#3744. Understanding Immigration through the use of triante poetry

, level: Elementary
Posted Mon Jun 12 21:13:13 PDT 2006 by Christina Cota (tinacota89@aol.com).
Willmore School , Westminster, CA, USA
Materials Required: Book entitled How Many Days to America?; lined sheets of paper, white 8 ½ x 11 paper, colored constr
Activity Time: 1 hour
Concepts Taught: California Writing Standard 2.2, California Reading Standard 3.1

Title: Understanding Immigration through the use of triante poetry

Level: Grade 3

Objective: To create a triante poem that demonstrates the major themes in literature

Standard: California Reading Standard 3.1 Distinguish common forms of literature (e.g., poetry, drama, fiction, nonfiction);
California Writing Standard 2.2 Write descriptions that use concrete sensory details to present and support unified impressions of people, places, things or experiences

Materials and Resources: Book entitled How Many Days to America?; lined sheets of paper, white 8 ½ x 11 paper, colored construction paper; glue or tape, pencil and crayons, previous work samples of triante poetry

Background Knowledge or Experience: The book will be introduced using a KWL chart. Students will discuss what they know about the word immigration and what they want to learn. I will ask students if they know anyone in their family or friends that may have come to the United States from another country. Then I will inquire if they know the reasons why they might have immigrated and build on these responses.

Teaching Sequence: First I will complete a KWL chart about immigration. Students will discuss what they think the word means. Then we will discuss their prior knowledge. I will preface the book with asking the students to think about why the young boy in the story immigrates to the United States and how he and his family feel about it. After the book reading is completed, I will create four columns on the board and label them "Smell," "Touch," "Sight," and "Sound." Then I will start with the first sense and try to elicit responses from the children describing the book using this particular sense. I will ask questions such as "If you were in the story, what would things look like?" I could also phrase the question as, "What sounds do you think the characters heard in the story?" I will ask similar questions until each sense is discussed and several responses are written on the board.

Next, I will introduce the format of a triante. The format will be written on the board so that the children can follow along with the lesson. I will describe the format line by line and ask for examples from the students to check for understanding. Next, I will hand out work samples completed by other students to help students understand how writing a triante also creates a triangular-shaped poem and explain this is why it is called a "triante." I will ask students to create their own triantes, using some of the sensory words they thought of beforehand. I will pass out scratch paper to have children create drafts and will assist them with their formatting.

After students have finalized their triantes, I will allow them to neatly print their final draft on the white sheet of paper. Construction paper will be provided in a variety of colors to create a background for their final drafts. Glue and tape will be used to attach the two. Then students will be asked to illustrate their poems using objects or images they recall from the story. As each student completes their triante, I will ask them to describe their word selections and illustrations to assess their comprehension of the story and concept.

Outcomes and Evaluation: Students will be able to define what a triante is, how it is formatted and why it is called a triante. Final drafts of their poems will follow the format discussed (e.g., first line should contain one word, second line two words and so on.) Upon final completion of the project, I will sit down with each student and have them explain the significance of the words chosen and the illustrations created to ascertain whether or not students comprehended the meaning of the word immigration.

Extension: As a Social Studies extension to this exercise, the teacher can use a world map and discuss where the family may be traveling from. Discuss other places that people may immigrate from and discuss the ways they travel to the United States. Further discuss the implications that some immigrants may face if they are immigrating illegally to the United States.

The teacher can also use immigration as a math lesson. Immigration can be the theme of charts and graphs which may describe the number of immigrants that come into the United States annually or from which country they have come.