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Schools
Session Summaries: Units of Study
Poetry: Powerful Thoughts in Tiny Packages (K-2)
Children write collections of poems in this unit, learning to go beyond the rhyming
ditties that come to mind first to find precise images that represent big ideas. They
learn to use line breaks to express the meaning and rhythm they intend, and to use
visualization and figures of speech to make their writing more clear and powerful.
Unit Targets
Students will be able to:
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look at normal objects with poets eyes.
make their poems sound like music by using line breaks.
reread their poems, making their voice support the meaning in them.
choose a topic for a poem about something that matters to them.
find a topic that holds a big, strong feeling.
show their feelings about an object by using exact, precise words.
experiment with the different voices of poetry.
reread their poems and ask "Does this sound right?" and "Is this the true thing I want to
say?"
add a pattern to their poems.
show their feelings using exact, precise words.
use poetic language to help the reader see, feel and experience what's happening in the poem.
stretch their comparison across many lines.
reread their discarded poems and find lines, phrases or comparisons that inspire a new poem.
tum "not-yet-poems" into story poems.
use an editing checklist to get their poems ready for the celebration!
PREfACE:
A committee of instructional coaches and teachers with deep understanding
of and experience with Units of Study, have created one page summaries of
each writing session with clear targets. They want to emphasize, however,
that they are not a substitute for reading the lessons; they are a guide to
help teachers when planning and teaching. And they are working
documents-feel free to revise them and make them your own. In addition,
the following support materials have been created for you:
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A grade to grade scope and sequence.
State Standards student tracking sheets for each grade level.
An alignment of State Standards to Units of Study
Anchor papers for each grade: this is what a proficient writing sample is.
A K-2 Scoring Guide (in draft stage)
Providing writing instruction for students is a collaborative effort of K-12
teachers. It is important that each teacher uses our core writing program.
A core curriculum allows students to build on what they learned the year
before. Consistency in language, formats, and models allows students to
focus on deeper understanding of concepts and skills. What a student did
last year connects to what he is doing this year. The second or third time a
student experiences a unit of study, keener insights lead to a more thorough
transfer of skills to their writing. Teachers also know what concepts were
taught. Writing samples can be passed on from grade to grade.
Ellen Chaimov, Jennifer Darlington, Dawn Relin, Kari Tunstill, Kalei Ostreim
Jessica Orth, Jennifer Dove Kiltow, Bev Guttag, Rose O'Brien, Vicki Beraka
Tara Black, Gary Peterson
2.1.10
Units of Study and English Language Learners:
Before the Mini-Lesson
Teach brief pre-mini-Iessons (5-7 min.) for English-Learners prior to the whole-class minilesson to introduce new vocabulary, sentence frames, language structures, organization or other
information. To make this manageable, keep in mind:
• Pre-mini-lessons are not needed before every mini-lesson (use them as needed to teach key
vocabulary, specific writing/editing skills, introduction to new writing genres, etc.)
• On days that you do teach a pre-mini-lesson, have the rest of the class rereading their writing
with their partner during this time. This benefits the rest of the class by reminding students of
the prior day's writing as well as providing students with a focus for continuing their writing
during the current day's workshop.
Mini-Lesson
• Use examples of experiences you KNOW students have had (e.g. use the example of your class
field trip on the bus rather than an airplane ride to Disneyland).
• When modeling writing for students during your mini-lesson, add sketches whenever possible
to aid comprehension. e.g. sketch/label new vocabulary, sketch your "small moment" story,
use pictures and/or realia
• If you are using a graphic organizer, model its use step-by-step.
• Use a lot of wait time as EL students will need to process the spoken and written English of
the mini-lesson prior to making personal connections for their writing.
• In addition to verbal and written directions, it is critical for English-Learners that you provide a
clear model of the directions. Keep in mind the multiple modalities of all learners, and use
best practices to provide directions in the modality and frequency that meets each student's
learning-style.
After the Mini-Lesson
• Provide students with sentence frames to start their writing, and post the sentence frames in a
place where students can see them from their desks. Model for students how the sentence
frames can be used to write about the content displayed on charts throughout the room.
• Check-in daily with English-Learners as they head out to Writing Workshop to make sure that
they have a focus for writing and that they understand the day's directions.
• Give students a choice of topics, but provide support for students in making their choice so
that they are picking topics that fit with the language they know.
• Engage students with real world purposes. e.g. writing a letter to a family member, writing a
story to read to a younger sibling, retelling stories they have heard or read, etc.
Writing Workshop
• Allow students to brainstorm/plan in their first language, rather than in English, as this may be
the best way to get their ideas flowing. This could look like:
o Peer conferencing with a buddy who speaks same native language
o Brainstorming lists of topics in native language; use picture files and books in native
language to help generate ideas
o Completing a graphic organizer in native language
• When the curriculum suggests assigning writing partners, pair English-Learners with someone
they will feel comfortable sharing/speaking with, and also with someone who will provide a
good model of spoken English; in this situation the best partner for an English-Learner is not
necessarily another student of the same native language.
• Personal Word Walls (Lucy Calkins Writing/or Readers: Teaching Skills and Strategies, K-2
Unit 3, pg. 57) can be effective tools for English-Learners when they are created for
individuals rather than used with table groups. Individual students can add sketches or prompts
to their word walls to aid their comprehension.
• Set student-specific writing goals or develop a student-specific editing checklist. Select one to
two editing goals to focus on at a time.
• Allow beginning English-Learners to write in their native language, to represent ideas
pictorially and with labels, and to dictate their writing to the teacher or other adult. Eventually
they might be willing to share the dictation orally (during the After the Workshop Share), and
then perhaps even write the simple story themselves.
• Keep expectations high, but modify assignments and expected outcomes to accommodate for
students' language proficiency levels. If the only way a student can complete an assignment is
with significant 1: 1 support, then the assignment is neither appropriate nor meaningful.
• Make use of other adults to provide multiple opportunities for feedback and student writing
conferences, but ensure adults have been trained in conferring with writers.
• Help advanced EL students to refine their writing, spot errors, and expand their vocabulary.
After the Workshop Share
• Celebrate students' writing, as well as the individual writing proficiency levels of each student.
It is okay to publish and celebrate writing that is not perfect andlor writing-in-progress.
• Allow sharing options:
• Share in native language
• Share in a small group or with a partner
• Share with younger students
• Choosing not to share or choosing to have the teacher share for them
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # I Lesson Title: Seeing With Poets Eyes
Target: I can look at normal objects with poet's eyes.
Connection
Teaching Point
"Today we are going to learn how poets
see the world in different, fresh, and
unusual ways."
[Tell students how one poet saw a regular
object in a fresh new way. Show students a
~encil sharpener and share with students that
all you see is a gray box that is a machine.
!Read Zoe Ryder White's Poem Pencil
~harpener emphasizing how Zoe sees the
pencil sharpener in a fresh new way. "This
poem makes me see our classroom pencil
sharpener in a fresh new way. That's
what poetry does."
iActive Engagement
Have students look at the ceiling in a fresh
new way. Tell their partner what they saw
with poet's eyes. Read aloud, Ceiling by
Zoe Ryder White.
~ink
Show students new poetry folders containing
clipboards and poetry paper. Have students
examine objects set up around the classroom
with poet's eyes and record what they notice.
lMid Point Lesson
Remind students to slow down as they are
observing. They should ask themselves, how
can I describe this object, is it like something
else?
Materials Needed:
Enlarged copy of Pencil Sharpener and Ceiling
Clipboards
Pencil sharpener to show students
Poetry paper
Objects to examine for example pine-cones, rocks, shells
For additional lesson ideas, refer to pg.8 in Poetry: Powerful Thoughts in Tiny Packages.
Ceiling
by Zoe Ryder White
The ceiling
is the sky
for the classroom.
Pencil Sharpener
by Zoe Ryder White
I think there are a hundred
bees
inside the pencil sharpener
and they buzz
and buzz
and buzz
until my point
is sharpl
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # II
Lesson Title: Listening for Line Breaks
Target: I can make my poems sound like music by using line breaks.
Connection
Compliment students on using poet's eyes. Tell
students that poems have ingredients just like cakes.
One ingredient of a great poem is looking with
poet's eyes. The second ingredient is music. Tell
students that the music of poems comes from how
he words are chosen and how you put them on
paper. "Today I want to teach you that one way
,0 give our poems music is to divide our words
·nto lines that go down the paper."
Teaching Point
Show students the poem, Aquarium. Show the
1P0em without line breaks and with line breaks.
(See Attached) Tell students that the way you write
a poem tells you how to read a poem.
!Active Engagement
~ave students read the poem, Aquarium, to their
lPartners emphasizing how their voice should
change from the top of the poem to the bottom as
here are fewer words on the line. Show students
he poem, Fireworks; have partners read the poem a
~ew times and discuss what the poem means and
Ihow it could be laid out on the page. Have students
share their plan for the poem by moving around the
~ords in the poem in a pocket chart.
tLink
Give students the option to continue observing with
poet's eyes or begin turning their observations from
~he previous day into poems with line breaks.
~id Point Lesson
None
Materials Needed:
Poems: Aquarium, Fireworks
Words to Fireworks on notecards
Pocket chart
The poem without
line breaks and
Valerie Worth's
Version
•
mUSIC:
Goldfish flash gold
and silver scal~s; they
flick and slip away
under green weedBut round brown
snails stick to the
glass and stay.
Goldfish
Flash
Gold and silver scales;
They flick and slip
away
Under green weedBut round brown
snails
Stick
To the glass
And Stay.
Fireworks
Fireworks cracking the sky.
Big balls of fire bursting into
bloom and fading upon the
dark lonely sky.
(Write each word on a notecard for students to
manipulate)
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # III
Lesson Title: Hearing The Music In Poetry
* The teaching point in this lesson has three parts, (1. reading with feeling, 2. writing notes to
yourself about how to read the poem and 3. revising while writing.) You could teach all the
targets in one day, or spread this session over 3 days.
Target: I can reread my poems and make my voice support the meaning in
them.
Connection
Tell students that poems are very close to music.
"Today I want to teach you that poets read and
reread poems until they sound just right. We'll
~isten for the songs our poems are trying to
sing. "
Teaching Point
*Show students a copy of Eloise Greenfield's poem
Things. Read the poem aloud in a robotic tone first,
~hen reread the poem, emphasizing that you are
lPaying attention to what the words are really
saying; then read it with feeling in your voice. " I'm
~rying to think and feel what the words are
saying."
*Read Things a third time and model writing notes
~o yourself on sticky notes on HOW to read the
lPoem (for example, slow, picture it, etc.)
*Tell students that poets write a little of their poem,
reread what they wrote several times to add
~etails and to hear the song in their words. Show
students what Things may have initially looked like
~d model what Eloise Greenfield probably did
(write, reread, make changes)
~hen
Link
Give students the option of continuing to observe
pbject with poet's eyes, turning their notes into
!poems or rereading their poems and deciding HOW
~ey want their poems to be read.
Active Engagement
tHave partners select a poem each to share. Have
!partners discuss what the poem is saying and how
o read it.
IAsk the students to listen to the songs in a few
!poems to make sure they sound like music.
Materials Needed: Enlarged copy of Things by Eloise Greenfield, Enlarged copy of how
Eloise Greenfield may have started writing Things, Strategies Poets Use Poster
Mid Point Lesson
Things
By Eloise Greenfield
Went to the corner
Walked to the store
Bought me some candy
Ain't got no more
Ain't got no more
Went to the beach
Played at the shore
Built me a sand house
Ain't got no more
Ain't got no more
Went to the kitchen
Lay down on the floor
Made me a poem
Still got it
Still got it.
Strategies Poets Use
~:~
~:~
Poets find a big topic that
gives them a big, strong
feeling.
Poets find a small object,
IllOlllent or detail that holds
~:~
~:~
the big feeling.
Poets look at ordinary things
with poets eyes.
Poets experiment with line
breaks.
~:~
Poets search for honest,
precise words.
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # IV Lesson Title: Putting Powerful Thoughts Into Tiny Packages
Target: I can choose a topic for a poem about something that matters to me.
Connection
~emind students of the work they've been doing
,as poets (seeing with fresh eyes, listening for the
song in their poem, and writing with honest
words.)"Sometimes writers write about things,
like pine-cones, and rocks, but most poets
choose topics about things that matter to
them."
Teaching Point
Tell students that poets get ideas for a poem by
choosing a topic that feels big, but is also small.
Model for students how you could choose a big
opic (a special person, pet, etc.) and zoom in on
something small (a trip to the zoo, a birthday
lParty) that gives you a big feeling. Show students
Ihow to look at the small moment with poet's eyes.
lReveal the poster Strategies Poets Use.
iActive Engagement
lHave students practice the steps in selecting a
I~opic for a poem. Give students the big topic of
~oving to listen to a book and identify the big
~eelings they have. Have students find something
~n the classroom that holds onto that big feeling
and share with the class (classroom library, their
~avorite reading spot). Have students start to craft
a poem that shows their big feelings.
!Link
lRemind students that "Today and everyday,
[when they go to write a poem, they can find
something that's big. .. and small."
Second Lesson
IProvide students with tiny topics notepads where
hey can record their seed ideas for poems.
I
Materials Needed:
* Strategies Poets Use poster
* A tiny topics notepad for each student
Strategies Poets Use
i:~
i:~
Poets find a big topic that
gives them a big, strong
feeling.
Poets find a small object,
Inoment or detail that holds
the big feeling.
i!~ Poets look at ordinary things
with poets eyes.
i~ Poets experiment with line
breaks.
Poets search for honest,
precise words.
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # V
Lesson Title: Finding Ingredients For A Poem
Target: I can find a topic that holds a big, strong feeling.
Connection
Congratulate students on using poet's
eyes at home and recording their
ideas in their tiny topics notepads.
Tell students that today you are going
o teach them how to decide which
observations will become a great
poem.
Teaching Point
Remind students that poems have
ingredients just like cakes. The
ingredients discussed so far have been
~eeing with poet's eyes and hearing
the music in poetry. Tell students that
another ingredient is having a big,
strong feeling. "When poets find a
~opic that gives them a big, strong
~eeling, they also need to ask, 'Have
~ found a moment, detail or object
~hat holds those feelings for me?'"
Active Engagement
~ave students look at their seed ideas
lin their tiny topics notepads and
decide if their ideas give them a big,
strong feeling and if there is a small
object, moment or detail that holds
that big feeling.
Link
iMid Point Lesson
Materials Needed:
* Strategies Poets Use poster
Reread
Strat~gJes
Poets Use chart.
Strategies Poets Use
~:~
~:~
Poets find a big topic that
gives them a big, strong
feeling.
Poets find a small object,
Illoment or detail that holds
the big feeling.
~~ Poets look at ordinary things
with poets eyes.
~~ Poets experiment with line
breaks.
Poets search for honest,
precise words.
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # VI
Lesson Title: Showing, Not Telling
Target: I can show my feelings about an object by using exact, precise words.
Connection
!Remind students that poems have ingredients.
1P0ets find a topic that gives them a big feeling,
and then find a moment, object or detail that
!holds that feeling. Tell students, "Poets don't
~ ust say their feelings straight out; they find
!moments or details that hold their feelings.
One way that poets do this is to show, not
~ell. "
Teaching Point
!Remind students of the work they did with
showing, not telling in previous units.
"Sometimes we read poems and the poet tells
us little details, and leaves it up to the reader
~o figure out what they are trying to show."
Read aloud Sabrina's poem Found A Little Crab.
Tell students that the author chose specific words
o show how she felt about the crab (crawling,
ickling.) Her words would have been different if
she didn't like the crab (grabbing, snapping).
"We show our feelings towards our subject. "
~ctive
Read aloud Evan's poem Ocean and have
students tell their partner the BIG feeling that the
tpoet is trying to show.
Engagement
lLink
lMid Point Lesson
Materials Needed:
Found A Little Crab By Sabrina
Ocean By Evan
Strategies Poets Use Poster
!Remind students that when poets write a poem
Ithey choose a topic that is filled with strong
l£.eelings. Poets write about those feelings, by
showing, not telling.
Found A Little Crab
By Sabrina
Found a little crab
Digging, digging through the
sand.
Then I see something
crawling, crawling, crawling.
I pick it up with my hand
It tickles me.
Ocean
By Evan
In the ocean I have seen
fish that gleam like
a huge rainbow
and turtles sleeping deep, deep
all curled up
and lllountains "W"ith
one little black "W"eed
that sways
and cave, tiny caves
"W"ith snails inside
and all this has
been before my eyes.
Strategies Poets Use
.:~
•~
Poets find a big topic that
gives them a big, strong
feeling .
Poets find a small object,
InOInent or detail that holds
.:~
.:~
the big feeling .
Poets look at ordinary things
with poets eyes .
Poets experiment with line
breaks.
Poets search for honest!
precise words.
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # VII
Lesson Title: Hearing The Voices of Poetry
Target: I can experiment with the different voices of poetry.
Connection
lTell students that many of them are
choosing great topics that hold big feelings
and small details, but that many of them
are finding they sound like regular writing.
"Today I'll teach you the voices of
poetry. "
Teaching Point
Voices
*Speak directly to the subject> Share
!Rebecca's poem, Flowers.
* Story Poen(D the poet breathlessly tells
he story of what just happened.
Share Ramon's poem Daniel's House.
* Speaking right to readeUihare Susie's
~ctive
Engagement
poem My House.
ITell students to imagine they are waking
~p to a sunny morning. Have partners try
out each voice.
Link
"Writers, if you worry that your poems
~ound too regular, remember that you
can try out the different voices of
poetry." Review the voices with students.
Mid Point Lesson
Share any other poetic voices that students
experiment with. For example, two
subjects talking to each other.
Materials Needed:
Strategies Poets Use Poster
Susie's poem, My House.
Ramon's poem, Daniel's House.
Rebecca's poem, Flowers.
Flowers
By Rebecca
FIovvers, flovvers
by my bed
Open up,
Like I said.
Lovely tulips
By my bed,
All three of you
vviII soon be dead.
I will save both of you
I will water all six of you
And you will come back to life.
Daniel's House
By Ramon
At Daniel's house
Out the vvindovv
By the tree
I savv three birds
One bird carne out
A boy sprinkled bits of bread
To the other birds
The birds were laughing
They were jumping
Up and down.
My House
By Susie
When I vvalk in the door
I have love for vvhere I am
I can see everything
I vvant to see
I can do anything
I vvant to do
I go to my room
and there is my glory
It's vvhat I vvant
To be
It's Horne.
Strategies Poets Use
;:~
;:~
Poets find a big topic that
gives them a big, strong
feeling.
Poets find a small object,
llloment or detail that holds
the big feeling.
;:~ Poets look at ordinary things
with poets eyes.
;'; Poets experiment with line
breaks.
Poets search for honest!
precise words.
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # VIII
Lesson Title: Searching For Honest, Precise Words
Target: I will reread my poems and ask "Does this sound right?" and "Is this
the true thing I want to say?"
Connection
Compliment students on experimenting with
!different voices, but acknowledge that some
students are noticing that their poems sound close
o stories. Reveal Mom (or other poem written by
eacher). Model reading poem and asking "Am I
~aying exactly what I want to say?" Circle
1W0rds that don't sound precise (if using Mom,
1P0ssibly circle wrapped and list alternative
(bundled, nestled, held.) Emphasize when poets
eread their poems they search for exact words.
Teaching Point
rrell students a story about a person who searched
~or exactly the right words, tried generalities, and
hen found a fresh, metaphorical way to describe
something. (See attached example story.)
lActive Engagement
Have students watch you dramatically using a
001 from your classroom (pointer, chimes.) Have
students share with their partner the exact, precise
~ords they could say about the tool. List words
and phrases students used to describe the tool.
Emphasize that poets often try many different
Iwords and phrases, before they find the "honest,
!precise words."
~ink
IAdd Poets reach for honest, precise words to
Strategies Poets Use poster.
lMid Point Lesson
Materials Needed:
Mom by Lucy Calkins, or other poem written by teacher
Strategies Poets Use Poster
Story about a person who searched for exactly the right words, tried generalities,
then found a fresh, metaphorical way to describe something.
My Mom
By Lucy
In my lunchbox
A frozen juice
Because it's hot today
wrapped in paper
So it vvon't melt
Hovv corne I never
Ever
See her
Do this?
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # IX
Lesson Title: Patterning On the Page
Target: I can add a pattern to my poems.
Connection
~emind students that patterns are
something we have learned about in
fmath.
Teaching Point
"Today, I want to teach you the power of
patterns in poetry." Have students share
some patterns they see in the world or the
classroom (week always has 7 days, sun
always comes up in the morning, windows
in a building are always in a pattern ... )
"Patterns are about having an order and
a plan. Poems often have an pattern."
Read aloud Go Wind by Lilian Moore and
point out patterns in the poem (repeating
lines, rhyming ... )
IActive Engagement
Reread poem and have students share with
a partner other patterns they notice in Go
Wind. "If you hope to start a new poem
today, you might want to think, 'Should
this poem have a pattern? How should it
go?'" Provide students with topic (baby
brother interrupting you, grandfather
walking up the stairs) and have partners
share a potential pattern that matches the
I.opic. Have students share with the class
potential repeating lines.
Link
Encourage students to add a pattern to their
poem.
Mid Point Lesson
Materials Needed:
Go Wind by Lilian Moore
Go Wind
By Lilian Moore
Go wind, blow
Push wind, swoosh
Shake things
Take things
Make things
Fly.
Ring things.
Swing things
Fling things
High.
Go wind, blow
Push thing-whew.
No wind, no
Not menot me.
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # X Lesson Title: Using Comparisons To Convey Feelings
Target: I can show my feelings using exact, precise words.
Connection
Remind students to show, not tell feelings
in their poems. Remind students of how
Zoe Ryder White looked at the ceiling in a
fresh way in the poem, Ceiling. "Today
I'll show you a way to see feelings with
fresh eyes too."
Teaching Point
Read aloud Inside My Heart by Zoe Ryder
White. "This poet doesn't just come
right out and tell us how she feels. She
makes the poem say what she feels like
by comparing her feelings to things in
~he world that remind her of that
~eeling. "
!Active Engagement
~sk
the students to think of a time when
~hey felt sad, proud, and angry. Have
students compare the feeling to something
hat reminds them of that feeling (happy:
ibirthday party and laughing babies.)
f rompt students to be specific. Have
students share with partners after each
feeling.
~ink
Remind students that poets write not only
~hat they see, but also what they feel
using detailed comparisons.
tMid Point Lesson
Materials Needed:
Inside My Heart by Zoe Ryder White
Inside My Heart
By Zoe Ryder White
Inside my heart lives
one birthday party
two jazz bands
three wrestling puppies
four dancing birds
five laughing babies
six blasting spaceships
seven lucky fireflies and
a sky full of stars.
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # XI
Lesson Title: Contrasting Ordinary and Poetic Language
Target: I can use poetic language to help the reader see, feel, and experience
what's happening in the poem.
Connection
!Remind students that in the previous
session they compared feelings to
something that reminded them of that
feeling. "Today I'm going to show you
that poets reach for ways to help
readers picture and experience
iWhatever we see, feel, and experience."
Teaching Point
Show students the chart Ordinary
rLanguage vs. Poetic Language.
Emphasize, for example, that ideas aren't
really pop-coming around the room, yet
kids sharing ideas reminds you of it.
Active Engagement
Ask partners to produce the remainder of
the poetic version of the chart, and then
share with the class. Record students'
ideas on the chart.
Link
Remind students that whenever they write
poetry, they can use comparisons to help
he readers understand the poem.
M id Point Lesson
Materials Needed:
Ordinary Language vs. Poetic Language Chart
Version 1
Ordinary Language
Poetic Language
The kids kept jumping up to
say more ideas.
Ideas popcorned about the
classroom.
When I get to school early
the classroom is quiet.
When I get to school early,
the classroom is asleep.
The sky is blue.
The sky is blue like the
ocean.
When I draw, I make
pictures of dragons and
castles.
Castles and dragons live in
my pencil.
The clouds are puffy and
white.
The wind makes the
classroom door shut loudly.
We line up to go down the
halL
.
Version 2
Ordinary Language
Poetic Language
The kids kept jumping up to
say more ideas.
Ideas popcorned about the
classroom.
When I get to school early
the classroom is quiet.
When I get to school early,
the classroom is asleep.
The sky is blue.
The sky is blue like the
ocean.
When I draw, I make
pictures of dragons and
castles.
Castles and dragons live in
my pencil.
The clouds are puffy and
white.
The clouds are like
marshmallows.
The wind makes the
classroom door shut loudly.
The wind slams the door shut
like a drum.
We line up to go down the
hall.
We line up like a train.
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # XII
Lesson Title: Stretching Out A Comparison
(Sustaining A Metaphor)
Target: I can stretch my comparison across many lines.
Connection
!Remind students they when they wrote small
Imoments, they stretched their story across a few
[pages. "Today I want to teach you that if you
compare in your poem, you can stretch your
comparison across many lines."
Teaching Point
Review Ordinary Language vs. Poetic Language
chart. Reveal Mornings version 1 (or a poem
E tten by the teacher using one of the 'poetic
anguage' comparisons as a poem starter-l st
ersion should be very brief and not a detailed
comparison.) Emphasize how the comparison is
quick and doesn't go into detail and is only
~uded to in one line of the poem.
eveal Mornings #2. Tell students that when you
ote the second version, you closed your eyes to
picture and 'see' as many details as possible.
Emphasize how many lines alluded to the
comparIson.
I
Active Engagement
Reveal Line Up Like A Train version 1. Have
students envision lining up and walking to the
cafeteria. Have partners share; encourage students
~o stretch the comparison over many lines. Create
a second version of Line Up Like a Train with
students' input (see example version 2)
Link
!Have students look over the poems that they have
~een writing and encourage them to stretch any
comparisons they made across many lines.
Mid Point Lesson
~f you notice students are struggling with
stretching comparisons, ask the class to share out
some ideas for specific students.
Materials Needed:
Ordinary Language vs. Poetic Language Chart
Mornings # 1 and #2
Line Up Like A Train # 1 and #2
Version 1
Mornings
I COIne in
The classroom is sleeping.
I push chairs in and
straighten tables.
Then the kids COIne.
Version 2
Mornings
I tiptoe in quietly
The classroom is sleeping.
I ease the chairs into their
spots, careful not to bang
them. I lift them, not push, the
tables to straighten them.
I'm careful to let the classrooIn
sleep. Then the kids clang,
clatter, bang in
And wake up the room.
Version 1
Line Up Like A Train
We line up like a train
And go down the hall
To the lunchroom,
Where vve sit dovvn.
Version 2
Line Up Like A Train
All Aboard! "
We line up like a train
And choo-choo dovvn the hall
To the next stop,
The lunchroom.
U
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # XIII
Lesson Title: Finding Treasures In Discarded Drafts
Target: I can reread my discarded poems and find lines, phrases or
comparisons that inspire a new poem.
Connection
fTell students their writing celebration is
nearing and they need to switch into
"revision mode." Have students start the
session rereading all of their poems and
finding 4 or 5 that are worthy of being
revised.
Teaching Point
Tell students that even in the pieces they
are choosing to not revise, they might be
able to find a line that inspires them to
!write a new poem. If they find
lines/phrases/comparisons they like, they
should get a clean page and write what they
~ike at the top.
lActive Engagement
1M0dei with a student's "discarded" pile.
~ead aloud a few of the student's
"discarded" poems and have partners try to
find a line that could inspire a new poem.
Link
lIell students that before they start to revise
"heir pieces for the celebration, to look at
~heir "discarded" poems and search for
lines/comparisons/phrases that they could
~se in a new piece.
I
tM:id Point Lesson
Materials Needed:
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson # XIV
Lesson Title: Contrasting Poems With Stories
Target: I can turn "not-yet-poems" into story poems.
Connection
(fell students that you have noticed that
~hey have been writing many kinds of
~oems (observation, funny, story ... )
~cknowledge that some of the students'
poems could fit into the category of 'notyet-poems.' "Today I want to teach you
how to take 'not-yet-poems' and turn
them into story poems."
Teaching Point
Tell the class about a student's first draft
~hat was a 'not-yet-poem' (see attached
example), then contrast with the student's
revised piece that could be considered a
poem.
lActive Engagement
Have partners discuss the difference
between the 'not-yet-poem' and the revised
version.
Reveal blank chart titled Turning Stories
~nto Poems. Have students share out their
observations and add to the chayt)(take out
1W0rds, decide if sentence needs
~unctuation, take out part of the story that
isn't about the main idea, add words to
show, not tell.)
Link
lRemind students that as they are revising
i~heir poems, if they find a poem that fits
into the category of not-yet-poem, they
can use the strategies discussed.
ll\1id Point Lesson
Materials Needed:
Example student poem version # 1 and #2
Turning Stories Into Poems Chart
Version 1
Circus
I went to the circus with my
family.
We took the subway.
We vvaited in line.
I got a bag of popcorn.
Everyone was clapping.
We saw guys flipping in the
•
aIr.
We saw horses galloping over
poles.
My dad told me we had to
leave early.
I was tired and happy.
Version 2
Circus
Munching popcorn from
A bag
Crowd applauding
Very loud
Guys flipping into
The air
Like butterflies
Horses clip
Clop
Jump over poles
Gallop over obstacles
I love the circus.
Turning Stories Into Poems
~:~
~:~
~:~
Take out extra vvords
Take out parts of the story
that aren't about the main
idea
Decide if the sentence needs
•
punctuatIon.
Add vvords to shovv, not tell
Unit: Poetry: Powerful Thoughts In Tiny Packages
Lesson #XV
Lesson Title: Revising And Editing Poetry
Target: I can use an editing checklist to get my poems ready for the
celebration!
Connection
[ ell students story of having guests over to your
p'ouse without much notice and realizing that you
;need to make your house look really good,
IVery quickly. Tell them that today they will learn to
do the same thing with the poems they will publish.
Ireaching Point
"Today I want to teach you how we can
clean up our poems." Reveal Editing
Poems Chart. Model for students the
following steps with a student sample poem:
1. Read each word carefully, checking for
spelling.
~ . Spaces between words
3. Punctuation is correct
14. Capitalization is correct.
!Active Engagement
lReveal another student sample, or make
copies for each partnership. Pass out editing
checklists, outlining the steps for partners.
lHave students work with partners to reread
and edit the poem.
Link
Pass out individual editing checklists to
students and have them edit their own poems.
Mid Point Lesson
Materials Needed:
Editing Poems chart
Name- - -
Editing Checklist
D
Read each word carefully,
checking for spelling.
D
Spaces between words
D
Punctuation is correct
D
Capitalization is correct.
Strategies Poets Use
~~
~:.
~~
i!.
Poets find a big topic that
gives them a big, strong
feeling.
Poets find a small object,
moment or detail that holds
the big feeling.
Poets look at ordinary things
with poets eyes.
Poets experiment with line
breaks.
Poets search for honest,
precise words.