Goals:

1.Ý The students will become more familiar with the various characteristics of the sea, as well as the plants and animals that it is home to.

2.Ý The students will enhance their poetic backgrounds by writing their own poetry.

Materials:

Copies of the poem, "The Diver"  (one per student)

Fadiman, Clifton. (1984). The World Treasury of Children's Literature. Boston:Ý Little, Brown, and Company.

Index cards with selected words from the poem

Paper

Pencils

1 hour and thirty minutes

Procedure:

1.Ý Each student will be given a copy of the poem, "The Diver". The students will follow along on their copy while the teacher reads the poem out loud.

2.Ý The teacher will divide the class into two groups.

3.Ý Each group will be in charge of doing the choral speaking for half of the poem. The teacher may wish to assign one group to the first nine lines of the poem, and have the other group do the second nine. Another option is to have the two groups alternate every other line of the poem.

4.Ý Within their groups, the students will rehearse their lines using choral speaking methods. They may wish to experiment reading aloud together using different tones of voice or accenting certain words in the line. The students may also wish to have certain members of the group read a line or two of the poem in a "solo," or they may choose to read all of the lines aloud together. Regardless of which method the students choose, it is important that all students participate equally in the choral speaking experience.

5.Ý After each group has prepared their portion of the poem, the students will read the poem as a class, with each group speaking aloud on their assigned portion of the poem. If the class is not satisfied with the initial reading, the students may wish to suggest ways of improving the choral speaking and try again.

6.Ý Once the group feels comfortable with their choral speaking performance, the teacher may choose to tape record the students.

Procedure:

1.Ý Now that the students have experienced choral speaking and have seen an example of quality poetry, they will be able to create a poem on their own.

2.Ý The students will work together in their research teams (from week one).

3.Ý Within their teams, the students will create a poem about the fish or animal that they researched. The poem may be factual, fantasy, or tell a story about the adventures of that particular fish. All poems must be at least ten lines long and all team members must contribute at least two of the lines. It is not necessary that the lines rhyme, however, the poem should be written in a poetic format, rather than in paragraph form.

4.Ý After the team has finished writing their poem, they will discuss amongst themselves how they will present it to the class. The team may wish to present the poem in the form of a skit, or use choral speaking methods to read it aloud. Either way, all team members must contribute to the class presentation.

5.Ý Lastly, all of the teams will present their poetic works to the class.

Assessment:

1.Ý The students' participation and effort will be evaluated by way of observation  (Criteria for success = participation in the group's planning and active participation (speaking) during the reading of the poem).

2.Ý The students will be evaluated by their team members based on contribution and participation in the preparation and presentation of the poem (Criteria for success = each student must contribute at least two lines to the construction of the poem, each student must speak during at least some part of the presentation).

Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:

1.Ý Language Arts - Reading aloud and writing a group poem

2.Ý Creative Thought - Preparation and presentation of a poem using creative choral speaking

3.Ý Group Cooperation - Working together to present a creative, yet informative poem about coral reefs

Possible Extensions:

1.Ý The students will locate different words and phrases from the poem that they found to be difficult. Each student will locate definitions for at least two words or phrases and draw a picture that represents the concept.

2.Ý The students will create a class poem book of all their poetry, including those poems written using this lesson.

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Coral Reefs - developed by Kristen Treadway, Jenny Mavis, T. J. Beck, & Jim O'Keefe

This page submitted by the St. Norbert College Ocean Voyager Program
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