Poems about Works of Art, Featuring Women and Other Marginalized Writers

Rationale

As an International Baccalaureate (IB) candidate school, Seward Academy is committed to developing inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. More specifically, we primarily focus on providing our upper grade students (6^th, 7^th, 8^th) with a rigorous academic program (Middle Years Program) in literacy, mathematics, science, design, physical education, world language, and fine arts while in a safe and nurturing environment. In addition, we encourage students to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right. This unit will support our IB commitment because I will essentially be guiding students in inspirational conversations while they come to the realization that their perspectives are valued because there is no wrong or right way of thinking; there is only a furthering of growth and development. I do believe that it is vital that the students learn from one another, respect each other, listen, and understand that there are multiple ways to see any given situation. I also hope to preserve students’ curiosity, make them lifelong learners, and have them become contributing citizens to a diverse and changing world.

I have taken into serious consideration our neighborhood and school’s demographic. Out of the 688 students currently attending Seward, 98% are Hispanic and 92% come from low-income families. Unfortunately, the neighborhood itself is not considered the safest in the area due to its high crime rate. In a CPS survey where students were asked if they felt safe in and around the school building as well as traveling to and from school, the school ranked “weak.” Still, our school is rated as a “Level 1” (1+ being the highest rank a school can achieve) because we do provide several programs and resources to support our students by other means. Furthermore, I’ve recognized that 43% of the students in the school are limited in the English Language (predominantly Spanish speakers). This certainly plays a crucial role in creating this unit because reading and writing is where most of our students need the greatest support. We certainly do have students who are reading and writing at or above grade level. On the other hand, some students are reading and writing below grade level and have a limited vocabulary. Therefore, during the 10 weeks of the unit, I will be teaching a group of 8^th grade students at a variety of levels, and will need to establish a creative approach in order to have successful poetry/art analysis and effective communication in their own work.