I collaborated with CarolAnn last year in planning some English 10 assignments and learned a lot from CarolAnn. I also now have a few projects for English 10 that I love assigning and students love working on. One of the projects that I enjoy is a differentiated poetry assignment titled “Your Turn!”
During the spring semester of English 10 we have a unit where we read short stories and poems and study poetry devices/figurative language. Students study figurative language terms and practice identifying the terms in poetry. Students then need to analyze the function of figurative language in poetry. For example, a student may identify a simile in a poem, but then he/she needs to analyze the simile’s influence in the poem.
After reading poems by Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Carl Sandburg in class students choose from a list of poems a poem that they would like to do the poetry project for. The Your Turn assignment calls for students to complete a number of activities for the poem that they have selected. All students must analyze the theme and the figurative language used in the poem. After those two required assignments, students choose from a list of other activities. Students may write a poem in response to their chosen poem, they may create an artistic representation of their poem, they may recite their poem, and they may also choose an activity of their own to react to the poem. Students do an awesome job with this assignment and I am always impressed with what they come up with. One of my favorite artwork creations was done for the poem “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The poem is all about the masks that people wear to hide how they are truly feeling. A student chose this poem and used clay to create four different colored masks.
I like offering students choices with assignments and I have definitely found that students like being able to share what they have learned in their own way.
During the spring semester of English 10 we have a unit where we read short stories and poems and study poetry devices/figurative language. Students study figurative language terms and practice identifying the terms in poetry. Students then need to analyze the function of figurative language in poetry. For example, a student may identify a simile in a poem, but then he/she needs to analyze the simile’s influence in the poem.
After reading poems by Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Carl Sandburg in class students choose from a list of poems a poem that they would like to do the poetry project for. The Your Turn assignment calls for students to complete a number of activities for the poem that they have selected. All students must analyze the theme and the figurative language used in the poem. After those two required assignments, students choose from a list of other activities. Students may write a poem in response to their chosen poem, they may create an artistic representation of their poem, they may recite their poem, and they may also choose an activity of their own to react to the poem. Students do an awesome job with this assignment and I am always impressed with what they come up with. One of my favorite artwork creations was done for the poem “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The poem is all about the masks that people wear to hide how they are truly feeling. A student chose this poem and used clay to create four different colored masks.
I like offering students choices with assignments and I have definitely found that students like being able to share what they have learned in their own way.
Yes! Current research indicates when students have choice in their learning, they are more engaged! I've tried to revamp many assignments this year to offer just that - more choice. That way, students can show you their thinking and learning the way that best matches their learning style!
ReplyDeleteThe only downside is figuring out the many rubric(s) that need to be created to correspond with each choice so students know what is expected of them. Next year, I plan to work on creating better rubric to assess their choice projects so it's easier to grade!
My kids also love choices, but I think one of the more difficult things is making sure each rubric has fair expections.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried having the student/s help create the rubric? I really liked this idea, but it seemed like some students really like being a part of the decision process and some about fell asleep. And they needed A LOT of guidance. I am looking for more ideas to improve this process.