Benefits of Reading Poetry
Poetry's emphasis on literary devices and structure makes it the perfect creative genre to practice reading and writing skills while exploring the relationship between society and self. As you read this article from the Iowa Reading Research Center, keep in mind some of the poetry digital resources available from Heartland AEA.
- Mackin VIA--some poems are read-along
- Learn 360 videos on slam poetry
- Complete book readings of 300 poetry books for grades 4-8 from TeachingBooks
- Hundreds of poems in Learning Ally for students with reading difficulties (if your district is registered)
- 300+ poetry books in the Heartland AEA library
AI and Video Transcripts
Can I share some new learning from an AI class?
I copy/pasted the video transcript of Obama’s second inaugural speech from American History in Video into Chat GPT. Without any prompts, it provided this summary:
The text you provided appears to be a transcript of a speech, and it seems to be the second inaugural address of President Barack Obama. This speech was delivered on January 21, 2013, during his second term in office. The address covers a range of topics, including the enduring strength of the Constitution, the principles of democracy, the challenges faced by the nation, and the responsibilities of citizens. If you have any specific questions or if there's something particular you would like to discuss about the speech, feel free to let me know!
I then entered the Chat GPT prompt:
Can you create some discussion questions for a group of high school students that target higher order thinking and deep learning? Do you understand?
It replied with eight bullets with two questions each such as:
Certainly! Here are some discussion questions designed to promote higher-order thinking and deep learning for a group of high school students based on the provided speech:
1. Understanding Core Concepts:
- What key principles of democracy does President Obama emphasize in his speech?
- How does the president define what makes America exceptional?
2. Historical Connections:
- How does President Obama connect historical events, such as Seneca Falls, Selma, and Stonewall, to the present?
- Easy to copy/paste video transcripts from Learn 360 and American History in Video.
- It's a planning tool that can serve as a thought partner to suggest teaching strategies.
- Check and then re-check for quality and accuracy.
- Saves time and jump starts the creative process--for both teachers and students.
- Longer videos (especially documentaries) take time to prep and view in the classroom. Sharing questioning prompts for students while viewing helps make meaning.
AI and Video Transcripts, part 2
Here is Rachel reading the previous article. It was created with the ElevenLabs AI app.
Try AI to Level Text
The AEAs offer high-quality digital content at different reading and interest levels. Sometimes it’s challenging to find the right reading level so the student will be successful.
We tried the following with an 11-page November 2023 article from New Republic—The Water Wars Deciding the Future of the West.
The Text Leveler Tool is one of many AI tools from Magic School.
Copy and paste the text and choose grade level. After generating the new text, you’ll see options:
- Ask Raina. A sample prompt might be “Give 3 more examples, add a writing prompt for 10th grade, change the tone to be more friendly.”
- Summarize to a shorter length--similar to an annotation.
- Change Text Length or Shorten.
- Generate multiple choice or free response questions.
- Translate.
- Includes Output History to track the text leveled, set as private or shared, bookmark.
What are some pros and cons?
- Opportunity to scaffold with different reading levels.
- Educator determines if new versions are relevant and meet student needs.
- Time-saver in planning.
- Prompts save time and assist teacher in planning.
- Thought and writing prompts can be used to guide students.
- What’s lost to the student if the content is too condensed? No photos, illustrations or infographics? No page layout that offers clues for close reading? No new vocabulary? Little understanding, in this example, of the New Republic as an original source.
Image from the Magic School website.
New Ebooks on Social Skills
New ebooks have been added to the elementary Mackin VIA collections to support social skills. Thanks to the elementary guidance counselor who requested that the SEL ebook collection be expanded. You can access through OneClick.
- Astro the Alien Learns about Honesty - Sohn, Emily
- But It's Not my Fault - Cook, Julia
- Cornbread & Poppy - Cordell, Matthew
- Elephant Learns to Share - Graves, Sue
- Excuses, Excuses! - Rissman, Rebecca
- Greetings, Sharkling! - Houran, Lori Haskins
- Herman Jiggle, Say Hello! : How to Talk to People When Your Words Get Stuck - Cook, Julia
- Honesty - Hicks, Kelli L.
- Making Friends Is an Art! - Cook, Julia
- Meesha Makes Friends - Percival, Tom
- Mighty Maui Makes a Friend - Hurley, Kalikolehua
- Morty Tells the Truth : A Story about Honesty - Maruyama, Jerrod
- On-again, Off-again Friend : Standing Up for Friends - Blevins, Wiley
- Rita & Ralph's Rotten Day - Deedy, Carmen Agra
Image: ImageQuest Group of children in school playground. D060727
