape of something related to fencing, telling
about the event (see examples of shape poems)
 Campers can draw pictures to support their poems—be sure to have
campers share their creations—hang for end-of-camp celebration!!! 
 Campers will write a poem, in any style, in honor of a fellow fencer
(another camper, teacher, etc.) describing a special deed he/she has done
on or off the strip so far during camp this summer.
 Campers can draw pictures to support their poems—be sure to have
campers share their creations—hang for end-of-camp celebration or have
campers give their poems away to the person of honor!!! 
Materials
 paper
 pencils
 Types of poetry:
limerick, quatrain,
cinquain, diamante,
haiku, rhyming
couplet, etc.
 Shape Poems
Materials
 paper
 pencils
 Types of poetry:
limerick, quatrain,
cinquain, diamante,
haiku, rhyming
couplet, etc.
Shape Poems
Materials
 paper
 pencils
 List of famous

1
Campers learn about famous fencers in history (see handout—teacher can
read these aloud, have campers read them aloud, or have Golden Swords
campers read independently or in pairs. Posters of each of the famous
fencers should be hanging around the gym for next activity.)



fencers
Poster of each
famous fencer
(picture and name)
“Report Cards”


Academic
Connections
Academic
Connections
Academic
Connections
My Favorite Fencer
(Golden Swords)
Fencing Questions
(The Musketeers)
Memorable Olympic
Fencing Moments
Creativity 101:Design
a CD Cover
30
30
30
Materials
 paper
 pencils
 List of famous
fencers
Poster of each
famous fencer
(picture and name)



Materials
 paper
 pencils
 List of memorable
Olympic fencing
moments

Materials
 paper
 pencils
 crayons, markers, etc.

2
After some discussion about these famous fencers, campers will “rate”
three famous fencers giving them each a report card and summary of why
they graded them that way. These report cards will be hung beside the
poster of each of the famous fencers.
Campers will walk around to each poster and explain why they “graded”
the fencer accordingly.
Golden Swords extension activity: campers will choose one famous
fencer to “shadow,” writing a journal entry in that fencer’s point of view
describing a typical day in the life of that fencer. Campers may also write
a letter to the activity providers and/or activity teacher asking him or her
questions about fencing. Remind campers to include how they feel about
fencing so far.
The Musketeers extension activity: Campers will write a letter to the
activity providers and/or activity teacher asking him or her questions about
fencing and/or draw a picture depicting questions they may have. Remind
campers to include how they feel about fencing so far in their letters and/or
drawings.
Campers share their creations aloud.
Campers will listen to/read independently stories of four memorable
Olympic fencing moments. Campers will then choose one of the moments
to reflect and write a letter to the person involved asking him or her any
questions he/she may have about the event, telling how the event impacted
or make the student feel.
Campers will design a CD soundtrack (at least 6 songs—this can be less
for The Musketeers and/or more for certain Golden Swords) that would
inspire the average fencer for competition.
Campers will create a CD title and a list of songs with a short description
for each song and/or song lyrics. Campers will design the album cover
when finished with writing, including credits, etc.
3
Shape Poems
4
Famous Fencers
History is filled with weapon masters winning fame and fortune with their spectacular skills.
The Fencing master was a man of his time; respected, wealthy, glamorous, and welltravelled. Here are some short bios of a few of the most well-known fencing masters.
George Silver
George Silver was a teacher of defense in England during the sixteenth
century. Silver highly disapproved of the Italian and Spanish fencers, and
their weapon of choice, the Rapier. He considered the Rapier a
dangerous and ineffective weapon, and unfit for use. Silver wrote two
maj or essays, "Paradoxes of Defense" and "Brief Instructions on my
Paradoxes of Defense," in which he attempted to undermine the use of
the rapier and promote small swords and staves. George Silver's last
complaint was that people were being taught to settle everything with
the point of a blade; duels had been rapidly increasing in popularity at
the time and Silver did not approve. Though Silver brought up some good points, his writing
was very arrogant and in some cases offensive.
George Silver's essay "Paradoxes of Defense", may be found at
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/paradoxes.html thanks to Greg Lindahl.
Camillo Agrippa
Camillo Agrippa invented the four main fencing positions: prime,
seconde, tierce, and quarte. He also defined the rapier as a
weapon that can be for cutting as well as thrusting, going against
the Italian style of rapier fencing. He wrote the book "Trattato di
Scienza d'Arme" in 1568.
Manuals by Camillo Agrippa and many other fencing masters of
the 16th and 17th centuries can be found at
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~wew/fencing/masters.html thanks to
William E. Wilson.
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Henry de St. Didier
Henry de St. Didier was one of the first French masters of fencing
to acknowledge that Italian style fencing was better than any
other. He taught students how to counter-attack well and how to
disarm an opponent. Henry de St. Didier was also the first French
fencing master to publish a treatise.
Salvator Fabris
Salvator Fabris formed most of the sixteenth century's theories on how to
fence. He published "Sienz e Practica d'Arme", after travelling to
Germany, Spain, and France to study the art of Fencing. He taught people
to use the thrust more than anything else, but did also teach the parry
using the sword itself.
Giacomo di Grassi
Giacomo di Grassi, an early Italian master, was one of the three
premiere Elizabethan fencing masters. Grassi invented many of the
tactics we use in fencing today. Grassi preferred the short sword to
the Rapier, and practically invented the modern parry. Most people at
the time only attacked and counter-attacked, without much thought
towards defense, so his ideas were a drastic change. Grassi's most
famous book is entitled "His True Arte of Defence". Grassi and Silver
together are the two Masters of the sixteenth century that had the
most influence in bringing us modern day fencing.
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Vigiani
Vigiani was an Italian fencing master who taught the use of the thrust over the
cut. He published the book "Lo Schermo". He also invented the modern
Lunge, which he called the punta sopramano. He also taught people to always
come on guard with the right foot forward when using a single sword.
Julio Martinez Castello
The United States has been fortunate over the years to attract
many notable fencing masters. One of these was Maestro Julio
Martinez Castello, a highly successful Spanish fencing master
who was born in 1882. He learned to fence at the Royal Academy
in Madrid and taught in Spain, Argentina and Cuba before
coming to the United States in 1914. He taught at the New York
Athletic Club, Yale and Columbia and coached the U.S. Olympic
Fencing Team in 1924. Castello accepted the post of fencing
master at New York University in 1927 where he stayed until the
late 1940s. He produced numerous champions while he was there. While retiring in 1947,
he continued to teach on an unofficial basis until his eighties. Furthermore, Castello wrote
two books, "Theory of Fencing" (1931) and "The Theory and Practice of Fencing" (1933). His
two sons, Hugo and James, were also respected fencing masters.
Peter Westbrook
Peter Westbrook was born in Newark, New Jersey which is one of the
poorest and most violent areas of the state. An abused child he grew
up a thief and street fighter as well as boxing for the Police Athletic
League. His favorite TV show was AZorro. @ His mother bribed him
with five dollars to take fencing and his talent and drive gained him a
place on the 1976 Olympic Team. For more than twenty years he
dominated sabre fencing in America and six Olympics and won the
national title thirteen times. In 1991 he established the Peter
Westbrook Foundation to help disadvantaged inner-city youth not
only learn fencing but also improve their overall performance in
school. Westbrook=s selfless efforts are quite literally both the
physical and personal salvation to not only students at this time but
also for generations if his efforts and legacy continue.
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Greatest Moments in Olympic Fencing History
Here are some of the more memorable moments from past Olympic Games:
1. 2004 - American Woman Claims Gold Medal
The zenith of American Olympic fencing came in 2004 when Mariel Zagunis
captured a gold medal in the women's saber in Athens. An American had not won a
gold medal in Olympic fencing since the St. Louis Games in 1904, when the United
States had the vast majority of fencers. Olympic fencing has generally been dominated
by the French, Hungarians and Italians.
Zagunis, the daughter of former Olympic rowers, was not originally supposed to
compete in Athens. But Nigeria decided not to send its only fencer, and no other
African qualified, so fencing's world governing body awarded the spot to Zagunis, the
highest-ranked women's saber competitor not already in the field. She defeated China's
Tan Xue 15-9 in the final, while another American, Sada Jacobson, finished in third
place for the bronze.
In the championship match, Zagunis had a 9-2 lead before Tan rallied. "I'm not
saying it was easy or that it looked easy, but I just know it went fast," Zagunis recalled
in a Boston Globe story. "It went really, really fast. I know it seems like kind of a blur,
but I can look back and remember what I was doing at every moment. I was aware of
everything going on every second."
A fencer since the age of 10, Zagunis delayed becoming a freshman at Notre
Dame by a year so that she could train full time. "You have to give a little to achieve in
other places - social events in high school that I had to give up, weekends, etc.," she
said in an online chat with Washington Post readers in 2004. "As for taking a year off
from school, since I graduated in 2003, I had training twice a day, six days a week. I
did a lot of cross-training - track, sprints, medicine balls and different sports - to keep
me active."
2. 1920 - Italian Wins Five Golds
Edo Nadi of Italy won five gold medals in Antwerp: individual and team foil, team
epee and individual and team saber. Because his father, himself a fencing master,
disliked the epee, Nadi initially had to learn it secretly.
3. 1964 - Deaf Woman Stars
In Tokyo, Hungary's Ildiko Ujlaki-Rejto, who was born deaf and learned the sport
from written instructions, won gold medals in the women's individual and team foil.
United States does not have a history of high achievement in Olympic fencing only two individual gold medalists, one man and one woman - but Peter Westbrook, a
bronze medalist in the saber in the 1984 games in Los Angeles, has his own perfect
record. Through his Peter Westbrook Foundation in New York City, he has schooled
thousands of children in fencing and academics. Five of those students have become
Olympic fencers. Westbrook has also served on the board of directors of the US
Olympic Committee and testified before the US Senate on youth sports.
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4. Who Is Peter Westbrook?
Westbrook, the son of a black US serviceman and a Japanese woman, grew up in
a housing project in the troubled New Jersey city of Newark. He credits fencing with
saving him. "If not for fencing, I would have been another city kid on drugs, taking my
hurt out on somebody else," Westbrook told Sports Illustrated in 1999.
Westbrook competed in the saber in every Summer Olympics from 1976 to 1996,
except for the 1980 games in Moscow, which the United States boycotted over the
Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. He won a bronze medal in 1984, the first
American to win a medal in Olympic fencing since 1960.
Where Is Peter Westbrook Now?
While still a member of the US National Team in 1991, Westbrook used $4,000 of
his own money, plus corporate donations, to start the Peter Westbrook Foundation,
which teaches fencing and life skills to inner-city children in New York.
Today, his Manhattan-based foundation operates on a shoestring budget of about
$300,000 a year, and Westbrook is constantly trying to secure more funding. The
program is open to children ages 9 to 18, and a $25 yearly fee is required as a
demonstration of commitment.
The program has produced five Olympians, and thousands of other children have
benefited from the discipline and academic help, which includes tutoring, career
guidance, essay contests and field trips to cultural institutions and events.
Autobiography of an Athlete
Westbrook's 1998 autobiography "Harnessing Anger," co-written with Tej
Hazarika, received widespread praise from reviewers. In it, he described the racism he
encountered growing up half-black and half-Japanese and the frustration that came
from living in a poor city that was torn apart by a major riot in 1967, the same year
Westbrook began fencing at the now-defunct Essex Catholic High School.
Eventually, the athlete developed coping tactics for dealing with bigotry. "If I
respond with anger and indignation, I'll never find out what my enemies really think,"
Westbrook wrote. "I have learned how to let people expose their weak spots. What
they don't seem to realize is that by speaking to me that way, they are dropping their
defenses. They are arming me, giving me a psychological advantage over them that
will enable me to defeat them easily in any kind of confrontation."
Westbrook also wrote about his mother's murder. She was beaten to death on a
Newark bus in 1994.
Giving Back
Certainly Westbrook remains proud of the bronze medal he won in 1984 and the
fact that his peers elected him to carry the US flag during the closing ceremony at
Barcelona in 1992, but he wants his students to learn about more than fencing.
"People say that this is a fencing program to create Olympians, but I look at my
program as something different," Westbrook told Oprah Winfrey. "The most successful
part of our program is getting the kids to be model citizens, getting the kids to be
something better in life. That's what we do at the foundation. Creating Olympians is
just the icing on the cake for me."
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10
Cool Fencing Facts:

At least one ancient Egyptian temple features a painting of a
fencing match. The painting dates back to 1190 B.C.!



to
At about the time that Columbus was rediscovering the
New World in the 1400’s, fencing had become the
“gentleman’s sport” in Europe.
Fencing has been a competitive sport in every modern
Olympic games since 1896, and is one of only four sports with
this distinction.
Fencing is a very fast-moving sport, so it can be difficult for judges
score points correctly. Because of this, many competitions are
now scored electronically. The fencers wear sensors that register
points when their opponent makes contact with the sword!
What Kids Are Saying About Fencing:
“Fencing is not just fighting each other; it's about balance, friendship,
and listening to directions!”
--Eileen, 9
“Fencing is cool, because there aren’t any balls, nets, or goals. It’s just
you, your foil, and the other guy.”
--Trevor, 12
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