Religion poetry anthologies - and my room turned in to a coffee shop

Yesterday my students brought to school their religion poetry anthologies. We have been working on this project for about a month as we learned about four major world religions in history. Before officially assigning this massive project, I started the kids off by writing a different type of poetry for each chapter we studied. When planning the unit I relied heavily on my notes in my masters journal from my poetry class, meticulously finding which format would work best with the content.

Here's what we did:

4 acrostic poems on the four influential founders of Judaism

1 memory map poem on Judaism

2 eraser poems, one on the origins if Hinduism and the other on the caste system

1 Hinduism Haiku

1 I Am poem on Prince Siddhartha (Buddha)

1 list poem on the Eightfold Path (Buddhism)

1 two perspective poem on Christianity (from the voice of a Christian and the voice of a Roman)

I collected each draft of their poems, assigned a small point value, and then kept all of their poems until two weeks before the project due date. At this time we went over the official project and assigned due dates for each of the finals to help my students plan and not procrastinate.

This week students were also given class time to create a mandala that represents the idea of religion as a whole. We reviewed our classroom art expectations and used many "real life" mandalas for inspiration. It seemed fitting that an art form founded in Hinduism be used as the visual art piece of the project, and after seeing their work, I think I choose wisely. These are some of the most impressive projects I've ever collected from my kids! 

See my classroom art expectations here.

My students were already familiar with the concept of mandalas because it was the very first project we did this year. However, being a first project meant it was very structured and I was "bossy" with how I wanted them done. (I use this project not only to have the kids define what history is, but really set up classroom expectations for art within our room).  The freedom I allowed with their religion anthology served me well as it allowed their individuality and creativity really shine. 

Now to celebrate their typed, revised, edited version of their eleven poems and a ridiculously striking cover I turned our classroom into a "coffee shop" and we had a poetry read celebration. Now, a few simple tricks will really set the mood for the best day ever.  And no coffee is actually served. 

#1 let the kids bring food, but keep it to the coffee shop theme - doughnuts, muffins, croissants, etc.  We also had one student bring in hot cocoa from Starbucks in their giant travel containers which was an extra special treat for them. 

#2 turn off the fluorescent lights, and bring in a lamp. The change in lighting really sets the mood, and the lamp in my guest room loves being used for once. Yesterday was even overcast, making for a perfect backdrop to our Seattle inspired celebration. 

#3 use technology to create a coffee shop scene. I found an image of the outside of a Starbucks and used airplay with my iPad to display it on the flat screen, and I found another interior Starbucks image to project from my laptop onto the pull down screen. These two little images taken from the internet made it very clear where we were. 

#4 have a special area for the students to read their poetry. I always use my two teaching stools, but you could use anything that is special or different for the kids.
#5 we snap instead of clap. This actually came from one of my students the very first time I attempted this classroom transformation, and it works. It keeps the mood calm, and feels more appropriate for the scene we are setting.


Here are the images I used this year:

source

source

Once the room has been transformed, have the kids pass out their treats, place their anthologies safety under their desk until it is their time to read, and sit back to enjoy a day they will remember from their time in middle school. I do require each student to read a poem of their choosing, and they can read it with another person if so desired. In one class we heard many two perspective poems because those we co-authored, and were understandably easier to present. However, as the readings continued, the comfort level began to rise,  and many who were hesitant to initially read ended up sharing multiple pieces of the poetry they had written. 

We did take a couple mini breaks to clear the trash and get rid of the empty cups, because thanks to Anna Kendrick, empty cups are no longer safe in the classroom. 

See what I'm referring to here. And yes, I love this song, but just not in the classroom, unless we have a reason for it. 

Some kids will get very into this whole experience, and others will read their Haiku poem and quickly return to their seats, but no matter what, we celebrated their hard work, dedication, and pretty amazing poetry with a day. And because my planning was either insane or ingenious, this poetry read just so happened to fall on Valentine's day, which is also the last day of school before our week long break, and apparently was one crazy day on campus. But in our little corner of the school, it was calm, peaceful, and a pretty magical day. 

See my first attempt at this type of celebration here and here.

Poetry anthologies can be great for any concept, especially in history. When I taught 8th grade, we did one for Andrew Jackson, and instead of having a project span 5 chapters, we did it for just one. 

poetry reading, finger snapin', donut filled friday

and I wouldn't have had it any other way

so after working on nine pieces of poetry on this last chapter

and putting it together into a final anthology

we celebrated today by turning our room into a "coffeehouse"

and if you're keeping track of my elementary v. middle school debate

well, this week, middle school is winning

side note - bags are packed & I'm ready to go

vacation starts tomorrow

a weekend with poetry

and getting one step closer to my masters all at the same time

this week I'll actually break down these lessons

but for now, here's what I was up to today

and yes, this did become a poem

and hopefully I will be adapting this lesson this week for my kids

oh, and I look forward to sharing a very new, very exciting blog

for you to check out

let's just say I love sister bloggers

and I now am one half of just that!

sunday's "so they said" is back for my fifth year in the classroom

Truth be told this little blog started back in August of 2009.  I was new to this whole process and was trying to figure out what I really wanted from this little page.  It began with people constantly telling me to write down my crazy teaching stories so that one day I could write a book.  Well I tried that whole writing down thing and it just wasn't my thing.  Turns out I'm a pretty fast typer and I love incorporating photos with my rambles.  So, blogging began.  Now last year I really picked up posting as well as some awesome readers, and even started a weekly tradition I called "so they said".  Just one of my favorite quotes from the week of teaching.  My plan was to get right back on these posts in August, but it turned out that with 180 students I had no idea what they were saying to remember a quote come Sunday!

Finally this week I felt like I was back to my old self.  After throwing my own little personal pity party last week where I mourned the loss of getting to be an elementary school teacher as well as feeling oh so sorry for myself having to get my masters degree on top of everything, I cried it out.  Like big time.  Once that was done, I woke up Monday morning still not ecstatic to be going to work (yes, in years past I really have felt this way!) but I sucked it up, and turns out, the tides had changed.  All of a sudden, my kids were cracking me up, producing some amazing work, and all around making my days pretty great.  I was told it took longer to bond with middle schoolers, they were not lying.  And once I got over my own issues I was ready to just have a better year.

So, that was quite an introduction for this week's quote.  Typically, it won't be quite so wordy!

On Wednesday we held our Colonial Travel Fair where students set up mini booths about their assigned colony.  They displayed a slogan banner, travel brochure, tourist map, and colonial newspaper they had created over the past few days in class.  I must say it was a pretty fun day as the kids promoted and argued, in the best way possible, as to who had the best colony.

Before starting in one of the classes I had one of my girls come up to me and ever so seriously ask me

"So Mrs. Lewis, which colony has been trending so far?"

Well, I paused for a minute, realized what she was referring to, and responded that "currently the middle colonies had been trending".  I hope my response was grammatically correct according to twitter.  Well, I thought I was the cool young teacher, looks like I have a tad more work to do.

And, just because I didn't feel like this post was lengthy enough, I also want to try one more thing in the "so they said" posts - poetry, or writing in general.  When going through my inboxes for each class (that are currently empty & awesome) I began grading some extra credit poetry some chose to do for September 11th.  This one just caught my eye - so here it is.

We walked down the street
our hands intertwined
you smiled down at me and I looked into your eyes
you dropped me off in a twin and headed up the stairs
you pushed the button for the elevator
and walked on in
there was a rumble outside but no one paid a mind
there was a crash and a boom
and screams all around
as the plane crashed into the tower
and I heard the death filled screams
I closed my eyes real hard
and pretended it was all a dream
-Alyssa

And just because I think every post deserves a picture - here's a peek at what we did yesterday.

i am

"I am" poems

awesome for open house

even got a few parents teary eyed

here is the structure I used for the poems this year:

I am (2 special characteristics)

I wonder (something of curiosity)

I hear (an imaginary sound)

I see (imaginary sight)

I want (actual desire)

I pretend (something you actually do)

I understand (something that is true)

I say (something you believe)

I dream (something you wish for the future)

I try (something you put effort in)

I hope (an actual hope)

I am (repeat of the first line)

What if?

so my april fool's project turned into this

what if poems are fun at any age I have found

A college book I'm glad I kept

  So you know how you spend thousands of dollars on all those college textbooks, only to find you either sell them back for a ridiculous price, or keep them and run out of space on your bookshelf quickly?  Well, these are two books I'm glad I was forced to buy.  I have shared these books with so many of my teaching partners and they have found them just as valuable as me.

Why do they rock you may ask?  They are super user friendly.  You can throw one of these poems into your lesson plans without much prep or thought!  There is a type of poetry for all ages, all seasons, and themes.  Kids LOVE poetry, if it taught right, that is.  My kids LOVE getting the chance to write something shorter, and many times a piece that is a little more "free".   There is nothing better than seeing a kid smile because you say, yes, it is OK to not have periods.  This is a type of liberation any 10 year old can appreciate.

Oh, and grading poetry beats an essay any day.  Win, win.                                                                      

         

Thanks Professor Cecil!

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Poetry-Literacy-Scafolds-Extensions/dp/1895411874