In this session, participants will learn strategies to engage students in the study of poetry through play. Participants will take a deep dive into Grade 4 Unit 2: Words of Empowerment and Resilience that focuses on the novel in verse Red Bird Sings by Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe). They will read and write poetry in rotations that provide the opportunity to experiment with different types of poetry, explore the connections between various forms of artistic expression (music, rap, drawing, photography) and poetry, and use poetry to deepen their connection to the land. We will connect this play back to the work of indigenous poets represented in the unit and think about how to empower students to interpret and create in this genre of writing.
Sarah Caldwell is a bi-racial black educator who was raised in a suburb of Wichita, Kansas where her education focused exclusively on white authors until her English teacher, Mrs. A, assigned Toni Morrison during her senior year of high school. She immersed herself in texts by diverse... Read More →
