Writing Informational Persona Poetry: Transforming Ideas through Instructional Scaffolding

The power point of research done by Dr. Beth Frye and two classroom teachers, is an informative look into the use of I poetry in classrooms with struggling readers. I was most impressed by the contrast of pre-vocabulary and post-vocabulary in the students who took part in the lessons.

Students were immersed in I poetry, given a purpose for research, compiled information, wrote and shared their persona poetry and finally revised and published them. Students were given mentor texts that showed them what great I poems looked like in books such as Atlantic and Mohave. Students in the second grade class wrote a persona poem aout the Seguro Cactus and students in the first grade class wrote about different infamous pirates. Throughout the lessons students made meaningful connections to the content and were given a purpose for learning. This increased their knowledge of the content and helped improve their reading and writing skills.

I had a great time reading the poetry written by the students that took part in this program. The illustrations and detail contained in the poems were good indications of what was learned through the in depth study of each content area.

Integrating Instructional-Level Social Studies Trade Books for Struggling Readers in Upper Elementary Grades 

          Before reading this article I didn’t have a good idea of how to integrate whole class reading about a particular content area. This article provided a great amount of detailed information on how to differentiate instruction by assigning different materials for reading that are at the child’s instructional reading level.

            The most common way I think I would use this approach would be books linked by a common theme. That seems like the best way to integrate content areas into reading instruction. Students will be able to discuss the literature they are reading within small groups who are reading the same books.

            The lists of books by content area are great! This gives teachers wanting to differentiate the reading material for struggling readers a resource to find high quality books that go along with the content area they are implementing in their classes.

“Love that Poetry” gave me a lot of new ideas I would like to try with students. I can only imagine some of the things they would come up with! “Love that Dog” was also a real pleasure to read. I really felt like I got to know this little boy through the poems he was writing. I didn’t really think I would have connected with his story in poetry form. The evolution of his thinking gave me a good idea how a student in the early grades would approach writing poetry.

          I selected a few poems from “all the small poems and fourteen more”. These were hard for me to understand and feel as connected to as “Love that Dog”. However, I think students would really have a fun time writing about the objects they discover. There are also many ways to integrate the poetry with other content areas by allowing to explore things they are learning more deeply through writing about them.

         As a photographer, I also really enjoyed “Brown Angels”. Having a connection to the children the author was writing about warmed my heart and made me really appreciate the book. I think that children would also enjoy writing poems to go along with images they collect as well. Exploring family and the different types of family would tie social studies into this in the appropriate grade level.

          The selections we read this week shined a light on poetry that doesnt make it seem so much like something to dread, but something to enjoy.

            My dad told me one time, “We couldn’t bring you home until we picked out a name.” So somehow they arrived at Abby. No, not Abigail. Just Abby. My mom didn’t think she would be having a girl and I don’t think they had thought too hard about girl names. My daddy wanted Jennifer or Whitney and my mom didn’t really like those. She has only said, “If you were a boy, your name would be Adam.” I guess it makes sense; Abby sounds a little bit like Adam. My name is very different. Even the Abbys that I know are shortened from Abigail. I have never met anyone who is just Abby.

          I did a little research and found information about the name Abby. It is a variation on the English name Abigail. However, Abby also has roots in the Hebrew language. In Hebrew the meaning of Abby is ‘Her father rejoiced’. I LOVE this meaning of my name. I am definately a daddy’s girl and I am sure he rejoiced when I was born.

Notebook Know-How

     From the first two chapters I really enjoyed reading Notebook Know-How. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn’t read like a traditional text book. The writer speaks with ease about the use of the notebook and its use in the class room. The two beginning chapters gave excellent ways to begin the notebook. I had teachers in high school that focused on journal writing as a form of self expression and expressed to students that all writing was praise worthy. However, The tips for beginning to write in a writer’s notebook that were included in the book give teachers a fool proof way to begin using a writer’s notebook as part of their classroom. As I understood it, there are many purposes to the writer’s notebook. The main goal is to increase writing fluency and give students practice with writing.

            As a future teacher of writing I hope to motivate my students to want to nurture their writing abilities. I am a strong advocate for writing as a form of self expression and as a way of working out problems that seem to occur in our lives. The strategies for writing that the author discusses in the first two chapters gave the students a way to get in the habit of frequent writing.

            My first step in launching the notebook was to give it a little personality. This gave me a multitude of ideas of what to write about and will give me some inspiration when I hit a dry spell. The steps in Notebook Know-How made the notebook seem much less daunting.

            I don’t think the organization is important as long as it is meaningful to the student. It has been my experience that when organization is forced upon me it becomes a chore and students may become reluctant to write freely when there is a structure enforced upon their notebook.

HOT Blogging

     I found this article very informative. The author’s explanations of how this was used in her class gave me many new ideas of how I would use it in my own classes. The idea of blogging is an easy way to give students more ownership over the writing they are doing. By seeing their published works on the internet students will take pride in what they are writing about. The author pointed out several different types of blogs that one would find in an educational setting. If time was allotted to using the blogs during school hours this would be a great tool to encourage students to write about what they are reading and build upon what their peers are writing.

     In a low income school, students may not have internet or computer access at home and would be at a severe disadvantage if blog posting was assigned as homework. However, for these students it is the most important to make meaningful connections with the literature they are reading and their lives and school and at home.

Author: Patty Whitehouse

Date of Publication: September 2006

Title: Tool Kit:  Dig and Dump

ISBN – 13: 9781600442070

The level (what grade level): Read Aloud

Topic (what it is about): Tools of the trade; trucks you would find on a construction site

The storyline: This book is a great one to ‘dig’ right in to! It is filled with pictures, labels and definitions to help us better understand the world of tools.  I sure did learn a lot!

Why you liked it: I like how this book contains real photographs from construction sites.  Little boys, especially, will love this book.

What you might be able to do with it in a class: Lesson on different jobs, machines.  This book would be a great help with vocabulary.  I might have the students write a sentence with a few of the words.

Author: Shannon Zemlicka

Date of Publication: January 2002

Title: From Egg to Butterfly

ISBN – 13: 9780822507130

The level (what grade level): Read Aloud

Topic (what it is about): The life cycle of a butterfly

The storyline: This interesting book follows the life of a butterfly.  The pictures are incredible!!

Why you liked it: The photographs are beautiful!  It also give facts in a manner that flows but don’t bog you down with too much detail at one time. 

What you might be able to do with it in a class: Butterfly or life cycle lesson.  As an art project, I might have the students make butterflies out of coffee filters.

Author: Natalie Babbit

Date of Publication: August 2007

Title: Tuck Everlasting

ISBN – 13: 9780312369811

The level (what grade level): Read Aloud or Very High Individual Reading

Topic (what it is about): Not growing older; keeping secrets

The storyline: The Tuck family is dealing with a very interesting citation.  They have discovered that a mystery 10 year old girl knows of their secret. This secret will prevent you from getting any older. Read this book to find out how this secret works.

Why you liked it: I like how the family has bonded together in keeping their secret quiet until now.  The characters are very closely knit together.

What you might be able to do with it in a class: When learning about family and friends in keeping secrets, this book would be a great one on dealing with tough situations.

Author: Patricia Seibert
Illustrator: Horacio Elena

Date of Publication: January 2002

Title: The Three Little Pigs

ISBN – 13: 9781577683674

The level (what grade level): Read Aloud

Topic (what it is about): Little pigs who are hiding from the big bad wolf.  The pig who built the brick house was the safest; he was prepared!

The storyline: This is your typical “Three Little Pigs” story.  The pictures are amazing!

Why you liked it: Everyone loves the traditional stories!  The illustrations were great!

What you might be able to do with it in a class: I might use this classic book to teach the ideas of always being prepared.  The first two pigs were not prepared when the wolf came.  You might also tie this book to weather – being prepared when a storm comes like when the wolf blew the house down.

Author:   Lois Lowry

Date of Publication: February 1998

Title: Number the Stars

ISBN – 13: 9780440227533

The level (what grade level): Read Aloud or Very high individual reading

Topic (what it is about): Life for a ten year old during WWII. 

The storyline: A ten year old, Annemarie Johansen is growing up in 1943 in Copenhagen. Nazi soldiers march up and down the streets in her town.  The Nazis will not stop.  Her best friend Ellen moves in with her and pretends to be part of her family.  Then Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission.  Somehow she must find the strength and courage to save her best friend’s life. 

Why you liked it: I love anything that deals with WWII.  This story is one that children can read to enjoy but also learn a bit of history as well.

What you might be able to do with it in a class: I would incorporate this book into a history lesson on WWII and Nazis.  Maybe have the class do a little more research in the school library on this subject.

Author: Lois Lowry

Date of Publication: September 2002

Title: The Giver

ISBN – 13: 9780440237686

The level (what grade level): Read Aloud or Very high individual reading

Topic (what it is about): Memories being shared

The storyline: Jonas receives memories that are shared by only one other.  He quickly discovers how his society works.  The truths are astounding.

Why you liked it: At first, this book seemed odd but the more I read into it the more I liked it.  You didn’t know what was coming next or why he was having these memories.  This is a very interesting storyline. 

What you might be able to do with it in a class: We may read this as a class when our lesson pertains to community and everything that goes with that.

Author: Jane Yolen
Illustrator: David Shannon

Date of Publication: September 1998

Title: The Ballad of the Pirate Queens

ISBN – 13: 9780152018856

The level (what grade level): Read Aloud

Topic (what it is about): Pirate queens who come under attack

The storyline: This story begins when two ladies of the Vanity’s crew were on guard.  Suddenly government officials abruptly came on board!  The two pirate queens tried their best in battle but they were all alone.  The other crew members were down below drinking.

Why you liked it: I enjoyed this story because it isn’t your traditional pirate tale.  You never know what to expect on the next page.

What you might be able to do with it in a class: Pirate lesson or dealing with friend issues

Author: Patricia MacLachlan                                             

Date of Publication: September 1987

Title: Sarah Plain and Tall

ISBN – 13: 9780064402057

The level (what grade level): Read Aloud or Very high individual reading

Topic (what it is about): Life after a mother dies; adjusting to life, life on the prairie

The storyline: The children’s mother died during the birth of Caleb.  Papa puts an ad in the paper asking for a wife and later receives a letter from Sarah Wheaton.  When she comes to meet them, they wonder what she will be like.

Why you liked it: This is a classic!  It is very descriptive in how life was back then.  I really like how Caleb and Anna react to Sarah’s coming.

What you might be able to do with it in a class: I might have the kids write an ending to the story before they finish reading it.  Have them answer the question asked in the summary and complete the story.  After finishing the story, you might compare and contrast the endings with their personal ones.

Rasinski (2004). Creating Fluent Readers.

1.   What are the three dimensions of fluency? How can you assess each dimension?

Decoding, automatic processing, and prosodic reading are the three dimensions of fluency. By calculating the percentage of words a reader can correctly decode, while working on grade level material, we will be able to find the decoding accuracy.  The student’s reading rate determines the automatic process in fluency.  Have the students read aloud in a grade level appropriate passage for 60 seconds to begin calculating the score.  Then count the number of words that were read correctly to finish the scoring process.  By listening to the students read an appropriate passage then score it using a rubric; you can see the prosodic reading fluency level.  This rubric will have the elements of expression, volume, phrasing, smoothness, and the pass of their reading. 

2.    Rasinski refers to fluency as a “bridge” between decoding and comprehension. What does he mean by the “bridge” metaphor?

Many students have difficult times with reading.  Some read each word very slowly by sounding each word out individually.  They may also get stuck on harder vocabulary or simply try to actually read each word that they aren’t able to comprehend what is going on in the text.  We must help these students in the reading process by bridging the gap through working on fluency.  By watching and improving their accuracy in decoding, automatic processing, and prosodic reading, we can build a better bridge that eases the transition from reading to understanding the material. 

3.    What instructional methods does Rasinski suggest for students with difficulties in automatic and prosodic reading?

The Rasinski article gives us several instructional methods for students with difficulties in automatic and prosodic reading.  Some of these methods are the use of assisted readings as well as repeated readings.

4.    Multidimensional Fluency Scale (MFS) is used to measure prosodic quality of oral reading. List components of the MFS and describe what each refers to (p. 49).

A. Expression and Volume : This has to do with the expressions, the enthusiasm, as well as the volume of their voice as the student reader uses while reading a particular text. 

B. Phrasing: This is the student reader’s ability to read the sentences with proper phrasing.  This also is seen when addressing the clause and different sentence units while using appropriate expressions. 

C. Smoothness: This is how smooth the student can read with some pauses so they can fix word and structure difficulties.  Our goal is for the students to self correct their mistakes. 

D. Pace: The student’s ability to read at a conversational level is a major factor in determining the pace of a student.