Poetry stations

A snippet from students at different stations

I really hate delving into a unit immediately after break. I have foreign exchange students who usually miss the first week back, students transfer from other classes, and they aren't always back in the educational groove right away.

This year, before getting back into poetry, I spent a day helping students start their year with no regrets and learning about their poetic pasts.

Then we jump into poetic stations. I've done stations before but this time I set them up slightly differently than I normally did. Stations were throughout my classroom more or less in a circular arrangement. Students started at one station with a partner. After about seven minutes, students were able to move on. Before moving on, one student at each station moved to clockwise and the other counter-clockwise. This way they are able to work with different students throughout the day. It also meant for new students, they got a chance to meet everyone in the class (be it only for 5-7 minutes).

My poetic station this year varied a bit from last year because I built off of what they revealed in their poetic journeys.

Students racing with Quizlet!

1. Students expressed fear over needing to know literary terms. So, another Station was two of my yearbook computers set up with a Quizlet Figurative Language set. Students made note of words they didn't know, and raced their partner for the fastest time. Many students said that they were impressed by how many of these words they already knew. 
• This was effective because students expressed a fear of needing to remember all of the literary terms. This showed them that they already knew many of them as we'd used them the previous semester. The students that were less sure have access to this Quizlet and can practice on their own in free time or at home.
• This was hit or miss as far as enjoying it. Some students LOVED it because they races with their partners. If they weren't close with their partners then they enjoyed this station less. 
2. Several students said that poetry is old and no one talks like that anymore. So, one of the stations was "Hip-Hop or Shakespeare" inspired by Akala's TED Talk. Students looked at lines either from a song or Shakespeare and talked to their partner about which one was which and why. After writing down their guesses, they got to see the answers.  Then they wrote one more response about which one surprised them more and why. This helped students see that we still use vocabulary like this today and poets from the past discuss topics we find just as passionate now. 
• As I circulated the room I heard some great discussions here!
3. Another common thread was students said they didn't understand what made a poem good or bad, so at another station they watched a clip from the Dead Poet's Society. They summarized it, said what the teacher felt about poetry and stated if they agreed or disagreed. 
• This was a close second for their favorite station. Students thought the scene was very funny, and they agreed with the teacher.
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4. To get a little more non-fiction in, they answered questions from a non-fiction text about science and language arts being mutually exclusive. Not only did they practice SAT-like questions,  but they read more about the information emphasized in their textbook. 

There were a few other stations (based on the textbook and rhyme scheme) but these haven't changed in the past few years. The stations mentioned above were specifically added (or altered) based on students' poetic journeys. This was a great way to ease them into poetry and students could tell that I took time to cater to their needs, and that they appreciated.

Fun Fall Finds- The Crucible and Ergotism

Fall always reminds me the most of school. Even though my school year seems to start earlier every year (we start at the beginning of August!) 

San Diego hasn't felt much like fall (we've had TONS of hot hot heat) but my school year is definitely in full swing.

This fall thirteen bloggers have come together to offer you the chance to win 13 different products  or a TPT Gift Card.


In October, I get to teach one of my student's FAVORITE stories to discuss: The Crucible!

Click above to find it on Amazon

Students LOVE the blame game, the sexual scandal, the girls being crazy, and of course, they all love to hate Abigail.

The play is also a GREAT chance to bring some non-fiction into my classroom. We read real tales of persecution that happen worldwide now. We look into the effects of peer pressure and authority. We investigate the real identities of the names that Miller borrowed for his characters.

At the end of the year students select where the blame for the witch trials goes using evidence from the play. While many students usually take the easier root of placing the blame on Parris, or Abigail. However, a surprising number of them choose to place the blame on ergot!

Ergot is a fungus that  some researchers have found could be the source of the accusations in Salem. Students really connect to this opinion. It is physical enough to make it easy to understand, yet the science of it makes them really work at it.

For this blog hop I am offering the chance to win this worksheet to help your students learn about this strange fungus and apply that knowledge to the Crucible. It includes a graphic organizer to help them organize their thoughts to answer the prompt, and multiple choice questions based on those seen in the 2016 SAT. This is especially a nice topic since the SAT is integrating more science based texts.

My junior students find it challenging, but it is the one that resonates the most with them. Plus, it involves crops and witches; perfect for the season of fall.

For those of you not lucky to win the contest (which runs from the 20th-25th) you can buy this on TeacherPayTeachers for just $1.50!

Enter the contest below, and then check out some of the other blog contributors to see their great stuff!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

An InLinkz Link-up

August Writing Deadlines

For those of you unaware I am a BIG believer in allowing students to do assignments that LEAVE the classroom. The first of every month I try to post some opportunities for your students to show off their writing skills and maybe get some recognition. All of these deadlines are in August! If you start the school year this month, it could be a great way to start off the semester. If you don't start until September, consider including these with your "Welcome Letter" to the parents.

August has some GREAT writing opportunities for your students!!!!

1. Do you teach students between 6 and 14 years old? Have they read any of The Princess Diaries books?  Here's a contest that's perfect for your students! They just need to write an essay (500-1000 words) that answers the question "What would you do if you found out you were royalty?"  The grand prize winner receives a $2,500 Pottery Barn gift card and a signed copy of  From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess. Deadline is August 31st

Guidelines and submission details are available here.

2. How many times have you heard your students talking about their pets? Mine seem to do it all the time! Before August 31st Chicken Soup for the Soul is accepting submissions on the topic of Cats or Dogs. They want to read about stories about people's cats or dogs (up to 12000 words). All tones are appropriate as long as they are inspirational! They are doing two different books, one about cats and one about dogs. Your students can submit to just one, or to both (depending on the furry stories they have to share). If a story is selected and published they will be paid $200 one month after the book is published. Plus, they get ten free copies of the book to show off as well (see if they'll give a signed set to your class library).

Guidelines and submission are details available here

3. The role of women has changed throughout the years and many would argue is still changing! Chatter House Press is holding a Mini-Memoir Essay contest for women called, "Biting the Bullet," about women who define courage. It is only for women who are residents in the US and over the age of 18, so sadly most high school students won't be able to enter, but I wanted to include it in case you teach older students.  Your students' essays should show how a woman (or women) demonstrate(s) courage in daily life, or regarding a specific event. The deadline is August 14th. Prizes include publication and copies of the book.

Guidelines and submission details are available here

The Farmer's Lad via AntiquePrints

4. Do your students ever get depressed because they don't think they can meet the 1,000 word count minimum some contests have? Here's the PERFECT competition for them.  They are looking for a short story told in ONLY 21 words. The theme is, "Backyards and Porch Swings." Chosen authors don't win a cash prize, but they do get bragging rights and possible publication in the literary journal From the Deaths.  This deadline is hard to pinpoint and it stops when they receive 200 submissions, so as soon as possible is best. 

Guidelines and submission details are available here.

A cover of one of the issues of The Blue Earth Review

5. The Blue Earth Review is part of Minnesota State University. From what I can tell this is open to anyone, but please evaluate the guidelines on your own. It has two opportunities to get writing recognized for free. The first is the creative nonfiction contest. The text cannot be over 750 words. Students may submit more than one piece, but they need to have them in the same document.

The  other option is their poetry contest. Students may submit up to three poems (again in a single file).

Both contests include publication in the Blue Earth Review and a $500 cash prize. The deadline to submit is August 14, 2015.

Guidelines and submission details are available here.

There you are five ways to get your students motivated to write for more than just a grade, get a chance to experience writing for a different audience, and see that writing isn't just for the classroom. If you know of any others or your students really have fun with one let me know in the comments. If you find one of these doesn't work, also let me know so I can update this list.