Blended Learning and Online Learning in K-12

Lesson Idea Name: Making Blackout Poetry

Content Area: English Language Arts

Grade Level(s): 6th Grade
Content Standard Addressed:

ELAGSE6W4 Produce clear and coherent wri;ng in which the development, organiza;on, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

CCSS:
W.6.4- Produce clear and coherent wri;ng in which the development, organiza;on, and style are appropriate
to task, purpose, and audience.

Technology Standard Addressed:

1c. Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their prac;ce and to demonstrate
their learning in a variety of ways.
6b. Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new crea;ons.
Selected Technology Tool: Nearpod, Blackout Poetry Maker, and Google Slides
URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):
hNps://blackoutpoetry.glitch.me
hNps://share.nearpod.com/f76thUqZKT
Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):
☐ Remembering ☐ Understanding ✓ Applying ✓ Analyzing ☐ Evalua;ng ☐ Crea;ng

Levels of Technology IntegraWon (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Explora;on ✓ Level 3: Infusion ☐ Level 4: Integra;on
☐ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

Engagement: Students have few opportuni;es for distrac;ons, and only relevant informa;on is on the
NearPod. Students have an authen;c audience, their peers, that will give them feedback. Students will give
each other feedback to foster community and collabora;on.
RepresentaWon: Students have visual and auditory access to the informa;on, as well as the opportunity for
hands-on prac;ce. Mul;ple examples of blackout poetry are given.
AcWon and Expression: Students can either use the site given for blackout poetry or use a pen and paper. The
site used allows for students with physical disabili;es to par;cipate in the ac;vity. Instruc;on is explicit, with a
step-by-step strategy guide used for all students to follow.
 Blended Learning and Online Learning in K-12
Lesson idea implementaWon
Opening: [Time: 5 minutes ]
• Students will receive a NearPod link as the class starts.
• Students will “think, pair, share” with the ques;on: What is Blackout poetry, and why do people
choose to write it?
◦ Students will write their response to the ques;on on NearPod.
• A[er a couple of minutes, the teacher will go through responses on NearPod.
• The teacher will tell students what blackout poetry is, and then then explain that students will be
crea;ng a blackout poem in class.
InstrucWon: [Time: 40-50 minutes ]
• Presenta;on [10 minutes]
◦ Students will watch the blackout poetry video
◦ The teacher will go through the SCWBB strategy (Skim, Circle, Write, Box, Blackout).
▪ There will be visuals with each step.
◦ If it is necessary to review before moving on, there is a slide with an excerpt from Charlo'e’s
Web. The teacher can model how to find phrases and words with students or let students try it
on their own with the “draw it” feature on NearPod. Students on NearPod will be able to draw
on their tablets so they can circle words on their own.
• Individual Work [10-15 minutes]
◦ A[er the prac;ce slide, students can prac;ce on their own. They can do blackout poetry
online (using this link) with text that they choose, or they can go through newspapers or
copies of pages from books.
◦ Students work individually on their piece for 10-15 minutes. Students will put a picture to their
poem or write their poem on their assigned google slide. The teacher should move around the
classroom and look through google slides to clear up misunderstandings and remind students
of the SCWBB strategy.
• Peer Feedback [10-15 minutes]
◦ Students will look at the person above them and the person below them on google slides.
They should give feedback to their partners about their poem through the comment feature.
By this point, even if students have not started to blackout their page, they should have circled
the words they want to use.
• Whole group sharing/Closing [10-15 minutes]
◦ The teacher will ask if anyone wants to share. Allow students 5-10 minutes to share what they
have so far. If there are no volunteers, share a poem that you have found or that you created.
A[erwards, ask again if anyone wants to share.
◦ In the last 5 minutes of class, have students respond to a ques;on on NearPod: Why do they
think people like to make blackout poetry, or why do people like to read it?
 Blended Learning and Online Learning in K-12
Importance of technology:
I will be using NearPod, Google Slides, and Blackout Poetry Maker. Each of these tools offers cri;cal roles to
this lesson: NearPod allows teachers to check for understanding as the class progresses, Google Slides offers
opportuni;es for peer-feedback and collabora;on, and Blackout Poetry Maker allows students that may
struggle with hand-eye coordina;on to create blackout poetry without difficulty and frustra;on. The lesson
could be completed without Google Slides, but students would lose an authen;c audience and the
opportunity to receive feedback. Likewise, the lesson could be completed without Blackout Poetry Maker, but
students that are on the class online or students who need that technology would lose out on the process of
crea;ng blackout poetry like the rest of the class.
InspiraWon (opWonal): N/A
Internet Safety and Student Privacy:
Students should not have any safety or privacy issues, other than having a google account and browsing the
web on their own ;me. All websites accessed to not require and account or any personal informa;on.
ReflecWve PracWce:
Although I like the lesson, I do wonder whether there is more I can do to diversify the ac;vity. I would like
more collabora;on, but in a blended classroom, this could be difficult as some students are in the class and
others are online. With Zoom, it would be possible to have students share and collaborate in breakout rooms
in a fully online class. This lesson was more of an introductory ac;vity to blackout poetry and poetry as a
whole, so there was not a product that was taken for a grade other than the Google Slides as a par;cipa;on
grade. This lesson is quite lax, but I feel like an introduc;on to any new wri;ng needs to offer room for
experimenta;on. I would have loved to use Pear Deck instead of NearPod, as I think Pear Deck is more
intui;ve than NearPod and is a Google Slides extension, but NearPod offers similar tools that I like as well, like
the collabora;on board.