Trish Crawford, Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh Nancy Brasel, Associate Instructor, University of Central Florida Sherron Killingsworth Roberts, Professor, University of Central Florida

Well Chosen Words: Creating Spaces for Poetry within Common Core

To examine the ways in which explorations of poetry can be situated within the framework outlined in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

To explore the potential for including poetry writing in the professional development of prospective teachers, who will be teaching in programs guided by the CCSS.

To share the findings of preservice teachers’ perspectives on literacy, literacy education, and the teaching experience, as represented in their poetic writing.

Today’s Objectives

What is poetry?

"Poetry"-by Lana-Kay C., first grade, PS 111 Poetry is fire that is coming out of my mouth.Poetry is my mom saying, "I love you."Poetry is a volcano turning into a heart.Poetry is my life.Poetry is a flower.Poetry is kind to me.Poetry is a treasure.Poetry is diamond earrings.Poetry is nice to me.Poetry is the fire of my life.Poetry is the clock saying, "Wake up!"  

Vygotsky’s (1978; 1986) sociocultural theory provides a means of exploring the ways in which participant understandings of the CCSS are mediated in the midst of engagement in coursework, professional development activities, and ongoing teaching experiences.

An arts-based inquiry approach (Barone & Eisner, 1997) offers an overview for considering the role that poetic and other aesthetic components have in representing our lived experiences.

Willis (2002) notes that the research poem allows a lens through which these experiences can be probed more fully.

Situating poetry at the intersection of two theoretical frameworks:

Poem Poetry Verse Line stanza Any form of poetry, such as haiku

Equals almost zero…

Content analysis key terms

What are the emphases/ signature features of CCSS in your mind?

Must poetry give way to informational text or linear argument within CCSS?

CCSS emphasis on close reading works well for the deep reading that poetry demands; plus, poetry possesses an economy of words that allows readers an efficient path to go deeper.

A closer look at the grade-level reading standards reveals that poetry, poetic language, and poetry terminology (e.g., stanza, sonnet) are specifically mentioned in all grades.

ELA Anchor Standards in Reading ask students to:~Make inferences [1]~Cite specific textual evidence to support conclusions & answers [1]~Determine & analyze the theme of a text [2] ~Analyze the way ideas develop over the course of a text [3]~Interpret words and phrases [4]~Analyze connotative & figurative meanings of words [4]~Analyze how word choice shapes a text [4]~Analyze the structure of a text [5]~Assess how point of view shapes a text [6]~Analyze how two texts address same theme [9] (Curran, 2013).

The value of reading poetry

Similar Anchor Standards for listening and speaking could relate…

CCSS Appendix A (p. 23+) explicitly states three foci of writing

Arguments Informational/Explanatory Writing Narrative

What did we find?

Creative Writing beyond Narrative ( p. 23) The narrative category does not include all of the possible forms of creative writing, such as many types of poetry. The Standards leave the inclusion & evaluation of other such forms to teacher discretion.

Text Types and Purposes CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of

substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.

Production and Distribution of Writing CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the

development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by

planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and

publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

Research to Build and Present Knowledge CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research

projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Range of Writing CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for

research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Anchor Standards in Writing

Production and Distribution of Writing

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

Creating spaces for poetry

When will we write poetry?

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Writing Poetry as a Group After A

FieldtripDidn’t you take a field trip recently?Mr. David Bailey - Third grade – Indialantic Elementary

Cantina Dos Amigos!

Unique as the students were able to walk to the restaurant

CCSS: W.3.2Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

You have a picture in your head and I want you to put that same picture in my head using words. But sometimes when we are writing, we don’t really tell the

reader what it was like.

Using your 5 senses:

1. Looks like…2. Smells like…3. Tastes like…4. Sounds like…5. Feels like…

Procedures Think, Pair, Share Get a partner and sit next to them.

Decide who will share first and who will share second.

Spend a minute thinking about the question.

When you hear the signal, take turns sharing your answer and listening to your partner’s answer.

When called on, share with the class.

A Field Trip to Cantina Dos Amigos (A sensory poem)

Getting There…strolled, didn’t take long, sprinted and smelled the ocean, nice breeze, 75-80 degrees, fun getting there

The outside looked like….ugly, yellowish paint, chipped, like walking in a Mexican city, old like buildings in Mexico, Spanish text told us it was a Mexican restaurant, a tiny Mexican house that got hit by a tornado

The inside looked like…crowded, tight space, lots of décor – handcuffs, sombreros on the wall, painted tiles, clay paintings and cool pictures, fancy…like a really nice, pretty, organized French restaurant

The inside smelled like…Mexican food, delicious, tacos & corn chips, churros

The inside sounded like…people speaking Spanish, mariachi band playing

The inside felt like…cool, a winter breeze, refreshing after the heat outside

The food tasted like…crunchy scrumptiousness, crunchy taco meat – hot, just out of the oven, stringy melted cheese, different from American food, melt in your mouth, spicy – like a hot place in the desert, warm churros – sweet and crunchy, chicken tenders that made my taste buds dance

The whole trip felt…fun, unique, Mexican, relaxing, exciting, delicious, unfamiliar, amazing, Mexicano, life in paradise, legendary

CCSS: W.3.2Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Required to plan and teach a multi-disciplinary unit – Science and Reading

Topics ranged from Animal Camouflage, Habitats, Plants, Frogs, Weather

Included a shared writing piece of poetry in the lesson plan

Senior Seminar Semester

Water Cycle & Weather The rain is falling

The clouds are getting darker

The lightning strikes around

Haiku (5 syllables 7 syllables 5 syllables

Plants A green thread winds

upEmerging from its

shelterTo catch the sun’s kiss

Haiku (5 syllables 7 syllables 5 syllables)

Camouflage is……earth and leaves…green and brown…good for hunting…hiding from prey so they don’t eat you…a way to hide in the surroundings…disguise…saving your life

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

Color Poem

Egg, chick, chicken Egg, tadpole, frog Egg, hatchling, turtle Egg, minnow, fish Egg, larva, mosquito Egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly

Three word poems….

Life Cycle of a Butterfly

Egg, leafCaterpillarChrysalis wound tightlyButterfly seeks nectar for foodRepeat

Cinquain (5 lines, 2, 4, 6, 8, 2 syllables)

Using Poetry to Respond to Reading

Diamante: Character Traits

Nancy

Fancy, Posh

Iridescently, Extravagantly, Ecstactically

Not all girls are fancy

Dancing, Persuading, Painting

Exhausting, Busy

Olivia

Where I Come From poemsGeorge Ella Lyon

So we practiced first…

I come from the sea, as far east as I can go

I come from gray seals that swim offshore

I come from a plain yellow bonnet

I come from scallop, sea clam and conch shells that smell of salt

I come from rock cliffs that rise up at the edge of the sea

I come from missing Maine to be with you

I come from the beach.

I come from collecting seashells.

I come from playing outside barefoot.

I come from visits to Disney.

I come from sunburns.

I come from endless fun.

I come from eating oranges.

I come from Florida.

I come from quick romance.

I come from first night love.

I come from the love of my life.

I come from “Could that be right?”

I come from lost hope.

I come from answered prayers.

I come from special gifts.

I come from Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!

I used to…., but now….

Formula poems authored by preservice teachers reflecting on children’s literacy learning

Children’s literacy

I used to think children’s books were just for fun, but now I know they do many things.

I used to think children’s books were similar,but now I see how much they vary.

I used to know of just a few books,but now I know a whole lot more.

I used to read them just for enjoyment, but now I read them in the eyes of a future teacher.

Children’s literacy learning is enjoyable and important to me.

Children’s literacy…

I used to read words on a page, But now I read stories.

I used to think reading was simpleBut now I understand it is complex.

I used to love readingBut now I love it even more.

I used to not understand how people learned to readBut now I am starting to understand it.

Children’s literacy learning is super important.

Children’s literacy…

I used to think it was all silly stories, But now I find more meaning in books.

I used to not know much about it, But now I am learning much more.

I used to think children’s books were just for kids But now I can value for adults.

I used to think children’s literacy was easy to create, But now I know that a lot more goes into it.

Children’s literacy learning is powerful and important.

Participants come to a growing understanding that literacy learning involves not only the cognitive aspects, but the affective.

Preservice teachers come to view literacy as a much more complex act.

Literacy learning is situated beyond the boundaries of schooling.

Preservice teachers grow in their understanding of the act of poetry and literacy.

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This study was timely, in that educators are currently considering the impact CCSS has on their practice and the way in which CCSS’s impact interfaces, or in some cases contradicts, their understandings of poetry within literacy education.

More specifically, this study provided a look at the ways in which aesthetic approaches to learning can mediate the CCSS in relationship to the inclusion of poetry in the classroom, and as a means for expressing and understanding or lives and our educational practice.

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Poetry is not black and white. It is more like the grey and purple area that connects all the things we live in.

Douglas Florian

REFERENCES and RESOURCESAllyn, P. (2014). The journey to meaning: Comprehension and critique. New York, NY: Pearson.Barone, T., & Eisner, E. (1997). Arts based educational research. In R. M. Jaeger (Ed.), Complementary methods for research in education, 2nd edition. (pp. 73-94). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.Buckley, E. M. (2011). 360 degrees of text: Using poetry to teach close reading and powerful writing. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.Burkins, J., & Yaris, K. (2012). Poetry and writing standards. Retrieved from: http://www.burkinsandyaris.com/poetry-and-the-writing-standardsCalkins, L., Ehrenworth, M., & Lehman, C. (2012). Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Curran, B. (2013). When poetry meets the Common Core. Education Week. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2012/01/14/tln_curran_poetry.html?

tkn=WYYFkVJg%2BD2hje2B6Dstm9lYBC3WnGTEn%2Fy2&cmp=ENL-TU- NEWS1Glassner, B. G., & Straus, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Chicago, IL: Aldine.Heard, G. (2013). Poetry lessons to meet CCSS: Exemplar poems with engaging lessons and response activities that help students read, understand, and appreciate poetry. New York, NY; Scholastic.

REFERENCES AND RESOURCES continued…

Janeczko, P. (2011). Reading poetry in the middle grades. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Maykut, P., & Morehouse, R. (1994). Beginning qualitative research: A philosophic and practical guide. London: Falmer Press.National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) (2010). Common Core State Standards for English language arts, and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. Washington, DC: NGA Center and CCSSO.Willis, P. (2002). Poetry and poetics in phenomenological research. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 3(1), 1-19.Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.