Reflections on Readings
Digital Storytelling & Poetry in Storytelling
Poetry is one of my favorite genres to share with students because it is often overlooked and misunderstood. Many people think of poetry as a short rhyming piece of writing with one column of six to eight stanzas and written in a way meant to have the reader thinking deeply and critically to infer the meaning of the poem. Poetry is so much more than that though! I always share novels written in verse with my students like The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry , or Missing Mike by Shari Green just to name a couple. Poetry can be written to tell a story, and novels in verse provide an example of this variation of the poetry genre.
Narrative Poems are another great example of using poetry in storytelling. Narrative Poems are often used in picture books to tell a shorter story. When searching for several poems to read this week, I found this blog with a great explanation of narrative poetry and how to write your own! Narrative Poetry Narrative poetry would be a great addition to a storytelling session in the library as well as writing and creating a digital storytelling piece. There are many benefits to reading and reciting poetry. As stated on Argo Prep, "Poetry is an exciting and easy way to help kids become stronger readers. Research shows that poetry helps build literacy skills, including phonemic awareness, memory, and fluency, especially if you read poems aloud! Poetry also helps develop spelling and vocabulary. Reading and writing poetry can spark creativity while building up critical thinking skills."
Another article I found when looking for poetry to read was one written by poet Kwame Alexander. He described list poetry and the benefits to sharing this format with students. You can read this helpful information here List Poetry and Storytelling in the Classroom Students are often intimidated reading poetry and especially writing poetry. Using list format is a great introductory tool to writing poetry. List poems can tell a story. There are no rules to follow when writing list poems, they can rhyme or not, they can contain figurative language or not, they can follow a pattern or not. I really enjoyed reading this article and plan on trying this style with my own students. I also found reading these poems enjoyable. I think the simple style really packs a punch when the poet is telling a story, espcecially if it is about something personal. This is a powerful way to share those thoughts and feelings.
Ten Poems to Share
This week I read the following ten poems:
"The Storyteller" by Mike Jones This poem was also set to music.
"My Autumn Senses" by Staci Eirich (storyberries.com-- great narrative poem to teach descriptive writing)
"A Penny's Travels" by Ranbir B. (an example of a list poem)
"Ten Reasons Why Fathers Cry at Night"- Kwame Alexander (another list poem)
"Going Nowhere Slowly" by Kenn Nesbitt https://poetry4kids.com/poems/
"Underneath the Apple Tree" by Kenn Nesbitt
"The Strongest Girl I Ever Knew" by Ronald Doe
"The Rat Race" by Lorna Welch
"Noone Saved Us" by Patricia Fleming
"The Door of Dreams" by Jessie Rittenhouse
https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/
Digital Storytelling
One example of digital storytelling that I watched was this one entitled, "Daddy's Girl" by Deidre Johnson. Daddy's Girl The author shared in a very short 3-4 minute narration the special bond she had with her father growing up and the heartbreaking struggle they live as he ages and faces dementia. The story was gripping and powerful. Story Center for Digital Storytelling had such a wide variety of examples of digital storytelling. I would love to find something similar for young audiences in a school library setting! I found several links when doing a quick search, so I am going to share those here. Please share any resources you have for digital storytelling for kids! Technology can often be overwhelming or intimidating for me, but our students are so tech-savvy, I think this would be a project that they would love and would also be very beneficial. This also could be a great way to partner a reluctant writer with a confident writer and a tech-savvy student with another student who lacks tech skills. I look forward to creating my own digital story as well as guiding students in the school library with their digital stories!
https://www.middleweb.com/45799/digital-storytelling-an-exciting-teaching-tool/
https://cooltoolsforschool.net/digital-storytelling/
https://brandietrent.weebly.com/uploads/8/8/2/1/8821291/digital_storytelling_descprition_and_resources1.pdf
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/ccia-digital-storytelling-tools-ela-monica-burns
https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/how-to-use-scratch-for-digital-storytelling
https://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/digital-storytelling
I found so much to read and dive into with digital storytelling. I am looking forward to learning more from my fellow classmates and futher reading and researching. One of the articles that perked my interest the most was the comic-based digital storytelling. I could see many of our students and graphic novel fans take interest and ownership of a comic-based digital storytelling project. What digital storytelling ideas did you find most appealing to add to your professional toolbox?
Citation:
Ten Poems to Read on National Poetry Day for Young Readers. Argo Prep.
https://argoprep.com/blog/k8/10-poems-to-read-on-national-poetry-day-for-young-readers/
Emily-
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts on poetry and digital storytelling. I definitely agree that poetry is often intimidating for students and as a teacher I used to be intimated by the thought of teaching poetry. However, since beginning this program and taking a few courses where there was a unit or module involving poetry, I now see poetry as a fun and engaging tools for teaching literacy skills to my students.
I also enjoyed your reflects on digital storytelling. When I was reading the materials this week, I liked the single picture digital storytelling as well. I plan to use that in my classroom later this year. Thank you for sharing so many links and resources. I have looked at a few and can't wait to check out some of the ones I haven't seen before.
Kim
Hey Emily,
ReplyDeleteI'm going to admit, poetry is not one of my favorite subjects to teach or read. I think my aversion to it started in high school when we had to interpret poetry. The poems we would read would be so far fetched in my mind because my teachers were looking for one specific response- the one I wouldn't give. The truth is, poetry is a reflection of the emotions of the author and reader. The poem's meaning can hold many different faces depending on who is reading it. I always had a dislike for poetry because I was trained to realize I didn't give the "typical response." When in actuality, the poem held whatever meaning I wanted it to hold. I think this is important when teaching children about poetry. Whatever response they have to the poem is the correct response. There is no right or wrong answer. Creative thinking is required and accepted. Last semester as I was taking YA literature, I read Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. I wasn't looking forward to having to read a verse novel but after reading this book, I was so thankful the category was required. It is at the top of my list for favorite books I've ever read! If you haven't read it yet, I HIGHLY encourage you to!