Poetry Webquest

I participated in the poetry webquest from our reading in “Teaching Media Literacy”. The webquest takes you on a journey through the past, present, and future stages of your life. It helps you gather images and details to represent in specific poems. As you look into those different aspects of your life you incorporate the details and imagery into the poem structure. Then by modeling after another poet for a specific format you come to create a masterpiece. The poems that this site uses to offer templates are: Fifteen, where I’m From, I Am, Just a Daydream, and Dreams Deferred.

I thought this site was confusing as first. The first task did not seem to explain the expectations very clear. Then I discovered the templates, worksheets, and questions that were aligned with each task and thought that made it very clear. I had a ton of fun writing about different periods in my life and thinking poetically about it. I found that my dad and his Harley always seem to find a way into my past and that I enjoy describing his bike using words like, glimmer, shimmer, shiny, bright, anything that reveals the reflection from the sunlight in the summer off the brand new chrome all over the bike. I really enjoyed writing a poem and then finding a piece of art work that goes along with it. I am an art teacher currently and have always thought literacy and art go hand in hand and thought that was a fantastic way to mingle the two together.

I would love to incorporate a web quest into my lesson plans. I would want the web quest to be based on a thematic unit where students will have to do more researching. I was thinking possibly having a webquest for the Harlem Renaissance poets and have them research aspects of the time period and connect the two together.
This would give the students control of what they want to learn about the Harlem Renaissance and give them ownership of their learning.