Poetry With Purpose: Reflecting on Instructional Practices in Second Grade Literacy

Illustration from Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic

Reflecting on this quarter's learning led me to one word: abundance. I have learned from the abundant knowledge of my teachers and peers, appreciated the abundant grace of my advisors, and relished the abundance of resources at my fingertips as I learn to teach in the international setting. What a full 10 weeks! I have gained so much confidence in my own understanding of instructional planning in particular, and I have come to believe my habits now more closely align with Program Standard 2: using research-based instructional practices to meet the needs of all students. I am applying the pedagogy from my studies to teaching that works for a variety of children with a variety of backgrounds. 

In the lesson series I designed for second graders studying poetry, my favorite part is the teaching of alliteration. Shel Silverstein's poem "Bear In There" is a highlight--it illuminates the concept for children through a narrative that is fanciful and hilarious. Any kid would get the giggles when imagining a polar bear with his "seat in the meat." 

A selection from the lesson plan in review

As an informal assessment after the first part of instruction, my plan employs a technique from Doug Lemov's Teach Like a Champion 2.0 called "cold call" (p. 36). The idea is that students are more engaged if they anticipate a teacher's question at any time (leveraging the element of surprise here). By cold calling students for their examples of alliteration from the text, the teacher can get a quick gauge on whether the concept is sinking in and who might need more scaffolding. This is just one example of how my teaching will apply strong practices to support the needs of all students. 

Although I did not teach this lesson "live," I believe it will hold up when I finally get the chance to share it with students of my own because of its purposeful design and use of proven strategies, from the turn and talk to the multi-sensory elements (those tongue twisters as a warm up never get old). In this case, I hope students build an appreciation for poetry as they begin to understand some of its most powerful elements. When I finally get the chance to teach it, I may adjust my plans slightly by playing a recorded version of some of these poems--there is something wonderful about hearing poets read their own poems, and I am sure my students would love to hear Shel recite this one himself. 

References 

Lemov, D. (2015). Teach like a champion 2.0. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Brand.