Today, I’m proud to feature another guest post by another amazing teacher. Heather Natale and her 2nd graders captivated me with their honest, deep and stunning free-verse poetry. This is an exercise to note and use over and over again in classrooms of any age as a perfect introduction into the depth and breadth of poetry beyond rhyme.
Guest post by Heather Natale
2nd graders at Dudley School in Fairport, New York used Light Up the Night as a mentor text to produce their own poetry that was shared during our Skype session with Jean.
Student mirrored the first two lines of the book, “This is me. This is my universe” to create poems about special objects that took them to a place far away in their world.
Using wording from Light Up the Night as a guide, the students were encouraged to use descriptive words, strong language, and imagery to show the reader just how important that place in their universe was to them.
The students produced some fabulous poems and showed just how far your imagination can take you!
Objectives of this literacy activity:
– Students will identify an object and a place important to them
– Students will mirror a mentor text to find creative inspiration
– Students will describe a location using imagery, powerful language, and pertinent details
Heather Natale is a special education teacher at Dudley School in Fairport, New York. She works primarily with 2nd grade students in an integrated classroom. Mrs. Natale is married with two kids (Mia, 4 and Matteo, 2) who both want to be teachers like their Mommy!
