Curriculum Unit
Mary Beth Barbro
Ekphrastic Poetry in Kindergarten: Oh My! Exploring and Responding to Art
through Speech Bubbles, Rebus, Free Verse and More!
Title Author
KEY LEARNING, ENDURING UNDERSTANDING, ETC.
Students will develop an understanding of poetry and ekphrasis. They will begin by responding to works of art with illustrations. Students will engage with a variety of art forms. They will try a variety of poetic responses to various art forms. Students will share their response and discuss with small or large groups of students. As a culminating project, students will select a piece of art they value and will use one of the skills from their “ekphrasis tool box” to write a poetry response to the work selected. Finally, students will share their ekphrasis response at a culminating family event.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S) for the UNIT
What is poetry?
What are my senses?
How can I express myself and my sensory responses about art forms?
CONCEPT A CONCEPT B CONCEPT C
Poetry is an art form through which an individual can express their self.
The five senses are seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting.
A variety of poetic forms can be used to express one’s sensory responses to an art form.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS A ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS B ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS C
What is poetry?
What are my senses?
How can I express myself and my sensory responses about art forms?
VOCABULARY A VOCABULARY A VOCABULARY A
Poetry, poem, poet, ekphrasis,
Senses, sensory responses, seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, tasting
Ekphrastic poetry, nursery rhyme, concrete poems, free verse, rebus, speech bubble, alliteration, rhyme, imagery, contrast, line, onomatopoeia, refrain, repetition,
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/MATERIAL/TEXT/FILM/RESOURCES
"About Aesthetic Education." The Maxine Greene Institute. Accessed December 11, 2018. https://maxinegreene.org/about/aesthetic-education.
Magic, 幻维数码 Motion. "Van Gogh - The Starry Night梵高《星月夜》VR版 - 3D 360° Experience." YouTube. June 29, 2016. Accessed December 08, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSixcSx-5h0.
Routman, Regie. Kids Poems: Teaching Kindergartners to Love Writing Poetry. New York: Scholastic, 2000.
Vanness, Amanda R., Timothy J. Murnen, and Cynthia D. Bertelsen. "Let Me Tell You a Secret: Kindergartners Can Write!" The Reading Teacher66, no. 7 (2013): 574-85. doi:10.1002/trtr.1162.