Fort Christmas - Homework tonight if you read this...so maybe don't read this? :)

First...such lovely manners today!  I really enjoyed watching our students learn about life in early Florida. They seemed to connect with how different life was in the late 1800s when compared to today! I need to review the photo permission guidelines to see if there are any pictures we can publish.  We also got to taste pure cane sugar!!!  I hope students remember the distinct taste because the experience will link to our project that I will introduce on Monday.  

Next...homework!  I did not get a chance to tell session 1 and 3 about their homework.  So we will go over the Quatrain poems tomorrow.  If you review this tonight, I would like for students to try 'crafting' a Quatrain poem 'inspired' by our Fort Christmas adventure.  Session 1 worked together on this in the afternoon and found that trying to rhyme pioneer words is not as easy as we thought!

How did we craft a Quatrain?
First...we brainstormed sentences or phrases of what we liked about our trip.  We did not worry about rhyming; however, we did consider our 'could' (unique and specific words) to help create a clearer picture in the readers mind.  Then, we placed the phrases into an order to see if we could create a 'picture' for the reader.  Once we were happy with the concept, students worked together to reorganize the phrases or looked up words that had similar meanings to achieve the rhyming pattern we wanted to use.

Give it a try!  If you aren't sure about the format of a Quatrain poem, you can find more information under our class website, under current assignments.

ALSO!!!  Students will be using cupcakes as inspiration for our Cinquain poems tomorrow.  To help them prepare, it might be helpful to think about, research some recipes and maybe eat one (I was asked to put this in)....

Enjoy,
Mrs. T