Immersing Students into Poetry

Author(s):

Casey Ochieng and Elizabeth Jones section 19015.


Grade Level:

4

Timeframe:

2 Class Periods
Each period will take 45 minutes to one hour. (We will allow for up to one hour maximum)

Lesson Description or Explanation

Students will be given time to immerse themselves in lots of examples of poetry. Teachers will bring in books, copies of poems, and allow students to search for poems using the internet. Students will notice as many things they can about the poems they read and share these noticings with the class. Students will incorporate the things they learned about poetry into creating their own poems. Students will be able to use computers to compile their notes and to type and format their own poems.

Indiana Curricular Standards

4.3: Students read and respond to a wide variety of significant works of children's literature. The selections in the Indiana Reading List (http://dc.doe.in.gov/Standards/AcademicStandards/PrintLibrary/readinglist.shtml) illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. At Grade 4, students read a wide variety of fiction, such as classic and contemporary literature, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology, poetry, songs, plays, and other genres.
4.5: At Grade 4, students are introduced to writing informational reports and responses to literature. Students continue to write compositions that describe and explain familiar objects, events, and experiences. Student writing demonstrates a command of Standard English and the drafting, research, and organizational strategies outlined in Standard 4 - Writing Processes and Features. Writing demonstrates an awareness of the audience (intended reader) and purpose for writing.

ISTE Standards

1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes
using technology. Students:
a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
c. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.
d. identify trends and forecast possibilities.

6. Technology Operations and Concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
a. understand and use technology systems.
b. select and use applications effectively and productively.
c. troubleshoot systems and applications.
d. transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.

Assessments

Formative/Summative

Formative Assessment: Compile their notes about what they noticed about poetry into a document on the computer. This assessment with be evaluated based on the amount and depth of the notes they take.
Summative Assessment: Students will type and format their own poem on the computer. This assessment will be evaluated based on how the poem looks, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and creativity.

Prior Knowledge

Curricular Knowledge or Skills: Students will use the knowledge they begin building at the beginning of the unit about what poetry is. Students will need to understand what a poem is, characteristics of poetry, and how to understand poems. To get students thinking about these things, as a class the students will look at books and talk about what they notice. This will get the students noticing the same things and thinking about the same concepts in poetry.
Technology Knowledge: Students will need to understand how to use Microsoft Word to create documents. These documents will be a page for notes and a page on which they will publish their poem. Before these things will be required of the students, the teachers will ensure that the students can use computers in this way.

Technology


Internet Resources:
http://www.storyit.com/Classics/JustPoems/index.htm, http://www.poetry4kids.com/,
http://www.gigglepoetry.com/, http://www.poetryarchive.org/childrensarchive/home.do

Hardware: Computers with internet access

Software: Microsoft Office -- Word

Procedure

Day 1:
Students will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in many different poems. Teachers will supply multiple books and packets of poetry for students to read and think about. Students will also take turns using computers to look up poetry on the internet from websites provided by the teacher. As students take time to look through poems, they will write notes about what they see, how they feel, and what they think about poetry. We will then come together as a class and create a large list of things they noticed. Students will use any remaining time to begin creating their own poem using ideas from their notes and the class discussion.

Day 2:
Students will have a chance to use the computer to create their own typed page of notes about what they noticed about poetry. They can use their own notes and the chart that was created by the entire class on the previous day. Next, the students will have the chance to finish creating their own poems. They may use the computer to type, format, and make their poem look creative.

Differentiated Instruction

ESL

For any ESL student the teacher can have books of poetry with language from their native country or use websites with poems of their native language. They will also be encouraged to write their own poem about something they know a lot about and in whichever language they prefer.

Challenge/Extend

For any students who need more challenging work during this assignment, they will be encouraged to create their own anthology of poems. They do not have to do it all in the two days allowed. They may continue working on it later if they need to. They will need to understand what an anthology is and create one on their own.

Special Needs

For any students with special needs the teacher will need to work one on one with the student. The teacher will also need to bring in poems that are at an easier reading level. If a student is blind or cannot read, a teacher or a peer can read some poems to the student. If students are deaf, they will need special written directions so they know what is expected of them.

Different Pyramids for Different Folks

Different Pyramids for Different Folks

Author(s):

Shannon Sweeney W 401 Block III
By: Shannon Sweeney
Grade Level:
Grade level 3

Timeframe:
We will be working on this for a week and half to two weeks.
We will work on it for an hour and ten minutes a day.

Lesson Description or Explanation

This lesson will be written for our IB unit “Health Hysteria”. Students will become familiar with the United States food pyramid and what a healthy life style is. Students will study different countries and their food pyramids. Students will study food pyramids for special diets. This study will promote cultural consciousness, and good health. This lesson is interdisciplinary including: social studies, reading, writing, health, and technology.


Indiana Curricular Standards


Social Studies
3.4.1 Give examples from the local community that illustrate the scarcity of productive resources. Explain how this scarcity requires people to make choices and incur opportunity costs.
3.4.3 Give examples of trade in the local community and explain how trade benefits both parties.

Reading/ Writing
3.4.4 Use various reference materials (such as a dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, encyclopedia, and online resources).
3.4.5 Use a computer to draft, revise, and publish writing.
3.5.8 Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility, reports findings) and that.

Health
3.1.1 Identify responsible health behaviors.
3.1.4 Describe the relationship between physical health and emotional health.


ISTE Standards

Technology
-Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
-Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
-Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

Assessments

Formative:
I will use in the moment assessment with my students. I believe if you assess your learners while they are engaged you will learn more about them. I will do conferencing with groups, and look at their unit folders.

Summative:
The student’s presentations will be my summative grade as well as a post evaluation test. I want to see what knowledge they retained. Each presentation will be graded on the work that the child did for the presentation along with an evaluation by his peers.

Prior Knowledge

Curricular Knowledge or Skills: First students will be asked to make a web of what they know about health, nutrition, what they should be eating, and what people in other countries may eat. A whole group discussion will help the teacher to assess what her students already know and what needs to be addressed.
Technology Knowledge: The teacher will begin by talking to students about their prior computer use, and programs that they used. That will be a whole group discussion. The teacher will find out what her students know about Microsoft Power Point, Kidspiration, and visiting web addresses. The teacher will do this with individual pre- assessments.

Technology


Internet Resources: http://home.comcast.net/~cnmpat/pyramids.html
http://www.nutritionexploration.org/kids/nutrition-

Software: Microsoft, or KIdspiration

Procedure

Day 1-3: Teacher will start read aloud from the book Lets Eat. There will be a whole group discussion about the book and what they learned about. Teacher will make a chart of the country and findings that the students found. We will begin to talk about the United States Food Pyramid. Students will visit the Comcast website listed above and find United States Food Pyramid. Students will begin to think of what the food pyramid from South Africa will look like.

Day 2-5: Teacher will read about a country form the book lets eat. Children will each grab a computer from the C.O.W. Students will visit the nutrition website listed above and explore the interactive food pyramid. Student will discuss with teacher what they noticed that is similar or different about the country they read that day and their own country. Kids can begin mapping with Kidspiration software.

Day 6-8: Teacher will begin with a read aloud. Students will then visit the Comcast website listed above where they will begin looking at different food pyramids and write down their noticings. Students will form groups based on their interest. The groups will be student led and chosen. The students will work on their idea webs on Kidspiration and talk about how they will present their country. Students will be encouraged to, but not limited to, use power point. Students will join teacher on a virtual fieldtrip to either Africa, or Asia.

Day 8-9: Teacher will pre- assess students on their knowledge of special diets. Teacher will talk about “Gluten Free”, and “Diabetic” food pyramids to further their understanding. Students will meet with their groups to discuss their presentations. Teacher will play music from the countries that they have been learning about. Students will talk about the similarities and differences between the country they have chosen and ours. They will need to include this in their presentation. Students will use the information they found on the websites they provided and further researching.

Day 10: Celebration Day!!! Students will present as groups for the class. They will be allowed to present in any way they choose. They can dress up like the people of their country; they may bring artifacts, ect. All groups must bring some form of technology based presentation. Each student will be required to turn in their health packet.

Differentiated Instruction

ESL
Students may use their first language predominately in the presentation, with English subtitles.
Students may use the Google language tool while searching the web for information.
Students will be paired with English speaking students to promote peer support.
Teacher will use animation and music in their lesson to increase comprehension. (You know what they say “pictures can say a thousand words”.)

Challenge/Extend

Teacher will create independent work time projects for students who finish early.

Special Needs

Student with special needs will be given extra teacher support. They will also have peer support.
Students who are blind will have listening station or headsets for their computer.
Students who are deaf can watch extra video with subtitles, and will be given a copy of the text.
Students with mobility problems can use switches to activate their computer controls.
Students who struggle with dexterity and typing can use the JAWS program.
Students with vision impairments can use a screen magnifier.