Kucan's Article

This article really excited me and I am already adding this actvity to my novel study of Fahrenheit 451. I like how the "I Poem" format can be done in the pre-reading or the post-reading phase of a book. The flexibility of the poem provides even the most intimidated child to feel successful due to the simple format. Many students (like we mentioned last week in class) feel poetry must always rhyme. This activity conforms to what the student wants to explore.


After I finish a piece of literature, I am constantly searching for meaningful activities. I want to see if the students understand the crucial element of a plot or can they perform a character analysis. On page 518 the article mentions how this activity allows the students to "revisit the text... they begin to think about it in deeper ways and to notice what they overlooked in the first place." For elementary teachers, the opportunity for students to imitate the first person-point-of-view allows them to develop a "voice. " It must be extremely difficult for students at this age
to understand this concept. This activity also serves as a tool for developing more sophisticated pieces. I also felt the way the teacher introduced the activity by doing research was very well planned. The students could then easily be the "voice" of the desert or the sea because they acquired background knowledge. The image of the sea (520) was particularly impressive since the child developed the poem into a "concrete image."

Composing these poems before reading a piece can activate prior learning. However, it furthers solidifies the text when done as a concluding feature. The author mentioned the book Out of the Dust and how the students could write from the perspective of piano or a protagonist. Students can literally become an individual from a biography or autobiography. The format provides security, yet it does not limit creativity either. As a teacher, it is refreshing to locate activities which can allow a child to develop empathy for a character while writing in such a unique manner.