Poetry: Leaves

1. Poetry: Leaves Lesson Plan: • Brittany Gornbein • EDUC229 • Fall 2008

2. Grade Level: 2nd-4th Time: 25-45 minutes Essential Questions: In what ways can an author incorporate rhyme into a poem? What is the importance of vocabulary in poetry? How can imagery illustrate literature? Learning Objectives: Students will understand rhyme scheme in poems. Students will understand new vocabulary words. Students will use context clues to determine the meaning of an excerpt of writing.

3. Materials: • ‘Leaves’ Poem by Elsie N. Brady • Rhyme worksheet • vocabulary worksheet • leaves worksheet • leaves coloring pages • pencil • crayons • dictionary

4. NYS Learning Standards: • ELA Standard 1Language for Information and Understanding: Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding. • ELA Standard 2Language for Literary Response and Expression: Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expressions.

5. Procedure: • Anticipatory set: begin by decorating workspace with leaves found outside during autumn. • 1. Read the poem aloud to students for an initial run through. • 2. Ask students to read to poem again, aloud together as a second run through. • 3. Ask the students to predict what the title is, since it is omitted at the top of their poem handout. • 4. Go over the definition of rhyme, and have the students look through the poem for instances of rhyme. They should then fill out the rhyme worksheet. • 5. Next the students should look through the poem for words they are unfamiliar with. These will be their new vocabulary words. They should write these on the vocabulary worksheet, and define them using the dictionary. • 6. Have students draw a picture representing the poem without using words. This is to understand imagery, and to demonstrate an understanding of what the poem was about.

6. Student Assessment: Students should be asked to complete the ‘leaves’ worksheet in which they will be asked to write a sentence about a picture of leaves in which they must use at least one new vocabulary word, or a pair of words that rhyme. This is to prove the students completed the learning objectives stated above. Students will be scored on whether they followed the directions, the subject of the sentence and the grammar/ spelling of the sentence itself. Extension: Students can color pictures of leaves attached. They will then be asked to write a creative story in which the leaf comes alive and goes on a journey. To share the story to the class, students will prepare oral presentations and speak in front of audiences.

7. Student Priorities: A requirement for the students in my group setting who I administered the lesson to, required a quiet setting without distraction. Their IEP states that they had trouble focusing. I made sure to be in close proximity, sitting at the same table as the students I was working with. Also, the door was closed so hallway noise wouldn’t interfere with the lesson. I made sure to speak slowly and clearly so that students could follow along, without becoming confused or lost. Modifications: For students who may have trouble concentrating to spoken word, an FM amplifier can be used. This will help keep the child focused, rather than distracted by outside noise. All the directions are written down, which was done primarily to help students who are visual learners. For auditory learners, the directions will also be read aloud. This is also the reason why the poem will be read aloud. Students who are visually impaired will also benefit from the auditory factors of the lesson.

8. Multiple intelligences: Leaves will attract the attention of the naturalist learner. These students are intrigued by the outside world, so bringing in the leaves will allow them to become interested in what the lesson will be about. Artistic learners will enjoy completing the extension activity, in which they will be able to color leaves, and use crayons to brighten their pictures. Since this is an ELA lesson plan, the linguistic learner will be engaged throughout the entire lesson, through the rhyme, poetry, vocabulary and creative writing piece. The spatial learner will learn through the pictures of leaves included throughout the worksheets provided.

9. Reflection: Students seemed to enjoy the poem itself, it was about leaves and being read in November was an appropriate time to read it. Students didn’t have trouble following the directions and the objectives seemed to be accomplished. Something I would’ve changed would be to focus more on imagery. Rather than just asking the students to draw a picture at the end of the poem depicting what they thought the poem was about, I could’ve explained more why they were doing this and what the importance was. Rather than just have the students complete this task, thinking it was to be artistic, it would’ve been helpful for them to understand why they were doing it, and the importance of being able to visualize and understand what they read for comprehension reasons. Overall, this lesson was successful and I would use it again.