gwocasio@att.net
http://mynameisgraceiwrite.com/
7800 Meadowdale Lane, Charlotte, NC 28212
Mecklenburg
704 568 3739
I seek to empower youth (young women in particular) to strive to be the very best individuals they can be. Through relating my own experiences via childhood memories of family triumphs and trials, I aim to inspire young people to press on in their own lives. In essence, I see myself as a coach/mentor. That is, I do all I can to encourage youth individually and collectively. There are times when I, as an educator, need to focus my attention on individual children. At other times, addressing youth as a group is most effective. One-on-one dynamics involve listening to youths’ concerns (not just about what is going on in the classroom but also factors in their home environments that impact their success in the classroom). The group dynamics involve working with youth to master the language (vocabulary) of poetry. Thus, I equip students with knowledge of the basic elements of poetry, lead them in discussions of individual poems, and solicit group response to poems. In addition, I expose students to history by having them engage with poetic texts that help them grapple with the most compelling issues of modern times: antisemitism, race relations, sexism, ageism, and so on. My overriding goal, then, is to help students feel comfortable and confident about reading and writing poetry.
Although my teaching experience has been obtained by teaching primarily adult learners, I work to provide young learners with the same skill sets as adult learners, only at a more basic, age-appropriate level. In a classroom setting, I share artifacts of culture in the form of the arts (music, dance, visual art, and drama). It is my hope that integrating the arts into class assignments will stimulate my students to want to know more about the world at large. To illustrate, I might have students listen to an early contemporary song as a way to learn about a specific subject (love, death, war, family unity) and then ask students to write about that subject using a specific prompt (assignment). (Students will be provided a prompt on a given subject and be asked to address the prompt during class time.) Students will then be asked to share their creative work and receive feedback as to how well they have addressed their prompt from fellow students and from me.
Grace C Ocasio
704-568-3739
gwocasio@att.net
throughout the year
10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
classroom space/blackboard or whiteboard/CD/DVD player and/or TV equipped with CD/DVD player
at school
$150 per workshop
R2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. (In our case, we will examine how and when the elements of poetry appear in any given poem.)
W3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. (In our case, we will work from a writing prompt; students will develop a poem based on the prompt.)
SL3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric. (In our case, we will discuss perspective in a poem: if the poem is told from first-person, second-person, or third-person point of view and how a specific point of view impacts the meaning of the poem.)
Theatre C1 Use movement, voice, and writing to communicate ideas and feelings.
Theatre A1 Analyze literary texts and performances.
Theatre CU.1 Analyze theatre in terms of the social, historical, and cultural contexts in which it was created.
I charge half my fee, which would be $75.00, in the event of a cancellation on the part of a given school if cancellation takes place less than ten days out from the event.