Summer Time

 Summer Poetry 

  Background Information

June 21st is the summer solstice here in the northern hemisphere, and the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere. This marks a time when the earth's axis tilts towards the sun, as it will between June and September, causing warm weather and "longer" days in the northern hemisphere, and cold weather and "shorter" days in the southern hemisphere. We will have more minutes of sunlight in the northern hemisphere on Monday, than on any other day of the year - thirteen hours and 1 minute, to be exact.

Duration:   5 class periods  

Objectives:    Students will:  

• To write a poem for publishing
• Edit final copies for grammar, capital letters and spelling
• Use a dictionary and available technology
• Use technology resources (e.g., puzzles, logical thinking programs, writing tools, digital cameras, drawing tools) for problem solving, communication, and illustration of thoughts ideas, and stories.
• Practice responsible use of technology systems and software.
• Use input devices (e.g., mouse, keyboard, remote control) and output devices (i.g., monitor, printer) to successfully operate computers, VCRs, audio tapes, telephones, and other technologies.

The students will create a short 4 to 8 line poem about the season of summer. Then

they will publish their poem utilizing Microsoft Word. 

Materials:   

•  computers

•   printer/paper

Key Vocabulary:  

summer, solstice, hemisphere, axis, tilt

Procedures:  

     Brainstorm Summer Vocabulary Words

·        Demonstrate patterns of rhyming poems  

Summer Poems

Warm Days of Summer Poems

·        Create class poem – focus on rhyming

·        Write a first draft on the computer

·        Students will create their own poem

·        Students will edit their poem before publishing it

Assessment:  

4=Correct poem form, complete editing, worked independently

3=Correct poem form, incomplete editing, worked independently with little assistance.

2=Incorrect poem form, incomplete editing, worked independently with some assistance

1=Incorrect poem form, incomplete editing, dependency on teacher to complete the assignment

0=Incorrect assignment and total dependency on teacher

Home Learning:   

Have students illustrate their poems.

Extension Activity:

Students write and illustrate haiku depicting summer's seasonal images. First they use their observation skills, real-world knowledge, and knowledge of parts of speech to help them create seasonal word charts. They then listen to and read samples of haiku to identify haiku criteria, followed by a writing session where they create haiku that depict seasonal images. Finally, they publish their poetry mounted on colorful backgrounds that illustrate the images in their poems.

Can You Haiku

Have students create acrostic poems using  SUMMER.

Acrostic Poems