DemoLesson:BreeRolfeforthe…

Whattwothingsarebeingcompared?

Isthisametaphoryou’veheardbefore?

So,whatcanweborrowfromRider?Takefiveminutestocompareyourselforsomeoneyouknowwelltoasongorband.

TotalStudents: 2127

Hispanic: 73% AfricanAmerican: 17% White/Other: 10% Other: EconomicalDisadvantaged: 75% “AtRisk”: 59%

Still,we’vebeenRECOGNIZEDforthepasttwoyearsinarow.

I’vetaughtatDVHSforthepastfiveyears,whereIcoachthethreetimedistrictchampionUILJournalismteam.Thisyearwemovedto5AandsadlyWestlakebumpedusdownapegto2ndplace.IamalsothesponsorfortheRedWingNewspaperandtheBadgerDogcreativewritingprogram.

IcurrentlyteachJournalism/Newspaperand10thgradeEnglish–onlevelandinclusion.

ButI’vepreviouslytaughtPhotojournalism,CreativeWriting,YearbookandwastheSPEDinclusionteacherfor10thgradewithformerCWTPparticipantNormaReyes.

IhaveanMFAfromBenningtonCollegeinWritingandLiterature.Ispecializedinpoetry.

BeforebecomingateacherIwroteabouteverythingfromelectronicmusictoconservativeJudaismtobigandtallmen’sfashions.IheldamonthlycolumnaboutDJsinaBostonnightlifemagazineforthreeyears.

Peoplewhoteachwritingshouldwritethemselves!Andtheirstudentsshouldbeawarethattheirteacherwritesandlovestowrite.

“MentorTexts”and“Modeling”–Inever,evergiveamajorassignmentthatIdon’tdomyselffirst.Also,Itrytoteachasmanyliving,breathing,workingwritersaspossibletoshowstudentswritingisaliveandwellinoursocietyandaviablecareer.

“Scaffolding”:Ourschoolmottois“whateverittakes”andIstandbehindthis.Idoasmuchoraslittlescaffoldingasneededformystudentstosucceed.

“ENGAGEMENT”:Ipersonallybelievethatthereisn’takidouttherethatIcan’tmakeloveoratleastnothatewritingand/orreading.Itismylife’smissiontoprovetomystudentsthatbotharenotBORING.Forkidstobefullyengaged,theyneedtobeinteractingwithoneanother.

Andfinally,teachingpoetryisadyingartandit’sasadthing.Ipersonallyhavemadeitmymissionatmyschooltogetitbackintoourcurriculumwhereverpossible.Ibelieveit’smoresuitedtoourcontemporarylifestylethananyothergenreandit’savital,butoftendismissed,partofourculture.

SocialDevelopmentTheory:"…anessentialfeatureoflearningisthatitcreatesthezoneofproximaldevelopment;thatis,learningawakensavarietyofinternaldevelopmentalprocessesthatareabletooperateonlywhenthechildisinteractingwithpeopleinhisenvironmentandincooperationwithhispeers.”

Vygotsky,L.(1978)fromtheMindinSociety:TheDevelopmentofPsychologicalProcesses

InActualMinds,PossibleWorldsJeromeBrunercoinedtheterm“scaffolding”usingVygotskyasinspiration.Hewrote,“"...conceptuallearningwasacollaborativeenterpriseinvolvinganadultwhoentersintodialoguewiththechildinafashionthatprovidesthechildwithhintsandpropsthatallowhimtobeginanewclimb,guidingthechildinnextstepsbeforethechildiscapableofappreciatingtheirsignificanceonhisown.Itisthe'loanofconsciousness'thatgetsthechildthroughthezoneofproximaldevelopment.“(Bruner132)

“Withoutwritingtherewouldbenothingtoread.Ifweteacherspurporttonurtureourstudents’growthinwriting,tohavethembelievethatwritingmattersintheworld,justasreadingdoes,thenweourselvesmustwrite.Wecannotmerelytalkabouttheimportanceofwriting.Wemustliveit.Anythinglessmakescounterfeittheteachingoffullliteracy,thatpreciouscoinoftherealm.”(Romano47)

“TeachingkidstowriteisthemostpowerfulwayIfeelIcanaffecttheirlives,andIdoitwithoutpreachingasingleword.Ineedonlyhelpthemgenerateandcraftpoems,helpthembringtogethertheirexperienceandimaginationandlanguageonthepage,andtheyfeelindebtedtomeforlife.I'veseenwritinghelpkidsinprofoundways:gooddecisionsonthepagetranslatetogooddecisionsintheirlives.”‐DOUGGOETSCH

“Iteachforthestudentswholooktomeandsay,‘Youwrite?’Iteachfortheneedintheireyes,thewanttoknowthereissomereasonandsatisfactionindoingwhattugsattheirverysoulsforthemtodo.Iteachalsoforthestudentswhotakemyclassandsay,‘Ican'twrite.’IteachsoIcanshowthemthattheyarewrong.Iteachinordertohearastudentwriteanewlineandyelltotherestoftheclass,"I'veneverheardthatbeforeinthehistoryoftheentireworld!"IteachpoetrysothatIcankeephearingnewthingsintheworld,andIteachpoetrysothatIcanmakesuretherearenewthingsbeingmadeinthisworld.”‐RICHARDK.WEEMS

Vygotskii,L.S.,andMichaelCole.MindinSociety:theDevelopmentofHigherPsychologicalProcesses.Cambridge:HarvardUP,1978.Print.

Bruner,JeromeS.ActualMinds,PossibleWorlds.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUP,1986.Print.

Romano,Tom.ClearingtheWay:WorkingwithTeenageWriters.Portsmouth,NH:Heinemann,1987.Print.

ANoteSlippedUndertheDoor:TeachingfromthePoemsWeLovebyNickFlynn&ShirleyMcPhillips

FoolingwithWordsbyBillMoyers

AmericanPoetryNow:PittPoetrySeriesAnthologybyEdOchester

WewillapplyourknowledgeofthepoeticlineandimageryusingPoetryPokerPoems.

1. Adealerischosen. 2. Thedealerdealsoutfivecardstoeachpersonfacedown.Therestofthe

deckisplacedfacedowninthecenter. 3. Eachpersonlooksattheircardstoseewhatphrasesandimagescanbe

createdfromtheirwordcards.Youareallowedtochangetheformofthewordtomakeitfitinasentence.Youarealsoallowedtoinserthelpingverbs,prepositions(in,of,during,about,etc.),articles(a,an,the),andconjunctions.

4. Youwillhaveanopportunitytochoosesomenewwords.Eachpersonmayopttodiscarduptothreewordcards.Theyplacethediscardedcardsfacedownnexttothedeck.Theythenselectnewreplacementcardsfromthedeck.Playcontinueswiththerestoftheplayers.Whenthedeckrunsout,shufflethediscardpile,placeitfacedown,andselectfromthat.Goaroundthecircleonce.Ifaplayerlikestheircards,theymaysay"Pass."

5. Onceeveryonehashadachancetochangecards,itistimetoputthewordsintoapoeticline.Writethefirstpoeticlineonyourpaperandsharewiththemembersofyourgroup.Useasmanyofyourwordcardsaspossible.

6. Playatleast4morerounds.Aftereachround,writeyournewpoeticlinebeneaththepreviousone.

7. Whenyouhavecompletedfivepoeticlines,trytorearrangethelinesintoapoemandcreateatitle.ThisisyourPokerPoem!

Note:Shedidn’texchangeANYcards.AskMs.Rodriquez

Theythoughtthey’dclashforever–swayingindeepfirelight

Theythoughtthey’dclashforever–swayingindeepfirelight

Praisedreamsandforgetdreadfullove

Theythoughtthey’dclashforever–swayingindeepfirelight

PraisedreamsandforgetdreadfulloveSourwomenaren’tlightenedbyromanticglory

Theythoughtthey’dclashforever–swayingindeepfirelight

PraisedreamsandforgetdreadfulloveSourwomenaren’tlightenedbyromanticglory.Childrenatbreakfastareatwarwiththeiruncommonbirths

Theythoughtthey’dclashforever–swayingindeepfirelight

PraisedreamsandforgetdreadfulloveSourwomenaren’tlightenedbyromanticglory.Childrenatbreakfastareatwarwiththeiruncommonbirths

Wildpleasureishiddenincreativitywhenyou’realone.

Theythoughtthey’dclashforever–swayingagainstthedeepfirelightoftheirnowcoldlivingroom.

Inhermind,beforesleep—praisedreamsandforgetdreadfullove.Inhis—suchsourwomenarenotlightenedbyromanticglory.

Thechildrenatbreakfastwereatwar‐‐theiruncommonbirthshidthemfromwildpleasure.Theircreativityleftthemalone.