January 25, 2010
Today was our first day of children's literature with Professor Francis Vitalli. We met at the UNM San Juan Center but soon left for our poetry practicum with the Heights Middle School students. First we went to Ms. Evan's class of 6th-8th graders. Francis (aka Maxime, the French Chef) greeted the students with some poetry of her own. The students weren't too sure what to think of this at first, but did seem to enjoy the performance. Next we went to Ms. Martin and Ms. Durden's classroom. Maxime was more of a hit among these kids, and they really seemed to enjoy it. Hopefully, in the coming weeks they will all be more comfortable and willing to join in.
February 1, 2010
Our 2nd day of the practicum and our first student performances. Kristi and Ryan performed the Generals for Ms. Evan's class and it was a big hit. We had two eager volunteers who wanted to perform the poem for the kids at Mesa Verde Elementary. In the other class we presented Grandma Bear. The students in Ms. Martin and Ms. Durdens class seemed a bit more distant/distracted this week and were not as eager to share the poems with us. I think this is due to their weaker reading skills. Hopefully we can get past this and help them enjoy these fun poems.
February 8, 2010
I noticed that the kids seemed more excited to see us this week and much more receptive to what we have been trying to accomplish. I narrated The Crocidiles Toothache today and they really seemed to like the poem. We had a couple more groups interested in performing it and I got to work with Cory and Brittney. They both had a good time interpreting the poem through their drawings. Both classes seem very nervous about the prospect of perfomring these poems themselves, especially in front of the students at Mesa Verde. But I'm sure with enough practice, their confidence will increase.
March 1, 2010
After some time of due to snow, we hit the ground running. Today we presented the rest of the poems for the kids to choose from for their own performance. I am worried about the ones who have already selected their poems, they don't seem to be spending any outside time practicing their poetry. Hopefully they will have them ready so they will be more confident when the time comes. Most of Ms. Evan's class has their poems, except for Isaac. He seems very resistant, so I suggested to him and the class that he be the props manager, and this seemed to excite him. I am glad he will be involved. Ms. Martin and Ms. Durden's class hasn't shown much improvement, and Ms. Martin seems convinced that they are incapable of memorizing and performing them. Hopefully they will prove her wrong.
March 8, 2010
This week was a vast improvement for most of the students. They obviously spent extra time this week working on their poems. The dress rehearsal went well for both classes. However, some disciplinary problems may cause some of the students to miss their performance. All of them are very close to having their poems memorized and the costumes looked great. There are still some apparent nerves, but it is like night and day compared to how they were the first couple of weeks. They are all very excited about next weeks performance.
Click link to go to performance reflection.