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Poetry: Techniques & Form
John Sweeney, EDU 548
A Unit of Study, Grade Level 9
Overview:
The following course of study is a poetry unit designed for a ninth
grade heterogeneous Language Arts class. Poetry is a part of the Language
arts curriculum at all levels of a student’s education. This unit is designed
to assess and build on prior knowledge and to take the students further
into an exploration of an important area of the study of the English Language.
The unit is composed of two parts, one centering on poetic technique and
figurative language with ten 50-minute lessons. The second is focusing
on poetic form and is composed of seven 50-minute lessons. During the unit
students will work in cooperative groups, use learning centers, and participate
in whole class discussions, direct instruction and poetry workshops.
Goals:
1) The learner will respond to poetry.
2) The learner will show knowledge of poets.
3) The learner will show knowledge and understanding of poetic devices.
4) The learner will show knowledge and understanding of poetic forms
and styles.
5) The learner will write poetry.
6) Students will discuss and evaluate poetry.
7) Students will present poetry to an audience.
8) Students will develop a further appreciation of poetry.
Objectives:
1. The learner will read poetry and respond to it in a written response
journal (Reason, Skills.)
2. TLW the learner will identify three uses of poetry. (Knowledge)
3. TLW name three poets and discuss in writing how the author’s personal
life and the historical era in which he lived influenced his writing. (Knowledge)
4. TLW list three poets and name the forms of poetry, which they were
famous for writing. (Knowledge)
5. TLW analyze the meaning and forms of poems in-group and whole
class discussions. (Reason)
6. TLW identify the use of alliteration in a poem after reading
it. (Reason)
7. TLW compare the use of metaphor in two poems after reading and discussing
them in class. (Reason)
8. TLW identify the use of figurative language when encountering it
poetry. (Reason)
9. TLW write two poems using at least two of the forms of figurative
language or techniques discussed in class, in each poem. (Reason, Skills)
10.TLW will write two poems using two different forms studied in class.
(Reason, skills)
11.Student’s will, orally present poetry to the class. (Skills)
Instructional Overview:
The unit will open with a class brainstorming activity around the word
poetry. Groups will then be formed to categorize the terms brought up during
the brainstorming .The results of these activities will be shared during
a the whole class discussion and written up on large sheets of paper to
form a graphic organizer which will be hung for use during the unit. The
second part of this exercise will entail the students listing the words
and categories from the organizer and rating their knowledge of the words
or phrases with a simple scale. The teacher will collect these.
The next two weeks will center on figurative language and technique.
The first 15 minutes of each class the students will work in learning centers
based on exploring the figurative language and techniques used in poems.
There will be several stations concentrating on topics such as authors,
alliteration, irony, imagery, rhyme scheme, and others. Each station
will have individual techniques and language defined, and examples of the
subject supplied in previously written poems. The groups will be asked
to compose a line or two of verse, which are an example of the technique
they are exploring and to pick other examples of what they are studying
at the station from books of poems available at the station. These will
be read to the class. Each group will then be responsible for identifying
their technique as the class goes over poems together during a whole group
poetry discussion.
Daily, the class will read at least one poem from handouts or the overhead,
which will form the basis of class discussions. For this discussion, the
teacher will have picked a poem illustrative of the main topic of the day.
To begin each day’s discussion, the group at the “author station” will
give a brief presentation on the results of their Internet author search.
The daily poem will then be read aloud by the teacher or student volunteers
and discussed. The first part of the discussion will center on reader response.
Second, the groups and individuals will be asked to point out examples
of their topic of the day. Thirdly, the teacher will guide the conversation
toward the daily topic by pointing out use of that technique in the present
example. Poems will be passed out the night before if not sooner
for students to pre-read. The students will also know what their group
is responsible for the next day by consulting a prearranged schedule. The
teacher will go over the schedule at the end of each period making sure
the assignments are clear. Thus, each student will take a poem home every
night to read and have a specific technique they are looking for during
their reading. As a study aid, the graphic organizer developed in the beginning
of the unit will have been augmented with examples of the techniques and
terms before being handed out to the students.
Journal entries will serve as both pre and post lesson activities.
Students will be asked to write two short journal entries each night. The
first will be a pre-reading activity. They will write about their personal
response to that evening’s reading and predict what they will learn about
in the following day’s group exploration and class discussion of the poem.
The second part of the journal entry will center on their response to the
previous days reading and class discussion. Did their response or feelings
toward the poem read and discussed in class change during further exploration?
Did their ideas about technique- imagery, metaphor, etc.-change?
The second part of the unit will focus on forms of poetry and
having the students write poetry. The initial explanation of form will
rely on an inductive approach. The class will be broken into groups and
each group will be assigned a packet of poems. The groups will sort and
categorize the poems in a manner agreed upon by the group. Once these categories
are established, groups will come together and further define the categories
in a whole class discussion. Finally the teacher will suggest the accepted
names for the forms and have students apply them to the categories through
consensus. This exercise will assess prior knowledge of the subject as
well as aid in the basic concept formation of these categories as forms
of poetry. At the end of this lesson the teacher will correct and clarify
the categories if need be. This exercise will then be presented as an addition
to graphic organizer on poetic forms already hanging in the classroom.
There will be learning stations accompanying each of the poetic
forms discussed in the class and much like the first half of the unit,
these stations will provide definitions and examples. The activities at
these stations will involve the students finding further examples in books
and on the Internet, as well writing or constructing poems reflective of
those found in the stations. For example, the students at the “Limerick
Station” will see the definition and examples of a limerick. They will
then explore various sources finding exemplars of limericks and construct
individual poems during several visits to that station. At the end of each
rotation the group will decide upon an example of student work which will
be read to the class and who will read it. A different student from each
group will be chosen to read the selected poem at each station. Groups
will rotate through all the various stations.
Along with the activities at the stations, Synectics and other creative
writing activities will be modeled by the teacher and the daily poetry
discussions will continue, until the students have rotated through the
stations. At the end of the unit two or three days will be devoted to a
mini writers workshop and time will be given to present author brochures.
Links Sample Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan: Brainstorming/ Pre-knowledge
Lesson Plan: Alliteration
Lesson Plan: Onomatopoeia
Lesson Plan: Metaphor
Lesson Plan: Sonnet
Lesson Plan :Haiku
Lesson Plan: Concrete Poetry
Lesson Plan: Synectics
Overview of Assessment:
The assessment process will start on the first day of the unit. The
brainstorm, group list and knowledge rating of words mentioned above will
serve as an assessment of prior knowledge as well as an activation of schema.
This assessment of prior knowledge will serve as a guide in directing the
teacher to the areas of the unit that need to be focused on and where the
strengths and weaknesses of individual learners lie.
The day-to-day work at learning centers will generally be assessed
in an informal manner. The teacher will observe the groups in action noting
individuals activities, interactions and contributions. A clipboard with
a chart of names will serve as a daily place for anecdotal notes. At the
end of the rotation at each station, groups will be asked to rate the performance
of individuals in the groups by selecting a most valuable player for each
station. This should help create an atmosphere conducive to group participation
and help focus the student’s attention on the qualities the class decided
were the attributes of good team or group members. The reporting to the
class of group findings at each station and the selections of verse read
or composed should indicate whether the group’s activities are on track
at each station. If they are not, another day at that station may help
or I can make sure the whole class discussion serves to clarify the issues
that need to be taught. The rotation of the job as group reporter will
also give me a chance to see how individual students react toward addressing
the class, as students will be required to make a presentation to the class
as part of their individual projects, I feel this is important. This activity
will serve as practice for them and give me a chance to see how and where
they need help. The class will have decided upon the traits, which make
a good presenter and each day the group members will help the presenter
assess his or her performance by rating it and giving feedback.
Journals are another method, which will be used to see what and
how the students are learning. They will be used in several ways. First
they will be used as a non- threatening way for the students to respond
to the poetry covered in the unit. A student may often have a response
to literature and be afraid to express it in class. This journal will give
them a semi- private place to respond where I can see how they are reacting
to what is read. Secondly, I can use these journals to see if in fact the
student is doing the assigned reading. Thirdly, reading the journals
will also give me insight into the students writing ability and serve as
a place for them to practice writing. I will not be grading the journals
they will be checked off individually and counted as being done or not.
The second part of the journal is more of a learning log. Here the student
will be required to respond to discussions and the learning, taking place
in class. This activity gives me further samples of student writing and
feedback on where the learner is and how my instruction is affecting them.
Assessing the whole class discussions will also take place informally
in the manner mentioned above. The student’s ability to answer questions
addressed to them during group activities and whole class discussions will
be noted anecdotally on the daily chart, as will personal communications
regarding the students learning. Informal assessment, kid watching or just
plain observing students can let a teacher know a lot about their students.
Watching the students as they are choosing examples and questioning their
process for choosing or accepting exemplars is a good way to check for
concept attainment. Observing the way students use sources or which sources
they use can be a good indicator of various skills such as reading ability,
organization, and the skills necessary to do research. All of these come
under the umbrella of language arts and as such should be assessed in order
to aid the students learning. Watching students interact with other students
can give the teacher insight into what type of learner the student is.
Knowing whether a student is a sensate or intuit or an introvert or extrovert
can provide a teacher insight into which strategies should be used to teach
them. The modalities a student learns with are also important factors a
teacher should consider watching for while observing. Observing that a
certain student constantly listens to poetry at the stations as opposed
to reading it should indicate to the teacher that perhaps this is the way
that student learns best. In all, most of the assessing in this unit could
be done informally, however, this would be inefficient and time consuming
and at times lacking in validity. Therefore, a large part of the material
covered will be assessed formally by a test composed of a selected response
and essay questions. Other elements to be assessed formally are the
poetry writing assignment and the “author brochure” project, which involves
an individual in class presentation. The project will be assessed with
a trait rubric as will its presentation. The trait rubric for the
presentation will be developed in class in conjunction with the students.
Presentation exercises are often difficult for students so I feel they
should have input into developing the rubric for it. The presentation will
involve presenting their author brochure and reading the poem they have
included in it. The poetry writing assignment will be assessed using a
checklist. I am more interested the students attempting to write
poetry and trying out the techniques and forms they are studying, than
assessing their ability to write poetry in the little amount of time allotted
for the writing workshop. These skills will be in addressed in more detail
during other units
Formal Assessment
Projects: 1) The students will be required to write and present an
author brochure. The project will consist of a brief biography of an author,
an example of his poetry, a picture related to the author’s poetry or of
the author, which can be downloaded from the internet, copied from a primary
source or drawn as student’s response to the author’s poetry. The brochure
will also contain a brief discussion of the author’s work and a written
student response answering the questions. “Why did you pick this author?”
and “Why do you like his work?
2) The students will be required to write two poems, with each poem
using at least three of the poetic devices studied in class and two of
the forms studied in class.
Test: Selected Response & Essay 31questions
Table of Specifications for unit assessment:
Categories: Knowledge Reason
Show Total
Authors 10sr
1pr
1pa
10sr, 1pr, 1pa
Techniques
5sr 5sr, 1e, 2pr
2pr
10sr, 2pr,
Forms
6sr
1e, 2pr
2pr
6sr, 1e, 2pr
Presenting
2pr
1pa, 2pr
3pr, 1pa
Total
21sr
5sr, 1e, 3pr
1pa, 3pr
26sr, 3pr, 1pa
Each match in a matching exercise is counted as a separate question.
In the body of the table some products are counted, as assessing in more
than one area this is not reflected the totals
Author Brochure
The student “author brochure” is composed of several parts, (see attached)
all relating to the construction of a short biography of an author. As
this is a language arts class I feel there is a need to focus on mechanics
or grammar and writing conventions. The total points awarded for a perfect
paper mechanically speaking is ten points, 1/3 of the available points.
Since this unit actually focuses on content I have awarded more total points
to reflect the importance of the content studied, twelve points. Since
there is not a large body of factual information to be transmitted and
the fact that much of this information will be available during the class
time, I have attached a significant number of points to each piece of information
asked for in brochure. The format of the project is stated clearly in the
assignment, so there should be few errors in the actual format. There is
leeway for other organizational errors in the top two levels. Part of the
organization of this brochure this brochure will rely on the student’s
word processing skills. There will be time to work on this aspect specifically
allotted during the writing workshop phase. The organizational trait is
worth eight points total
The attached rubric will be used to rate the student’s author brochure project. This rubric will be passed out with the assignment.
Level MECHANICS Pts CONTENT Pts ORGANIZATION Pts
4 0 to 6 errors punctuation and spelling, a polished piece,
work done in a clean, professional manner, ready for printing with minor
changes. Excellent word usage and sentence structure
10 All facts correct, includes author name, birthday, death, brief synopsis of life and work, sample of poetry student response to works, picture of author, picture related to work
12 Follows given format, paragraphs contain appropriate info in the right places, written clearly concisely, Paragraphs contain topic sentence and conclusions.
8
3 6to 14 errors punctuation and spelling,
work has been proofread, good word choice and sentence structure
8 1 or 2 mistakes in the factual material, or 1 missing part
10 Follows given format, some mistakes in paragraph form, or information
placement
7
2 14 to 20 punctuation and spelling errors, proofreading
needs work, misused words and problems with sentence structure apparent,
6 3to 4 mistakes in factual material or two missing parts
8 Mistakes in formatting, paragraphs missing topic sentences or conclusions,
organization needs obvious work
5
1 More than twenty punctuation and spelling errors, many
misused words sentence structure grossly absent
4 More than 5 factual mistakes or 3 missing parts
5 Organization lacking, format ignored, paragraph structure may be
lacking.
4
O Non participation 0 Non participation 0 Non participation
0
Implementation of Assessment scale:
The project should be examined in regards to the three categories in
the top column. The way the project develops these traits, should be assessed
by examining the attributes of the project and matching them to the criteria
level of the scale which best describes the product. The points assigned
to that level, the column to the left of each criteria box, should then
given to the project for that trait. The score from the three categories
or traits should then be totaled to give an overall score for the product.
Sample Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan: Brainstorming/Pre-Knowledge
Goals: The learner will show knowledge and understanding of poetic
devices.
The learner will show knowledge and understanding of poetic forms and
styles.
The learner will demonstrate their prior knowledge of the study of
poetry.
Objectives: The student will individually list three types of figurative
language used in poetry.
The student will individually list at two poetic forms during the in
class discussion of poetic forms.
The learner will identify the common properties of items listed in
the whole class poetry brainstorming process and will categorize them according
to these properties.
The student will show knowledge of poetry by categorizing elements
of poetry in super-ordinate and subordinate categories.
The learner will participate in a cooperative group activity performing,
his or her assigned role.
The student will rate his or her knowledge of the individual terms
and items listed on the graphic organizer generated by the class activities.
Time: 50 min.
Prerequisites: Students should be familiar with cooperative group activities
from previous activities in the class and have some knowledge of poets,
poetic form, and figurative language, from previous time spent in schools.
Students will be familiar with journal writing activities.
Anticipatory Set: Students will enter class where the word
POETRY is written the board. As the teacher starts a brainstorming process
on poetry, he will write an acrostic poem using the word poetry as a base
and student responses as the lines of the poem. For example if a student
mentions the use of onomatopoeia the word will be spelled vertically off
the root word using the o in poetry as the first letter in onomatopoeia.
Development: 1) The class will be directed to take part in a whole
class brainstorm on the word poetry. Students will be directed to list,
authors, and forms of poetry, parts of poems, types of figurative language,
words, or whatever comes to mind when they think of poetry. The teacher
will suggest that they list as many forms of poetry as they can and all
the types of figurative language they can think of as they compose their
lists. After the individual listings the class will share their findings
in a whole group discussion during which they will be listed on the board.
2) The class members will then be divided into cooperative groups
where they will execute their various roles, timekeeper, scribe, etc. These
groups will be assigned the task of classifying the information on the
board into categories and labeling them.
3) The class will come together and groups will share
their findings. During this activity the group-derived categories will
be compared, hierarchies will be discussed and established and the results
will be transcribed on to large sheets of paper in graphic organizer form.
The lists will then be labeled appropriately or in a conventional manner
through student consensus and teacher supplied suggestions. These sheets
will be hung in the room as the basis for this unit’s graphic organizer.
4) The teacher will explain that the rating the students are
about to do is to take part in is an ungraded test of their knowledge of
poetry that will help the teacher ascertain their existing knowledge of
poetry. Students will be asked to copy down the lists related to
authors, form and figurative language and rate their knowledge of the words
on these lists, with a scale from 1to 4 and hand these into the teacher.
5) The teacher will explain that the poetry unit, which the
students have just begun, is going to cover the categories and the lists,
which they have just copied.
Closure: The teacher will review the lists and the graphic organizers produced during the class and talk about the format and scheduling of the poetry unit in relationship to the organizer. The next day’s assignments will be addressed and the poetry readings for the next day’s class will be disbursed. The students will be asked to respond to the day’s activities and that night’s assigned poem in their journals.
Assessment: Prior knowledge of the subject will be assessed during the
word knowledge rating mentioned in step four. The group list activity and
categorization will be assessed informally through observation and personal
response to teacher discussion and questioning as the teacher moves amongst
the groups. The labeling of categories and the whole class discussion of
the lists will be assessed informally. Formal assessments will take place
in the form of projects and a test. (see attached assessment overview)
Lesson Plan: Alliteration
Goals: The learner will show knowledge and understanding of poetic
devices.
The student will take part in cooperative group activities.
The learner will respond orally and in writing to poetry
Objectives: The learner will be able to define the concept of alliteration.
The learner will be able to identify the use of alliteration in a poem
after reading it.
The learner will be able to construct written examples of alliteration.
The learner will fulfill their group assigned duties during the group
activity portion of the class.
Time: 50 min.
Prerequisites: The students should have an understanding of the division
of labor in cooperative groups discussed earlier and used throughout the
semester.
Anticipatory Set: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”
is written on the board with a” yes” next to it and “The rain in Spain
falls mainly on the plain” is written below it with a “no” written next
to it.
Development: 1) Students go about their previously assigned learning
center activities for the first fifteen minutes of the class. The teacher
asks the students to rate their group participation for that day at the
end of the group activity and to include their vote for most valuable player
at that station. They are also asked to include additional honorable mentions.
2) After the group learning station activities, the class gathers as
a whole to discuss E. A. Poe’s Poem “ The Sleeper” and the day’s author
group gives a brief presentation on Poe.
3) The teacher starts a student response discussion by asking who liked
the poem and why. The teacher asks if anyone has written anything
in their journal about the poem that they would like to share with class.
Students are given time to respond and the teacher prompts with questions
if necessary. Questions: Why did you like or dislike the poem? Can
anyone tell me what the poem is about? How does the poem make
you feel? Do you like Poe’s writing? The poem is about a woman who died.
I would expect the conversation to turn to the feelings surrounding death.
Students would be asked to compare Poe’s treatment of death with other
authors or even Poe’s treatment of death in other works, for example his
poem “Annabelle Lee”. The discussion though teacher facilitated, should
be directed toward exploring student response and interest.
4) The teacher tells the students they will be telling him what the figurative language topic of the day is and puts a copy of “The Sleeper” on the overhead. The poem is exposed one stanza at a time. The lines of the poem have yes written next to lines, which include alliteration, and no is written next to lines that do not. The students will be asked to guess the topic or concept, which the teacher is attempting to elucidate. The poem has quite a few examples of alliteration. The passages that contain the most obvious examples of alliteration will be shown last. During the exercise students will be asked to explain why they suggest the hypothesis they volunteer and the teacher will point out the whether or not they are correct if they are incorrect, the teacher will supply the name of the concept they are supplying. Once the concept of alliteration is grasped using “ The Sleeper” the teacher will give a more detailed definition of alliteration. The exercise will be repeated a second time using Poe’s poem the “ The City in the Sea” with students supplying the decision as to whether or not the lines of the poem contain alliteration.
5) The students, who worked at the alliteration station, will then be asked to supply some examples of alliteration to the class. Other class members will be welcome to join in and the class will discuss how and why authors use alliteration in various ways.
Closure: The teacher will recap earlier discussions, review the definition
of alliteration, and supply examples of the concept, for example, the anticipatory
set. The schedule for the next day’s activities will be gone over, that
night’s poems will be distributed to students that do not have them, and
students will be asked to write some lines of poetry in their journals,
which are representative of alliteration. Honorable mentions
and most valuable group players listed by the groups will be congratulated
and the class will be dismissed.
Assessment: Assessment will take place informally through observation
and monitoring of student response during class time. For those members
of the class who have not been through the alliteration-learning center,
their activities at the center will be observed to see if they have attained
the concept. Journals will be read to see if the students have written
exemplars of alliteration. The teacher will examine the poetry writing
done at the end of the unit to see if the students use this method in there
writing and there will be a formal test at the end of the unit with questions
on the subject.
Lesson Plan: Onomatopoeia
Goals: The learner will show knowledge and understanding of figurative
language.
The learner will take part in-group literary discussions.
The learner will write in response to literature
Objectives: The learner will show knowledge and understanding
of the term
Onomatopoeia.
The learner will identify
onomatopoeia in examples of literature.
The learner will write
examples of onomatopoeia.
The learner will participate
in group activities.
The learner will participate
in group activity review and rating
Time: 50 min.
Materials: Learning station poems and materials, tape recorder, tape
of noises, blackboard, chalk
Prerequisites: Previous group work.
Anticipatory Set: The teacher will read Mark Twain’s quote “Bring on
the woman and let her scream.” The class will briefly discuss the implications
of this attitude on writing.
Review: Previously agreed upon group behaviors.
Development: 1) The students will work at prescheduled work- station
activities for the
first 15 minutes of the class. They will then rate their group’s overall
activities for the past week using a previously developed group activity
rubric these will be turned in to the teacher.
2) The onomatopoeia group will then present their findings to the class.
3) After a brief discussion the class will break into their assigned
groups and listen to a tape of various noises, screams, dog howls, Harley
Davidson motors, snow mobile engines, a gunshot, a dropped box of fluorescent
tubes, drumming, rhythmic jazz guitar picking etc. which have been numbered.
Each individual will attempt to write what he or she hears.
Students in each group will have a chance to compare notes. The tape
will then be played again and each group will pick the student’s example
they feels best represents the sounds they heard. Each group will then
be asked to write their three favorite examples on the board and the rest
of the class will be asked to identify the number of the examples listed,
after listening to the tape one final time. The class will then vote on
the best three examples the authors of these will be asked to take a bow.
Closure: The teacher will redefine onomatopoeia, discuss how it can
be used in writing, and provide a mnemonic for spelling the word. The students
will be asked to find three examples of this type of figurative language
in literature and to write three descriptions of sounds using onomatopoeia.
Group schedules will be posted for the next day’s class and the appropriate
materials will be handed out.
Assessment: Informal classroom observations will be noted. Journals and group ratings will be read. Future writing assignments and discussions will be analyzed for concept attainment and proper usage. The students will take a formal test covering the subject matter.
Lesson Plan: Metaphor
Goals: The learner will show knowledge and understanding of the word
metaphor.
The learner will show knowledge and understanding of the use metaphor
in language and literature.
The learner will discuss the use of metaphor in various literary examples.
The learner will take part in whole class and small group literary
discussions linking poetry to other literature.
Objectives:
The learner will identify the use of metaphor in Thom Gunn’s poem
“From the Wave”
The learner will list the two components, which make up a metaphor.
The learner will define the term metaphor verbally and in writing.
The learner will provide examples of metaphor in writing and during
in class discussions.
Time: 50 minutes
Prerequisites: Assigned readings: T. Gunn “From the Wave”, Willard
Bascom, Waves and Beaches: The Dynamics of the Ocean Surface pp.468-471.
National Geographic “Surfing.” (Handouts) Students
should have knowledge of the concept of simile.
Anticipatory Set: A surfing video with Dick Dale music playing in the
background is shown as the students are entering the classroom and preparing
to work at their learning stations.
Development:
1) The first 15 minutes of the class will be devoted to the pre-scheduled
learning
center activities.
2) The students at the author center present on T. Gunn.
3) The whole class sits for a read aloud of “ From the Wave”
4) The class then discusses individual responses to the poem and group
findings.
The teacher centers the conversation on the use of metaphor in the
poem and
explains the components, parts and uses of metaphor.
Questions: Why do you think he calls the wave a wall?
Do you think saying the wave was twenty of thirty feet tall would
be as effective as writing that the wave is “building tall?”
What other things come to mind when Gunn compares the wave to a building?
After reading about waves and surfing in the articles are these metaphors
appropriate?
What about in line 14 where the bodies become, “half wave, half men”
with “feet of foam”, what is the author trying to say?
Why do you think he uses these metaphors?
In the final lines of the poem the wave, which was once a wall is now
a “shelf” let’s talk about that.
How many pages was the article on surfing? Compare it to the poem,
which one tells you more about surfing or surfers? Do they tell you the
same things or touch on different aspects of the same thing?
5) The teacher asks the group who took part in the metaphor station
on this day to tell the class what they think about the use
of metaphor in the Gunn poem and to let the class know what they found
out about metaphors and to supply some further examples.
Closure: The teacher supplies a quick summary of the day’s author and the discussion on metaphor. The groups are assigned their stations for the next day. Students are asked to respond to the next day’s poem in their journals and to write about the bus or car they came to school in, using metaphor in a short poem or paragraph and using simile in another paragraph or poem to describe the same thing. These writings should accompany their reactions to today’s lesson.
Assessment: Group activities and their presentations, will be observed
by the teacher who will keep anecdotal notes. Students will rate their
group participation. Journals and assigned writings will be read by the
teacher to ascertain concept attainment and student reactions. The use
and knowledge of metaphors will be checked for in future writing activities,
classroom discussion and on a formal unit test.
Lesson Plan: Shakespearian Sonnets
Goal: The learner will show knowledge of poetic form and
style.
The learner will show knowledge of poets.
The learner will discuss and evaluate poetry.
Objectives: The learner will recognize William Shakespeare and
show
knowledge of his work and times
The learner will identify
a Shakespearian sonnet and its parts.
The learner will know the definition of iambic pentameter.
The learner will analyze the rhyme scheme of a poem.
Time: 50 min.
Prerequisites: Prior knowledge of meter, foot and rhyme scheme and
prior reading of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet XVIII.”
Anticipatory Set: The teacher will refer to the advanced organizer
hung in the classroom and point out how the lesson ties together several
areas of previous and future study
Review: Meter, foot and rhyme scheme if necessary. Teacher will point
to a poster of Shakespeare and ask if anyone recognizes whom the picture
is of.
Development: 1) The students will work at the learning centers for
the first 15 minutes
of the class.
2) The day’s author group will present on William Shakespeare.
3) The day’s sonnet group will present on the form of a sonnet
4) The day’s poem, Sonnet “XVIII” will be read out loud and presented
on the overhead.
5) The class will respond to the poem in a whole class discussion.
6) The poem’s structure meter and rhyme scheme will be analyzed and
diagrammed on the overhead projector, in a whole class forum.
Closure: The teacher will summarize the lesson and assign the
students a poem to analyze and diagram showing the rhyme scheme, meter
and form. The students will be asked to respond to the lesson in their
journals and to write four lines of rhyming iambic pentameter.
Assessment: The teacher will observe and communicate with students
during the learning station activities. Group presentations will be monitored
for correctness and understanding. The teacher will keep anecdotal notes.
Assigned and future writing assignments and discussions will be read and
checked for accuracy. The students will take a formal; test covering the
subject matter.
Lesson Plan: Haiku
Goals: The learner will respond to poetry.
The learner will show knowledge of poets.
The learner will show knowledge and understanding of poetic forms
and styles.
Objectives: The learner will identify poems written the Haiku style.
The learner will name
Masaoka Shiki as an innovator of modern Haiku.
The learner will show knowledge and understanding of the themes of
Haiku. The learner will write Haiku poetry.
Time: 50 min.
Prerequisites: Students should have knowledge that there are various
forms of fixed poetry.
Anticipatory Set: Teacher will ask students to name types of fixed poetry
Review: Teacher will review various forms of fixed poetry.
Development: 1) The students will begin the class with 15minutes at
the
poetry, style and form, learning stations.
2) The author groups will present on the day’s author. (Student choice
of presented authors)
3) The haiku style group will present their findings.
4) The previous night’s reading assignments (several Haiku) will be
read aloud to the class. The class will respond to and discuss the selections
5) The teacher will give a brief lecture on the history of Haiku, some
of its practitioners and the form.
Closure: The teacher will review the main points of the lesson, assign
the night’s homework, and go over the next day’s schedule. Homework: the
students will write three Haiku and respond in their journals to this lesson
and the poem scheduled for the next class meeting
Assessment: Group activities and presentations will be observed and
anecdotal notes recorded. The journal entries will be read and checked
for student understanding of the lessons and accuracy in the writing of
the Haiku. The subject matter will be assessed through in class discussion
and personal interactions as well as being part of a formal test later
in the unit.
Lesson Plan: Concrete Poetry
Goals: The learner will respond to poetry.
The learner will show knowledge of poets.
The learner will show knowledge and understanding of poetic devices.
The learner will show knowledge and understanding of poetic form and
style.
The learner will take part in literary discussions and cooperative
group activities.
Objectives: The learner will name two poets involved in the development
of
the concrete poetry movement.
The learner will identify concrete poetry upon seeing it.
The learner will list three differences between concrete and more traditional
methods of poetry.
The learners will work in cooperative groups
Time: 50 min.
Materials: Computer projector, computer, projection screen, chalkboard
chalk, handouts
Prerequisites: Students will have read assigned readings.
Anticipatory Set: The teacher will have the Chinese symbol for "listen"
hung on the board and discuss how it is a combination of other graphic
symbols. From here the discussion of graphics in certain forms modern poetry
will be developed. Concrete poems collected from the groups already having
gone through this learning center will be displayed.
Review: Earlier discussions on the purpose or definitions of poetry
Development: 1) Students will spend the first 15 minutes at the poetic
form learning
centers working in groups.
2) The author group will present on one of the authors involved in
the
concrete movement.
3) The concrete poetry group will present on their topic
4) The teacher will present a power point presentation chronicling
the development of the concrete movement starting with Pound’s Cantos and
covering the work of e.e. cummings, Gomringer, and the work of the Brazilian
group Noigandres.
5) There will be a whole class discussion on the workings and meanings
of concrete poems.
Closure: The teacher will review the overall lesson and assign the
students to reply in their journal to the question “ What is a poem?” Groups
will be assigned their learning stations for the following day and poems
for the following class will be handed out, if not already done so.
Assessment: Class discussions and group activities will be observed
and anecdotal notes taken. Responses to in class questions will be noted.
Future class discussions along the same lines will be used to check for
concept attainment and knowledge of the subject matter. Formal writing
assignments and a test will also be used.
Lesson Plan: Creativity/ Synectics
Goals: Students will enhance their creative writing ability.
Students will become familiar with the process of Synectics
and use it to write creatively.
Objectives: The learner will identify and use direct analogies.
The learner will know what a personal analogy is and be able to compose
one when asked.
The student will be able to identify and construct compressed conflicts
The learner will use analogous comparisons, personal metaphors and
compressed conflicts, to describe a chosen topic while taking part in the
Synectics process.
Time: 50 minutes
Materials: Blackboard, chalk, handouts.
Prerequisites: Students will be familiar with “stretching exercises”
or using metaphoric thinking from previous mini-lessons, which will have
taken place over the course of the unit.
Anticipatory Set: The teacher opens a brief discussion on writing
and authorship by asking the question “Who here thinks it’s easy to write
poetry?”
Development: Teacher relates the need for authors to be creative and
explains that the class is going to take part in a creative thinking exercise.
The teacher advises students to pay attention to the process because they
will be expected to replicate the process during writing groups the next
day. He reminds them periodically, especially at the various steps, to
note the workings of the process.
1) The teacher asks the students to think about what it is like to
be an author.
2) The teacher asks the students for direct analogies describing authors
as machines and lists the responses on the board. Teacher prompts class
to continue supplying analogies until subject is thoroughly explored.
3) The Teacher asks students to pick the analogy with the most energy
from the list and to create personal analogies from the selection. These
are then listed on the board. Questions: How does it feel to be this
machine? How does this machine perceive the world? Does the machine feel
it was designed right? What does the machine see? Etc.
4) The teacher asks the students to create a compressed conflict from
the lists on the board. Request: “I would like you to look at the lists
and create pairs of words that are opposites or that are arguing with one
another.” The teacher models, if necessary. Students are then asked to
pick one of the conflicts to continue the exercise.
5) The teacher asks the students for direct analogies, which represent
this conflict using a type of animal. The analogies are listed on the board.
The teacher prompts the students for analogies until he feels the subject
has been properly explored.
6) The students are asked to reexamine their views of authors and their
view of themselves as authors as a result of the exercise. The teacher
prompts a discussion on the matter.
Closure: The teacher asks the students to copy the parts of the exercise off the board into their journals, which they feel best represent the ways they would describe an author or themselves as writers and to use these as prompts for writing a poem about writing. The teacher then reviews the steps in the Synectics process, clarifying student questions and asking for examples of the various types of analogies used at each of the steps in the Synectics process.
Assessment: The knowledge of the process will be assessed the following day and in the future as the teacher observes groups using the Synectics process to complete assigned activities. The lesson response portion of the student’s journals will be read to ascertain whether or not they understand the process. The topic will be addressed in a formal test.
Product and Test Materials
Author Brochure (instructions)
Poetry Unit Selected Response and Essay Test
TEST QUESTIONS
True False
Directions: Circle T if the statement is true and F if the statement
is false.
1. T F The first letter of each line in a “sonnet”
is meant to spell a word.
2. T F Jack Keroac was famous for writing “concrete”
poems.
3. T F Shel Silverstein’s poems are known for
their ominous dark “tone.”
4. T F “Personification” is a type of metaphor
in which distinctly human attributes
are attributed to an animal, object or idea.
5. T F A metaphor is a figure of speech in
which one thing is spoken or written
about as if it were another.
Fill in the Blank
Directions: Fill in each blank with a word that accurately completes
each sentence.
1. William Shakespeare wrote over 100 ____________________. They are
a fixed form of poetry consisting of 14 lines.
2. ____________________ was considered the poet laureate of the Harlem
Renaissance movement.
3. ____________________ lets a reader of poetry know when to stop,
start, breath or keep on reading.
4. A comparison using the terms like or as is called ____________________.
5. The brainstorming technique, which uses analogy to distance an author
from the subject he is writing about, is called ____________________.
Matching
Directions: Match the poets’ names on the left with the descriptions on the right by writing the correct number on the lines.
1. Edgar Allen Poe
____Started the imagism movement
2. Langston Hues
____Wrote patriotic works about the United States
3. Ezra Pond
____His writings often examined the plight of black American
4. Walt Whitman
____One of the beat poets
5. Emily Dickinson ____“Annabelle Lee”
was about the death of his young wife
6. Jack Kerouac
____ Re-formed the writing of Haiku in the 1890’s
7. Shel Silverstein
____Was a reclusive yet very prolific writer in the 1850’s
8. Masoaka Shike
____Wrote poetry for children as well as adults in the late 1900s
Directions: Match the poetic forms on the left with the descriptions on the right by writing the correct number on the lines.
1. Concrete Poem ____The first letter
of each line combine to spell a word
2. Found Poem
____5 syllables, followed by 7 syllables, followed by 5
syllables
3. Acrostic Poem ____The poem creates
an image without being read
4. Free Verse
____Created by using preprinted or prewritten words and
phrases
5. Haiku ____14 lines, iambic
pentameter
6. Sonnet ____A fluid form
of poetry, which conforms to no set rules
Directions: Read the following poem. Refer to the poem and circle the letter of the correct answer for each question.
If You Should Go
1 Love, leave me like the light,
2 The gently passing day;
3 We would not know, but for the night,
4 When it has slipped away.
5 Go quietly; a dream,
6 When done; should have no trace
7 That it has lived, except a gleam
8 Across the dreamer’s face.
1.What is line 1 an example of?
A. Onomatopoeia
B. Alliteration
C. Rhyme
D. Cacophony
2. What is the rhyme scheme of the above poem?
A. AABB
B. ABCD
C. ABBA
D. ABAB
3.What is the conversation in this poem an example of?
A. Ode
B. Apostrophe
C. Elegy
D. Eulogy
4.What is the figurative language in lines 2, 3 and 4 an example of?
A. Imagery
B. Personification
C. Onomatopoeia
D. Simile
5.What is the point of view this poem is told from?
A. Omniscient
B. Third person
C. 1st person
D. Plural
Turn in this part of test before continuing
Part II Essays
Any regularly used resources in the classroom may be used to help you answer these questions. (Notes, books, poems, etc.)
Directions: Write two essays in response to the following guidelines
#1 AND #2. Use the lined paper supplied with your test.
#1.) List the two parts, which make up a metaphor. Take a position on
the following statement: A metaphor is generally a more emphatic or forceful
comparison than a simile. Use two examples each, of simile and metaphor
to prove your point.
#2.) Look at the examples on the following pages. Make a statement about
whether you think each example is a poem. Back the statement up with a
definition of poetry, which supports your statement. When possible use
specific quotes and terms.
Example: #1
Example: #2
End of test
Materials
“To Listen”
Bibliography:
http://campus.fortunecity.com/newton/40/home.html *****Lit. & Tech./Links
http://www.geocities.com/~spanoudi/poems ***** Poets Corner/page/Poems/author
http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/asw/lit.html ***** x-road lit. project
http://www.indiana.edu/~eric_rec/bks/lhome.html *** Eric
http://jefferson.vilhttp://www.sccu.edu/faculty/R_Harris/LITTERMS.HTMlage.virginia.edu/whitman/works/leaves/1860 *** All about Whitman
http://www.library.yale.edu/beinecke/orient/intro.htm *** Modernists in the orient
http://www.learner.org/collections/multimedia/literature/vvseries/vvspot/Pound.htm
**** Stuff on pOund
http://oswego.org/ocsd-web/teaching/k-12.htm
***** Great tech. Tips/links
http://www.pioneeris.net/poetry/famous_poets.htm *** Famous Poets
http://www.honors.unr.edu/~fenimore/en297/bohannon/links.html *** Shel Siverstein
http://www.sccu.edu/faculty/R_Harris/LITTERMS.HTM *** Glossary Terms
http://schmidel.com/hub/english.htm ****High School Hub All subjects /
http://shoga.wwa.com/~rgs/glossary.html ****** Bob’s Poetic terms great glossary
http://www.toyomasu.com/haiku/#whatishaiku **** Haiku
http://www.ubuweb.com/ ****** Concrete found and Crazy w/ papers on poetry
http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/rhetoric.html ***Clas. Terms
Glossary
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