We Real Cool
Formal Lesson Plan
Mr. Furman
Materials:
TPCAST Handout
Support Video: http://www.favoritepoem.org/FlashVideo/ulrich.html
http://www.favoritepoem.org/FlashVideo/ulrich.html
Power Point
STUDENT OBJECTIVES:
Students will independently analyze the poem "We Real Cool" using TPCAST.
Students will demonstrate strategies necessary for close reading poetry
Students identify significant techniques used by poets to achieve their effect.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the literary terminology used in describing poetry.
Students will demonstrate independent analytical skills in reading and writing about
poetry.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
What can a writer learn from studying an author’s craft and style?
What makes poetry different from prose?
What are the most important things to keep in mind when reading a poem for the first
time?
What is it important to know the exact meaning of words in poetry?
How does use of carefully selected imagery add to the enjoyment of a poem?
How do poets use similes, metaphors, personification, and symbolism to convey meaning to
the reader?
How can we learn to recognize major symbols used by poets?
Do poets always mean exactly what they say?
Why is it important to have a broad reading background to understand poetry?
(Allusions)
Are the meaning and the purpose of a poem the same thing?
How important to the overall understanding of a poem is it to correctly identify its tone?
Are sound devices more than just a way poets show off their ability to manipulate the
language?
How does understanding the material structure of poetry contribute to our understanding
of it?
How are separate elements of a poem combined to produce overall effect?
Does the pattern of organization of lines in a poem have an effect on its meaning?
SESSION ONE
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO STUDY POETRY?
HAVE WE LEARNED ANYTHING NEW ABOUT ANALYZING STYLE WITHIN
POETRY? HOW DOES ANALYZING POETRY STYLE RELATE TO WHAT WE
HAVE DOEN IN THE LAST UNIT?
1. Show the poem “We Real Cool” on power point. Make sure Title is the only thing
showing. Have students make a prediction about the poem using TPCAST
How might we analyze this to process this information? TPCAST
2. Have students read “We Real Cool” and Mark-up the “We Real Cool” poem about some
guys at a pool hall (“The Golden Shovel”) TPCAST Handout
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Underline all words you don’t know or that seem weird or unclear to you.
Mark any repetition you see in the poem.
Look at structure: what is interesting about the way the poem is organized
Look at line breaks—when do they leave you hanging and when do they stop at
the end of a thought?
Mark interesting sound effects: rhyme, repeated vowel sounds or consonant
sounds.
6.
7.
8.
Mark what you notice about how long and complex the sentences are.
Mark sensory images—what senses are used in the poem?
Anything else you see?
We Real Cool
THE POOL PLAYERS.
SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.
We real cool. We
Left school. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon.
3. After students have read the poem “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks, ask for
immediate responses to poem. Students will likely comment on the length, shape, and
layout. WHAT DID WE JUST LEARN TO DO WITH THIS ACTIVITY?
HOW MIGHT THIS ACTIVITY BENEFIT YOU?
4. Explain that there are many ways to read a poem aloud, depending upon the rhythm and
intonation that the speaker adopts.
5. Ask students to comment on the poem’s meaning, perhaps summarizing the poem and
discussing the meaning of the various phrases.
6. Play the Audio Clip of Gwendolyn Brooks’ Comments and Reading of on the Poem for
the class. Ask students to listen both to Brooks’ comments on her inspiration for the
poem and her distinctive reading of the poem.
DID WE HAVE TO REVISE ANY KNOWLEDGE OR CONCLUSION WE CAME UP
WITH AFTER LISTENING TO Gwendolyn Brooks read “We real Cool”?
7. After the clip finishes, ask students for immediate responses. Guide discussion with the
following questions:
A.) What does Brooks’ rhythm of We Real Cool affect your mood as you read the
poem?
B.) How does the layout of the poem match her reading?
C.) How does the rhythm add to the impact of the last three words of “We Real
Cool”?
8. Play the Video Clip to draw a parallel between the poem and the real world.
http://www.favoritepoem.org/FlashVideo/ulrich.html
9. Exit Card Reflection How did this activity relate to the Essential Question: