Learning / Lower School

Fifth Grade Glimpse

五年级概要

Chinese Curriculum Unit: 诗让我们的世界更美好 - Poetry

5th Grade poetry presentation in Chinese and English

A Chinese teacher kneels by the desk of a student to ask how she is going to begin her poem. The student thinks back to the conversation yesterday, when the class made a graphic organizer comparing and contrasting the techniques used in a Tang dynasty poem and a contemporary Chinese poem. She looks in her folder at notes on 枫桥夜泊, thinking about how it represents the golden moment in the Tang dynasty. She wonders if her choice of words will have the effect of painting a picture in her poem. Another student in the Chinese class writes a poem that uses a fixed AAAB template for the poetry structure.


English Curriculum Unit: Poetry

Meanwhile, in English class, a student is reading Love that Dog, by Sharon Creech as a mentor text to learn about poetry. He writes a reflection about the themes in the poems, citing how the author uses poetic devices, expresses emotion, paints an image with words and how the poem connects to his own life. Later that day, the teacher presents a mini-lesson about using metaphor and simile in poems before the students draft their own original poems. In both languages, the students write, revise and edit their original poems in preparation for the culminating poetry read aloud for families.


Examples of Enduring UnderstandingsExamples of Essential QuestionsFocus of Integration
ChineseWe can use words in a variety of ways to communicate our ideas, feelings and emotions, opinions, and life experiences through poetry.What is poetry?

How does a poet communicate his/her point of view through poetry?
Culture, Change and Continuity, Innovation and Creativity
EnglishWe can use words in a variety of ways to communicate our ideas, feelings and emotions, opinions, and life experiences through poetry.What is poetry?

How does a poet communicate his/her point of view through poetry?
Culture, Change and Continuity, Innovation and Creativity