Comments on: Fever 1793

By: Gwindale Person

Gwindale Person — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:10:29 +0000

I especially appreciate the use of poetry in the lesson planning for this historical novel. Also, the broad use of scaffolding to reach every learning style helps to assure that every student is engaged in the process. I could add these strategies to my love of project based learning in the fifth grade classroom. Many stories fit into the framework of this kind of planning and I expect that students will easily adapt to its usage. Thanks, Suzanne, for modeling good teaching practice.

By: Marie Milner

Marie Milner — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:10:01 +0000

Suzanne’s workshop is highly adaptable to the high school level kids I teach, especially because I teach so many EL students who love to read Young Adult Literature. The idea of using concrete details/lists from historical fiction, adding one’s own adjectives, metaphors, personification, etc., and then creating a unique poem, is something I can easily use with Beloved, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Crucible, etc. I will use the poem “The Fish,” which Suzanne uses as a model with her students, and I’ll look for other like poems to reinforce the idea of using concrete detail (especially visual) to create powerful images in both poetry and prose. Thanks, Suzanne

By: Colleen St. Denis

Colleen St. Denis — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:08:53 +0000

I was truly moved and inspired by Laurie Halse Anderson’s presentation and appreciate the efforts to have her present at a truly “ Super Satuday!” Suzanne Murphy’s presentation was very applicable to my classroom as she provided 4 different ways to squeeze writing out of historical fiction. In addition to concrete poetry ideas I can use on Monday morning, I have method to implement historical document, summary and research writing. Thank you.

By: Tenly Connor

Tenly Connor — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:08:26 +0000

Really great ideas on teaching. I liked the use of Laurie Halse Anderson’s book as a vehicle for the workshop. Thank you!

By: Laura Brown

Laura Brown — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:08:11 +0000

Our presenter’s first love for poetry is inspiring. I am a fifth grade teacher who quails at having elementary students write “poetry” in the first place. Writing good poetry is a feat, and the process by which a poem arrives on paper is one of the more mysterious (to me) aspects of writing process. Suzanne made one kind of poem very accessible. Not stopping at poetry, the workshop inspires me to a mini-unit on colonial America that will include many genres of writing by my students.