Today the 1st graders got an introduction to poetry memorization! Each year at Lowell GATE, they will memorize a different poem, so if they stay through the 6th grade, they will head to middle school with at least 6 memorized poem. We are starting simple and fun with Shel Silverstein poetry! We started the day by reading a book about Silverstein's life and listening to and interpreting the jokes in a handful of his poems. Then students chose their favorite poem and got to work following the Mensa Organizations advice for how to memorize a poem.

After working to get the poem into their short-term memory, the students created an art piece using watercolor pencils that connected to the poem they chose. We finished the day with exploring some visual/spatial math puzzles and free choice (where many students chose to keep working on math puzzles!)

Next week is the last week of GATE until 2nd semester.

**I will add more photos later. For some reason my phone and computer are having trouble communicating today!