This morning I got to school and there was a problem with the printer so instead of having handouts of Haiku examples to give to each student, I just projected them onto the smartboard. The text was a little small for the students in the back but they still managed. I told them they could move closer if they needed to but they chose to stay put. I started off asking the grade 7's if they know what Haiku are, and one girl commented that they wrote many last year so I asked if they remembered anything about the structure and form. As an introduction I read from a picture book of Haiku written by Issa, arranged into a story. I asked the students to try to pick out some characteristics as I read. After the first few, I recapped and asked the students to point out some of these characteristics. We touched upon several literary devices which my TA suggested expanding upon because they are all important and relevant terms in this grade level. I read a bit about the history of Haiku after the students had identified most of the characteristics. My TA commented that this was good because after they've analyzed the form a little bit, it's easier to make links to the history that they hear. If I had read the history first, I may have lost their interest and the information would've gone way over their heads. My TA also suggested that I could get the students to gather close when I'm reading to them, since poetry has a different mood and feeling than something like grammar. I think I will get the students to sit in circles when they share their Mini Haiku books in groups on Thursday. I asked the students to read through the examples and choose their favourite one, answering a few questions: Why is this your favourite? What do you like about it? What word gives you a hint about the season? Because this went pretty fast, I decided to ask each student to read aloud their favourite poem and talk about their answers to the questions. I started with one student and then asked if anyone else had chosen the same one, and what their reasons were. It was interesting to note that there was one particular poem that was chosen by several students.
As an exercise I asked the students to try to write a Haiku on a general theme: "second winter" and then they shared their work with their elbow buddies before I asked for volunteers to share with the class. There was some great work! As an exit slip, I asked the students to write a Haiku about what they learned today.
Here are a few of my favourite Haiku written by students today:
I sat in my chair
A great teacher taught Haikus
Now I know something.
I wake to find spring
The sun shines bright down at me
But winter's not done.
Some days it is nice
And other days it is cold
Why can't it stay warm?
These are hard to write
But picking topics are fun
And I have learned lots
White falling snowflakes
Very long fluffy blanket
How long will it last
Walking through the snow
Can't find my way home tonight.
Somebody help me.
We're stuck in winter
The constant snowfall and ice
Winter is endless.
The snow was falling
The trees became fluffy white
Too bad it's not Spring.
The white on the ground
Starts to disappear and cold
Begins to vanish.
As my TA suggested expanding upon a few of the literary devices, I spent some time after the lesson revising tomorrow's lesson. I had planned to read another set of Haiku in the form of a picture book but I will spend that time having discussions on word choices, imagery, engaging all the human senses, and the difference between general and specific themes. I'll save the picture book for Wednesday's lesson. Tomorrow I will also hand out the project information with details of how the marking will go.
At the beginning of the Gr.1/2 class, I had intended to review and ask the students what we've learned about anime and comics so far, but I jumped right in and introduced their collage comic project. I had prepared folders for students at each table with a stack of magazine pages, and sheets of 11x17 paper. I thought this would be an easy way to organize their work and it would also be easier to hand back their work. I showed them my example and explained what was expected and let them work. As soon as the magazine pictures were out, the students got distracted and stopped listening so I asked them to put their hands on their heads and look at me so I could continue my instruction. I think this method works well for younger grades! It was interesting to note that some students worked really fast, or they pasted large pictures onto their papers, and some students drew really tiny characters. Originally I had anticipated most students to finish after working on it next class, and then we would be able to do mini group critiques, but after today's class, I'm wondering if I should give them an extra working block. The clean-up process I had envisioned happened as I planned for the most part. I asked students to pile up their magazine pages and comics together inside their folders. There were only 2 tables that I had to organize.
I was both excited and nervous to start teaching the junior high students about Chinese Brush Painting, but there were no major spills or accidents so I'm satisfied. The 2 classes also had a new configuration as students switched around...something to do with gym class, I believe. In any case, this worked out well because I could make a new seating plan for them. I made folders for their tables as well because again, it would be easier to collect and hand back work (including work that they've done for me previously, now that they're in different groups.) I explained my expectations of behaviour and set-up/clean-up procedures and then it took about 10 minutes for the students to set-up and be ready to follow along in a demo of some basic brush strokes. There weren't enough good round brushes for all the students but I picked the best ones. Everyone had a brush. That was good. Then I adjusted the movements and techniques so it would work for all the students. I felt pressed for time so I didn't talk about the history and art of Chinese Brush painting as much as I had planned, and I went directly into demonstrating how to hold the brush, load the brush, and a simple bamboo painting. As I walked around observing the students' progress I tried to find at least one positive thing to comment about because I know some students think they're unskilled. Some students may say "mine looks so bad" and I made it a point to identify the strengths in their practice work. After I asked them to clean-up, I asked them what a few important tips about Chinese Painting were, and what they're expected to do at the beginning of the next class. I also told them what we will be doing in the next class to hopefully get them excited. They know that the Koi fish paintings we do on Wednesday will be for marks. On Wednesday I'll explain how I'll be marking their work in more detail.
One highlight of my day was when one of the Gr.9 boys come up to tell me, at the beginning of their Language Arts class, that he drew for so long yesterday that his wrist was hurting. The younger grades from Gr.1-6 don't hesitate in telling me how excited they are about drawing, but to have a Gr.9 student express interest in my lessons felt great! Another highlight was during the last lesson of the day, a boy that is usually very hyperactive and can't sit still, actually sat still and painted some really nice bamboo! Another boy commented that Chinese painting was "very relaxing." :)
In the next lesson I want to speak a little more about the 3 main themes in paintings: figures, landscapes, and flower-birds (and animals in general); and also show them some examples of work by Ancient Chinese masters. Their project for the last 3 classes will be a scroll painting. I only wish there was more time! Set-up and clean-up takes too long for a 45 minute period!