Now that we’d finished our delicious sandwiches and treats (complements of Honey Make Ham Co Catering), it was time to get back to our learning…
The Where I’m From Poem:
Using poetry to promote a positive classroom environment
http://www.georgeellalyon.com/
We took a crash course in exploring poetry by using the Where I’m From Poem, invented by George Ella Lyon.
This form of poetry allows students (of all ages) to give writing poetry a chance, by letting them write about a topic we all know something about, “me.” This form of poetry also allows students to practice using sensory details by asking them to reflect on what they saw and felt in their childhood.
Students participating in this exercise can begin to value differences and recognize similarities, hopefully building a foundation of connection, empathy, and understanding which is important in any team or group. This form of poetry also showcases each student in the classroom as a valuable individual that brings an important story and set of skills to the classroom.
We also got to read, hear, and view a professor’s poem, student samples, a country music example, and Def Poetry Jam. This helped us as students to connect to others and see real life examples of how poetry is used to express one’s self in a powerful way.
With the crash course in poetry coming to an end we now launched into writing our own pieces. We had a brief and fleeting two minutes to write each section: items in your house, yard items, neighborhood items, names of relatives, family sayings, food, and places you kept your memories. We then had 15 minutes to work on revising and editing our initial “sloppy copy.”
This form of poetry allows students (of all ages) to give writing poetry a chance, by letting them write about a topic we all know something about, “me.” This form of poetry also allows students to practice using sensory details by asking them to reflect on what they saw and felt in their childhood.
Students participating in this exercise can begin to value differences and recognize similarities, hopefully building a foundation of connection, empathy, and understanding which is important in any team or group. This form of poetry also showcases each student in the classroom as a valuable individual that brings an important story and set of skills to the classroom.
We also got to read, hear, and view a professor’s poem, student samples, a country music example, and Def Poetry Jam. This helped us as students to connect to others and see real life examples of how poetry is used to express one’s self in a powerful way.
With the crash course in poetry coming to an end we now launched into writing our own pieces. We had a brief and fleeting two minutes to write each section: items in your house, yard items, neighborhood items, names of relatives, family sayings, food, and places you kept your memories. We then had 15 minutes to work on revising and editing our initial “sloppy copy.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4H-Z7CBGas
http://www.songlyrics.com/jason-michael-carroll/where-i-m-from-lyrics/
Prezi
With our edited copies still in the writing process, we were shown how to use Prezi to publish our poem for a wider audience. Prezi allows us to add both visual pictures and music to add power and emphasis to the important words and themes in our poems. Learning and using this program was easier for some than others, but we were able to problem solve, ask question, and learn from each-other. Allowing us to defeating the dreaded wheel of doom and frustration of clicking as a team!
https://prezi.com/
https://prezi.com/
Introduction to Weebly Portfolios
Last, but certainly not least, we were introduced to our class’ weebly site, which hosts a page for each student and professor. We learned how to embed our Prezi site in our blog, and worked on the Bio portion of our page. http://www.weebly.com/#login
Cheers
After saving our creations and shutting down our computers, our first day together ended happily knowing that I would get to spend more time learning, collaborating, and traveling with this group in 2 short weeks.
Important UK Phrases/Slang:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186216-s604/United-Kingdom:Important.Phrases.html
Important UK Phrases/Slang:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186216-s604/United-Kingdom:Important.Phrases.html