Week of 2-23-09
Today was the first day that I met with the students from Leah Finches classroom. There are
5 boys and one girl in my group. The students seemed interested in learning about poetry and listening to the song lyrics
that I shared with them. They took an interest in a few poetry books, and I had them write down a poem that seemed interesting
to them. My plans for next weeks course will be to have the students share song lyrics that are of personal interest
to them. The objective is to get them to understand that poetry is a form of story telling. We will then discuss
different kinds of poetry and I will provide examples of each. I also plan to have the students discuss 3 important
things about themselves and then create a web of exploration about their lives. This will enable them to come up with
ideas to write a poem about themselves.
Week of 3-2-09
Today, the students explored four different genres of poetry. We
examined the structure of ballads, couplets, sonnets, and prose. We
also discussed free verse and shared personal interests with each other
and then took our ideas and created brainstorming webs. Next class we
will take the webs that we created from the previous lesson and use
them to create a poem about our interests. Frances would also like us
to do an activity with our students called poetry circles. This
assignment will engage the students in a way that will enable them to
use creative license and do their individual part to help create a poem.
The language keeper: will supply the group with 5 unusual words to
use in the poem.
Image weaver:the person provides at least two images for the poem
Metaphor generator: supplies 2 fresh metaphors or similes for the poem.
Music Maker: This person is responsibly for creating the music of the
poem, or the poems structure.
We will then switch roles, and each student will take their turn with a
given task.
Before we begin the poetry circles I will explain the meanings of
metaphor, simile, rhyme, assonance, alliteration and other terms as the
need presents itself.
Week of 3-9-09
Last class meeting I instructed
the students to compose a poem from the brainstorming webs that we created the class before last. Next week they should have them completed and ready to share with the rest of the group. Next class session we will continue to work on poetry circles and creating our own individual poems using
similar methods of construction. I will have each student select a topic that is interesting to them and then pick 5 adjectives
and 3 metaphors or similes to include in their poetry. I will look at the structure
of the poems they create, and constructively help them to examine ways they can improve their poetry. If there is additional time, we will play a game where I begin a poem and each student adds to the last
line until we have completed the poem.
3-16-09
Today was completely chaotic! When we arrived at Tibbetts, our class was planning on creating altered books. These books would be used to put our finished poems in, as a more decorative art form. Most of the children were anxious about the upcoming Spring Break, and many were unprepared. The Ms. Finch wanted them to create a poem using the five senses.
I coached them through the assignment, and then we went to work on our altered books.
3-30-09
I was ill today and unable to attend. Will resume
on 4-6-09.
4-6-09
Today the students and I played a game using metaphors
and similes. They rolled dice to see who went first and then preceded to draw
out sentences from a bag at random and identify if the structure was that of a simile or metaphor. The students found the activity enjoyable. We then used the
same method to of random drawing to pick pictures to write about. I explained
the structure of sonnets and then had each student compose on based on the picture that they selected. They enjoyed picking their writing topics at random and dove into their topics.
4-13-09
The students and I wrote poems as a group today. Each student was given a picture from a magazine and given five minutes to write about the topic. At the end of their 5 minutes they were instructed to pass the paper to the right
and exchange poems in a circle. Each poem was given the same amount of time until
each poem reached the person it originated from. We then read the poems as a
group, and I had each student take home the final product in order to revise it as they saw fit. We will share our finished work at our next class meeting. The
students seem more comfortable performing in a group each time we meet and more willing to share with others. Their progress from the beginning until now is impressive.
4-20-09
Today the students and I
worked on poetry that was truly meaningful to them and to their lives. We talked
about family relationships and those people that mean the most to them. We also
talked and wrote about those individuals that we may not relate to as well as we should.
We discussed some group poetry revisions and shared our work. The poems
that are connected with meaning and emotion to the students have helped them express themselves in a positive way. The poetry circle has been a useful tool to enable the students to think of metaphors and adjectives to
use in their poetry. We used this method in the construction of one last poem.
4-27-09
Today was the last day we
met with the Tibbetts students. We ate snacks and discussed the time that we
spent together writing poetry. I wrote a poem for the students to include in
their journals. I wanted them to remember how fun writing can be and encouraged
them to continue writing in their journals and creating new works. The day was
casual, and I had them fill out a survey about what their experience was like working with the group.
