Daily Archives: April 2, 2017


Poppies, Poetry & Critical Thinking with Georgia O’Keefe

 

 

It had been a long week- two nights of student-led conferences, a teacher evaluation meeting with my administrator. Add finishing report cards to that mix and preparation for MStep, and I had survived the perfect storm.  Needless to say, we were tired.  I needed to do something that would make our hearts sing.  My students needed it, too!

So, I introduced my third and fourth graders to Georgia’s paintings.  Georgia O’Keefe makes my heart sing.  I began by sharing a short mini-biography I had authored, and then I read aloud My Name is Georgia by Jeanette Winter.  This delightful picture book is a biography of Georgia O’Keefe. From the time she was just a young girl, Georgia O’Keeffe saw the world differently than those around her.  While other girls wore braids and played with toys, Georgia practiced her drawing.  She let her hair flow free.  Georgia followed her love of art throughout her life. This book shows how Georgia followed her dream of becoming an artist and shared her unique vision of the world.

who respond to <b>georgia</b> in hawaii may then pick up <b>my name is georgia</b> ...
After sharing the book and some examples of O’Keefe’s art I found on the internet, I showed my students some photographs of natural subjects. The photos were close ups, not unlike Georgia’s flowers.  We went through each photo, using the visible thinking move “See-Think-Wonder.”  Using this thinking routine elevated my student’s responses.    Using this routine, I first asked students to respond orally to a photo selected by me. I recorded their responses on our class response chart paper. Then I showed the other photographs and had students use “See-Think-Wonder” to discuss the photos in their small table groups.  Finally, students used a “See-Think-Wonder” graphic organizer to reflect on one of the photographs of their choosing.

We got “up close and personal” with photography.
 
 

Later in the afternoon, we worked with our chosen photograph again.  I modeled how to do a quick write. I viewed my photograph of yellow daffodils, and wrote single words and phrases that came into my head as I viewed it.  I did a lot of thinking aloud for them, so they could hear my stream of thought. Following my lead, students wrote their own quick writes using the quick write page I provided.   Then, I introduced the Pantoum poetry form.  This form of poetry comes from Malaysia and employs a series of repeated lines.  It’s perfect for when you want to emphasize an idea or image in your writing.

Again, I modeled taking my quick write ideas and using them to write the lines of my poem. Students followed suit, trying it on their own.  My poem is below:

Spring Daffodils

In mysterious canyons of sunshine and butter,
I follow the secret pathways,
Past bends and turns
on a ruffled and rippled river.
 
I follow the secret pathways,
Dripping with sunlit honey.
On a ruffled and rippled river,
I ride the tumultuous waves of spring.
 
Dripping with sunlit honey,
Alive with bumble and buzz,
I ride the tumultuous waves of spring,
Swimming in its yellow currents.
 
Alive with bumble and buzz,
Past bends and turns,
Swimming in its yellow currents
In mysterious canyons of sunshine and butter.

 

                                     By Tracy Willis

 

 

Later in the afternoon, we made our own poppies using templates I created and common classroom materials like scissors, glue, and construction paper.   The pictures below show the results.  After our crazy week, it was remarkable to listen to my students as they wrote.  It was the quietest they had been all week.  Even more remarkable, my boys were so earnest as they wrote their poems about Georgia’s flowers and bones.  It was a Friday well spent.
I have to say, this creative writing, reading, and art activity was the perfect way to counterbalance the stresses of standardized test and student-led conferences preparation.  You can find it for your own classroom by clicking the graphic below.  It has everything you need to be ready for April’s Poetry Month.

 


Summarizing Fiction Made EASY!

Teach your students how to create a concise and objective summary of a fiction text with this simple, easy, step-by-step method. Students will be able to effectively condense a complete summary into three sentences. Students will be able to identify the protagonist, the character motivation, the conflict, rising action, and the resolution in these three sentences! This step-by-step method will make this process easy for your students.

Included:
Lesson and complete lesson plan

– Two fun and engaging guided practices and partner collaboration practices

– Differentiated assessment options. Four short stories will allow your students to read through an appropriately leveled text as they work to create their concise and objective summary!

– Graphic organizers to support students as they draft

 

 

 

CCSS Aligned:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2

No Prep Plans!

Follow my store by clicking on the link at the top of the page for updates, announcements, and fun freebies! You can also find me on Pinterest, Facebook, and my blog- Teach BeTween the Lines!

Other Writing Lessons/Units You May Want to Consider!
Introductory Phrases with AAAWWUBBIS, Lesson, Stations, Games, Practice, Poster!
Compound Sentences with FANBOYS Lesson, Stations, Practice, & Assessment
Writing the Argument Essay Complete Unit Bundle + Student Interactive Notebook
Literary Analysis Made Easy (Digital and Printable!)
In-Text Citation Lesson, Practice, and Assessment, MLA 8th Edition

Free Writing Support!
Sentence Structure Posters
To Be Verb Poster Freebie
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Literary Analysis- Digital & Printable!

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Poetry Unit : The Art of Interpretation No Prep

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Poetry-Unit-The-Art-of-Interpretation-No-Prep-1238103

 

Poetry Unit : The Art of Interpretation No Prep

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Poetry: The Art of Interpretation – is designed to teach students how to interpret, appreciate, and analyse poetry.

There are 9 complete lessons (estimated to last approximately 60 minutes), therefore 2 weeks of lessons.

This complete, no prep unit is a great way to start! This unit includes a student guide, 9 detailed lesson plans, 2 multimedia presentations (no internet connection required), a detailed answer key with annotated poems and answers, and an end of the unit evaluation with rubric, and answer key.

Just print it and teach it.

Poetry is a very subjective form of art. Some poems you love and others, you hate. What we need to realize is that this is the beauty of poetry. Poetry is not a mystery to be solved. Rather, it is the masterful manipulation of language that has the power to transform the ordinary and to immerse its reader into the world created by the author.

This unit incorporates art to help students understand and appreciate the beauty within words. In addition, students will learn how to analyse themes in poetry though paintings and art work.

This HUGE bundle includes:

Each lesson focuses on a different skill set including:
– Knowledge and manipulation of figurative and poetic language
– How to read and understand (appreciate) poetry
– How to analyse poetry
– How to annotate poetry
– How to paraphrase effectively
– How to use symbols
– How to effectively develop themes from poetry
– Creative writing
– Creative activities to learn how to analyse

The unit includes a student packet (20 pages), a teacher packet (with 9 complete lessons), and a comprehensive answer key with annotations to poem (with 17 pages). See preview for more details.

Poets studied include: (8 poems total)
– Billy Collins – “Introduction to Poetry”
– Anne Marriott – “As You Come in”
– Phyllis Gotlieb – “First Person Demonstrative”
– Edgar Allan Poe – The Raven
– Robert Frost – “Nothing Gold can Stay”
– John Crowe Ransom -“Janet Waking”
– Woodruff – “I am a Poem that Tells a Lie”
– Tennyson – “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

The unit also includes:

1 – The teacher guide (Contains 9 comprehensive lesson plans to teach the poems included in the unit. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO TEACH THIS UNIT HAS BEEN DONE FOR YOU. )

2 – The student package (Contains students’ notes , poems, and questions) (20 pages)

3 – The answer key includes annotated poems and answers to all student activities (saving you time – 18 pages).

4 – Included is a test with multiple choice questions as well as a development question. All answers are included. (Word format for easy changes)

5 – 2 PowerPoint presentations – one multimedia presentation to introduce the unit (17 slides) and the second to reinforce the use of imagery and symbolism (19 slides) – NO INTERNET CONNECTION REQUIRED

6 – Images to project or print

7- An end of the unit creative evaluation, which includes clear and concise directions and rubric. (In a Word document for easy modifications)

– An interactive multimedia Jeopardy game to review figurative language and poetic devices (PowerPoint – no internet required)

– A multimedia PowerPoint on how to read and interpret poetry

– A PowerPoint presentation on how to interpret symbols and imagery in literature (19 slides)

– A final culminating evaluation with evaluation rubric (left in Word format for easily made modifications)

The unit has been created in such a way as to simplify the teacher’s life. Photocopy the 3 packages included and don’t worry about it for the rest of the unit. You literally can begin teaching it without any other preparation.

A total of 43 pages + 64 slides are included in this package.

This unit is complete, and does all of the thinking for you. All you need to do is to print out and photocopy the student package and you’re set.

Other poetry units you may enjoy:
Poetry Unit (for senior students)
Poetry Unit for Intermediate Students

Total Pages
43 pages and 64 slides
Answer Key
Included with Rubric
Teaching Duration
2 Weeks

FREE MATH LESSON – “Addition QR Code Cards {Teacher Appreciation Week Freebie}”

by An Apple A Day Mathematics

2nd – 3rd Grade

 

 

Addition QR Code cards are designed to give students practice addition with regrouping.

This set contains 12 QR code cards and recording sheets. These cards are great for independent math centers or for earlier finishers.

This activity includes:
* 12 Addition QR Code Cards
* Student recording sheet
* Answer key

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Addition-QR-Code-Cards-Teacher-Appreciation-Week-Freebie-2532209

 

 

 

 

 

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