Like everyone else, I was inspired by Celeste's presentation of Poetry Comics. I ordered the book that day. In the past, I have tried to encorporate "Poetry Fridays" with my class, so they get a regular does of poetry. But, I have felt overwhelmed in the past few years, and have let that slide. This looked like a good way to get back into it. Last year we did the Graphic Writing unit toward the end of the year in my class, and kids made historical fiction comics for the Colonial America unit. It was a huge sucess, so I thought this would be a nice prelude to that work. 

It was a major fail. I don't typically share my fails here, but I thought this was important because it's a prime example of a mistake I can learn from. The kids just could not get into it. They messed around choosing poems, chose ones that had no meaning for them just to get it done, and then didn't get it done. I am beating myself up a little, because I feel I should have already known better. It just goes to show that no matter how much you know, time and new facts will occur. In this case, I forgot the importance of some key practices that are the scaffolding for projects like this. 

Celeste had been working with poetry periodically all year. This foundation meant that introducing a new twist was fluid, and they could layer on a new medium effectively. In my case, students seemed overwhelmed and hesitant to try this new modality. It was also in the midst of ELA prep, which always creates stress, even if I try to make it fun. Again, I should have known better. I will include a few examples of final products from creative kids that did manage to complete the assignment, because they bring me joy to balance out my shame :(

I just put some blank books in my EdData order, and plan to make sure we create poetry all year long with the reinstitution my Poetry Friday routine. 

Thank you Celeste, for always demonstrating new ways to be a better teacher. I would also like to take a moment to express my gratitude for the work we have done this year with Yvonne Liu-Constant. While our district Responsive Classroom initiative has been useful in stressing the importance of activities that are meaningful, fun and foster a sense of belonging, this work helped me understand how I could best incorporate more meaningful, content based playfulness in my classroom. This is so important, with our rigorous curriculum. I say YES to a year of poetry comics!