Dear Colleague,
This is such a beautiful, but busy time of year. Chances are you've begun to worry about all the things you need to accomplish before June. Instead, stop and count all the things you HAVE accomplished. (You might write them down during Quiet Ten today.)
Feel better? I thought so.
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On Hand: An article (perhaps from your weekly student newspaper) or a nonfiction passage you have read for science or social studies prepared to project, a whiteboard, chart paper, markers, and index cards (a small stack for pairs of students).
Mini-Lesson: Project a passage of text, such as this one from Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumba (2006)
As the weeks went on, Owen and Mzee spent more and more time together. Soon, they were inseparable. Their bond remains strong to this day. They swim together, eat together, drink together, and sleep next to each other. They rub noses.
Ask students to pick out words or phrases they find particularly powerful. Together, arrange these words into a poem. Feel free to add words to enhance meaning. Here is an example:
Owen and Mzee
Together
Inseparable bond
Swim together
Eat
Drink
And sleep
Together
They rub noses
Owen and Mzee
Play with the line breaks and word order. Let students know that there are many possibilities. Invite them to work in pairs and choose their own texts. Have them record words that particularly speak to them on cards, and then use the cards to arrange the language into a poem. (Remind students that they might want to leave some of the cards out.) Encourage those happy with their poems to copy them down on paper.
Extension: Suggest students find words that appeal to them in magazines, cut them out, and then, perhaps adding to those words, arrange them in a poem.
Adapted from No More "I'm Done!" Fostering Independent Writers in the Primary Grades by Jennifer Richard Jacobson |
| I recently created a podcast with Stenhouse Publishers in which I discusss the challenges of teaching writing to primary students. To watch this brief video, go here. |
for primary teachers
