Shakespeare and Poetry Unit

I think a good way to introduce children to Shakespeare would be through the book "A Midsummer Nights Dream: For Kids". Although this book is an easier read than the real shakespeare, it keeps some of his style, while making it much more understandable to children. After discussing this book with the class and discussing Shakespeare, the unit could end with class performances. Much like we did, elementary students could get in groups and each have an assigned part to act out in front of the class.

Tips for teaching Shakespeare to children (www.pbs.org/shakespeare/educators/elementary.html)
1. Be fearless! Your kids are--Elementary kids are not yet worried about what they don't know. Interest them in Shakespeare now, before they become convinced reading him is "hard".
2. Start with the stories-- Shakespeare's adaptations for kids have been around almost as long as Shakespeare's plays. Read these stories aloud to your students or provide them with copies for individual reading.
3.Shakespeare inspires-- Read Shakespeare's stories to children and watch their imaginations take off. Provide them with plenty of art supplies and see where their imaginations take them.
4. Play with the language-- Shakespeare wrote plays, not novels, and his language is full of short passages that are fun to act out or play with. Many of Shakespeares plays contained songs-start with those.
5. Start small-- You don't need to study an entire play with your students. Begin with a particularly exciting scene-one with lots of action.
6. Be prepared-- The more comfortable you are with the material, the more comfortable the students will be. But don't worry if you are not a Shakespeare scholar. You and your students can discover the works together.
7. Connect it to your students' lives-- For example, ask the students "How would you feel if you woke up as a donkey?"
8. Keep it moving-- At the elementary level, it's important to keep the learning active. Make sure students are up on their feet speaking Shakespeare's words and acting out his scenes.
9. Create a safe environment for performance-- When your kids are ready for performances, go over audience etiquette.
10. Stress the qualities of a good actor-- Tell the students they need to be seen and heard when on stage.

After reading "Wishes, Lies, and Dreams", by Kenneth Koch I got some good ideas for introducing poetry to elementary students. For example, Koch says that you should tell childrent not to rhyme when starting to write poetry. When children are trying to rhyme it often stands in the way of their creativity. He also discusses some ways to help get children started on writing poetry. He used "I wish..." poems to help the children get started, as well as "I dream..." and "I used to be... but now...". I think all of these are good starters for kids to write their own poems.

As a child I was introduced to poetry through Dr. Suess and Shel Silverstein so I would also like to bring both of these authors into my classroom. I red books by them at school as well as at home and they are the authors who really sparked my interest in poetry.

An article I came across titled "Teaching Poetry to Children" by Debbie DeSpirt discussed a couple ways to spark children's interest in poetry. The first way to do this she said is by using riddle poems. These poems have an answer so the children really have to think about each line to figure it out. The next thing she talks about is the use of humor poems. She mentions that children like them because they are short but engaging and filled with imagery. She also talks about how important it is to be a model for the students when reading poetry. She says it is important to demonstrate good posture, movement and gesture. Also, to place emphasis on the right words when reading aloud. The children see you doing it and pick up on these things. I think all of these items are definitely useful to keep in mind for when I am a teacher, and will probably be really helpful.

Young Adult Unit

I really enjoyed reading the three books for this unit, and I think "Stargirl" is one of my new favorite novels. "The Austere Academy" would be great read for elementary students. When I read this book it made me think about how good I have it, and things could always be much worse (as in the case of the Baudelaires). I think for this same reason it is a good book for anyone to read, especially elementary students because it is an easy read (and it explains words and phrases throughout that younger students may otherwise find confusing). "Stargirl" is a good read for young adults because it teaches the importance of being your own person, as well as accepting others for who they are. I think "Speak" is also a good young adult novel because it encourages the reader to not be quick to judge others. It also touches on some very important issues that young adults may have to face in their lives such as sexual assault, as well as depression.

"Speak"

I think this novel would be a good introduction to a unit informing teens about issues such as sexual assault and depression. Often times when someone reads about someone dealing with issues first hand (like Melinda) it can help them face issues they may have in their personal lives.

www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/depression.html

*This website gives a lot of good information on depression. It talks about how to tell when someone is dealing with depression, how common it is, as well as help for these individuals.

http://www.rainn.org/

*This website has information about sexual assault and related issues. It gives statistics, ways to help prevent sexual assault, as well as the different types of sexual assault.

"Stargirl"

http://www.webenglishteacher.org/

*This website gives a lot of good discussion topics as well as various activities students can do relating to the novel. A few discussion questions from this website include:

1. If you could change your name, what would it be and why? Or, why would you keep the name you have?

2. Should Stargirl have helped the opposing teams injured player? Why or why not?

3. If you kept a "happy/unhappy" wagon, how many pebbles would yours have in it right now? Explain your answer.

"A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Austere Academy"

http://litplans.com/authors/lemony_snicket.html

*This website has some good resources for teachers such as related activities, discussion topics, etc.

www.webenglishteacher.com/snicket.html

*This also has some good ideas for classroom use. One idea on this website I liked is to have students write story scenes using their own characters but in a way in which the "Series of Unfortunate events" stories are told.

Fairytale Unit

"Fairy Tales Get Real" I really like some of the ideas used by the teacher in the article. I like how the teacher started by reading common fairytales to the class, then read versions from around the world of the same fairytales. I like this idea because I think it is important to incorporate different cultures into lesson plans whenever possible. I also loved the idea of having each student write their own ending to one of the tales. I think this is a great way to get students engaged and using their creativity.

Fairytale Character Mobile (Lesson Plan)


(http://www.teachingheart.net/)


*In the middle of the page the student draws a picture of their favorite fairytale character.


*They then fill in the four bubbles about their character.


*Students then cut out each part and string together to hang in classroom.

*(See example below)

There are also a few poems from the ENGL341 packet that I would love to share with my future classes:

In Search of Cinderella

by Shel Silverstein

From dusk to dawn,

From town to town,

Without a single clue,

I seek the tender, slender foot

To fit this Crystal shoe.

From dusk to dawn,

I try it on

Each damsel that I meet.

And I still love her so, but oh,

I've started hating feet.

And then the Prince Knelt Down and
Tried to Put the Glas Slipper on Cinderella's Foot

by Judith Viorst

I really didn't notice that he had a funny nose.

And he certainly looked better all dressed up in fancy
clothes.

He's not nearly as attractive as he seemed the other
night.

So I think I'll just pretend that this glass slipper
feels too tight.

Setting Lesson Plan

(www.abcteach.com/free/f/fairytale_desciptive.pdf)

*(Teacher Intro) The setting is an important part of any fairytale. The tone of the story is set in the way the setting is described. Use the descriptions in your book to help you draw the setting and answer questions about the setting.

*(Have student write) Title of fairytale.

*(Have student draw) Picture to match the setting.

*(Have student write) Descriptive words which helped draw picture.

A little about me..

I'm 22 years old and from the small town of Durham. I was born in Fort Bragg, CA (only lived there for a year) but it is one of my favorite places to visit. I am really close with my family and love that they live near Chico so I can go bug them whenever I want (and get home cooked meals). I have a sister who is 16 and we are complete opposites which I think is why we get along so well (In fact, I think the only thing we argue about is stealing eachothers clothes). I'm a bookworm and a die-hard Twilight fan. I worked in the English Department on campus for a couple years and kinda miss it. I spend way too much time on Facebook. My favorite food is sushi (my dad thinks I'm addicted). I walk in May and get to go to Portugal for graduation! I am in love with San Francisco and plan on moving there after I finish school.

I want to teach because I love children and hope to make a positive impact on their lives. I had a couple great elementary teachers who really influenced me. I think it would be amazing to be able to give back and influence the lives of children the way I was influenced by my teachers. I am looking forward to ENGL 341 and hope to learn more about the role reading plays in the classroom. Also, ways to really get children excited about reading.