Children’s Literature Practicum

January 25, 2010

First day of class and we hit the ground running. Within 40 minutes of being in class we were headed to Heights Middle School where we were going to start our work with two classes. For the first half of the semester we are going to work with two classes in the Middle School teaching them poetry which in turn they will perform for Elementary Students on March 15, 2010. When we got to the school we went to the first class, Mrs., Evans class, and met the students. We also met Maxime the French Chef. Maxime came to the class to fill in for our professor who could not attend. He brought along some perfume he had been working on for the students to critique. The students were slightly hesitant at first but they warmed up quickly and seemed to really enjoy Maxime but not so much his perfume.

The second class we are working with, Mrs. Martin’s class, was much more open to Maxime and his antics. They did not get to smell the perfume because we ran out of time and the students had to go home. It is going to be very interesting working with these two classes because there are such class dynamics to work with. I am very excited to see how the students will do with the opportunity presented to them

February 1, 2010

In Mrs. Evan's class today Kristi, Ryan, and Audra (UNM Coaches) performed The Generals by Shel Silverstein. After the performance we grouped the students up with UNM coaches and had them go over the poem in their groups. The group that I worked with had four students; the other coach that I was working with worked with two of them and I worked with the other two. We talked about any words that they might not have understood and then they drew a picture of what they thought the generals from the poem looked like. Then I had the students go over the poem together, which they really enjoyed. At the end of the time we asked if any students wanted to perform the poem in front of the class. The students had a lot of fun with the poem and hopefully this will get them more excited to perform for the Elementary kids.

In Mrs. Martin's class we read Grandma Bear by Jack Prelutsky and talked about some of the vocabulary in the poem (i.e. rickety). After that we talked about Delaware, which is where Grandma Bear lives. The students looked at a map to try to figure out where Delaware was located. Then the students talked about state mottos and had a piece of paper with most of the state mottos on it and had to locate Delaware’s motto.

February 8, 2010

In Mrs. Evan's class today we had performances of Little Abigail and the Pony and The Crocodile's Toothache by Shel Silverstein, and When Tillie ate the Chili by Jack Prelutsky. After the performances the students had the opportunity to pick what poem they would like to perform from the selection performed in their class. The coaches paired up with the students that chose the poem they had performed. I performed Abigail and the Pony with another coach. We had one student that wanted to work on the poem and so we went into the hall to practice. The students seemed a little reluctant at first but after a few moments she was excited to be working with us.

In Mrs. Martin's class we reviewed Grandma Bear and sang Grandma has a Habit. The students really seemed to enjoy the activity today. I really hope that we can give these students choices in poems to perform just like the other class. I really think that both classes have a lot of potential and I know they will do great.

February 22, 2010

Snow Day

March 1^st

In Mrs. Evan’s class today we had more poetry performances. The Yippiyuk by Shel Silverstein, New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky, and the song On Top of Spaghetti by Tom Glazer. The students had an opportunity to pick, from these poems and the previous poems, what they would like to perform. I am working with one girl who wants to perform On Top of Spaghetti. She was a little hesitant at first but after talking to her for a bit she started to come out of her shell. I am really excited to see how she does, I have a lot of faith that she will work very hard and do a great job!

March 8^th

Today was dress rehearsal. The students proved that they have been working hard to learn their poems. I am very excited to see how things go on the 15^th at Mesa Verde. I really hope that all of the students can be there; there is a possibility all students will not make it due to discipline issues. Although there is this possibility all of the students gave their all today and did a great job!

March 15^th

See Mesa Verde Poetry Performance for a reflection on how thing went!