April is right before us! April and May are my most favorite months of the year.
April holds lots of exciting times!
1. April Fools Day!
This may be my favorite day! I love to play pranks on everyone in my family. I always get everyone really good! Last year I happened to be observing in the schools on April Fools. The teacher I observed got her students so good! They had missed quite a few days from all the snow, and she had the office call down and announce that spring break was cancelled due to all the snow. Her students had a fit! This made me laugh so hard! I just know that is the kind of teacher that I will be. I love to laugh, and I love to make others laugh!
2. Spring!
Spring is the most glorious time of year. My husband is a farmer, and this is the time of year that you see everything come to life again. I myself grow my own flower and vegetable garden. Due to the beautiful weather we have already been having, my herbs are coming along quite nicely. This year is a special year for us though! We have baby chicks living in our home! It's so amazing to watch them grow and play! It has truly been a blessing to have these sweet animals join our family!
3. National Poetry Month!
Before I decided to become an Elementary teacher, I wanted to be a high school Social Studies teacher. The more I thought about though, the more I knew that this wasn't the right path for me. Number one, my heart really lies with younger children. Number two, I love all the other subjects too much to just focus on one! Literature has a very special place in my heart. I once read that the crown of literature is poetry, and I couldn't agree more. Poetry is a way for people to express themselves in anyway that they like. There are no rules, no guidelines, just room for imagination and creativity.
I read a blog that gave the idea for teachers to start everyday in the classroom off with a poem. What a lovely idea! I think that this would be just the most wonderful thing! It could really set the mood for the whole day, leave students with more knowledge and understanding, and be an absolutely amazing learning experience each and every day. My hope would be that students would begin to develop a love and passion for poetry as well!
I found another website that shares "25 Must-Share Poems for Elementary School". These are great poems that teachers could focus on throughout the month to teach a variety of subjects and knowledge. There are so many creative activities to do with poetry as well. These activities allow students to learn, but also have fun. I can see this being especially exciting and effective in upper-grades. So far, in my short experience in the classroom, I haven't seen a lot of instruction with poetry. However, last week I did hear my teacher tell one of her students that he could write a rap for his assignment if he wanted. Rather that student realized it or not, he was writing poetry! This is a great way to connect to students in our classroom today. It makes them feel that they are learning about something relevant and close to their lives! I hope that I can find ways to do this every day.
Standards to connect to:
Standard 3:
teachers make instruction relevant to students.
Standard 4:
teachers use a variety of instructional methods.
Check out the links below to learn more:
I did not know that April is National Poetry Month. Thanks for sharing! Back in high school, I had a teacher who was really passionate about poetry, and she would encourage us to write meaningful poems. I really enjoyed her class, and I learned so much about poetry that year. I do love the idea of starting each class with a poem. That just sets the mood for the day. I did not know that you wanted to be a social studies teacher before you decided to be an elementary teacher. I bet you are enjoying this class because it is really teaching us how to make social studies relevant to our future students. Great post, Lauren!
ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I had no idea that April was National Poetry Month. I love teaching poems and love the idea of reading a poem everyday to get things going in the classroom. I think this is a great learning experience and will allow students dig deeper into literature. Poetry is a great subject and I feel it should be incorporated into the classroom as much as possible!
Thanks for sharing!