Pearl is my 9-year-old student here in the Dominican Republic, where I will be for the next two and a half weeks. She is participating in Mrs. Dines’ Writing Bootcamp. Today we wrote a poem together called “I Am From” using this template. Although Pearl knows a lot of English from her family, she has never attended school in English. This is her first poem written in English, and it was accomplished through shared writing – Pearl told me her ideas, I wrote them down, and then she practiced the poem and read it for the video camera.

Mrs. Dines: So, Pearl, how did we make this poem together?

Pearl: First, we made a plan to write a poem and make a movie. Then, we posted it on YouTube.

Mrs. Dines: Why did we write a poem together?

Pearl: To make a movie.

Mrs. Dines: Was it easy to make a movie?

Pearl: No because I had to repeat it and repeat it over and over again.

Mrs. Dines: How do you feel that you made a video for YouTube?

Pearl: Good because I had a little help.