I am very excited about learning how to teach students to write informational persona poetry.  Informational persona poetry is a cross-curricular activity in which teachers can integrate text and students learn not only about poetic form and figurative language, but also about a new topic (like desserts, rocks, etc.).

                Studies show that formulating informational persona poetry deepens students’ understanding of vocabulary used in specific texts.   Additionally, it gives students the opportunity to work through the writing process and produce high quality work that is published into a book or blog.

           As stated in the study, “Students understand and remember ideas better when they have to transform those ideas from one form to another.”  Persona poetry will give students the opportunity to truly learn instead of memorize, and as teachers, that is what we are aiming for.

 4^th Grade

Competency Goal 1: The learner will make observations and conduct investigations to build an understanding of animal behavior and adaptation.

Objectives

1.01 Observe and describe how all living and nonliving things affect the life of a particular animal including:

• Other animals.
• Plants.
• Weather.
• Climate.

1.02 Observe and record how animals of the same kind differ in some of their characteristics and discuss possible advantages and disadvantages of this variation.

1.03 Observe and discuss how behaviors and body structures help animals survive in a particular habitat.

1.04 Explain and discuss how humans and other animals can adapt their behavior to live in changing habitats.

1.05 Recognize that humans can understand themselves better by learning about other animals.

Internet Workshop

1. Go to http://library.thinkquest.org/6043/seals.htm.  Describe the feeding habits of seals.  What kind of food do they eat and what kinds of animals prey off of them?

2. Visit http://www.neaq.org/animals_and_exhibits/animals/harbor_seals/index.php.  List three interesting facts about seals.

3. Go to http://www.neaq.org/animals_and_exhibits/animals/harbor_seals/index.php.  Explain two things about the general appearance of harbor seals.

                The discussion director activity would be used for students to discuss in small groups a section of text they have read. As a discussion director, a specific student must lead their group and guide their peers in conversation.  The discussion director formulates questions that go beyond surface level and delve deeper into the plot of the story.

                Reciprocal teaching is a dialogue that takes place between the teacher and students.  The dialogue is based off of summarizing, question generating, clarifying, and predicting.  This strategy should be used during the reading process. It teaches students to monitor their comprehension and to ask appropriate questions.

                Teaching morphology to students is a wonderful way to increase vocabulary knowledge.  Morphology is the study of the structure of words.  Bound morphemes include prefixes and suffixes and unbound morphemes include root words.  When students can identify prefixes, suffixes, and root words they are much more likely to decode derived words that contain these morphemes.

                In vocabulary instruction, teachers are encouraged to teach students to use their knowledge of parts of words to determine an unknown word.  Students must be taught how to break words down; this is not an innate ability.

                In the vocabulary activities section of Pirate Diary, students learn common prefixes and are asked to create definitions of specific derived words that share a common prefix.  Morphology instruction and practical application give students the ability to break words down on their own and create definitions from prior knowledge and context clues.

          Reading comprehension strategies include predicting, summarizing, activating background knowledge, and connecting.  It is vital to model multiple ways of thinking about texts because we do not focus on one specific strategy when we are reading.

                Students need to learn how to decipher the meanings of words for themselves.  Teachers should give students the tools to accomplish this goal.  Students ought to use context clues, word parts, and resources to solve the meanings words. 

                Students must be made aware of text structures in order to better organize information as they read.  When students are aware of text features, like headings, bold words, graphs, and diagrams they are more likely to determine importance in the text.

                As an adult, reading is such an ingrained instinct that we forget how to break down information to teach to students.  This article has taught me that I have to to slow down and remember how to think like a child.

            Internet Workshop and Blog Publishing, opened my eyes to the importance of conducting internet workshops and using blogs as an outlet to publish student work.  Internet workshop allows an inquiry- based avenue for students to discover specific social studies themes.  It teaches them to safely and efficiently navigate the internet for research purposes.  Classroom blogs can be employed to publish edited student work.  An online blog allows countless viewers to observe students’ hard work.  Students are much more likely to diligently compose and refine their writing when they know that other people in addition to the teacher will have the opportunity to survey their writing.  Starting with an internet workshop for students to acquire information and then moving beyond to a formal publication on a blog, undoubtedly incorporates 21^st century skills into writing workshop.

            The approach that a teacher utilizes to open a unit truly sets the tone for the student’s demeanor and enthusiasm.  Pirates in Historical Fiction and Nonfiction, depicts a superb “focus” segment to the pirate unit.  I can only imagine the excitement and curiosity of students as they enter into a classroom filled with pirate music, piratical books, and other piratical memorabilia. I like the idea of student’s creating their own “Pirate Diaries” to record KWL notes and begin to answer the five major questions (who, what, when, where, why, and how).  Why record this information on a piece of notebook paper when you can use a genuine “Pirate Diary?” Introducing students to reading twin texts will improve students’ ability to properly analyze and comprehend various types of literature.

            In inquiry-based learning it is vital to scaffold students.  Even though inquiry-based learning centers on student discovery, students must have a springboard to work from.  After the teacher models a double-diary entry, students will then be able to identify important passages and quotes, and write their own reactions and make connections to the text.  The teacher reads aloud at the beginning of the lesson and as time progresses, students begin to read in pairs and independently.  After students advance through each section, they finally move on to individual research where they are able to research a single pirate and utilize helpful tools like a data retrieval chart to record information.

            The perfect ending to the pirate unit includes students creating a “Wanted” poster for their specific pirate.  This culminating project enables students to use their research to compose a poem and imaginatively express their findings.  I think photographs of these “Wanted” posters should certainly be posted on a class blog.

            When can I teach a pirate unit?  I’m ready!!

Robert Frost

Ever since elementary school, poetry has always scared me.

I never could quite get all of the correct words to rhyme.

Thankfully, I finally realized that not all poems rhyme.

The walls of my fear of poetry are beginning to deteriorate.

Maybe one day they will obliterate completely.

I hope they will.

Sharon Creech’s Love That Dog gives me inspiration.

Free verse poetry is amazing and not so daunting.

Poetry…an open door to a brand new world.

Gender: female

Usage: English, French, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew

Pronounced: SER-ə (English), SAR-ə (English), ZAH-rah (German

Means “lady” or “princess” in Hebrew.  This was the name of the wife of Abraham in the Old Testament.  Sarah, came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

There are 6,939 people in the U.S. with the name Sarah Smith

My name is quite common.  Many people know more than one Sarah Smith.  I actually received the wrong report card in high school because there was another girl at my school named Sarah Smith.  Even though my name seems ordinary, it does have deep meaning behind it that I am quite proud of.  I was named after my mother’s grandmother Sarah.  My mom had a strong bond with her “Great Sarah” and I feel honored to share the name of such an amazing woman.  Faith is very important to my family.  Abraham’s wife, Sarah, began a long lineage of remarkable men and women from the Bible.  I am fortunate to share the namesake of these women.

Names carry deep meaning.  It is important for children to ask their parents the history behind their name and conduct research on the meaning of their name.   A great writing journal entry could be formulated from the significance of a name.

I think an outline of the HOT (Higher Order Thinking) blogging framework would be helpful:

1. Bolster background: Building background knowledge helps students to better understand texts.

2. Prime the pump: Students share confusions of the text and provide a summary of what has been learned so far.

3. Continue the conversation: Students synthesize understanding.

4. Make multiplicity: Students encounter multiple perspectives and they learn to defend their own perspective.

    In this article, Stephanie’s story really inspired me to implement blogging in my own classroom.  I love the idea of showcasing student’s work.  When students have the opportunity to display their work to the world I think they would be more motivate to put forth their best effort.

Happy Blogging Friends!