7th Grade
SWBAT:
1.Recognize
and identify forms, patterns, and structures in poetry.
2.Analyze
how the poet’s choice of sound devices, stanzas, and
patterns function in a poem.
3.Analyze
how the poet’s choice of form and structure contributes to
meaning and theme.
DO NOW: Journal #5

What is Poetry?
◦ Why do we write it?
Discussion:
Poetry is a type of literature that uses sound,
rhythms, and meanings of words to describe
the world in striking and imaginative ways.
Some reasons why we write poetry are:
It’s
therapeutic.
It helps paint an interesting picture about life.
It gives a way of expressing ourselves differently.
It gives us a means of analyzing our emotions.
Scavenger
Disguise
hunt
Mystery
Painting
Letter
Turn and Talk:
What is the meaning
and purpose of poetic
language?
Why do you think poets
don’t just lay it all out for us?
DISCUSSION:
Poetic
language begins when a
writer weaves together the images
and associations called up by words
and says something unique that could
not be said in different words.
The Elements of Poetry:
Each of these helps to shape the meaning of a
poem
TURN and TALK
 How
does a poem’s structure
impact the meaning of the poem?
Poetry Structure
Stanza
lines of a poem are organized into stanzas
Each stanza works together to express one key idea
Stanza Break
Signals that one stanza (key idea) has ended and a
new stanza (key idea) is beginning
Refrain
Repetition
A line or group of lines that are repeated
Reminds readers of a key idea, image, or event
Is like the chorus of a song ♫♬♪
TURN and TALK
 How
does the poet’s choice of
sound devices and patterns
function in a poem?
DISCUSSION:

Sound devices (rhyme, repetition,
alliteration) make a text more vivid and
imaginative.
◦ Alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings
of words.

Patterns and sound devices contribute to
the overall tone and meaning of the
poem.
◦ Tone: Author’s attitude toward a specific subject. Emotion of
the poem.
Look at the Poem’s Structure:
Stanzas: The poem has two
stanzas. The first stanza is what
parents say to a child, second
stanza is their reasoning after
they’ve shut the bedroom
door.
Rhyme Scheme: The AABB
rhyme scheme is similar to a
lullaby used to help a child fall
asleep
Repetition: Who, you, child,
small, some, sound, stealthy
Poem’s meaning: Calming
words are the best thing to
ease a child’s fears, but the
reality of the owl’s actions are
unsettling.
Independently read the poem, “Ode to Family
Photographs” by Gary Soto. In groups, answer the
following questions:

END OF DAY 1
Do Now: Journal #6
How do we annotate poetry?
DISCUSSION:
Speaker
Occasion
Audience
Purpose
Style
TONE
Tone:
(1) The writer’s
attitude toward the
subject of the poem
(2) the feeling of a
poem (happy, positive,
negative)
(3) the mood a poem
creates in the reader
Example






Speaker: An older person who is
professing his/her love for
another person.
Occasion: This person may either
be dying or the person he/she
loves may be dying.
Audience: The audience may be
those who have experienced
strong or passionate love.
Purpose: The author may have
written this poem to express her
deep love she has for another
person.
Style: Sonnet
TONE: Passionate, serious
TASK:


Independently read the
poem. Use the SOAPSTone
annotating method to take
notes.
In groups, discuss your
findings. Answer the
following questions:
◦ What is the meaning of the
poem?
◦ How did each step of the
annotating method help in
concluding what the author
was trying to convey in the
poem?

END DAY 2
7th Grade
SWBAT:
1.
2.
3.
Determine the meaning of words and phrases used in a text.
Analyze the meaning of connotative and figurative language.
Analyze the impact of figurative and connotative language on the
overall tone and meaning of the text.
DO NOW: Journal #7
How do we read and interpret
poetry?
Discussion:

Determine the meaning of an unfamiliar
word using context clues.
◦ Context clues: Words or phrases near an unfamiliar word that
help you understand the meaning of that word.

Identify figurative language and words that
have strong connotations.
◦ Figurative Language: Words or phrases that help
readers create a vivid mental picture.
◦ Connotation: Words that have positive, neutral, or
negative feelings associated with them
TURN and TALK
 How
does figurative language help
someone who is reading poetry?
DISCUSSION
Authors
use figurative language to create unusual or
interesting effects.
You can understand MOST figurative language by
figuring out what’s being compared and how the two
things are alike.
Sometimes authors use figurative language to mean
more than what the definitions of the individual words
might suggest.
Good readers think about the connotative and
figurative meanings of the words in a text and use this
information to uncover what the author truly means.
Making these connections and associations will help
you have a richer reading experience.
Example
The skyscrapers towered over the city
like giants.
•
•
•
•
What type of figurative language is used in
the sentence above?
What is being compared?
How could these two things be alike?
What is the meaning of this sentence?
Independent Task

What’s being compared?
◦ How could they be alike?


What is the speaker’s meaning
of the poem?
What does the speaker’s use of
language tell you about his
feelings for the city. Support
your ideas with specific examples
of words from the poem.
Why do writers use connotations?
If one friend tells you she lives in a peaceful
country village and another tells you he lives in
the middle of nowhere, how do you picture the
place where each person lives?
Connotation is the positive, negative, or neutral
feelings you associate with words or phrases.
Authors use connotations as well as dictionary
definitions in order to create accurate and vivid
images in readers’ minds.
Example
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty hear is lying still!
Based on the connotations of words such as splendour, calm, and
sweet, what is the author’s attitude toward the view of London in the
morning?
He admires the peace and beauty of the city scene.
Composed Upon the Westminster Bridge
- by William Wordsworth
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
a sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What two things are being
compared?
How could they be alike?
What is the speaker’s meaning of
this comparison?
What does the speaker’s use of
language tell you about his feelings
for the city? Support your answer
with specific examples of words
from the poem.
Circle the words in the poem with
positive connotations. How do
they build on the positive feels
created in the first stanza?
Look back at the words you
circled. What do they suggest
about the speaker’s feelings?

END DAY 3

The rest are supplemental slides.
“Maestro” by Pat Mora
5
10
15
20
He hears her
When he bows.
Rows of hands clap
Again and again he bows
To stage lights and upturned faces
But he hears only his mother’s voice
Years ago in their small home
Singing Mexican songs
One phrase at a time
While his father strummed the
guitar
Or picked the melody with quick
fingertips.
Both cast their music in the air
For him to snare with his strings,
Songs of lunas and amor
Learned bit by bit
She’d not, smile, as his bow slid
Note to note, then the trio
voz, guitarra, violin
Would blend again and again
To the last pure note
Sweet on the tongue.
Read “Maestro” and annotate using the
SOAPSTONE method.
Group Questions: Use your poetry
terms handout sheet to help you answer
the following questions
What idea is emphasized by the
repetition of the words “bows” and
“again”? (Sound Devices)
What shift in topic is marked by the
stanza break between lines 6 and 7?
Explain (Structure)
What connotations does the word snare
have? What do these connotations add to
the image of the speaker playing music
with his parents? (Word Choice)
What image do lines 15-20 convey about
the speaker’s memory of singing and
playing music? (Imagery)
“Sick” by Shel Silverstein
"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut--my eyes are blue-It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke-My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is. . .Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!”
Connotations Activity
Poodles
Buzzards
Glaciers
Sleepers
Toads
Gazelles
Meteors
Comets
Hippos
Sloths

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

What type of sport do you think
each of these names fits?
Does the name sound like a
successful team? Why? Why not?
Brainstorm and record a list of
current team names from
professional and amateur sports.
Analyze the choice of each name
and answer these questions.
◦ Does the name fit the sport?
◦ What connotations does the name evoke?
◦ What does the name say about the
athletes and the fans of the team?
Connotations
•
•
•
How are words effective in evoking powerful
associations in a listener or reader?
How are the associations we make with words
different?
How do you use connotations in your daily
lives? What are some examples?
Wavy
Chicken
Jelly
Crazy
Turn and Talk:
How do we annotate poetry?
As you read poetry, write notes about your responses to
some of these questions:
 What do I think about this word, line, or phrase?
 What might this word, line, or phrase mean?
 What experiences have I had that are similar to that
recounted in the poem?
 What surprised or confused me about this poem?
 Where did I find myself stopping or hesitating? What
stopped me at these points?
 What other poem/play/short story does this poem
remind me of?
S.I.F.T.
S – SYMBOL
An object, person, or place that has meaning within itself but stands for
something else in the context of the story
I – IMAGERY
When an image is evoked through the use of really descriptive language
F – FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Includes (but is not limited to) simile, metaphor, hyperbole, repetition, alliteration,
etc.
T – TONE AND THEME
Tone is the attitude an author takes on the subject he/she is writing about
Theme = Plot + Tone