Blackout Poetry is SO MUCH FUN and I absolutely love how it allows my kiddos to apply a poetry skill with a book that we are currently immersed in. I feel like often times poetry is taught so independently that students struggle to understand how to actually apply it, but Blackout Poetry allows them to do just that. They are learning about poetry while applying it in a way that makes sense to them. We do blackout poetry once we finish the book "Chains". Students absolutely love the book we read, so they are invested in the pages and love pulling out words to create a poem. I love how connected they are to the book and how excited they are to create their poem. What is blackout poetry? Blackout poetry uses a written piece of text from a book, newspaper, or magazine to create a poem. Once you have found all of your words to make your poem, you "redact" all the words you don't want by blacking them out. You can take blackout poetry even further by creating an image or design to the page instead of just blacking it out. This can be done with literally ANY pre-existing text. How do I teach my students to do this? For our "Chains" blackout poetry projects, I provide my students 4-5 different page options that they can use. They are also allowed to dig through the book to pick one of their own, but I know that would be too challenging for some students. Giving them a choice of a few pages is plenty for most of my students. If this is your first time introducing your students to this type of poetry, give them page options that include very vibrant words, lots of details, etc. This will make it easier for them to create their first poem. 1) Once students have decided on a page, I have them skim the page for words that STICK OUT. They love this part because they don't have to read the page word-for-word. Ha. I tell them to circle word and phrases that they like. 2) Once they finish circling words that stick out, I have them pull out their writing notebooks and write down the words/phrases in order and then read through them. What words do you know longer want? Mark them out. What words need connecting words like "a" or "and"? If connecting words are needed they dive back into the text and circle those as well. 3) After they've gotten their words and phrases, I have them read it again to make sure it "flows" and follows a theme. What is the poem about? What are they expressing? At that point they create a title. 4) Once their poem is how they want it to be, I had them type it out and gave them a new BLANK copied book page for them to re-circle their used words and sketch their image. Blackout poetry can be simply that - blacking out the other words on the page, or students can illustrate an idea or image on the page as they cover up the words. Most students choose to do that because it is FUN. I have them block their words off with sharpie and then sketch out their image before they color anything. *Disclaimer: I am NOT A PROFESSIONAL at poetry - this is just what we do in my classroom. Haha. My kiddos really enjoy this poetry activity and I absolutely love seeing them make deep connections with the text we are reading. = )
Unlock a world of creativity in your upper elementary classroom with these 12 engaging Project-Based Learning examples! From create a planet to design a haunted house to historical time capsules, these hands-on PBL activities foster critical thinking and collaboration. Perfect ideas for project based learning activities and ideas for homeschool, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, and middle school. Includes a FREE printable lemonade stand project that uses math and language arts skills!
Fifth Grade students studied gesture drawings and the sculptures of George Segal. Students then created their own gesture sculptures showing...
Cool experiments to pique kids' interest in science.
One of the first projects my 4th/5th grade students created this year were personal “About Me” folded squash books. The kids were introduced to a simple foldable bookmaking technique and then they personalized them with drawings and collages about themselves. Each section of the book had a prompt to get them started. I showed them a video demonstration of how to assemble the book and I provided square templates printed on card stock. Both the video, templates and instructions are … Read more... →
Are you looking to elevate your Ecosystems and Biomes unit? This 4th or 5th grade project based learning unit for ecosystems incorporates science, nonfiction reading, research, writing, and the arts! Read to find out how I organized the research project, what our launch activity was, the driving que
From making a graph paper "person" to making your own mosaic, here are creative ways to teach area and perimeter activities.
Looking for project based learning ideas for middle school or elementary school students? They will love planning a road trip from start to finish!
Matchbook chapter summaries super simple and fun project that you can have your students complete during your next novel study.
These three classroom projects are engaging for any student in upper elementary and middle school. They are low prep and fun for kids!
Welcome to Math City! Grab this FREE standards-based math project that will engage your 5th grade mathematicians.
Over the summer while I was at the beach, I found myself admiring a series of colored glass bottles aligned on a windowsill. I made a mental note to find a way to incorporate sea glass/colored glas…
A round up of over 15 great STEAM projects – where math concepts are used to make pieces of art!
Are you looking for some great project based learning examples? In education, teachers are continually seeking creative ways to captivate their students'
These real life math activities are a great way to engage 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students in financial literacy and project based learning.
In this Aquarium Perspective Lesson, Middle School students will dive right into learning about the principle of perspective while designing an aquarium.
My first successful one-point perspective art lesson that my students loved. Perspective is part magic and part math and for creative types like me, there
FUN-to-make Starry Night Art Project for kids based on famous artists that uses a fun aluminim foil technique to explore Van Gogh! .
5 th grade students love looking at Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night and creating their own personalized version. Students learn abo...
elementary art lessons classroom management
This project produced “out of this world” results! (OK, Bad pun, I know!) We began this lesson with 3 days of Galaxy Painting using watercolors. The techniques I taught the kids were loosely titled…
Hey, fellow Minecrafters! 🎉 Today, I've got a super cool art idea to share with you that combines two awesome things: popular artwork and our favorite blocky game, Minecraft! 🎨 Imagine taking famous paintings, like the Mona Lisa or Starry Night, and giving them a fantastic Minecraft twist! How? Well, we'll pixelate those masterpieces and
Inside you'll find an easy step-by-step how to draw a Minecraft Self Portrait & Minecraft Coloring Page. Stop by and grab yours today.
With so many types and formats of writing that we ask of students, it can be overwhelming for them to know where to start, what kinds of language to use, and what the structure of
No more boring book reports! Check out 26+ FUN, creative and unique book report ideas and free printable projects too!
Welcome! This blog post explores a project that depicts one cohesive image divided into 7 sections which illustrate the 7 elements of art: line, shape, color, form, value, texture, and space. The elements of art the artists toolbox they can use in an endless amount of ways to create infinite art solutions. This is a
How to plan collaborative project-based learning activities in the math classroom. Check out these engaging PBL ideas for 3rd grade students!
Transform the end of the school year into a celebration of growth and accomplishment with these fun ideas and activities!
Learn why one-pagers are one of my go-to activities for breaking down complex topics and texts. Understand what they are, why you and your students will love them, and how to implement them in your ELA classroom. I even have the advice to help you tackle the biggest obstacle you’ll encounter with this activity.
Here’s everything you need to facilitate a Market Day student business project-based learning unit for 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade! This Math and Social Studies (Economics) aligned comprehensive resource takes students through the process of creating their very own shop from start to finish. The Market Day Project-Based Learning framework sparks higher-level thinking and enrichment. Students will extend their learning of Math concepts (multiplication, division, fractions, percentages) as well as Social Studies concepts (economics, goods, services, producers, consumers, resources, etc.) This is the perfect extension project to use at the end of a math or social studies unit, and students LOVE it! This resource is included in the FULL Market Day Project Bundle! Grab it HERE for 30% off! **Check out this Free Market Day Step-by-Step Guide! Full lesson plans, resources, printables, digital teaching slides, and bulletin board/focus wall materials are included! A full project outline is provided, however you can use the materials and activities in any way that works with your schedule. **Want the FULL Depth & Complexity bundle with all the resources I have created? Check it out here! Here’s what’s included: Student Workbook Pages Step-by-Step Teacher Guide Brainstorming Graphic Organizers Market Day Score Sheet Marketing Templates Family Letter Vocabulary Page & Posters Teaching Presentation Slides Focus Wall/ Bulletin Materials Enrichment Materials Digital Teaching Slides Photo Examples... AND MORE! This is an interdisciplinary lesson which means you will be combining multiple skills across multiple subjects, so you are actually SAVING time! Plus, it is much more engaging for students! This is one of those projects that they will remember forever. This was one of my favorite activities I did with my students. They LOVED having a market and bringing in items to sell and learn about economics. — Raven L. Rated 5 out of 5 My class was so excited when they learned we were going to do this activity. They really got into it. Easy to adapt to third grade level. Thank you. — Kimberly W. Rated 5 out of 5 Questions? Email me here: Email: [email protected]
This zentangle growth mindset project is one of my favorite activities for the beginning of the school year!
4th and 5th graders have been working for weeks and weeks on their minecraft portraits and they FINALLY finished. Before we started we looked at minecraft characters and talked about them- what do …
As adults, we often walk into a bookstore with a certain genre we are ready to peruse the aisles for in order to find our next read. Would your students be able to do the
Want to teach students how to turn fractions to percentages…while also engaging them? In this blog, I’ll show you how you can use an art quilt lesson to help your students with fractions and converting to percentages.
