Web Word Poetry

Pamela Miller and Hilary Inwood

Grade level: 4
Provincial curriculum links: Ontario
Subject: Literacy
Keywords: Litter, acrostic poem

Description

Inspired by the web words in Charlotte's Web and Templeton's ability to find interesting words, students will use found words from litter they collect on the schoolyard to create acrostic poems about litter.

Curriculum Framework

Topic: Writing
Strand: Developing and Organizing Content, Using Knowledge of Form and Style in Writing, Applying Knowledge of Language Conventions and Presenting Written Work Effectively
Specific Lesson Goals:

• generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience;
• draft and revise their writing, using a variety of informational, literary, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience;
• use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively.

Preparation

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Length of lesson: 20-30 minutes
Resources required:

• large sheet of paper (1 per each group)
• pencil (1 per student) and a few erasers to share
• gloves, rakes, or salad tongs to pick up litter
• containers for collection of litter
• Choose one story, quote or poem from the following:
  • Charlotte's Web, E.B. White
  • Garbage Delight, 1977, Dennis Lee, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
  • "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out" from Where the Sidewalk Ends, 1974, Shel Silverstein, Harper and Row, New York.
  • The Wartville Wizard by Don Madden, Aladdin Paperbacks, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1986. ISBN 0-689-71667-2
  • The Day the Trash Came Out to Play by David M. Beadle, illustrated by Laurie A. Faust

Procedure

• Discuss what students already know or wonder about litter. Discuss where litter comes from. What is litter? Why is there litter? Where might you find litter? What are your thoughts and feelings about litter?
• Read a story, quote or poem from one of the books
• Working in pairs or small groups, create a word map of litter.
• In groups, give students 5 minutes to find human created litter or interesting natural litter from plants or animals, ie, feathers, leaves, bark beetle patterns on old bark or branches, discarded acorns etc. on their schoolyard and bring it back to the classroom. Review with students safety procedures regarding picking up litter. Provide salad tongs, gloves, rakes and garbage containers.
• Add descriptive words from the found litter to their word maps including actual words found on the litter. Invite them to share their word maps with the class.
• Explain that you would like them to create acrostic poems about litter and their schoolyard. Have each group choose only one word from their litter findings or the word "litter" itself as the backbone of their poem. Encourage students to refer to their word web for inspiration.
• Distribute the paper and pencils for the groups to record their poems. Upon completion of the task, ask the groups to share their poems with the class.

Discussion and Questions

• Ask students if their poems convey their thoughts and feelings about litter?
• Compare the use of poetry to other written forms of communication to convey their thoughts and feelings point of view effectively.
• Think with students how they could use poetry to inspire others to act responsibly about the world they live in.

Student Assessment and Evaluation

A rubric and rating scale could be used to assess the word webs and the poems.

Enrichment and Extension Activities

• Rewrite or create illustrations for their poem using Word Art and different fonts and colours from the computer.
• Have students replace the written words of their poem with only words they make with natural materials or cut out from schoolyard litter, magazines and newspapers. Provide paper and glue to design their poem.
• Paint Litter poems on school's garbage cans. Inspire school to pick up litter.

Educator Notes

This activity is intended to link to the science lesson "Litter: Good? Bad? Or Just Plain Ugly?" and the Visual arts lesson "Inspired by Litter" (Available from Teacher's Corner).

References/Resources

Charlotte's Web, EB White
Garbage Delight, 1977, Dennis Lee, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
The Day the Trash Came Out to Play by David M. Beadle, illustrated by Laurie A. Faust. ISBN 0-9727855-0-7
The Wartville Wizard by Don Madden, Aladdin Paperbacks, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1986. ISBN 0-689-71667-2
Where the Sidewalk Ends, 1974, Shel Silverstein, Harper and Row, New York.

This exercise is adapted from Teaching in the Outdoor Classroom, Evergreen/TDSB Summer Institute, 2007, 82 pages.
Submitted by: Pamela Miller and Hilary Inwood

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