The TeachNet Project sponsored with major funding by the AT&T Learning Network,
seeks to improve student achievement by providing training, grants, networking and resource sharing to teachers at four of the Teachers Network affiliates nationwide.
Diamonte Biography Poems
How
it works:
Students review the parts of speech and do biography research in order to write diamond-shaped poems about a famous person from history. Students type their poems using word processing software. Then the students get to dress up and portray the historical figures. Photographs are taken with a digital camera. Photo editing software can be used to age the photographs and make them look old. The poems and photographs can then be displayed on a web page or printed to make a classroom bulletin board.
Assessment:
The final poems can be assessed using a writing rubric.
Standards:
Reading:
Identify and define biographies, identify elements of a biography, locate information in text and extract significant information, organize ideas, understand reference materials, write poetry, identify nouns, verbs, and adjective, present dramatic interpretations, enhance presentations with props.
Software or Materials Used:
Computers with Internet access and word processing software, digital camera, photo editing software, supplies for costumes
Keywords:
Biography, parts of speech, nouns, verbs, adjectives, diamonte poem, note-taking, research
The Students:
The students involved in this project were third graders of varying ability levels. Some had used computers at home, but others had not. No previous skills are required to complete this project. I had fun assigning the students a famous person from history. I tried to find someone that the students resembled
Overall Value:
This unit motivates students to learn and write about famous people from history. It is also a fun way to brush up on the parts of speech. Not only did each student learn about the one famous person that he/she was assigned, but each student also learned about all of the other famous people that the other students researched. The class got really excited and helped each other out. As they talked about what their characters were like, they would get ideas for costumes. Several students brought in props to help other students. There was really a lot of teamwork involved in this project.
Details:
Subject area: Language
Starting grade: 2
Ending grade: 5
Tips for the Teacher:
Notify parents well in advance about which famous person their child is researching. Give them plenty of time to look through their closets for costume ideas. Be sure to stress that costumes should not cost money.
Tracee Sudyka
School: Joe Nightingale Elementary
Email: tsudyka@orcutt-schools.net
Tracee Sudyka currently teaches third grade at Joe Nightingale Elementary School in the Orcutt Union School District. Tracee has been a classroom teacher for seventeen years, and has taught grades three though six. Tracee has a strong interest in using technology as a tool for learning. Using technology, her students create variety of student-centered projects each school year.