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March 29, 2010
Our semester was divided into two phases: our practicum creative drama poetry project in the
first half and our children's literature content in the second half.
Collaborating with Heights Middle School and Mesa Verde Elementary School as our practicum
was a grand experiment this semester. I involved you as Children's Literature Poetry Coaches before you even knew it.
Our practicum was fast and furious! We were off and running from our very first class
and did not stop until March 15 with a relief of two snow days in between. We achieved our goal of turning middle schoolers
onto to poetry through creative drama to perform for their younger peers at Mesa Verde. Our program proves it.
You trusted me along the way and we learned from each other. There wa a creative give and
take and flexibility during this poetic process and I appreciated when you shared ideas that would work better with
your students. I also appreciated your initiative when you just did it. Sometimes, I had to back off, realizing I was imposing
authority when I should have been a receptive team player. It was a balancing act for me to lead and yet follow your leads,
which were insightful, creative, resourceful and appreciated because you knew your students.
Congratulations to you all for it was a collaborative effort! It truly was an honor to perform
together. The poetry jingle is dedicated to you!
I look forward to hearing your feedback as performers.
Choosing to work with special needs students was a conscious decision on my part. First, these students rarely get the advantage of participating in fun activities
such as this. Secondly, I knew we would have the challenge of differentiatting instruction with each class.
We addressed the following NM Language Arts standards:
- Language Development
- Composing and Analyzing Language
- Reading Literature
From our standards, our goals were for you to:
- experience the interrelationship of speaking, reading, writing, listening and thinking
aspects of language and
- explore the creative drama process through children's literature (role-playing, planning, replaying
and evaluating). In our case, this was the genre of poetry.
- experience creative drama by participating in it. It will be easier for you to engage your
own students in creative drama in the future by bringing life to literature and stories.
- informally assess students through anecdotal observations in revising and adjusting our plans
and activities.
As in creative drama, we were focused on the process more so than creating a finished theatrical
production, although we strived for students to perform their best. Incorporating the culminating performance for elementary
students was authentic and instrinsic motivation for middle school students to learn their poems. With
a real purpose attached students had a very different outcome than if we had just read poems and practiced them in the confines
of their classroom. In our practicum we also experienced those other aspects of teaching involving student personalities,
student needs, student absences, changes in schedules, ISS and different teaching styles.
It was a fast and furious ride our first eight weeks and now we will be settling into our second
half for seven more weeks. During this time we will focus on the following:
Genres:Science Fiction | Graphic
Novels | Anime/Manga | Historical Fiction | Folklore | Realistic Fiction | Fantasy | Poetry | Informational |Biography &
Autobiography
Topics:Literary Elements, Booklist, Book Talks, Author & Illustrator Study ,Censorship, Hero’s Quest structure, Jeopardy-pre & post Game.
I have maintained our photo album on our ning site to document
what we did each week. I have maintained my webpage posting weekly reflections about our Heights practicum. I have arranged
visits for you to SJC Library children's collection as well as Farmington Public Library Youth Services Department.
Upcoming invited Guests may include: Author Conie Cotsch, Illustrator Anthony Chee Emerson and Author Katy
Beaty.
You will have the opportunity to delve into reading children's literature
with new insight, interest and knowledge. Good teachers read children's literature. Master
teachers read even more children's literature!
I look forward to an equally rewarding and productive second half as we learn about children's
book genres and related topics.
Your Reading Partner,
Frances
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