1. Turn Blah, Blah into something fun! Yawn, stretch, yuck. Who wants that?!

2. Dry Tortugas National Park The Dry Tortugas are located south of Key West. They have coral reefs and unusual birds and fish. Many pirates used to visit here. One of the largest forts on any coast in the world is located here. It is called Fort Jefferson. LIST!

3. A few ideas for a beginning… Arrrrgh! Pirates on the horizon! One of the largest coastal military forts is located in Florida.

4. Do you have enough information to make it interesting? Your notes may have missed something. Remember: Great beginning Interesting to read Makes sense! Connections from paragraph to paragraph Information is limited

5. The New Orleans Cemeteries are a very interesting place. Did you know that their caskets are above ground? Why is that? Well, because most of New Orleans is below sea level.

6. A long time ago, people in New Orleans had trouble burying the dead. If they dug even a few feet down, the hole would fill up with water. As a result, the buried caskets would float. People tried drilling holes in the caskets and using stones and sandbags to weigh down the body. Nothing worked! When it rained, even with these methods, the caskets still popped right out of the ground. There was a problem!

7. Early settlers decided to bury bodies above ground following the Spanish custom of using vaults. Therefore, New Orleans has many above-ground cemeteries. Still today, people are buried above-ground. However, this is not necessary because swamps and marshes have been drained. Instead people are buried above-ground following the tradition.

8. July 13, 1825 the D&H canal was built. The canal started in Honesdale, PA and ended in Eddyville, NY. The canal was 108 miles long and had 27 locks. The canal’s design had 12 aqueducts and 137 bridges. Using only picks, Irish labor, and shovels the canal was built.

9. The canal width was 32 feet wide. They had a type of coal that they carried called stone coal. In Pennsylvania no one was interested in anthracite coal. In New York City on January 7, 1825 businesses were growing and so was the need for energy. The D&H canal operated there for seventy years, until 1898.

10. We'd like to share with you about a very special place on the island of Molokai called Halawa. The people that reside there are very self-sufficient. They either grow their own food or catch it. They also do not have electricity so their main source of energy is either gas or propane. The residents of Halawa valley live a healthy, simple lifestyle which brings them much happiness.

11. We know how difficult it would be for us to live there because we would never be able to live without electricity, computers, or even the telephone. But, we can all learn by their example. Try promoting this kind of healthy lifestyle by growing and eating your own vegetables, and picking up a book instead of the remote control.