Rationale
My unit will build on the general classroom instruction by giving the students a new way to see poetry and sharpen observation skills. The third grade curriculum ends the school year with a unit on the elements of poetry; I will implement this unit at the same time the general classroom is concentrating on poetry. The general classroom will focus on the styles and mechanics of poetry while I focus on the similarities in the construction of poetry and art. I will focus on elements such as line, repetition, rhythm, observation, white space, and the artists' or poet's intention. Lines written by a poet are broken in specific places to emphasize a point, communicate feelings, or end a sentence. Lines drawn by an artist outline a shape to provide emphasis, create a path, or deliver texture. Repetition in a poem serves the same purpose as in a painting: it provides emphasis and creates rhythm. Observation plays a large part in writing poetry and painting on a canvas. There is purpose on the part of the artist and poet to place or break the line on the page or canvas in a specific spot to create more or less white space.
I am not lucky enough to have a formal time to collaborate with my colleagues so organizing, executing, and planning are done after school hours. In my experience the benefits to students outweigh the challenges of planning a collaborative lesson. Students retain much more content when there is an extension into one of the special area classes, especially art. Students are more apt to remember and make connections to the poetry and art discussed if they create a tactile project. I will demonstrate how adding pictures to their poems will strengthen the message to the reader. The viewer of a painting observes the clues left by the artist to tell a story.
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