When was the last time you truly felt satisfied with a unit that you taught? For me, it was the poetry unit that I just finished teaching in my friend’s classroom. Student feedback reminded me of the why I teach – sparking student love of learning and belief in themselves. Students shared with me how much they enjoyed writing poetry and were surprised as they never saw themselves as poets.
Students published their poems and bound them into a booklet including the following self reflection:
Poetry Self-Assessment (Grades2/3)
Name:_______________________ Date:_______________________
| Smile | Neutral Face | Frown | |
| I enjoyed learning about poetry. | |||
| I enjoyed writing poetry. | |||
| Poetry can be a source of creativity and joy. | |||
| Playing with language in poetry helped me discover how language works. | |||
| In group lessons I shared my ideas. | |||
| I reviewed my writing and edited for word choice. |
Which is your favourite form of poetry and why?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What did you learn about poetry? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A couple of responses to “What did you learn about poetry?” made my heart melt:
“I learned that it is a beautiful way of speaking about something or someone.”
“I learned that its not just about drawing and writing its about putting your love and care in it and expressing yourself too.”
When was the last time you were reminded of the why you teach? Please share.
Wordsmithing 
I was reminded of why I teach (and why I couldn’t leave middle school behind when I retired) yesterday when I bumped into the parent of one of the students who attended book club. She started a book club at the high school (which survived even during the pandemic) and credits it to our small middle school book club.
I have to admit to being jealous of your poetry unit! It was always one of my favorite units to teach and I still can’t bring myself to throw away my files for teaching poetry or for Mock Newbery book clubs (and I’ve been retired for 8 years). I absolutely love your self-assessment for the unit.
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Thanks for sharing your why Ramona. You must have been thrilled that the book club has continued – what a legacy you established!
I admit that teaching poetry is one of my favourite things to teach. When kids learn that they can expressions themselves in phrases or single words, and not being constrained by sentences they take more risks with writing. (Especially with reluctant writers)
I can understand why you have kept your files. It is hard to part with something close to your heart.
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Thank you for sharing the actually form and a few student responses. So lovely!!
I was reminded a few weeks ago when 3 classes of 6th grade ELA gathered for a celebration in the auditorium during each period of the school day. It was the the end of their research unit on either a person, a career or a place to explore in the world. A handful of students agreed to share their final product for the gathered. Such a variety of formats – poetry, PSA, podcast, graphic story, children’s book.I was blown away by their creativity and pose to stand up and share with the audience. As the reading coach in the building, I left school that day energized and was reminded that this is why I teach. With Covid, large celebatory gatherings hadn’t happened for a while. This event reminded me that it it the connections we can make together that that give us energy to teach.
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I’m glad you liked the self assessment form. I always find it helpful to see other’s exemplars.
The ELA celebration sounds divine! I would have been enthralled with the diversity of formats. Thanks for sharing. 😊
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Being able to reflect on reasons that we do things, and how and what we’ve learned, is a big step in becoming a lifeling learner. Your self-reflection that you have helped students create is a wonderful way to begin the habits of examining self as learner.
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Thank you for your insightful comments, Kim.
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