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Learning Experience 1: Listen and Take Notes 

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Learning Experience 1: Listen and Take Notes 

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The class will begin with me lecturing briefly with a SlideShow on poetic elements. Students will take notes in a way that helps them begin to remember and understand these concepts.

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Learning Experience 2: Listening with some Involvement

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Learning Experience 2: Listening with some Involvement

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Students will listen and watch me break down a poem on the board before they break one down in groups then write their own individually. During this time, I will allow them to help me identify these elements by raising their hands.

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Learning Experience 3: Create a Group Infographic of a Poem

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Learning Experience 3: Create a Group Infographic of a Poem

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During this activity, students will work as a group to create an infographic that displays the poetic elements of their group's poem. They will also have to incorporate colors, images, and a theme that matches the overall message of the poem. Working in groups to work creatively and analytically will help them to practice critical thinking, team work, creativity skills, and analysis. Socializing is also a crucial part of early adolescence, so they will get to practice this as well.

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After working in groups to analyze a poem for it's overall theme and poetic elements, students will write their own poem and practice implementing these elements. They will also have some autonomy here to write about whatever they choose. Writing in different genres, such as poetry, gives them the opportunity to become better writers, practice literacy skills, and write creatively.

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While creating their infographic, students will analyze and make inferences about poetry. The most commonly tested TEK for ELAR 1 is F(4), or inferencing.

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Before they leave class, they will write down two questions they still have about poetry/ poetic elements on a notecard or a virtual discussion board post (probably in Canvas) to be answered and discussed next class.

Questioning is the key to learning; it helps students realize the value of learning and exploring the unknown and digging deeper into a topic.

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Instructional Strategy 1: Real Word Learning/ Authentic Learning

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Instructional Strategy 1: Real Word Learning/ Authentic Learning

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An instructional strategy that helps students find relevance and purpose in their learning is authentic learning. In this strategy, teachers build assignments and lessons around a "real world" concept. For the poetic elements and inferencing assignment in this lesson in my poetry unit, I decided to have students create an infographic because this is a genre they may use in many career fields, such as business. Creating an infographic instead of simply recording their poetic analysis on paper helps them to look at poetry with a bit more purpose. They also get to use a software, such as Canva, which is a tool they may use or want to use in the "real world" someday. Erik Day (2017) states "interconnected into real-world learning is maker education. The maker mindset exists at the intersection of STEM, creative projects and a “get **** done attitude, and it’s all about giving your students a chance to engage their creative sides while having something cool (and often, though not always, tech-related) to show for it." So, they get real world experience with poetry and have a product in the end that is a bit more useful to them than merely a piece of paper or notes.

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Instructional Strategy 2: A Focus on Literacy 

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Instructional Strategy 2: A Focus on Literacy 

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A focus on literacy is an instructional strategy in which I give students multiple opportunities to read and write and provide student choice. According to Nancy Barile, incorporating this strategy will help students to become "stronger readers and writers as a result."

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Instructional Strategy 3: Cooperative Learning 

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Instructional Strategy 3: Cooperative Learning 

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The instructional strategy, cooperative learning, allows students to work together and learn from each other. In analyzing a poem as a group, they can be there to remind each other of definitions of poetic elements, practice working together as a team, and utilize their skills to support each other as a whole.

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For this instructional strategy, I will break down the poem I analyze for students on the board into chunks to make reading and analyzing it a bit more digestible. Then, in groups, they will work together to decide how to chunk their poem before starting their infographic analysis, which will probably be chunked by stanza. This strategy is also beneficial for ELLs because breaking down the poem into chunks, helps them to focus on one part at a time.

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Instructional Strategy 5: I do, We do, You do 

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Instructional Strategy 5: I do, We do, You do 

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After teaching the students about poetic elements and theme, I will analyze a poem on the board. Then, they will analyze a poem in groups to create the infographic. Finally, they will work independently to write their own poem that incorporates each of these elements.

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Formative Assessment 1- Infographic of Poetic Elements 

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Formative Assessment 1- Infographic of Poetic Elements 

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In this formative assessment, students will work in groups and show that they can analyze a poem by breaking down its poetic elements (simile, enjambment, meter, form, rhyme, metaphor, etc.). They will use Canva or some other software to create the infographic and uses colors and images to match the theme of the poem. After identifying poetic elements, they will conclude the infographic with their inferred message/theme of the poem that was assigned to their group.

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Formative Assessment 2- Write Your Own Poem using Poetic Elements 

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Formative Assessment 2- Write Your Own Poem using Poetic Elements 

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After a lesson on poetic elements and theme, then working as a group to analyze a poem and create an infographic, students will write their own poem using the poetic elements from the lesson.

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Barile, Nancy. " The 5 Best Teaching Methods I Used this Year. " Hey Teach, WGU. https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/5-best-teaching-methods-i-used-year1805.html. Accessed 6 July 2022.

Day, Erik. (2017). "5 New Teaching Methods Improving Education." Getting Smart, https://www.gettingsmart.com/2017/10/06/5-new-teaching-methods-improving-education/, Accessed 6 July 2022.

Gonzales, Valentina. "4 Practical Ways to Make Instruction Accessible for Multilanguage Learners." Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-practical-ways-make-instruction-accessible-multilingual-learners. Accessed 5 July 2022.

TeachThoughtStaff. (2022) "32 Research Based Instructional Strategies." Teach Thought. https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/research-based-strategies/. Accessed 6 July 2022.

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Updated: April 3, 2020

Here at Getting Smart, we’re enthusiastic about the future of learning. We believe in sharing innovative ways to improve the teaching of students and leading of schools and districts in order to inspire anyone seeking to better their work.

However, we also recognize that many educators may just be beginning to grapple with how to adapt their practice to the shifting needs of the future. For those just getting started or for those that now have the time to dig into the world of education innovation and improvement, we’ve created this overview of what we feel are five of the most important new teaching methods making a positive impact on students’ learning in the modern world.

Personalized Learning

Personalized learning isn’t terribly complicated in theory–at its core, it’s the idea that the “average” student (whom educators have traditionally designed curriculum for) doesn’t actually exist. Author Todd Rose continues to advocate for individuality and personalization in his books and practice and takes care to note that personalized learning is a practice in which educators seek to tailor challenges, lessons and instructional styles to support each student’s needs.

Where it gets complicated is in the implementation. EdTech can enable some wonderful new ways to monitor where students are at (we’ve highlighted one teacher’s journey), but EdTech and effort alone aren’t enough. You need ways to measure success (both of the tools used and overall strategy–see our series on a pilot design for personalized learning), and the end results will take a number of shapes (see 8 Things to Look for in a Student-Centered Learning Environment).

Personalizing learning is a worthy challenge. Networks like Silicon Schools  and Big Picture Learning see great success through rigorous and well-managed approaches to personalized learning; however, it is important to continue to differentiate between 1:1 education and personalization and to note that edtech is simply a tool to help get there.

Project-Based Learning (PBL)

The Gig Economy has arrived, and education as a whole has been slow to catch up. Today’s students are in for a quickly-changing future that will require uniquely human skills, adaptability, a knack for asking the right questions and the ability to manage both projects and people.

The common concerns related to PBL center around an assumption that a lack of focus on standard subject matter must be inherent in PBL, and that it won’t prepare students for college and career. However, these concerns are largely unfounded. PBL, when done well, is also proving to be a valuable method of equitable learning. We worked with PBLWorks to develop an HQPBL framework that is focused on highlighting how this can best be done.

Teachers have a unique role in PBL, in that in many ways they become collaborators and coaches rather than instructors as they help their students navigate their challenging projects. If you’re interested in learning more, we put together a guide that can help you get started. New Tech Network also provides a great example.

Place-Based Education

What is Place-Based Education, and Why Does it Matter? This was the exact question we found ourselves asking when we first started our campaign on the subject over a year and a half ago.

We all know that it’s valuable to take time out of the classroom. We at Getting Smart also advocate for the value of beautiful shared spaces. Place-Based Ed takes this all a step further, with a focus on integrating schools and communities by leveraging the “power of place” in order to equip–through authentic learning experiences–students with the tools and skills they need to collaborate, think critically and solve complex challenges. Place-Based Ed boosts student engagement, connects students to their communities in an age fraught with feelings of disconnectedness, and improves learning.

We’ve recently published a book on place-based education: The Power of Place: Authentic Learning Through Place-Based Education, and continue to release valuable resources on how to implement PBE and to help educators dip their toes in the place-based waters.

Formative Assessment

Formative Assessment is perhaps the lightest lift of this list for a teacher to begin incorporating into their practice. Formative assessment differs fundamentally from traditional summative assessment in that it is designed to provide the information necessary to make minor “course corrections” along the way, rather than judge whether or not a student “reached their goal” at the end of a unit.

It can be significantly less stressful (both for teachers and students) than summative assessment, and it is an important part of personalized learning and competency-based learning.

Real-World Learning

Pathways continue to be a large part of the conversation surrounding learning. Pathways to careers, pathways to college, personalized learner pathways… and to meet this demand networks and partnerships are being formed to help communities create pipelines and equitable paths towards success. We’re proud to support a recent initiative in Kansas City that seeks to create new qualifications for high school students including client-connected projects, internships and much more.

Real-world learning also means providing learners the opportunity to think about tangible challenges that the world is facing and empowering them with agency and resources to face them with an entrepreneurial mindset.

Also interconnected into real-world learning is maker education. The maker mindset exists at the intersection of STEM, creative projects and a “get **** done attitude, and it’s all about giving your students a chance to engage their creative sides while having something cool (and often, though not always, tech-related) to show for it. If you’re looking for helpful resources, check out our list of three steps to get started, 10 things you wouldn’t think you’ll need and a list of 40 STEM networks and maker resources.

Photo courtesy of Lindsey Own

There are a million new and effective modern things teachers can try in their classrooms. These are just a few, but we think they’re a great way to get going. And if you are just getting started on the journey of innovative education practices, we’d love to be by your side–if you’d like a weekly dose of education news along with the best of Getting Smart, consider signing up for our newsletter.

And, for more ideas, see:

Podcast: 20 Trends in 20 Minutes

Four Mega Trends Reshaping Global Learning

Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive the weekly Smart Update. This post includes mentions of a Getting Smart partner. For a full list of partners, affiliate organizations and all other disclosures, please see our Partner page.