Overview -

What will be taught?

Poetry: types of poems, author awareness, use of poetry

Oral presentation skills (fluency, eye-contact, expression)

Use of technology (computers [for research and for production], video taping, digital camera)

What will students do and learn?

Read a variety of poems to learn about styles and for enjoyment

Conduct research online and create an inspiration about a selected poet

Orally present a favorite poem

Create a visual product including the following choices:

write an original poem and illustrate

make a poster displaying various places in real life that poetry is used, creating a brochure of poetry

Rationale - Purpose for the unit as a whole. The WHY questions.

Why would you teach this unit?

To expose students to another genre of writing, to incorporate the use of technology into a learning experience, to use cooperative grouping to complete various phases, to instill an appreciation of poetry.

Why would this qualify as an Engaged Learning unit?

Students are involved in decision making as well as learning through-out the unit. Engage learning indicators used:

Intrinsic motivation

Strategic

Task are authentic, challenging and multi-disciplinary

Students are responsible for learning

Opportunities for collaborative learning

Assessments are seemless and ongoing, generative, equitable, and performance based

Why is technology an important component of this unit?

Use of video taping with oral presentation, use of computers for a variety of purposes: internet research, creating an inspiration, making an invitation, typing a poem, assist in creating a final product

Why is this project authentic/meaningful , and challenging for students?

Gaining an appreciation for poetry by: reading published poems, writing original poems, seeing where poetry is used in real life, learning formats of poetry, interpretation of poems, responding to poetry they have heard and read.

Goals - Content, Cognitive and Social - The WHAT questions

What new attributes (knowledge, skills, attitudes) do you expect students to gain?

An awareness of and appreciation for a variety of poetry and poets

Conducting internet research

Creating an inspiration

Using word processor software to assist in a number of different parts of the project

Using video and digital photography

What school, district, state and national standards/benchmarks are addressed?

1.B.1b Identify genres (forms and purposes) of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and electronic literary forms.

1.B.1d Read age-appropriate material aloud with fluency and accuracy.

2.A.1c Describe differences between prose and poetry.

2.B.1a Respond to literary materials by connecting them to their own experience and communicate those responses to others.

3.C.1a Write for a variety of purposes including description, information, explanation, persuasion, and narration.

3.C.1b Create media compositions or productions which convey meaning visually for a variety of purposes.

4.A. 1a Listen attentively by facing the speaker, making eye-contact, and paraphrasing what is said.

4.A. 1b Ask questions and respond to questions from the teacher and from group members to improve comprehension.

4.A. 1c Follow oral instructions accurately.

4.A. 1d Use visually oriented and auditory based media.

5. A. 1a Identify questions an gather information.

5.A. 1b Locate information using a variety of resources.

5.B. 1a Select and organize information from various sources for a specific purpose.

Learning Activities - The activities required to achieve the goals.

Writing and editing skills

Technology skills

Listening and speaking skills

Assessment skills

Presentation skills

The How questions.

Student Assessment- Enables student and teacher to measure student's attainment of goals.

The outcome of this unit will be that students will develop and appreciation for different poets and their style of poetry.

They will gain confidence in writing poetry and presenting in front of their peers and parents.

Student generated projects and oral presentation will be used to determine the student's level of expertise.

The students will be self-monitoring their products and presentations.

Regular interactions with all involved students will be ongoing.

What are my scoring characteristics? (What do I want to measure? What is an important outcome of this unit?)

Did the student find important information about a poet through internet research?

Did the student learn to create an inspiration?

Did students learn about various styles of poetry?

Were students exposed to various ways poetry is used in "real life"?

Can the students make a visual product?

Can students present orally a poem?

What will indicate that students are novices, practitioners, or experts?

Experts will create expanded inspirations and a more involved final product.

Practitioners will create an inspiration that includes the basic information and a few pictures. Their final product will show the basics.

Novices will need extra help to create an inspiration and each step of the process. Their final product will lack depth and creativity.

How will I measure and communicate student progress on the goals?

As each stage of the project is finished students will be informed of their performance through conversations with the teachers involved. Rubrics will be used for certain phases of the project. These will be created and shared with students.

How can students be involved in establishing goals and criteria for the assessment?

In assisting to create rubrics, in determining the important information needed for the poet research, in determining what should be included in their final project.

How will the assessments be implemented to ensure that they are generative? Seamless and ongoing? Equitable for all students? An authentic task?

Students will assist in creating assessment rubrics.

Assessments will be performance based with the inspiration, oral presentation, and the final products being assessed.

At each stage of the project, teacher is checking in with students to make certain that that step is understood and completed before students move forward.

Each final product option would have a rubric so that more complex projects would have different standards from more simplistic products.

How will students demonstrate their knowledge and skills?

By looking at various types of poetry and by looking for various places in life where poetry is used, students learn that there are different types of poetry and different uses for poetry in life. By gaining confidence in writing original poems and attempting to follow certain poetry formats (i.e. diamante and cinquain). By orally presenting a poem of their choice that they have rehearsed.

Management

How will you manage student work individually and in groups? - What resources will you need to do this unit?

Poetry books

Web sites that include poetry and information about poets

Computers with inspiration and word processing programs

Printers

Video camera

Digital camera

Poster supplies

How will the room(s) be arranged.

Allow for "table" space for groups to work in classroom

In lab, each group assigned to 2 computers, one to conduct research on and one to work on the inspiration

For poetry theater, desks pushed to side and chairs arranged to allow for a front "stage" area, video camera located behind audience.

Where will equipment and materials be located to promote maximum use?

Books available in classroom, supplies for posters available, extensive lab times to allow use of computers

Where will students need to work and how can they be accommodated?

In the classroom and in the lab for various parts

Home and classroom practice time for oral presentation

How will students with special needs be helped?

In grouping students, special needs students were grouped with "regular ed" students to assist in successful completion of activities.

For poetry theater, special needs students were helped to find poems that they were able to read with confidence. Use of printed copy of oral presentation allowed.

Special Ed teacher part of the staff assisting with project, additional special ed staff member available at times as well,

Technology teacher present when new technology was introduced to assist in success for students

Unit Evaluation

What will I need to do, be aware of, and/or gather while teaching the unit in order to answer these questions:

What was effective?

Having books available of various poets, using technology and technology staff to enhance learning, allowing ample classroom practice time, cooperative grouping, differentiated activities included.

What wasn't effective?

Scheduling was difficult between the two class schedules and the lab availability. Some students had more difficulty understanding the tasks and following specific directions. Feeling of being overwhelmed with all the extraneous tasks required by the classroom teachers.

What will I do differently next time?

Start earlier.