Orchard Garden CFE Day 4

This morning, we were introduced to poetry writing in the garden by Margaret. The weather was perfect for writing as it was not cold and rainy. Margaret started off with a brief introduction to poetry and gave us tips on leading students writing outside the classroom, especially in the rain. For example, she would prepare clear plastic bags for students to put their clipboard and paper in, short pencils that could go inside the plastic bags for writing, and plastic bags to be sit on. These are some practical tips that can be applied for any writing activities done outside.

After the introduction, we were led to different stations that helped us with our writing. First, we were encouraged to use our senses – touch, smell, hearing and vision to come up with adjectives that described a tree. We could choose either a tall tree or a small one. It was interesting to find that many of us came up with a lot more adjectives for sight and feel than smell and sound. It seems that we rely heavily on our sight and touch on a regular basis, and our other two senses are not developed as much. I guess I will have to fine-tune my sense of smell and hearing so that I am able to lead students to sense the world to their fullest ability.

Next, we used alliteration to write a few verses, used imagery to describe the birch tree, wrote a haiku by observing the grass, and a free verse poem using the descriptive words, alliterations and phases we had created. At the end of the session, many of us shared some of the poems we created and discussed our thoughts about those activities. Margaret commented that the poem activity was best suited for the intermediate grades; however, it could be adapted to the younger students by having students to write less and draw more. I think this activity is a great way not only to inspire student’s creativity, but also to engage students with nature and foster their connection to place.

In the afternoon, Kofi introduced us to a Ghanaian harvest dance, which is traditionally used to give thanks to gods and ask for a good harvest. There were some very fascinating dance movements such as carrying the basket and putting the food in the basket, which imitated the daily experiences of the people, and it was interesting to learn that many cultural dances also have this component to their dance steps. The music we danced with was lively and cheerful and everyone was having fun dancing. At the end, we discussed about how the cultural dance could be connected to the curriculum. Some interesting curricular connections included math in which students could learn about telling time, and language art in which students could write a story about the dance.

Overall, the poetry and dance activity that we did today were fun and enjoyable and I can see myself doing something similar with students in the future!