I'm not sure who is still reading this blog now that we have given up computer lab time on Fridays, but I will continue to post as a sort of reflection journal. Okay? Also this will help our classmates who are at home to follow along.
In late October we had a visit from Ted Antaya and Gerry Becegneul. That was very special. We will never forget their stories or their service.
I am SO glad you, my students, talked me into more field trips. We are learning so much together!
After a day of learning a bit about the role of the François Baby property in the War of 1812 and also about its role in the founding of our city--once known at South Detroit, we headed over to see the house and museum for ourselves. What a great decision that turned out to be!
We played crokinole. We saw a very old hand-operated printing press for newspapers. We read a lot, saw many artifacts, listened to old French folk songs, and even saw Chief Tecumseh's actual FLAG. That gave me goosebumps. I was not familiar with the story of Chief Tecumseh. The movie brought tears to my eyes.
It's not often that we have an excuse to study names of flowers, but that is one of the most important features of Jackson Park. It contains the Queen Elizabeth II Gardens.
So we learned the names of ten flowers (you already knew the word "rose.")
If it ever stops raining, we may finally be able to take our field trip. When we do, we are going to practice phrases such as:
Let's...
Do you want to...
Would you like to...
...take a stroll?
...take a selfie?
...go look at that statue?
...go look at that memorial?
...go look at that monument?
...go sit on that bench?
...play badminton?
...play with the Chinese yo-yo?
Do you know the name of that...
...plant?
...tree?
...flower?
When we visit the park, we may see a statue of a famous poet. Here is a poem he wrote.
A Red, Red Rose -- Robert Burns, 1794
O my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
O my Luve's like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.
And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve!
And fare-thee-weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile!
Well, I did not even know that I liked history! The trench image cards made this week interesting, don't you think?
Here is our class Flipgrid. Please introduce yourself. If there's time, please also tell us what you learned this week. Was it interesting? Did you learn any new useful language?
