Sharing Student Voices: "Where I'm From" poems using Adobe Spark

By Sandra Lee

For first quarter, freshmen created "Where I'm From" poems while reading House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. They then recorded their readings of their poems using the Adobe Spark app. While the requirements were minimal, students applied their creativity using Adobe Spark by adding images, background colors, and music to reflect their poems. We required students to use this app because we wanted them to practice speaking loudly and clearly, but we wanted them to have opportunities for practice. Since we assess students' speaking skills in a number of formal and informal speeches, it was important for students to be able to practice speaking skills such as volume and annunciation in isolation. Overall, the students exceeded our expectations as listed in a rubric and created interesting and original projects that displayed their unique personalities and backgrounds.

Check out this student sample! 

And this one!