Feedback: I am from….poem Overall, I think this group did an excellent job on their presentation. The introduction was very informative. The group discussed the important objectives for their lesson and how it relates to the text. I thought the visual representation was a good model to use in a classroom, since many students struggle with verbal instruction. The group used a variety of learning strategies, including brainstorming and the graphic organizer. The students were also instructed to engage in Think-Pair-Share while they brainstormed their ideas. To wind up, the group justified why they chose a book more suitable for a lower grade. They also explained the importance of materials used in the classroom. For ex: the rubric. One excellent idea that was mentioned – using the “I am from” poem in other subjects. I really believe I would use something like this in a socials or science class someday. It is difficult for me to offer any criticisms since I believe this group did a great job.
I personally have never done or taught “I am from” poems and I was very engaged and interested in the idea. The group managed to strategically plan their lesson so that students were able to work together to create an example based on a boy in a book and then progress into individual work. I feel that this is extremely important as many students need guidance prior to engaging in an activity. Another possibility that could have been incorporated was to have students create poems in partners between working on a poem as a class and individually. Sometimes some students are overwhelmed and mentally check out when the class is working on examples; therefore, giving them an opportunity to focus with a partner might act as a good stepping stone into individual work. In addition, I thought that the rubric supplied was really great and I liked that there was lots of flexibility in the rubric; however, it may have been nice to have the students create the rubric. I find that if students are creating the criteria they take more ownership for their work and effort. Overall, I thought it was a very interesting lesson and engaging presentation.
Rachel wrote: GROUP 1 (July 12) Unfortunately, I missed the first half of this group’s presentation this week because I missed a bus and was late for school. However I do remember Beth reading us that cute book in the presentation. First of all I thought the book was really well selected for the ‘I am from..’ poem they did in the second half of the lesson because the book was not only entertaining but really was in-depth, sincere and included many descriptions that expressed feelings. And overall, I think the lesson was clearly laid out, as the group presented us with enough information at first and expanded their ideas by doing a creative activity. I like how this group made the writing activity a personal journal-like (free-style) writing activity that fosters students’ creative thinking. I think this would also be a good activity in the beginning of the school year so that both teachers and students would get to know each other better. Lastly, I liked how everyone in the group seemed confident in what they were doing. Great job!! :)
The first group presented a very thoughtful and comprehensive lesson. It was easy to see their enthusiasm for giving students the opportunity to express themselves through a self discovery poetry activity. It was a very good idea to include teacher created poetry as, in my experience, students genuinely respond well when you show authenticity in this way. The various instructional strategies presented, like: ‘read aloud’, ‘think, pair, share’ and ‘grand discussion,’ were well chosen and placed in the overall plan. Providing front loading by reading the ‘Alexander’ book, for instance, would start to activate the students’ imaginations early on. It was also evident that transitions between activities were accounted for in the lesson design and as such it should progress smoothly in a real classroom. Well done!
I was very impressed with the development of your lesson plan! Your lesson provides an effective exploration of language through presenting students with the opportunity to use their creativity and express themselves. I believe that your focus on student creativity and expression is a very valuable component of your approach that demonstrates the personal connection between students and literature. Furthermore, it provides students with an opportunity to learn about themselves and discover others. This quality of your lesson makes it beneficial for the development of classroom community and allows the teacher to distinguish the unique experiences of each student. As a result, this lesson provides many opportunities for learning extensions through discussions on family, culture, and other areas of human diversity. One component of your lesson that I found interesting was your decision to have a teacher-generated rubric. Do you think that a class-generated rubric would benefit the students in any way that a teacher-generated rubric wouldn’t?
Thanks for a great lesson plan and lots of fantastic ideas!
I had never heard of an “I am from poem” and thought it was just an awesome activity. It’s a great idea to have the teacher share their poem first as it not only give an example of what the poem should consist of but it also builds that sense of trust between the teacher and students. Sharing bits of yourself with them gives them a better idea of who you are as a person, your experiences and how they can relate to you. The book that you chose to use in your presentation is priceless. It’s always a funny book no matter what age you’re working with. Making a poem for a character is a good way to get the kids thinking of what it would be like in someone else’s shoes. Your presentation was really well thought out, detailed and carried out really well! This is something I could see myself using in the future.
Group 1 Feedback: I liked the presentation of the “I AM… ” poem. Modeling a poem written by the teacher makes it personal and this is a good way for students to not only get to know the teacher a little better but see the teacher’s writing style. I liked the idea of reading a book and getting students to brainstorm words in various categories about the character using categories such as feelings, people, places and food. This strategy would really help students focus on words that they feel are important about the character and give struggling students ideas as well. Using a word wall for these words helps provide clues and reference for language learners as well. It also helps students remember connections between words. Having students write a poem about the character and later on write their own “I am” poem allows students have a better idea as to how to write the poem from their previous experience to writing a poem for the character of the book. Writing an ‘I am’ poem can be a very personal thing and I liked how Matt described his poem – having multi-levels. Depending on how much the writer wants to share with the reader, the poem can be more personal. I think that the rubric/ assessment can be discussed as a class as to what students think is important in the poem, what they think should and should not be in the poem. Overall, I think that it is a good activity for community building as well as an English Language Arts lesson. The group did an excellent job modeling and explaining the different strategies that they used and how it can be used cross-curriculum. I think I would like to try to use it during my long practicum in September. Thanks for the great presentation!
Your presentation was very thorough, and had plenty of concrete examples and handouts. I am a visual learner, so I tend to pay attention more if I can see what the speaker is talking about. For instance, Mark made an "I am from" poem poster, and it gave us a visual representation of what it could look like. I also like that Beth brought in the "Alexander" book, and Lin supplied the class with possible handouts for constructing the "I am from" poems. I liked the group's idea to use the "Alexander" book as a scaffolding activity for the actual "I am from" poem, and I was wondering if there were other books that could be used that illustrate facts about a character, perhaps Anne of Green Gables?
This lesson would be a great community building activity at the beginning of the school year. It is important for the teacher to establish that the classroom is a safe environment, and they can do this by encouraging their students to get to know eachother. Through actvities where they share something about themselves, students become more comfortable with eachother, and a positive classroom community develops. Thanks again for your presentation,
I thought group one did an excellent job with their presentation. It was obviously very well researched with a lot of rationale and some very interesting ideas. Having never taught in intermediate classroom, I found this lesson very resourceful and fun. The “I am” poem idea is a great idea for a class, especially I think as an activity to do at the beginning of the school year as a class bonding experience. The set up of this lesson and prior knowledge for it was set up excellently. One of the most important things for any classroom is to give students all the tools to succeed and to give proper expectations and group one did a fabulous job of establishing both of these areas. I also found the “Alexander” book interesting and wonder what other books could also have been used in the secondary setting for this lesson? As well, as a primary teacher I wonder what books could be illustrated or what adaptations could be made that could make a lesson like this work in a grade 1 or 2 classroom?
Lin, Mark, Jill and Beth, Well done! You did an incredible job at explaining each session of your lesson plan with much detail, creativity, and enthusiasm. The idea of using the “I am from” poem to encourage students to describe themselves using not only powerful words, but also their wild imagination is simple, yet genius! I love that you have provided an illustrated poem from the teacher in order to show students how this particular poem is closely connected to personal feelings and interests. In addition, the book you have chosen is not only very engaging and creative, but also well related to the lesson’s objectives and values. The overall lesson is multilevel as it incorporates all kinds of cooperative and individual learning activities such as writing and drawing. I did something very similar with my grade 3 class in which I used a formula poem to have students describe themselves. They were responsible for completing each line of the poem based on their personal background, interests, feelings and dreams. To engage the students at the beginning of the lesson I decided to read and share my personal poem with them. The written responses I later received from the students’ poems were tremendous. They took pride in their work as they were able to express genuine connections to their personal lives and experiences. I loved the FLOW of your lesson, good job!
Group One feedback: I really enjoyed the lesson that this group shared with us. I think the use of “I am from” poems is fantastic because it can be adapted to so many different age levels and is a great way of building community. I thought that the progression of the lesson was fantastic – I really enjoyed the idea of building an “I am from” poem around a character as a class beforehand. I also really enjoyed the fact that Lin shared her “I am from” poem with the class. In another LA class I am taking, our professor tells us that modeling assignments is one of the most important things you can do not only because it shows the students what to do but also because you should never ask your students to do anything that you are not willing to do, share anything that you are not willing to share. Lin’s demonstration showed how effective this is. I also really like the lesson because the actual activity is not too difficult as the content is based on the individual, and therefore thought it would be a great way to kick off the year as a LA lesson and as a community-building tool. In terms of mechanics, I liked the way the presenters who were the “teachers” were very much in the teacher role. It gave a better idea of what the lesson what look like in the classroom setting. Great work!
I really loved the “I Am From” poems. I think it is a real captivating assignment not just for primary students, but for a wide range of grades. I even spent a good deal of my own time thinking of what I would include in my own I am from poem. First of all, it is a great way for students to begin forming an understanding of how even simple methods of wordplay can be used to produce a work of satisfying work of art. Similarly, students will not only get to experience how they can use words that are relevant to themselves in order to make a poem, but they can also use these skills to transfer it, as the group explained, to construct a poem about specific book characters, as we did with Alexander. However, what I believe is essential is that students can use their own discretion when sharing information. They do not need to include anything they are uncomfortable sharing with, yet they will still be able to participate in this personalized activity to the fullest degree. Students in higher grades reading high level books could also enjoy this experience simply by diversifying the vocabulary that is used. The whole activity seems to assimilate itself well within many lesson plans and definitely is worth experimenting with in the classroom regardless of the grade.
I loved your presentation. It was very thorough, engaging and included lots of different strategies and examples. “I am from” poem poster was a great visual model for all the students’ especially visual learners. It not only helps students to connect with the teacher but also, makes them comfortable to share about themselves. I liked the book you chose to model the different categories such as feelings, places, food and people to write the poem about the character, Alexander and also, how students could use these categories to construct their own “I am from” poem. In the first semester of PDP, our LUC module made an identity boxes based on the “I am from” poem. It was a great way to understand the connection between the text and the visuals. Personally, I learned more about myself through poem and identity boxes. Similarly, I feel that a child at any grade level will become more aware about themselves through “I am from” poem. I thought the rubric you provided to assess the poem was very good.
The only suggestion I have is that it would be nice if you stop after certain parts of the story rather than reading the whole story at once and let students brainstorm. This way the students won’t have to store their ideas in their minds till the end and just focus on specific parts being read. Other than that, your team did an excellent job! Thanks for sharing great ideas.
Sonja wrote: roup 1 feedback: Honestly, if there were only one complaint, it would be that getting us (the audience) to do the think-pair-share activity for 30 seconds interrupted the flow of the lesson. Implying that we would then be doing a pair-share would have sufficed. Otherwise, it was a fabulous lesson!! If I were a student, I really would have enjoyed this lesson presentation. The book that they read would have been very identifiable with a younger student. The think-pair-share activity was a great idea for allowing students to work together on words that evoked thought. I also had a lot of fun learning about the "I am from.." poems as I had never heard of them before. I've got to track down that book about Alexander for my own future classroom.
oops I thought I posed this already but I must not have been logged in:
I thought this was extremely well done! I especially liked the way the class first learnt how to write one of these kind of poems using a fictional characters. I also liked how it was scaffolding so that it went from the class as a whole writing one to them then writing one on their own.
One suggestion I might make (which may already be on the lesson plan) is to spend quite a bit of time discussing how to make the statements cryptic. This would probably be a part of your class I Am From Poem with Alexander but it could even be an extension mini lesson on how this type of poem is not explicit about what it is talking about.
Great Job!! Very worthwhile activity and I loved the way you did it!
I was quite upset that I had missed the beginning of this presentation because I am very familiar with this lesson and appreciate the impact it has in the classroom. In my experience creating the poem in my module was used as way for our class to get to know each other better and establish a sense of classroom community. Before this presentation, I had never thought to have students create poems from a characters perspective – this is definitely a great extension of the concept. With that in mind, this poem could be adapted to meet the learning needs of many different grade levels. Even though I only managed to catch the last 10 minutes of the presentation, I noticed all the presenters were extremely passionate about teaching their idea to the class. We all know students are more likely to pay attention and participate when their teachers have enthusiasm for what they are teaching!
Overall I thought group one efficiently demonstrated knowledge of the “Where I’m From” concept through a well developed and engaging lesson plan.
Group One “I am from...” poems are a great activity! We did this in my module and it allows so much insight into the person by reading their poem. Alexander and Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Day is also one of my favourite books! I love that you used this book to scaffold how you would write an “I am from...” poem for Alexander so the students can see what experiences they can draw on from their own lives. I also liked that you incorporated your own poems as an example for the students. I think by you participating in the activity the students may be more engaged and interested in sharing their poems with you. I think the lessons you modelled for us could easily be implemented and you have given me some great ideas for projects I can do in the future. Thanks!
Feedback: I am from….poem
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think this group did an excellent job on their presentation. The introduction was very informative. The group discussed the important objectives for their lesson and how it relates to the text. I thought the visual representation was a good model to use in a classroom, since many students struggle with verbal instruction. The group used a variety of learning strategies, including brainstorming and the graphic organizer. The students were also instructed to engage in Think-Pair-Share while they brainstormed their ideas. To wind up, the group justified why they chose a book more suitable for a lower grade. They also explained the importance of materials used in the classroom. For ex: the rubric. One excellent idea that was mentioned – using the “I am from” poem in other subjects. I really believe I would use something like this in a socials or science class someday. It is difficult for me to offer any criticisms since I believe this group did a great job.
I personally have never done or taught “I am from” poems and I was very engaged and interested in the idea. The group managed to strategically plan their lesson so that students were able to work together to create an example based on a boy in a book and then progress into individual work. I feel that this is extremely important as many students need guidance prior to engaging in an activity. Another possibility that could have been incorporated was to have students create poems in partners between working on a poem as a class and individually. Sometimes some students are overwhelmed and mentally check out when the class is working on examples; therefore, giving them an opportunity to focus with a partner might act as a good stepping stone into individual work. In addition, I thought that the rubric supplied was really great and I liked that there was lots of flexibility in the rubric; however, it may have been nice to have the students create the rubric. I find that if students are creating the criteria they take more ownership for their work and effort. Overall, I thought it was a very interesting lesson and engaging presentation.
ReplyDeleteRachel wrote:
ReplyDeleteGROUP 1 (July 12)
Unfortunately, I missed the first half of this group’s presentation this week because I missed a bus and was late for school. However I do remember Beth reading us that cute book in the presentation. First of all I thought the book was really well selected for the ‘I am from..’ poem they did in the second half of the lesson because the book was not only entertaining but really was in-depth, sincere and included many descriptions that expressed feelings. And overall, I think the lesson was clearly laid out, as the group presented us with enough information at first and expanded their ideas by doing a creative activity. I like how this group made the writing activity a personal journal-like (free-style) writing activity that fosters students’ creative thinking. I think this would also be a good activity in the beginning of the school year so that both teachers and students would get to know each other better. Lastly, I liked how everyone in the group seemed confident in what they were doing. Great job!! :)
The first group presented a very thoughtful and comprehensive lesson. It was easy to see their enthusiasm for giving students the opportunity to express themselves through a self discovery poetry activity. It was a very good idea to include teacher created poetry as, in my experience, students genuinely respond well when you show authenticity in this way. The various instructional strategies presented, like: ‘read aloud’, ‘think, pair, share’ and ‘grand discussion,’ were well chosen and placed in the overall plan. Providing front loading by reading the ‘Alexander’ book, for instance, would start to activate the students’ imaginations early on. It was also evident that transitions between activities were accounted for in the lesson design and as such it should progress smoothly in a real classroom. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI was very impressed with the development of your lesson plan! Your lesson provides an effective exploration of language through presenting students with the opportunity to use their creativity and express themselves. I believe that your focus on student creativity and expression is a very valuable component of your approach that demonstrates the personal connection between students and literature. Furthermore, it provides students with an opportunity to learn about themselves and discover others. This quality of your lesson makes it beneficial for the development of classroom community and allows the teacher to distinguish the unique experiences of each student. As a result, this lesson provides many opportunities for learning extensions through discussions on family, culture, and other areas of human diversity. One component of your lesson that I found interesting was your decision to have a teacher-generated rubric. Do you think that a class-generated rubric would benefit the students in any way that a teacher-generated rubric wouldn’t?
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great lesson plan and lots of fantastic ideas!
I had never heard of an “I am from poem” and thought it was just an awesome activity. It’s a great idea to have the teacher share their poem first as it not only give an example of what the poem should consist of but it also builds that sense of trust between the teacher and students. Sharing bits of yourself with them gives them a better idea of who you are as a person, your experiences and how they can relate to you. The book that you chose to use in your presentation is priceless. It’s always a funny book no matter what age you’re working with. Making a poem for a character is a good way to get the kids thinking of what it would be like in someone else’s shoes. Your presentation was really well thought out, detailed and carried out really well! This is something I could see myself using in the future.
ReplyDeleteGroup 1 Feedback:
ReplyDeleteI liked the presentation of the “I AM… ” poem. Modeling a poem written by the teacher makes it personal and this is a good way for students to not only get to know the teacher a little better but see the teacher’s writing style. I liked the idea of reading a book and getting students to brainstorm words in various categories about the character using categories such as feelings, people, places and food. This strategy would really help students focus on words that they feel are important about the character and give struggling students ideas as well. Using a word wall for these words helps provide clues and reference for language learners as well. It also helps students remember connections between words. Having students write a poem about the character and later on write their own “I am” poem allows students have a better idea as to how to write the poem from their previous experience to writing a poem for the character of the book. Writing an ‘I am’ poem can be a very personal thing and I liked how Matt described his poem – having multi-levels. Depending on how much the writer wants to share with the reader, the poem can be more personal. I think that the rubric/ assessment can be discussed as a class as to what students think is important in the poem, what they think should and should not be in the poem. Overall, I think that it is a good activity for community building as well as an English Language Arts lesson. The group did an excellent job modeling and explaining the different strategies that they used and how it can be used cross-curriculum. I think I would like to try to use it during my long practicum in September. Thanks for the great presentation!
Lin, Mark, Jill and Beth,
ReplyDeleteYour presentation was very thorough, and had plenty of concrete examples and handouts. I am a visual learner, so I tend to pay attention more if I can see what the speaker is talking about. For instance, Mark made an "I am from" poem poster, and it gave us a visual representation of what it could look like. I also like that Beth brought in the "Alexander" book, and Lin supplied the class with possible handouts for constructing the "I am from" poems. I liked the group's idea to use the "Alexander" book as a scaffolding activity for the actual "I am from" poem, and I was wondering if there were other books that could be used that illustrate facts about a character, perhaps Anne of Green Gables?
This lesson would be a great community building activity at the beginning of the school year. It is important for the teacher to establish that the classroom is a safe environment, and they can do this by encouraging their students to get to know eachother. Through actvities where they share something about themselves, students become more comfortable with eachother, and a positive classroom community develops.
Thanks again for your presentation,
Great Job!!!
I thought group one did an excellent job with their presentation. It was obviously very well researched with a lot of rationale and some very interesting ideas. Having never taught in intermediate classroom, I found this lesson very resourceful and fun. The “I am” poem idea is a great idea for a class, especially I think as an activity to do at the beginning of the school year as a class bonding experience. The set up of this lesson and prior knowledge for it was set up excellently. One of the most important things for any classroom is to give students all the tools to succeed and to give proper expectations and group one did a fabulous job of establishing both of these areas. I also found the “Alexander” book interesting and wonder what other books could also have been used in the secondary setting for this lesson? As well, as a primary teacher I wonder what books could be illustrated or what adaptations could be made that could make a lesson like this work in a grade 1 or 2 classroom?
ReplyDeleteLin, Mark, Jill and Beth,
ReplyDeleteWell done! You did an incredible job at explaining each session of your lesson plan with much detail, creativity, and enthusiasm. The idea of using the “I am from” poem to encourage students to describe themselves using not only powerful words, but also their wild imagination is simple, yet genius! I love that you have provided an illustrated poem from the teacher in order to show students how this particular poem is closely connected to personal feelings and interests. In addition, the book you have chosen is not only very engaging and creative, but also well related to the lesson’s objectives and values. The overall lesson is multilevel as it incorporates all kinds of cooperative and individual learning activities such as writing and drawing. I did something very similar with my grade 3 class in which I used a formula poem to have students describe themselves. They were responsible for completing each line of the poem based on their personal background, interests, feelings and dreams. To engage the students at the beginning of the lesson I decided to read and share my personal poem with them. The written responses I later received from the students’ poems were tremendous. They took pride in their work as they were able to express genuine connections to their personal lives and experiences.
I loved the FLOW of your lesson, good job!
Group One feedback:
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the lesson that this group shared with us. I think the use of “I am from” poems is fantastic because it can be adapted to so many different age levels and is a great way of building community. I thought that the progression of the lesson was fantastic – I really enjoyed the idea of building an “I am from” poem around a character as a class beforehand. I also really enjoyed the fact that Lin shared her “I am from” poem with the class. In another LA class I am taking, our professor tells us that modeling assignments is one of the most important things you can do not only because it shows the students what to do but also because you should never ask your students to do anything that you are not willing to do, share anything that you are not willing to share. Lin’s demonstration showed how effective this is. I also really like the lesson because the actual activity is not too difficult as the content is based on the individual, and therefore thought it would be a great way to kick off the year as a LA lesson and as a community-building tool.
In terms of mechanics, I liked the way the presenters who were the “teachers” were very much in the teacher role. It gave a better idea of what the lesson what look like in the classroom setting.
Great work!
I really loved the “I Am From” poems. I think it is a real captivating assignment not just for primary students, but for a wide range of grades. I even spent a good deal of my own time thinking of what I would include in my own I am from poem. First of all, it is a great way for students to begin forming an understanding of how even simple methods of wordplay can be used to produce a work of satisfying work of art. Similarly, students will not only get to experience how they can use words that are relevant to themselves in order to make a poem, but they can also use these skills to transfer it, as the group explained, to construct a poem about specific book characters, as we did with Alexander. However, what I believe is essential is that students can use their own discretion when sharing information. They do not need to include anything they are uncomfortable sharing with, yet they will still be able to participate in this personalized activity to the fullest degree. Students in higher grades reading high level books could also enjoy this experience simply by diversifying the vocabulary that is used. The whole activity seems to assimilate itself well within many lesson plans and definitely is worth experimenting with in the classroom regardless of the grade.
ReplyDeleteI loved your presentation. It was very thorough, engaging and included lots of different strategies and examples. “I am from” poem poster was a great visual model for all the students’ especially visual learners. It not only helps students to connect with the teacher but also, makes them comfortable to share about themselves. I liked the book you chose to model the different categories such as feelings, places, food and people to write the poem about the character, Alexander and also, how students could use these categories to construct their own “I am from” poem. In the first semester of PDP, our LUC module made an identity boxes based on the “I am from” poem. It was a great way to understand the connection between the text and the visuals. Personally, I learned more about myself through poem and identity boxes. Similarly, I feel that a child at any grade level will become more aware about themselves through “I am from” poem. I thought the rubric you provided to assess the poem was very good.
ReplyDeleteThe only suggestion I have is that it would be nice if you stop after certain parts of the story rather than reading the whole story at once and let students brainstorm. This way the students won’t have to store their ideas in their minds till the end and just focus on specific parts being read. Other than that, your team did an excellent job! Thanks for sharing great ideas.
Sonja wrote:
ReplyDeleteroup 1 feedback: Honestly, if there were only one complaint, it would be that getting us (the audience) to do the think-pair-share activity for 30 seconds interrupted the flow of the lesson. Implying that we would then be doing a pair-share would have sufficed. Otherwise, it was a fabulous lesson!! If I were a student, I really would have enjoyed this lesson presentation. The book that they read would have been very identifiable with a younger student. The think-pair-share activity was a great idea for allowing students to work together on words that evoked thought. I also had a lot of fun learning about the "I am from.." poems as I had never heard of them before. I've got to track down that book about Alexander for my own future classroom.
oops I thought I posed this already but I must not have been logged in:
ReplyDeleteI thought this was extremely well done! I especially liked the way the class first learnt how to write one of these kind of poems using a fictional characters. I also liked how it was scaffolding so that it went from the class as a whole writing one to them then writing one on their own.
One suggestion I might make (which may already be on the lesson plan) is to spend quite a bit of time discussing how to make the statements cryptic. This would probably be a part of your class I Am From Poem with Alexander but it could even be an extension mini lesson on how this type of poem is not explicit about what it is talking about.
Great Job!! Very worthwhile activity and I loved the way you did it!
“Where I'm From" Poem
ReplyDeleteI was quite upset that I had missed the beginning of this presentation because I am very familiar with this lesson and appreciate the impact it has in the classroom. In my experience creating the poem in my module was used as way for our class to get to know each other better and establish a sense of classroom community. Before this presentation, I had never thought to have students create poems from a characters perspective – this is definitely a great extension of the concept. With that in mind, this poem could be adapted to meet the learning needs of many different grade levels. Even though I only managed to catch the last 10 minutes of the presentation, I noticed all the presenters were extremely passionate about teaching their idea to the class. We all know students are more likely to pay attention and participate when their teachers have enthusiasm for what they are teaching!
Overall I thought group one efficiently demonstrated knowledge of the “Where I’m From” concept through a well developed and engaging lesson plan.
Group One
ReplyDelete“I am from...” poems are a great activity! We did this in my module and it allows so much insight into the person by reading their poem. Alexander and Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Day is also one of my favourite books! I love that you used this book to scaffold how you would write an “I am from...” poem for Alexander so the students can see what experiences they can draw on from their own lives. I also liked that you incorporated your own poems as an example for the students. I think by you participating in the activity the students may be more engaged and interested in sharing their poems with you. I think the lessons you modelled for us could easily be implemented and you have given me some great ideas for projects I can do in the future. Thanks!