I walked away from class on Wednesday moved by the Read Around experience. I decided to incorporate this technique into my 6th grade Social Studies classroom. We just finished reading about Rigoberta Manchu, a Guatamalan Maya who experienced unspeakable attrocities against her people, her family, and herself. However, he story is of triump as she goes on to fight for the rights of her people. She was given a Nobel Peace Prize, became the Goodwill Ambassador for her country, and most recently is the first indigenous person to run for office in her country.
This powerful story deserved a powerful tool for reflection. The tool I gave to the students was poetry. I read aloud from Christensen's book Teaching for Joy and Justice. I gave some examples of poetry, including the "I will" poems. We then reviewed what made these poems so effective. After discussion and reflection, the students were ready to write.
I was pleasantly surprised at how "on board" the students were with writing poetry in Social Studies. I expected some resistence, but did not encounter any. They worked quietly, consuling the thesarus, asking my opinion, and writing some more.
We then turned the desks into a circle. Again, they were shocked. I told the students they did not "have to" share any poetry. I said if no one wanted to share, we would simply move the desks back. That was not a problem.
Students shared, commented, beamed, and nodded. They shared the poem I assigned and even shared other poetry they wrote in addition to my assignment. I saw students come out of their shell. I saw students who normally have nothing to say squirming in their seat with their hands waiving in the air. Time flew and before I knew it, they were walking out the door. I WA
This powerful story deserved a powerful tool for reflection. The tool I gave to the students was poetry. I read aloud from Christensen's book Teaching for Joy and Justice. I gave some examples of poetry, including the "I will" poems. We then reviewed what made these poems so effective. After discussion and reflection, the students were ready to write.
I was pleasantly surprised at how "on board" the students were with writing poetry in Social Studies. I expected some resistence, but did not encounter any. They worked quietly, consuling the thesarus, asking my opinion, and writing some more.
We then turned the desks into a circle. Again, they were shocked. I told the students they did not "have to" share any poetry. I said if no one wanted to share, we would simply move the desks back. That was not a problem.
Students shared, commented, beamed, and nodded. They shared the poem I assigned and even shared other poetry they wrote in addition to my assignment. I saw students come out of their shell. I saw students who normally have nothing to say squirming in their seat with their hands waiving in the air. Time flew and before I knew it, they were walking out the door. I WA