1. Students started off with a handout containing three poems and the questions for each. We discussed the notion that, though the geography of Canada fights to divide Canada, it remains united as one and embraces the diversity.
2. Students watched a video of a couple’s kayak trip through five days of tenting and paddling. There are beautiful, breathtaking photographs and video clips they have taken and pieced together with mellow music in this video. The students watched it and were asked to focus on the nature they see, its sights and sounds, and the wonder that exists in Canada’s natural world.
3. They completed a journal response to capture the thoughts the video brought forward. Then I asked if they could figure out the following poem.

   I (a

   le
   af
   fa
   ll
   s)
   one
   l

   iness

The art of poetry is in trying to capture the beauty of nature through the precision of words. The following poets tried to do the same.

1. We then studied the poem “Between Two Furious Oceans” and discussed the imagery throughout. We discussed the questions together.
2. Next, we moved on to a poem where the author attempted to capture not the natural environment of Canada, but the personality of each province according to the history of each province. We were just discussing that when the bell rang for the end of class. AND THEN I KEPT THEM… through their break by accident until the next bell went to begin the second class. They didn’t stir or seem eager to leave at all, even though they were missing their break. I was appologetic but quite impressed by how polite and attentive this young group seems to be.

Have a great Long Weekend.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/2ILxfwOt1Bs" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
This is the kayak trip we watched. It looked like a fantastic get-away.