This morning, in place of our regular quotes, students read, line by line, the famous Robert Frost poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."  I believe the students enjoyed it. Students will now choose a Robert Frost poem by this Friday, and memorize it. On Monday, January 9th they will recite it to the class, and possibly other guests.  I do hope that the choice will be driven by a connection to the poem and simply not because of its short length.

The 5/6 students have been doing a fine job with the bridge unit. They first created bridges that would span a 20 inch space between two desks. The bridges had to be 24 inches long by 8 inches wide made with one piece of oak tag paper. This first round was a real learning experience. Now the groups are applying their new knowledge by creating bridges with the same dimensions but by using two pieces of the oak tag. I believe that the students' bridges will perform better than their first designs.  This is all in preparation for the teams building wooden truss bridges. Specifications will ensure that the bridges are true truss bridges. The teams will be able to strategize by deciding to build a strong bridge out of the maximum available materials or spend less money on materials and hope that the design will result in the most efficient bridge when cost per pound held is calculated. This unit is a lot of fun. It's rewarding seeing such focus and creativity.