Content Objectives
In this unit, I will use Place-Based Learning as well as Inquiry-Based/Line of Inquiry to focus on the positive effects of implementing poetry at a deeper level and earlier in the school year for grade levels four and five.
Although poetry is touched upon at varying intervals throughout the school year in grades three four and five, what is lacking is the in-depth exploration of the topic and correlating examples along with practice that produce artifacts and learning outcomes which speak to its invaluable significance. The main objectives are to introduce students to this artform earlier in their academic journey and connect it to a larger schema that will, in turn, aid in the ability, skill and desire to read and write at higher levels. This will be framed through Place-Based and Inquiry-Based Learning. The creative and expressive nature of poetry along with the liberties afforded to tap into self and place as a way to move forward academically is the catalyst meant to bring forth success.
Content Objectives include an early introduction to poetry, daily journal writing, daily sharing (thoughts and ideas, student-generated individual words to place on magnets, magnetic poems from class whiteboard, etc.). Additionally, papermaking and a deep dive into multiple poetry styles, including a guided examination into the structure/form of haiku, sonnet and limerick. This includes their history, and specific components such as the kireji and enlightenment aspects of the haiku as well as the rhyme scheme, volta, couplet, etc. of the sonnet. Therefore, the use of PBE and Inquiry to scaffold this process is key. An understanding of why this pairing is a monumental angle is pertinent to the effectiveness and success of the unit.
Gregory A. Smith, a leading proponent for Place-Based Education discusses the more profound structure and approach of this philosophy of teaching and learning. In his discussion on PBE he shares the background and approach to this format.
A review of place-based learning efforts, however, reveals five thematic patterns that can be adapted to different settings. A second critical characteristic of place-based education is its emphasis on learning experiences that allow students to become the creators of knowledge rather than the consumers of knowledge created by others. A third approach to place-based education involves engaging students in the identification of school or community issues that they would like to investigate and address. Called real-world problem solving, this orientation to curriculum development is deeply grounded in particular places and highly democratic in its processes. Students play a pivotal role in identifying problems, selecting one as a class focus, studying its characteristics and dynamics, developing potential solutions, and then organizing and participating in efforts to solve the problem. (Smith, 2002).
Teachers must become the creators of curriculum rather than the dispensers of curriculum developed by others. They must become able to make the link between the unpredictable activities that can happen beyond the classroom and student performance standards set by the district or state. Educators and community members must set aside the assumption that what now passes for legitimate learning — the kind necessary to score well on standardized tests — happens only in classrooms. For place-based education to work, teachers will have to relax their reliance on academic disciplines as the primary framework for making curricular decisions, and parents will need to accept more ambiguous measures of student learning that are tied to the completion of projects that integrate rather than separate school subjects.17
Through the use of this highly engaging and innovative practice, students’ investment and subsequent artifacts are likely to be highly impactful not only in their current endeavors but throughout the rest of their learning paths. As the children continue past this grade level, they will be able to work intrinsically to claim the edification and enlightenment that comes along with their experience. Other studies have also demonstrated that academic achievement motivation was significantly related to academic performance (Awan et al., 2011). Alderman (2004) claimed that students who had optimum motivation had an edge because they had adaptive attitudes and strategies, such as maintaining intrinsic interest, goal setting, and self-monitoring.18
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