TITLE:   KNOWING OURSELVES AND OTHERS THROUGH POETRY

AUTHOR:  Missy Kasbaum, Cushing, OK

OVERVIEW:  Developing a rapport and trust with students at
risk of dropping out of school is often difficult. These
students are guarded in their openness with adults in
general and school staff in particular.  Yet providing an
open atmosphere is fundamental to mending self-concepts and
a prerequisite for skill development and the academic
success necessary leading to graduation.

GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:  6-12,
                      Middle School/High School At Risk
               Language Arts, Science and Social Studies

PURPOSE:  Getting to know students and getting them to know
themselves through writing.

OBJECTIVE(s):  Beyond the stated purpose, students become
more familiar with word usage; synonyms, the degrees(s) of
emotion contained in words and the manipulation of language
to impact meaning.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:  This idea may further be explored
through the Ferguson/Florisant Writing Project which is part
of the National Diffusion Network offerings found in the
EPTW (Educational Programs That Work) Directory.

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:  Begin a discussion of what
feelings and emotions are.  Then have each student write
down a word which describes how he or she feels today.  Use
this sentence:

     Today I feel (emotion) because (give reason).

Explain that it is possible to have more than one emotion or
feeling at the same time, either similar or opposite.

Examples: Today I feel worried because we are having a test.
Also, I feel happy because today is Friday.

To help students examine emotions more closely, use this
exercise:  After brainstorming a list of emotions, ask
students to choose one and assign it a color. "Hate is
black," or "Happiness is yellow."  Use the following to
further explore:

(Emotion) is (Color).    Fear is red.
It smells like_____.     It smells like fire.
It tastes like_____.     It tastes like rotten peaches.
It sounds like_____.     It sounds like car horns.
It feels like______.     It feels like being scared of dark.
It looks like______.     It looks like Freddy Krueger.
(Emotion) is_______.     Fear is falling into a hole.
(give a metaphoric statement)

Bio-poems

Line 1    Your first name only
Line 2    4 traits that describe you
Line 3    Sibling of...(or son/daughter of)
Line 4    Lover of...(three people or ideas>
Line 5    Who feels...(three items)
Line 6    Who needs...(three items)
Line 7    Who gives...(three items)
Line 8    Who fears...(three items)
Line 9    Who would like to see...(three items)
Line 10   Resident of (your city, street or state)
Line 11   Your last name only.

Example:

Kaitlan
Petite, bubbly, happy and energetic.
Daughter of Greg and Missy
Lover of gymnastics, roses and cheerleading.
Who feels happiness with friends, loneliness at night, and
joy
at ball games.
Who needs friends, love and acceptance.
Who gives friendship, love and encouragement.
Who fears pain, death and losing friends.
Who would like to see the world, the future and neverending
joy.
Resident of Stigler, Oklahoma
Kasbaum.

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:  In content areas, students can
synthesize key concepts or characters to extract meaning and
gain understanding. This exercise can be used for analysis
of literature characters. History events and characters work
well, as do the characteristics of animals, plants, chemical
elements, etc. with variations in lines 3-9 to suit the
subject.