Henry VIII and the Beginning of Divorce Co-op



We had a great time at Co-op this month studying Henry VIII and the beginning of divorce. 


I started by using a powerpoint from this site to teach from. The title is  “Why did Henry VIII divorce Catherine of Aragon”. I then made up this note sheet based on the powerpoint so that the children could make notes on the lesson.



I then had them do a “Chatterbox” and a Timeline of Henry and his wives. The Chatterbox I got here and the timeline here.


I then created 2 sets of task cards based on the powerpoint above. They are available here and here.
I divided the group into 4 groups and gave the groups 15 minutes to discuss the questions. I also gave the groups that were exploring divorce statistics to look at about divorce around the world. They were shocked at how high some of the divorce rates were. They did very well in citing reasons why they thought that Henry acted the way he did. I love that these students move beyond what is presented and give ideas of their own. Many of them have done their own studying ahead of time. It makes for lots of discussion!


Finally I had the children get into groups and create a jingle, a song or a skit about Henry VIII and his 6 wives. I ran off these as flash cards (6 per page) just to help them remember who was beheaded, divorced, died or outlived Henry. These presentations were ingenious!! 


We all had lunch and then the fun began. Our art and drama mom taught the group about Vincent Van Gogh and they began their paintings based on "The Starry Night". 


The kids have such a great time painting, but beyond that they are learning about the life and times of the painter. Today was just putting on the first steps! Next month they will continue with their Starry nights!!


PE today was floor hockey. Lots of great exercise for the kids!! Lots of great exercise for our gym dad as well!!

Another wonderful co-op with the "Tremendous Twenty"!! Blessings, Natalie!!

Poetry Session #3




Our final poetry session for this year! What a great time it has been. I am a little short on pictures because I got talking to our students mom's and forgot to take some ;) I think that our “Terrific Ten” have learned alot over the past three weeks!

First I went over two more of our literary devices. Irony and Allusion. The kids did great on this. I had some photos that I had run off and they did a great job at picking out the irony in them. I used this picture and this one as well as several more.
I then gave some examples of Allusion like:
She is a real “Helen of Troy”.
and He is such a “Scrooge”.
and You have to watch him because he is a “Pinocchio”.
They told me what the allusion was.

Then I had our group do this activity. It is a group poem that they folded as they went to create a poem that they all contributed to.


I had up on the board a variety of descriptive words and I had the children do their own Bio Poems using descriptions of themselves. 



The idea was from the 20 Days of Poetry that I created this  sheet from. 

I wanted to spend a large chunk of time exposing these students to Canadian poets and poetry. I chose Bliss Carman “Rivers of Canada” and E. Pauline Johnson “A Cry from an Indian Wife”. I read through these poems and we talked about them. We looked at some overlying themes and then I had the kids do an analysis of them using the same sheet we used in Session 1. 

Again, it just seemed like the time flew by! Our fabulous drama mom took over and this group had a great time with an amazing variety of poems. This session they covered:
Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer
Cafe Comedy by Robert William Service
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
O Captain, My Captain by Walt Whitman
Sick, One Sister For Sale, and Sleeping Sardines by Shel Silverstein 

Our drama mom always talks about who the author was, what their childhood and life was like, what influenced them, what was their faith, and what was happening in the world at that time.  Then they talk about what the poet was saying in his poem. 

Blessings to our drama mom!! Blessings to the Terrific Ten!! Looking forward to our next adventure together!! Natalie

Poetry Session #2 - The Charge of the Light Brigade and more!






It was another great poetry session with our “Terrific Ten” as we affectionately call the group! They are truly terrific students, each of them bringing their skills and talents to the group.


First I had the group divide into two and have a competition who could create a poem with at least one stanza of 4 lines that made sense from the Magnetic Poetry pieces here. This turned out to be very challenging. I think that there was so many words that it made it more challenging to find a theme for the poem.


Second we reviewed many different types of poems and I used this sheet to go over a short review of each.


I then had these great students create their own Diamante Poem. 


Next they created Limericks in pairs. This was fun and we had some very interesting Limericks.
I love that this group shares their work. It is a real blessing for me to hear their poetry and observe their process.
Finally we looked at the poem “My Books” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I read about Longfellow and then I read the poem out loud and we discussed it. These students had great insight into the poem and found themes and then related those themes to themselves and others. They answered questions like “How does the poem make you feel? and “Does the poem remind you of anything in your life?” etc...


Then our drama mom took over! She is so gifted with bringing the literature alive. She gives the students background on each of the poets and the poems. Then they read them through and perform them. 


This week our students enjoyed Sonnet 43 “How do I love thee”, “I’ll Take the Low Road and You Take the High Road” and especially “The Charge of the Light Brigade”
What a blessing! Natalie

Poetry Learning Camp - Session #1



It is amazing to me how much poetry can be taught in two hours, with ten children and two moms! Today was our first Poetry Learning Camp and I started out by asking the children what poetry is. They talked about rhyme, rhythm and the language of poetry. Then I read to them some very interesting poems. Diverse poems. Poems that really didn’t have any rhyme or rhythm to speak of. I had run off this variety of poems to refer to. We continued to try and come up with a definition and finally I read them this one.


I gave them all poetry folders and prior to the session I wrote the numbers 1-6 in random folders. I had 6 different poetic terms that I had cut into flash cards that were from this site. I had the children come up and read the term, the given example and then I asked for examples from the group. 


Next we moved on to Rhyme Scheme. I had written several poem stanza’s up on the white board ahead of time. I tried to pick ones with a varied Rhyme Scheme. I talked about Elizabethan and Shakespearean Sonnets having an ababcdcdefefgg scheme. We also spoke about ballads being abcb and Limericks being aabba. I then read the poems out loud and the children told me which letters to add for the rhyme scheme.


Next I had them write sense poems from 20 Days of Poetry. I gave them about 15 minutes to complete and several of them did finish. I even had one brave girl read her poem to us all! It was very well done!!


Next, I had the children analyze the poem Dreams by Langston Hughes. I read the poem and then read them a biography about Langston Hughes from this site. I then had them get in pairs and fill out this sheet. They did a great job taking a look at this poem. When we got back together we discussed it and they had wonderful ideas about what the author was trying to tell us. 


It felt like 20 minutes but my hour was up. Then our wonderful Drama mom took over and the children acted out several poems for the next hour. 


She had a variety from Sonnets to The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service. It was great to hear the children laughing and learning together!


What a blessing it is to be part of leading these camps!! Natalie