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Poetry Foundation Learning Lab

Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age: A New Model for the Workplace Pixar University's Randy Nelson explains what schools must do to prepare students for jobs in new media.

Experiencing the language of great poets provides a rich learning context for students, giving them access to the best examples of how words can be arranged in unique ways. By studying the works of renowned poets across cultures and histories, students extract knowledge about figurative language and poetic devices from masters of the craft. In this lesson, students learn about personification by reading and discussing poems by Emily Dickinson, William Blake, and Langston Hughes. Then they use the poems as a guide to brainstorm lists of nouns and verbs that they randomly arrange to create personification in their own poems.

"How do you work with a teacher who refuses to be a collaborative part of a team? She does her own thing without regard for other team members. Her students are not exposed to the same curriculum as the other students but she feels they are learning at their own pace. She has a literacy coach working with her but doesn't follow through on any suggestions to improve her teaching. She believes kids will learn when they are ready. Any suggestions?"

Feature Article Unit

Feature Article Unit

You will be writing about yourself, about something that happened to you. It doesn't have to be about something big. Often the most interesting stories are about little things-fishing one afternoon with your cousin, getting ready for your first dance, meeting your new stepfather for the first time, meeting your best friend, making a little mistake but learning a big lesson. Everyone has little moments that stick out in his or her mind. You will be writing about one of those moments and learning how to make your writing interesting.

Successful middle schools engage students in all aspects of their learning. There are many strategies for accomplishing this. One such strategy is student-led conferences. As a classroom teacher or administrator, how do you ensure that the information shared in a student-led conference provides a balanced picture of the student's strengths and weaknesses? The answer to this is to balance both summative and formative classroom assessment practices and information gathering about student learning.

One of my favorite genres in childrens' literature is memoir. I only recently learned of the power and beauty of memoir. Five years ago, I had the privilege of spending two weeks in New York City at Columbia University. It was there at Lucy Calkin's Teacher's College Writing Project for teachers that I learned of the power of this genre.

"THE WHOLE STORY Learning to Write Informative and Thorough News Articles Grades: 6-8

Feature Article Unit

Learn about the parts of speech in this fun flash game

"10 Ways to Develop Expository Writing Skills With The New York Times"

"It was Monday again. It was Monday and the day was damp and cold. Rain splattered the cover of Algebra I as Laura heaved her books higher on her arm and sighed. School was such a bore. School. It loomed before her now, massive and dark against the sky. In a few minutes, she would have to face them again---Diane Goddard with her sleek blond hair and Terri Pierce in her candy-pink sweater. And Carol and Steve and Bill and Nancy... There were so many of them, so exclusive as they stood in their tight little groups laughing and joking. Why were they so cold and unkind? Was it because her long stringy hair hung in her eyes instead of dipping in graceful curls? Was it because she wrote poetry in algebra class and got A's in Latin without really trying? Shivering, Laura remembered how they would sit at the back of English class, passing notes and whispering. She thought of their identical brown loafers, their plastic purses, their hostile stares as they passed her in the corridors. She didn't care. They were clods, the whole lot of them. She shoved her way through the door and there they were. They thronged the hall,streamed in and out of doors, clustered under red and yellow posters advertising the latest dance. Mohair sweaters, madras shirts, pea-green raincoats. They were all alike, all the same. And in the center of the group, as usual, Diane Goddard was saying, "It'll be a riot! I just can't wait to see her face when she finds out." Laura flushed painfully. Were they talking about her? "What a scream! Can't wait to hear what she says!" Silently she hurried past and submerged herself in the stream of students heading for the lockers. It was then that she saw Rachel Horton---alone as always, her too-long skirt billowing over the white, heavy columns of her legs, her freckled face ringed withover the white, heavy columns of her legs, her freckled face ringed with shapeless black curls. She called herself Horton, but everyone knew her father was Jacob Hortensky, the

Poetry Unit: cool unit with a lot of great ideas for performance assessments and learning activities

Unit 1: Camera Angles, Movement and Composition Objectives Students will be able to identify and use camera angles, movement, and perspective. Students will be able to compose a well-balanced picture. Students will learn camera positions that will help them create a unique look that supports their story's point of view.

Unit 1

Students learn about child labor, as it occurred in England and the United States during the Industrial Revolution and as it continues around the world today. Selected websites describe the conditions under which children worked during the Industrial Revolution. Each student gathers information at these websites and prepares and presents a monologue in the "voice" of someone involved in the debate over child labor in England. After dramatically assuming that person's point of view on the issue, he or she responds to audience members' questions. Students then explore and discuss the conditions of contemporary child laborers and compare them to those of the past.

This lesson encourages students to use skills and knowledge they may not realize they already have. A classroom game introduces students to the basic concepts of lobbying for something that is important to them (or that they want) and making persuasive arguments. Students then choose their own persuasive piece to analyze and learn some of the definitions associated with persuasive writing. Once students become aware of the techniques used in oral arguments, they then apply them to independent persuasive writing activities.

These sites have tips and examples for writing strong leads for paragraphs and structuring personal narrative writing. Students can learn how to capture and hold their readers' attention. There are classroom activities, online quizzes and exercises, and ideas to help writers develop their skills. Includes links to eThemes on grammar and interactive writing activities.

Discussion protocols for learning together from and through texts

This unit is intended to familiarize students with some of the basic skills required to write news articles. Students will learn about the structure of news articles, and will practice writing, editing, and critiquing news articles.