Grade 8 ENGLISH 30 November 2021 Poetry Lesson 1 'The Road not Taken' by Robert Frost LESSON FOCUS AND GOALS THE GOAL OF THIS LESSON IS FOR THE LEARNERS TO UNDERSTAND KEY TERMS (GLOSSARY) AND CONCEPTS FROM THE POEM BY ROBERT FROST. THEY MUST BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND AND ANALYSE THE POEM ACCORDINGLY WITH VALID REASONING. MATERIALS NEEDED - POEM - 'THE ROAD NOT TAKEN' BY ROBERT FROST - COLOURED PENCILS FOR NOTE TAKING - WORKBOOKS - POWER POINT PRESENTATION LEARNING OBJECTIVES BY THE END OF THIS LESSON, STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO DEFINE VOCABULARY TERMS AND DEMONSTRATE UNDERSTANDING OF THE POEM’S OVERALL MEANING. LESSON SUMMARY “COMING TO A FORK IN THE ROAD” - A FORK IN THE ROAD IS A METAPHOR, BASED ON A LITERAL EXPRESSION, FOR A DECIDING MOMENT IN LIFE OR HISTORY WHEN A CHOICE BETWEEN PRESENTED OPTIONS IS REQUIRED, AND, ONCE MADE, THE CHOICE CANNOT BE REVERSED. "THE ROAD NOT TAKEN" : EXAMPLE OF FORMAL VERSE (MEANING THAT IT RHYMES AND HAS A STRICT METER), BUT IT DOESN'T ADHERE TO ANY SPECIFIC POETIC FORM (SUCH AS A SONNET) THAT DICTATES, FOR INSTANCE, HOW MANY LINES A POEM MUST HAVE. "THE ROAD NOT TAKEN" IS A 20-LINE POEM MADE UP OF FOUR QUINTAINS (FIVE-LINE STANZAS). POEM IS OPEN FOR INTERPRETATION. EXTENDED METAPHOR "THE ROAD NOT TAKEN" IS AN EXAMPLE OF AN EXTENDED METAPHOR IN WHICH THE TENOR IS NEVER STATED EXPLICITLY—BUT IT'S CLEAR THAT THE POET IS USING THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED AS A METAPHOR FOR LEADING AN UNCONVENTIONAL WAY OF LIFE. ABAAB RHYME SCHEME. REGULAR USE OF END RHYME, IT ALSO MAKES IRREGULAR USE OF ASSONANCE. SETTING - THE POEM TAKES PLACE IN A FOREST IN AUTUMN, AFTER THE LEAVES HAVE BEGUN TO CHANGE COLOR, IN THE WOODS AT WHICH A ROAD FORKS INTO TWO. ASSESSMENT FOR THE ASSESSMENT TO ALIGN WITH LESSON OBJECTIVES, IT WILL NEED ASSESS STUDENTS ON THEIR MASTERY OF VOCABULARY, OVERALL POEM MEANING AND USE OF SETTING AND SYMBOLISM. STUDENTS WRITE AN ORGANISED PARAGRAPH DESCRIBING A MAJOR DECISION THEY HAVE IN THE PAST AND HOW THAT DECISION AFFECTED THEIR LIFE. THEY WILL BE ASSESSED WITH THE USE OF A RUBRIC TO MAKE SURE THEY HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WAS EXPECTED OF THEM. THEREAFTER THEY WILL HAVE TO ANSWER A SERIES OF QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE POEM.
