MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Alex made a difference in her community by helping others with the simple idea of a lemonade stand—we want your students to think about what they can do to make a difference in their community.

Have each student write a poem addressing the question:

How can YOU make a difference?

Each school participating in the poetry contest should select one poetry contest winner who best addresses this essential question.

Send your school's winning entry to Heather Weisse via email no later than Friday, April 11, 2008. Winners from each school will be posted on this website, where readers can vote on their favorite from April 14th - April 18th. Make sure to remind parents and family members to go online and vote!

REMEMBER: Content is the most important piece. Poem may be in any format, any length. Don't forget to have students title their poem!

The three poems that receive the most votes will be read during our closing celebration.

Project Timeline:

• Now - April 11, 2008: Schools conduct individual poetry contests
• April 11, 2008: School entries for national contest DUE
• April 14- April 28, 2008: Online voting open
• April 21, 2008: Top three winning entrants notified and asked to prepare to read poem during closing videoconference
• April 24, 2008: Closing Celebration Videoconference
  

A Note about PA State Standards:
Depending on how individual educators interpret and manage the development of poems/school-sponsored poetry contests, the following standards may be met through participation in this project:

1.4 - Types of Writing (All Grade Levels)

A: Write narrative pieces (eg. stories, poems and plays)

1.5 - Quality of Writing (All Grade Levels)

A. Write with a sharp, distinct focus identifying topic, task and audience

C. Write with controlled and/or subtle organization.

D. Write with awareness of the stylistic aspects of composition.

E. Revise writing

1.5.3.E - Revise writing to improve detail and order by identifying missing information and determining whether ideas follow logically.

1.5.5.E - Revise writing to improve organization and word choice; check the logic, order of ideas and precision of vocabulary.

1.5.8.E - Revise writing after rethinking logic of organization and rechecking central idea, content, paragraph development, level of detail, style, tone and word choice.

1.5.11.E - Revise writing to improve style, word choice, sentence variety and subtlety of meaning after rethinking how questions of purpose, audience and genre have been addressed.

F. Edit using the conventions of language.

G. Present and/or defend written work for publication when appropriate.