Art and Poetry

I recently attended a training given by my Fine Arts supervisor, Mrs. Judy Nunneley. In the class we cut out various words from magazines and newspapers and then were challenged to come up with an autobiographical poem with the words. This was both challenging and engaging. I plan on using this with my fifth graders during the second semester. Here is my final poem:

Listen to Our Poems: Set 2

Throughout the year the students have been using the IPad app Hokusai to record themselves reading their weekly poems. We use poems in the class each week to  introduce our phonics focus but to also help with fluency. Below are QR codes to some of the poems they recorded. You can use your smart phone or IPad to scan the codes. I recommend using the app "I-nigma." I like this one because the students do not have to line up the scanner closely on the code. They can get anywhere close to the code and it will work.

It Began with a Frog

 It Must Be a Whale

 Jack and Jill

Miss Mary Mack 

 Money

 My Cat

 My Dog, Tag

 Spinning Spider

 Ted

Listen to Our Poems: Set 1

Throughout the year the students have been using the IPad app Hokusai to record themselves reading their weekly poems. We use poems in the class each week to  introduce our phonics focus but to also help with fluency. Below are QR codes to some of the poems they recorded. You can use your smart phone or IPad to scan the codes. I recommend using the app "I-nigma." I like this one because the students do not have to line up the scanner closely on the code. They can get anywhere close to the code and it will work.

A Hunting We Will Go

 Bugs on My Rug

 Crayons

 Drip Drop

 Friends

 Hills, Chills, and Ills

 Hot Dogs

 I Like Jam

I'm a Little Teapot

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

This isn’t just a turkey,
As anyone can see.
I made it with my hand,
Which is a part of me.
It’s made with lots of love
Especially to say,
Hope you have a very
Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving Alliterations

In reading we have been working on identifying examples of rhymes, alliterations, and sensory details in poetry. As a part of this study, the students wrote their own Thanksgiving alliterations. On a Circle Map they brainstormed words that started with /t/ or /th/ for Thanksgiving, /n/ for Native Americans, and /p/ for Pilgrims. As a class they then came up with the three alliterations which I recorded on the Promethean Board. They then divided into three groups to write and illustrate them on construction paper.

Spinning Spiders

As a part of our fluency and phonics practice focusing in s-blends, the students learned the poem "Spinning Spiders" which we recorded today. I use the iPad app Hokusai to record the students. You can hear them reading their poem here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/e9r4hgdrefx7ail/Spinning%20Spider.m4a. 

Poetry: My Dog, Tag

The students recorded their weekly poem "My Dog, Tag" on the class IPad. We learned this poem to practice the sounds for short /a/ and short /o/. Each week in addition to reading the poems for fluency, we highlight the phonics features we are working on. Recording the poems lets the students hear themselves and lets them know what areas to work on for oral fluency. You can listen to their recording here.

Poetry: My Cat

Click here to listen to the students read one of their weekly poems "My Cat." The students learned this poem as we studied the sound for short /a/. Our weekly poems are typically tied to our weekly phonics focus.

Poetry: I Like Jam

To listen to the students reading one of their weekly poems, "I Like Jam", click here. They love recording their poems each week and listening to themselves. They often rerecord because they want to get better. This helps them understand that fluency, or reading like we talk, is important.

Poetry: Friends

Each week the students learn one or two new poems. The poems are typically based on our phonics focus of the week. At the end of the week, the students record themselves reading. Knowing that they have an audience sets a purpose for their reading and encourages them to be more fluent. To listen to them read "Friends" click here.

Name Alliterations

During our study of alliterations, the students wrote their own name alliterations. As a class they brainstormed words that start with every letter of the alphabet. We charted these on the Promethean Board. Then, in their journals, they used the chart to help them write their own silly sentence. Once  they were finished, they peer checked them and then  I checked them. After making any needed corrections, they rewrote their sentences on construction paper and illustrated it.

Rhyming and Alliteration Poems

Several weeks ago the students worked in small groups to write rhyming and alliteration poems. They wrote them together on scratch paper first or the Promethean Board and then transferred them to  chart paper. They then illustrated their work as a team.

Crayons

We have been learning the poem "Crayons" to practice reading color words. We have also been working on our fluency. To hear the students reading, click this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9lnesyw8sb0yw95/Crayons.m4a. I have found that when the students know I am recording them and that they will have an audience besides their friends and teachers, they tend to worker harder on reading goals.

A Hunting We Will Go

We have been learning to read and sing "A Hunting We Will Go" as a way to practice fluency and identifying rhyming words. To hear a recording of the students singing, check out this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/g5fnn94gyhr4dcp/A%20Hunting%20We%20Will%20Go.m4a

Our Turkey Poem

Last week we studied the various attributes of poetry. We learned about alliterations, rhymes, and sensory details. To assess their understanding of poetry, the students worked together to write their own poem about turkeys.

Turkeys are tasty to eat,
They are juicy like meat.
Turkeys are soft and fat,
And have smooth wings like a bat.
They talk with a loud gobble,
And walk with a squeaky wobble.

The students first brainstormed as many words as they could think of to describe a turkey. They then chose six of those words to brainstorm rhyming words about. We charted their words on Circle Maps. They then chose which rhyming word they wanted to start with and we reviewed that rhyming words usually are at the end of poetry lines. After brainstorming the lines, we went back to decide where we wanted to add sensory details. The students chose to describe the turkey using taste, touch, and smell. They then divided into small groups to illustrate their part of the poem. They later read their poem to the school secretary and music teacher.

An Early "Happy Thanksgiving!"

With just two days left in the school week before our amazing holiday break, we want to wish you an early Happy Thanksgiving! The artwork that they are holding is the traditional handprint turkey with the poem "Handy Turkey."

Free slideshow customized with Smilebox

Thanksgiving Alliterations

This week we are learning about the different elements of poetry. To help them, we read a Thanksgiving alliteration and then they created their own. They first created three Circle Maps - one for the letter P (Pilgrims), one for the letter N (Native Americans), and one for the letter T (Thanksgiving). They then brainstormed words that they thought related to Thanksgiving and started with one of those letters. They then brainstormed alliteration sentences for each letter. Although the activity was pretty challenging for the students, I think they did a great job!

Miss Mary Mack Podcast

This week we are learning about the different elements of poetry. Yesterday we read "Miss Mary Mack" to identify examples of alliterations and rhymes in a poem. You can listen to a recording of their reading visiting our podcasting site. The students recorded their reading using Audacity software which can be downloaded for FREE.

I Have A Little Shadow

This week the students read the poem "My Shadow" by Robert Louis Stevenson. After reading, we used the same brainstorming process that I wrote about in the post "Hey, Bug!" to list things a shadow might do and words that rhyme with those things. After brainstorming, the students again "popcorned" out ideas for the poem and the class voted on which ones they liked the best. They then worked together to write a final draft of the poem and illustrate it. It still amazes me how similar the illustrations are even though they worked in small groups - communicating with one another at its best!