DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: "Where I'm From" Using Poetry as an Introduction!(Back to School)

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: "Where I'm From" Using Poetry as an Introduction!(Back to School):

"Where I'm From" Using Poetry as an Introduction!(Back to School)

A teacher on Edmodo suggested this activity as a way to begin the year. I agree. It's not only a wonderful way for you to get to know your students, but it gives you insight into how they write without the pressure of a prompt. (Hopefully,"What I Did On My Summer Vacation" writing assignment has gone the way of the dinosaur.)

My intention is to use Google Docs to collaboratively brainstorm all the things we would want to tell people about ourselves. Then I will use the example that was written, and identify what we learned about the author from her poem. I've decided to use a student example I found online as well, to help them fully understand what this format is about. In the end though, I want them to define it themselves. There is a lesson on Scholastic designated for grades 9-12, but I am going to make it work for my 5th graders.

I will save these on Google, create a flipbook , or a Narrable, definitely find a way to present it as a class project. We have book binder machines so I will create a book to keep in the classroom all year.

I don't expect this to be done in one day. I hope my students will learn more about themselves as they write, so I, and the other students can understand who, and why, they are. I will also revisit their poems as we learn more about imagery and figurative language.

I created my own, "Where I'm From.."poem (Warning:Work in Progress)
I'm from BROOKLYN.
I'm from Panamanians, who for a better life, immigrated to the Estados Unidos.
I'm from running, bike riding, handball until it hurts, darkness telling you it's time to go in.