Anne Bartholemew

February 26th, 2015

List poems
Lesson Strengths
Rather than drawing attention to
high levels of activity in the
meeting area you leaded in or
knelt down. This deliberate use of
body language helped to refocus
students and saved you having to
address unproductive behavior or
rein in their enthusiasm. This is
something I have been working
on, since it is a really lively group,
and I have noticed that waiting
for them to be quiet doesnt
seem to really be effective, and
then it is really just wasting more
time. By making sure that I am
staying lively and enthusiastic or
lowering my voice, it saves from
having to lose time in the quest
for quiet!
You kept going despite a lot of
calling out. You recognized that
the students were making positive
contributions and we on task.
Eventually they began calling out
less. I feel like Im developing a
personal sense of decisions about
moves and energy that I want to
make as a teacher when it comes
to the be quiet expectation of
students and waiting for silence
I have seen. The energy of
pausing with each call out, and
time that is missed seems like a
greater disturbance than just
continuing on. (Certainly there
might be instances where this
isnt always the right move, but
something Ive been
noticing/navigating myself.) Some
of these kids are just chatty! And
if I stop at every call out, I
wouldnt have made it through
of the lesson

Next Steps
Might have read over the poem
after it was finished to remind the
kids that the one goal was the
composition of poem itself. At the
end of the lesson one student had
a questions about what a list
poem. By reading the flower and
bear poems over for the class and
emphasizing that it sounded and
looked like a list you might have
helped to drive the unique sound
and features of a list poem home
for them. Yes! Having Sewar ask
about the list poem was a great
indication that this was something
I could have reinforced simply and
quickly by reading together as a
group. This is something to think
about in future lessons that have
several key things I am trying to
share! I was asking kids to use
their senses, find a describing
word, AND develop the
understanding that this list was
really a list poem. At the end of
the lesson we read through one
together, and I charted all 5 items
so that we can come back to this
and reinforce how it is a list, and
from this we have a list poem.
A lot of kids naturally likened the
features of the objects you set out
to other things:
Shell was like a drill. Candy was
like a wheel. Maybe you could
work off of this organic insight of
theirs to launch an inquiry into
simile. This is great! Mia had even
shared that the bear was soft like
a blanket, so its really exciting to
see how a study into comparisons
can come right out of this lesson!!
The chart I created of the 5 list
poems has space next to the

Introduced the term adjective

after the class already had the
experience of constructing a list of
sense words on their own. This
made the term more meaningful.
This is great feedback, as the little
moves of where to introduce
specific vocabulary is something
Ive noticed I question. Better at
start of lesson? Or woven
throughout? Knowing that it is
effective to give students a
chance to experience these words
prior to the definition is helpful for
me in moving forward.
Prepared the kids for seeing the
second object. You told them what
you expected from them in
advance of sharing the novel
object so they did not let their
excitement consume the meeting.
Again, this is great feedback! I see
that by setting the context of what
they were expected to do with the
new object gave them something
to focus on doing rather than just
showing excitement over the bear.
Great to keep in mind in future
lessons, especially because they
are a lively group and so rooting
the exciting things in their task
helps to even keep me on track
because there is less room for
moving off onto into a discussion
about everyones toy bear at
home!
Pacing was strong. You covered a
lot but it remained engaging.
These kids like to move and talk!
It is exciting to see, and so to stay
on topic but also keep them
engaged is something that I see is
a constant practice! Trying to
provide something that kept them
engaged while delivering an
effective lessonI see how
teaching is an art form!

describing words, so what I would

like to do is go back and can build
from the list- someone wrote that
the marble sparkled so we can
write along side it, like a
__________. I love this!

Accepted all comments, reminding

them that poetry is open ended in
nature. I feel like in CORE
assignments I find myself writing
about student voice frequently. So
this was not only a move to
highlight the varying nature of
poetry, it was also creating a
space for student voice in the
collaboration of the list. The
balance is then not having a list of
28 items because I want everyone
to have a chance!
Great modeling of the activity.
Allowed them to hear and see
what your behavioral expectations
and content goals were. By
modeling you could cover a lot )
sharing, taking time and being
reflective). A huge learning
moment for me- being in 1st grade
and becoming aware of how
modeling even the smallest thing
can not only create a more
dynamic learning opportunity for
students, but it gives students an
understanding that they can
complete the task in a way that
has been designed to be
supportive to them! Sending
them off without the modeling has
previously left students confused,
so this was a great chance for me
to practice modeling.
Nice to reintroduce them to
connecting with senses during
their investigation of birds since
descriptive language is central to
that study. They are also moving
on to the study of zoo animals, so
this lesson will be one that they
come back to not only for the
describing words, but for creating
a list of their animals. Even with
the study of marbles and cotton
balls, I am so inspired by seeing
student inquiry. (The post-its that
said squishy and mushy for cotton

balls and flexible for feathers!)