After a quick introductory few days last week during which we got ready and set for action, students have plunged into ELA through a creative project and poetry. Introduced last week, including exemplars of projects made in the past, the project will be a representation of some aspect (or many aspects) of its maker. Students read George Ella Lyon's poem, "Where I'm From" and analyzed it by identifying details and categorizing them (for example, students determined that the details of dirt, back porch, beets, clothespins, forsythia bush, Dutch Elm can be grouped as the category of "backyard/outside"). After completing this analysis, students will brainstorm categories that relate to their own lives and list details within those categories. These will then become the building blocks of their own poems about themselves. Finally, the poems they write in class will be creatively incorporated into their projects. The instructions for the poem/project are linked below, and students should have a copy in their binders. To be clear, students are writing the poem in class and working on the project at home. Projects w/poem incorporated are due on or before September 19.
It has been a pleasure getting to know students over the past few days, and I look forward to a creative, productive, and fun year with them!
Homework:
Tuesday-Friday: work on project (plan, collect, materials, set up work space, begin!)
I Am From project instructions
