DemoLesson:BreeRolfeforthe…
Whattwothingsarebeingcompared?
Isthisametaphoryou’veheardbefore?
So,whatcanweborrowfromRider?Takefiveminutestocompareyourselforsomeoneyouknowwelltoasongorband.
TotalStudents: 2127
Hispanic: 73% AfricanAmerican: 17% White/Other: 10% Other: EconomicalDisadvantaged: 75% “AtRisk”: 59%
Still,we’vebeenRECOGNIZEDforthepasttwoyearsinarow.
I’vetaughtatDVHSforthepastfiveyears,whereIcoachthethreetimedistrictchampionUILJournalismteam.Thisyearwemovedto5AandsadlyWestlakebumpedusdownapegto2ndplace.IamalsothesponsorfortheRedWingNewspaperandtheBadgerDogcreativewritingprogram.
IcurrentlyteachJournalism/Newspaperand10thgradeEnglish–onlevelandinclusion.
ButI’vepreviouslytaughtPhotojournalism,CreativeWriting,YearbookandwastheSPEDinclusionteacherfor10thgradewithformerCWTPparticipantNormaReyes.
IhaveanMFAfromBenningtonCollegeinWritingandLiterature.Ispecializedinpoetry.
BeforebecomingateacherIwroteabouteverythingfromelectronicmusictoconservativeJudaismtobigandtallmen’sfashions.IheldamonthlycolumnaboutDJsinaBostonnightlifemagazineforthreeyears.
Peoplewhoteachwritingshouldwritethemselves!Andtheirstudentsshouldbeawarethattheirteacherwritesandlovestowrite.
“MentorTexts”and“Modeling”–Inever,evergiveamajorassignmentthatIdon’tdomyselffirst.Also,Itrytoteachasmanyliving,breathing,workingwritersaspossibletoshowstudentswritingisaliveandwellinoursocietyandaviablecareer.
“Scaffolding”:Ourschoolmottois“whateverittakes”andIstandbehindthis.Idoasmuchoraslittlescaffoldingasneededformystudentstosucceed.
“ENGAGEMENT”:Ipersonallybelievethatthereisn’takidouttherethatIcan’tmakeloveoratleastnothatewritingand/orreading.Itismylife’smissiontoprovetomystudentsthatbotharenotBORING.Forkidstobefullyengaged,theyneedtobeinteractingwithoneanother.
Andfinally,teachingpoetryisadyingartandit’sasadthing.Ipersonallyhavemadeitmymissionatmyschooltogetitbackintoourcurriculumwhereverpossible.Ibelieveit’smoresuitedtoourcontemporarylifestylethananyothergenreandit’savital,butoftendismissed,partofourculture.
SocialDevelopmentTheory:"…anessentialfeatureoflearningisthatitcreatesthezoneofproximaldevelopment;thatis,learningawakensavarietyofinternaldevelopmentalprocessesthatareabletooperateonlywhenthechildisinteractingwithpeopleinhisenvironmentandincooperationwithhispeers.”
Vygotsky,L.(1978)fromtheMindinSociety:TheDevelopmentofPsychologicalProcesses
InActualMinds,PossibleWorldsJeromeBrunercoinedtheterm“scaffolding”usingVygotskyasinspiration.Hewrote,“"...conceptuallearningwasacollaborativeenterpriseinvolvinganadultwhoentersintodialoguewiththechildinafashionthatprovidesthechildwithhintsandpropsthatallowhimtobeginanewclimb,guidingthechildinnextstepsbeforethechildiscapableofappreciatingtheirsignificanceonhisown.Itisthe'loanofconsciousness'thatgetsthechildthroughthezoneofproximaldevelopment.“(Bruner132)
“Withoutwritingtherewouldbenothingtoread.Ifweteacherspurporttonurtureourstudents’growthinwriting,tohavethembelievethatwritingmattersintheworld,justasreadingdoes,thenweourselvesmustwrite.Wecannotmerelytalkabouttheimportanceofwriting.Wemustliveit.Anythinglessmakescounterfeittheteachingoffullliteracy,thatpreciouscoinoftherealm.”(Romano47)
“TeachingkidstowriteisthemostpowerfulwayIfeelIcanaffecttheirlives,andIdoitwithoutpreachingasingleword.Ineedonlyhelpthemgenerateandcraftpoems,helpthembringtogethertheirexperienceandimaginationandlanguageonthepage,andtheyfeelindebtedtomeforlife.I'veseenwritinghelpkidsinprofoundways:gooddecisionsonthepagetranslatetogooddecisionsintheirlives.”‐DOUGGOETSCH
“Iteachforthestudentswholooktomeandsay,‘Youwrite?’Iteachfortheneedintheireyes,thewanttoknowthereissomereasonandsatisfactionindoingwhattugsattheirverysoulsforthemtodo.Iteachalsoforthestudentswhotakemyclassandsay,‘Ican'twrite.’IteachsoIcanshowthemthattheyarewrong.Iteachinordertohearastudentwriteanewlineandyelltotherestoftheclass,"I'veneverheardthatbeforeinthehistoryoftheentireworld!"IteachpoetrysothatIcankeephearingnewthingsintheworld,andIteachpoetrysothatIcanmakesuretherearenewthingsbeingmadeinthisworld.”‐RICHARDK.WEEMS
Vygotskii,L.S.,andMichaelCole.MindinSociety:theDevelopmentofHigherPsychologicalProcesses.Cambridge:HarvardUP,1978.Print.
Bruner,JeromeS.ActualMinds,PossibleWorlds.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUP,1986.Print.
Romano,Tom.ClearingtheWay:WorkingwithTeenageWriters.Portsmouth,NH:Heinemann,1987.Print.
ANoteSlippedUndertheDoor:TeachingfromthePoemsWeLovebyNickFlynn&ShirleyMcPhillips
FoolingwithWordsbyBillMoyers
AmericanPoetryNow:PittPoetrySeriesAnthologybyEdOchester
WewillapplyourknowledgeofthepoeticlineandimageryusingPoetryPokerPoems.
1. Adealerischosen. 2. Thedealerdealsoutfivecardstoeachpersonfacedown.Therestofthe
deckisplacedfacedowninthecenter. 3. Eachpersonlooksattheircardstoseewhatphrasesandimagescanbe
createdfromtheirwordcards.Youareallowedtochangetheformofthewordtomakeitfitinasentence.Youarealsoallowedtoinserthelpingverbs,prepositions(in,of,during,about,etc.),articles(a,an,the),andconjunctions.
4. Youwillhaveanopportunitytochoosesomenewwords.Eachpersonmayopttodiscarduptothreewordcards.Theyplacethediscardedcardsfacedownnexttothedeck.Theythenselectnewreplacementcardsfromthedeck.Playcontinueswiththerestoftheplayers.Whenthedeckrunsout,shufflethediscardpile,placeitfacedown,andselectfromthat.Goaroundthecircleonce.Ifaplayerlikestheircards,theymaysay"Pass."
5. Onceeveryonehashadachancetochangecards,itistimetoputthewordsintoapoeticline.Writethefirstpoeticlineonyourpaperandsharewiththemembersofyourgroup.Useasmanyofyourwordcardsaspossible.
6. Playatleast4morerounds.Aftereachround,writeyournewpoeticlinebeneaththepreviousone.
7. Whenyouhavecompletedfivepoeticlines,trytorearrangethelinesintoapoemandcreateatitle.ThisisyourPokerPoem!
Note:Shedidn’texchangeANYcards.AskMs.Rodriquez
Theythoughtthey’dclashforever–swayingindeepfirelight
Theythoughtthey’dclashforever–swayingindeepfirelight
Praisedreamsandforgetdreadfullove
Theythoughtthey’dclashforever–swayingindeepfirelight
PraisedreamsandforgetdreadfulloveSourwomenaren’tlightenedbyromanticglory
Theythoughtthey’dclashforever–swayingindeepfirelight
PraisedreamsandforgetdreadfulloveSourwomenaren’tlightenedbyromanticglory.Childrenatbreakfastareatwarwiththeiruncommonbirths
Theythoughtthey’dclashforever–swayingindeepfirelight
PraisedreamsandforgetdreadfulloveSourwomenaren’tlightenedbyromanticglory.Childrenatbreakfastareatwarwiththeiruncommonbirths
Wildpleasureishiddenincreativitywhenyou’realone.
Theythoughtthey’dclashforever–swayingagainstthedeepfirelightoftheirnowcoldlivingroom.
Inhermind,beforesleep—praisedreamsandforgetdreadfullove.Inhis—suchsourwomenarenotlightenedbyromanticglory.
Thechildrenatbreakfastwereatwar‐‐theiruncommonbirthshidthemfromwildpleasure.Theircreativityleftthemalone.