InstructionandManagementPlanStandards

UnitExplainthesequenceandorganizationoftheunit

The sequence of the Unit was very organized. Before beginning the Poetry Unit, I

thoughtaboutwhatwouldbeabeneficialUnittoteachthestudents.Italkedtomycooperating

teacher,Courtney,andwediscussedwhatthestudentsmightneed.Itwasaweekortwobefore

PARCCtestingatCottonwoodPlainsandIwenttoameetingwiththeinstructionalcoach,

Principalandthe3rd gradeteam.WediscussedwhatwouldbeonPARCCtheinstructional

coachmentionedtherewouldbelotsofquestionsregardingwriting.ShethenmentionedPoetry

wouldbeonthetest,aswellasquestionsregardingstanza,linesandfigurativePoetry.Iwasthen

intrigued!Ilookedatthe3rdGradeColoradoCommonCoreStandards.Ididnotfindmanydirect

standards,butstanzawasaveryimportantconceptintheStandards.Ithendecidedfromthis

pointon,IwantedtoteachaPoetryUnittothestudents.Courtneymentionedthestudentswould

reallybenefitfromthisUnit,asitwouldhelpthemprepareforPARCCanditwouldbevery

engagingforthestudents.

Foreachweek,fromMarch27thApril14th,tenlessonswerecoveredregardingpoetry.I

introduced my Poetry Unit by using a Teachers Pay Teachers Poetry Book that introduced

students to what poetry was, what lines were, stanzas, rhyme scheme, rhythm and pattern.

Studentswerethengivenapoetryfoldertokeepalloftheirpoetryrelatedassignmentsin.Ithen

movedontoteachingmyfirstpoem,whichwasalimerickpoem.Thefollowingday,Ifocused

againonalimerickpoem.Thenextfewweeks,Ireviewedacinquainpoem,anacrosticpoem,a

haikupoem,couplet,simile,quatrainandfreeversepoem.BecauseofPARCCtestingandother
happeningsintheclassroom,myPoetryUnitwassometimesmovedtothefollowingdayto

teach.

Theunitmustbecohesiveratherthanacollectionofseparatelessons

RatherthanapproachmyPoetryunitinanoncohesivemanner,myPoetryUnitwasvery

strategicandcohesive.Eachlessonblendedintothenextandbuiltupontheskillsofthepast

poem.Forexample,IstartedmyUnitwithamorecomplexpoemaLimerick.However,after

teachingwhataLimerickwas,studentsweremorepreparedforthenextpoem,whichwasan

AcrosticPoem.Eachpoembuiltuponthenext,providingstudentstheskillstheywouldneedfor

thefollowingdayslesson.

Demonstrateknowledgeofcontent

IntheclassroomduringmyPoetryUnit,Iknewstudentswereunderstandingthecontent.

IknewthisbecauseasIcirculatedaroundtheclassroom,Icouldhearthestudentstalkingabout

therulesofthepoemswewerelearningabout,IcouldseethemwritingtheirpoemsandIcould

specifically look at their poems to know if they followed the rules of their poem. I also

understoodthattheywerelearningbecausetheyaskedmealotofquestionsabouttherulesof

thepoems.Theywantedtoknowwhatacertainpoemlookedlike,howtheysoundedandwhat

theywereabout.OnceImodeledthisforthestudents,Iaskediftheyneededanyclarification.

Oftentimes,studentsmayhavebeenconfusedaboutcertainaspectsoftherulesofthepoemand

wantedhelp.Ithenassistedthesestudentsandmodeledforthesestudentsagainwhatthese

poemswouldlooklike.Ihadtobeveryspecificandexplicitwhenexplainingthepoems,asthey

couldbeveryconfusing.Ibelievebybeingexplicit,modelingandbyobservingthestudents

duringtheirworktimeontheirpoems,Icouldtellifthestudentsunderstoodthepoems.
 Discussmethodsforintegratingliteracy,numeracy,technologyandotherrelevant
subjects

Poetryitselfisabigpartofliterature.Itinvolvescreativethinking,expression,writing,

knowingwhatalineisandsyllables.Tocompletethispoetryunit,studentshadtounderstand

whatlinesandsyllableswere.Theyhadtounderstandtheconceptofrhymingandtheywere

expectedtowriteouttheirpoems.Eachcomponentofthisisapartofliteracy,theabilitytoread

andwrite.Studentsalreadyunderstoodwhatthesethingswere,soitwaseasytoproceedforward

withtheunit.Numeracywasincorporatedintoeachlesson,asstudentsneededtocounteachline

ofpoetryandalsocountthesyllablesnecessaryineachpoem.Technologywasappliedaswell.

Foreachlesson,thepoemwewerelearningaboutwasdisplayedontheprometheanboard.The

poemwasthenmodeledforthestudents,alsousingtheprometheanboard.Attheendofeach

lesson,studentswouldcomeuptotheprojectorandputtheirpoemunderneath.Thiswasthen

displayedforthewholeclasstosee.Ultimately,technologywasincorporatedintoeachlesson.

Demonstratesatleastthreedifferentinstructionalstrategies,oneofwhichiscooperative
learning

Instructional strategies were thoughtfully planned out for each lesson. In addition to

cooperative learning, students completed peer teaching/collaboration and direct

instruction/modeling was apart ofthe poetry unit. Direct instruction/modeling was the first

instructionalstrategyused,aseachpoemwastaughtwholegroup.Thepoemwasintroducedto

thestudents,therulesofthepoemwerediscussedandthenthepoemwasmodeledinfrontofthe

studentsontheprometheanboard.Studentsthenworkedintheirteams,whichincludedabout4
5students ateach tableteam.The students then helpedotherstudents whomay havebeen

struggling and taught them the poem. The other students who understood the concept,

collaboratedwiththeirteamsbymakingsimilarpoemsorsharedoutideasaboutthetopicofthe

poemtheywantedtodo.Cooperativelearningwas abigpartofthisunit.Studentsworked

togetherintheirteamstodiscussideasandthinkcreatively.

OverviewofPoetryUnit:March27April14,2017

Week1:March27th31st
IntroductiontoPoetryandpreassessmentquiz
LimerickPoem
AcrosticPoem

Week2:April3rd7th
HaikubookandHaikuPoem
CinquainPoem
CoupletPoem
SimilePoem

Week3:April10th14th
FreeVersePoem
WorkonPoemBooksRewrite
poemsandillustrate
Postassessmentquiz
LessonPlans:Mustincludeallkeycomponents,mustbealignedwithobjectives,include
method and criteria for assessment, objectives and assessment aligned, strategies for
management,includeadaptations/accommodationsfordiverselearners

Eachlessonwasthoughtfullyorganized.Eachweek,Iplannedtoteach34poemsaday

from3:003:40pm.Idecidedforthischunkoftime,itwouldbebesttofocusonlyonteaching

onepoemtothestudentsandthenhavethemcreatetheirownpoem.Thelessonplanswere

createdaccordingly;astheobjectiveofeachlessonwastoteachtotheStandardsandhaveeach

studentlearnaboutthepoem,thencreatetheirown.PostedbelowarethelessonplansIused

thoughtouttheunit.