Poetry and Figurative Language

We have been working on poetry and Figurative Language for the last couple of weeks.  

This week we started writing our own poems about feelings and emotions.

I started out by making up these sheets for the kids to do some brainstorming and pre-writing.

(I am putting together a file for TPT, but it is still a work in progress.)

I modeled one first on chart paper (sorry forgot to take a picture!)

Then I sent them out to fill in theirs with all things they associated with each feeling or emotion.

Today I shared with them the poem I wrote last night using the information from my chart.

We talked about spacing and line breaks,

similes and metaphors that we have been working on,

and the kind of format they should use for their poems

(any format they wanted for this one.)

I set them loose to write and we came back together after about 45 minutes to share out.

They blew me away!

I was so impressed with the kiddos who shared today.

They had some AMAZING poems.

I will definitely share them when we publish.

Tonight they were to be thinking about another of the 8 emotions to write about tomorrow.

I can't wait!

For more Common Core aligned teaching ideas, please visit my blog,

Confessions of a Teaching Junkie

Primary and Secondary Sources

I am not really sure what is so hard about determining the difference between primary and secondary resources, but some kids just don't get it.  And, of course, I am always looking for a game to help my kids learn material.  My kids had a lot of fun with this game.  The game board is one of my favorites!  Check it out and see if it will work for your students.

You can find this colorful primary and secondary sources game by clicking HERE.

Just a reminder....

A primary source provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person or work of art. In contrast, a secondary source  was created after the event happened. In secondary sources, the information has been interpreted, commented, analyzed or processed in such a way that it no longer conveys the newness of the original material.

For more Common Core aligned teaching ideas, please visit my blog Classroom Confections.