Poetry Rocks!

WOW!!  What a great start to a great week.  We are full force in our poetry unit.  We spent the majority of the week analyzing different forms of poetry in our Reader's notebook for warm-ups and analyzing poetry through song.  We learned that song lyrics are poetry set to music.  We took a song by Katy Perry ("Firework"), watched different videos that related to the different poetic devices found throughout the song and broke it down by verse and analyzed it in a chart.  How we went about analyzing the song is what I want them doing on their poetry project that we will begin next week.  I am enjoying every minute in class with your kiddos.  They're AWESOME!!  Have a great weekend and enjoy your extra day off. 

Great Start to a Great Year!

It has been a great start so far for us this year in AP Reading.  The first day of school we went over all the rules, routines, expectations, and took care of any paper work that needed to be filled out.  Yesterday, we hit the ground running introducing the poetry unit.  We will spend the next two and half weeks working on all the different elements of poetry.  We opened up the units with notes yesterday and will continue to finish those today.  Tomorrow we will be exploring and analyzing poetry through music.  At the end of the week or beginning of next week a group assignment will be given out ("Songs Are Poetry! Project).  We are discovering how different types of figurative language play such a huge role in poetry.  I want them to be able to recognize and differentiate the types of figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification, idioms, symbolism, imagery, hyperbole, etc.) used in a song (lyric poem).   Again, I think we are off to a great start and look so forward to the rest of the year.  Continue to check for added assignment links out the the side.

Assignment Link Added!

I have added an assignment link to the right hand side of my blog.  It is titled "Reading Assignments/Materials."  This is where all assignments, project information, etc. will be posted.  You will be able to click on the assignment, open it up, and use it to your discretion. 

Open House!

It was such a pleasure to meet everyone last night at open house.  I know everything was a little over whelming, but once school gets rolling everything will settle down, and the kids will work into a daily routine.  I am so excited and looking forward to this school year.  This year will be a little different for me with some new challenges ahead.  I have been teaching reading here at the Junior High for over 10 years now, but this is my first year to teach the AAP classes.  Am I up to the challenge?  ABSOLUTELY!!  I hope to be learning as much from my students this year as they will be learning from me.  I hope this blog will be a great means of communication for us to stay "in the loop" about what all will be going on in my classroom.  I plan to post something daily, although I am not going to promise that.  Some days just get crazy, but I promise to post a few times a week.  I will do my best to attach any assignments and information that you will have access to if you would like to print it out or just download it to read it.  Again, I look forward to a super year and getting to know your child.