Brandy Old 001164659

Section H
Curriculum and Instruction
Mini-Unit Plan Assignment
Part A: Inquiry Questions
Why is poetry relevant in todays society?
How does poetry aid personal expression?
Part B: Unity Overview & Rationale
The English Language Arts Program of Study aim is to enable conscious, responsible
citizens and instill motivation to become a lifelong learner. The ELA PoS recognizes that
communication is the foundation of all relationships because it allows students to develop
metacognitive skills. Because ELA focuses on effective communication and building
relationships, every subject can incorporate GLOs of the ELA PoS. It is essential that both
teachers and students understand that reading, writing, listening, viewing, and representing are
necessary in all subject areas and the real-world. Through exposure to multiple forms of texts,
students will be able to develop strong communication skills that allow them to express their
ideas clearly and thoughtfully. Students will be able to communicate orally, and textually. In this
way, the students will be able to apply themselves appropriately in various social settings (i.e.
resume, e-mail, letter, interview, conversation). Besides being able to form their own thoughts,
the students will be able to respond effectively to various forms of communication as well. By
interpreting different styles, voices, and tones of texts, students will be able to understand
different cultural and personal meanings. Students will also learn how to work successfully in a
group and team setting.

This mini-unit on poetry focuses heavily on increasing students awareness of different

genres of text, and the importance of poetry in society. Moreover, students will learn how to
interpret meanings from abstract text, as well as create poetry that expresses personal
experiences. Students will learn the value of rhyme schemes and format for effective
communication. Through exemplars, discussion, and personal creations, students will appreciate
the value of describing personal experiences and the importance of reflecting. Poetry plays an
extensive role in expressions of point of view, emotions, satire, and music. The roles of poetry
expand throughout history and have continued to remain a prominent form of communication in
todays culture.
In order for students to realize the importance of poetry, this unit will be sure to relate
poetry to everyday uses (ex: greeting cards, music, poems, stories that rhyme). Students will
reflect on the forms of poetry that they encounter. Furthermore, a discussion about the ease of
rhyming words and rhyme schemes will be discussed. Students will compose and share a poem
to demonstrate their understanding of the elements of the genre. By reading their compositions,
students will learn how to share emotions and ideas. These skills will enable students to respect
others opinions and value one anothers ideas ad reflections about deeper emotions.
This unit is significant within the Program of Studies because it requires students be
involved in all of the five general learner outcomes. Furthermore, students are exercising critical
thinking and personal awareness. This unit is designed with the goal to increase student
appreciation and curiosity in poetry. In this way, this unit is establishing lifelong learning. In this
unit, students will be listening to poetry, speaking poetry, reading poetry, writing poetry, viewing
poetry, and representing poetry. The six strands of English language learning is addressed by this
unit. Furthermore, this unit has strong foundations in encouraging students to express themselves

by exploring the effectiveness of poetry. By allowing students to envision poetry through music,
stories, poems, and everyday experiences (clichs, jingles, sayings, greeting cards), they are able
to transfer knowledge about all forms of communication across mediums (oral, print, media). By
requiring students to analyze, compose, and share poetry, this unit is ensuring students are
engaged in higher order thinking. That is, analyzing, composing, and sharing, require
understanding and demonstration of learned material. Furthermore, poetry is a form of
expression, therefore, students will recognize their value of their unique experiences and must
determine an effective way of communicating their experiences independently.
The inquiry questions for this unit focus on the purpose of learning about poetry on both
a personal and societal level. Some key questions within the inquiry questions include: Where is
poetry used in society today? Where has poetry been used throughout history? What elements are
used in poetry? What is the difference between prose and verse? Why do authors choose to write
in verse instead of prose? What is personal expression? Why is personal expression important?
How do we express ourselves in an appropriate and respectful way? What are some ways that we
can accept and listen to others point of views? Students will be able to answer these questions as
they are all beginning to be developed in Grades 1 and 2. Students have been exposed to
rhyming, music, and rhythm in class and in daily life. They are also knowledgeable about
rhyming words through learning about phonics and spelling (mat, bat, cat) while learning how to
read and write. Students are also expected to be able to draw and write and use a word processor
program (typing), which is typically addressed no later than Grade 2. Students will also be
expected to know how to work collaboratively and share their opinions through their writing.
These skills will have begun to be developed in kindergarten as a GLO for ELA is to respect,
support, and collaborate with others. Students will have also learned how to edit, appraise and

review theirs and others writing because they will have been introduced to the writing process in
grade 1, when they learn how to compose texts. Students will know how to respond to text
because they will have been doing this outcome since kindergarten, and will also be doing this on
a daily basis (instructions, television, signs, etc.).
The inquiry questions relate to all of the programs GLOs. GLO 1 states that students will
listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to explore thoughts, ideas, feelings, and
experiences. The SLO of discover and explore is met because students are experimenting with
language and exploring the function of poetry in society. GLO 2 states that students will listen,
speak, read, write, view, and represent to comprehend and respond personally and critically to
oral, print, and other media texts. The SLOs use strategies and cues, respond to texts, understand
forms, elements, and techniques, and create original text is met because students will learn how
poetry is developed by reading and analysing poems in different mediums, and they will be
composing a poem about their own personal experiences in todays society. GLO 3 states
students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to manage ideas and information. The
SLO organize, record, and evaluate requires students to organize information in a meaningful
way. This will allow students to develop an understanding of poetry. GLO 4 states students will
listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to enhance the clarity and artistry of
communication. The SLOs enhance and improve, attend to conventions, and present and share
ensure that students are able to share their personal experiences in a comprehensive and
intelligible manner. GLO 5 states students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to
respect, support, and collaborate with others. The SLOs respect others and strengthen community
and work within a group are addressed in this unit because students are required to express their

personal opinions through poetry to the class. The class must be receptive and supportive when
receiving other students work.
This mini-unit will be able to accommodate a variety of learning needs. Each lesson will
have a differentiated version that is simpler. This version will be created to aid students with
learning disabilities, or who are ESL. This will be a general change in the lessons, however, I am
aware that certain students will require specific variations. These variations cannot be addressed
until the specific learner needs are known. For students from different cultures, it would be wise
to include a section in the unit about poetry that is used from such cultures. In this way, an
inclusion of indigenous knowing will be incorporated after the mini-unit. For example, a lesson
can be spent on the origins of types of poetry (Japan = haiku). A lesson can also incorporate
books that have rhymes and that also portray various cultures. These lessons will allow students
to discuss specialized knowledge of their home cultures with the class. Overall, these lessons can
be conducted in Social Studies to address some outcomes from those lessons. Furthermore, since
students are already aware of structure in the English language, they will be able to expand their
definitions of genre. They will have already been introduced to rhymes (in stories, nursery
rhymes, tv, etc.). For students who are gifted, each lesson will either have a sponge activity or
more advanced versions of the lesson in order to ensure these students are still learning and are
able to remain engaged. Furthermore, students will have plenty of opportunity to make choices
about their projects throughout the mini-unit.
Assessment is a tool in the classroom to ensure that a variety of learning needs are being
accommodated. The mini-unit will utilize both formative and summative assessment to gage
student learning. Because the students will have choices available to while learning about poetry,
the majority of the assessment will be formative. Because the students will be learning about

poetry, it is imperative that the assessment encourages learning in a low risk environment.
During the formative assessment stages, specific feedback will be provided for students. The
final lesson in the mini-unit will be focused on presentations. Therefore, summative assessment
can be completed during the presentation stage of the students learning.
Resources:
A Poem is a Little Path by Charles Ghinga. This poem is an easy poem to encourage students to
feel positive about poetry.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall. http://bkflix.grolier.com/sw/node33978/bk0001pr This story is the classic fairy tale. It is PreK 3 level and lasts 7:38.
All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon. http://bkflix.grolier.com/sw/node-33985/bk0102pr - This
is a descriptive poem for students to watch and learn about rhyming. This is about a family at a
beach. It is PreK 3 level and lasts 8:26.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault.
http://bkflix.grolier.com/sw/node-33984/bk0076pr - (differentiated learning easy level of story)
This works with alphabet learning and has rhyme and music. It is a Pre K - 1 level and lasts 5:24.
Stars! Stars! Stars! by Bob Barner. http://bkflix.grolier.com/sw/node-33979/bk0043pr This is
about stars in the solar system. It is PreK 3 level and lasts 8:41.
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson. http://bkflix.grolier.com/sw/node-33978/bk0001pr This is
about a bear hibernating. It is a PreK 3 level and lasts 8:40.
Poetry Month http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/teachers_guides/9780375822865.pdf This is
a teacher resource about poem journals and has lesson plan suggestions about poetry.
The 20th Century Childrens Poetry Treasury by Jack Prelutsky. This is anthology of 211 poems
that are modern.

Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme by Jack Prelutsky. This is a resource to help students visual
poetry about ten popular themes.
Read-Aloud Phymes for the Very Young by Jack Prelutsky. This is an anthology of poems. It is
an easier reading level (PreK 1).
The Beauty and the Beast: Poems from the Animal Kingdom by Jack Prelutsky. This is an
anthology of poems about animals.
Beastly Rhymes to Read After Dark by Judy Sierra. Poems about scary beasts.
The Camels Lament by Charles Santore. This is a picture book about a camel who is treated
really well. He ends up in a bad situation.
Dogteam by Gary Paulsen. This is a picture book about dog sledding and describes the
outdoors.
Good Dog by Maya Gottfried. This is a picture book exploring 16 dogs through poetry.
Below is a list of pictures used from the internet:
Cat http://www.medhatspca.ca/news/cat-care-behavior
Star http://www.clipartpanda.com/categories/clipart-stars
Frog https://www.jfrog.com/blog/
Book http://smartmobilestudio.com/documentation/get-the-book/
Megan Davis (PD Session) Yoga Inside and Outside the Classroom
Curriculum Lab Lesson Plan Database
Learn Alberta
Im A Little Teapot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b14OeT1gNFo
Johny, Johny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olWG6jiMV0g
Jack and Jill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hiVU7vJXGc

A Wise Old Owl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYNJyg78Jmc

Its Raining, Its Pouring https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx3GhruZM7w
London Bridge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUke3Hnv8o4&list=RDZx3GhruZM7w&index=2
This Old Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKaxRYJ5AMY&list=RDZx3GhruZM7w&index=3
Umbrella https://pixabay.com/en/umbrella-brolly-black-silhouette-163616/
Teapot https://pixabay.com/en/photos/teapot/
Sticks and Stones https://pixabay.com/p-14191/?no_redirect
Crown https://pixabay.com/p-296810/?no_redirect
Bag of Sugar http://emptypulchritude.deviantart.com/art/Sugar-Cubes-in-Burlap-Bag-318177131
Owl https://pixabay.com/en/owl-twig-branch-night-bird-eyes-295356/
Shoe https://pixabay.com/en/stiletto-high-heel-shoe-female-307460/