Unit 3
Poetry
Text
Level
Where can I find
it?
Casey at the Bat
not available
PDF resource file
Casey at the Bat
prose summary
na
PDF resource file
Poetry Anthology
varied
PDF resource file
na
http://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=erf
Sed2MUsA
Casey at the Bat
(video version)
Unit 3
I can
My Goals
 I can do this with help
 I can do this by
myself
 I can do this with a
hard text
I can use various strategies (e.g., context clues, root
words, affixes) to determine the meaning of general
academic and domain specific words and phrases in a
text.
 I can do this with help
 I can do this by
myself
 I can do this with a
hard text
I can understand words that may be
derived from characters found in
mythology (e.g., Herculean).
 I can do this with help
 I can do this by
myself
 I can do this with a
hard text
I can determine the meaning of words and
phrases based on how they are used in a
text.
 I can do this with help
 I can do this by
myself
 I can do this with a
hard text
I can refer to structural elements to explain
major differences among poems, drama,
and prose.
 I can do this with help
 I can do this by
myself
 I can do this with a
hard text
I can write and talk about the differences
between poems, plays and fictional stories.
 I can do this with help
 I can do this by
myself
 I can do this with a
hard text
I can refer to specific elements of poems
(verse, rhythm, meter) and plays
(characters, settings, descriptions,
dialogue, stage directions) when I write or
talk about a piece of fiction.
I can use various strategies (e.g., context
clues, root words, affixes) to determine the
meaning of general academic and domain
specific words and phrases in a text.
I can understand words that may be derived
from characters found in mythology (e.g.,
Herculean).
I can determine the meaning of words and
phrases based on how they are used in a
text.
I can determine the meaning of words and
phrases based on how they are used in a
text.
I can refer to structural elements to explain
major differences among poems, drama, and
prose.
I can write and talk about the differences
between poems, plays and fictional stories.
I can refer to specific elements of poems
(verse, rhythm, meter) and plays (characters,
settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage
directions) when I write or talk about a piece
of fiction.
Unit 3
Standard
Suggested Mini-Lessons
RL 4.4 Determine
the meaning of
words and phrases
as they are used in
a text, including
those that allude to
significant
characters found in
mythology.
RL 4.5 Explain
major differences
between poems,
drama, and prose,
and refer to the
structural elements
of poems and drama
when writing or
speaking about a
text.
 What strategies can I use to figure out unknown words?
(context clues, root words, affixes, etc.)
 How can I figure out the meaning of words based on the
words and phrases in the text?
 How can I figure out what a word means based upon how they
are used in the text?
Supporting Standard Mini
Lessons
 What are the structural elements of a poem?
 How do I analyze a poem?
 How do I compare poetry to prose?
 What is the difference between poetry, drama, and prose?
 How do I compare a poem to the visual presentation of the
same poem?
 How do I write and talk about poetry?
 What are other specific elements of a poem when I write or
talk about a piece? (characters, settings, descriptions,
dialogue, stage directions)
 How do I find details in a poem to explain answers explicitly
found in a text?
 How do I draw inferences using information from the text?
 How do I determine the theme of a poem?
 How do I compare a poem and a visual presentation of the
same poem?
Lesson
1: All About Poetry
Mini Lesson: (Review of Poetic Elements) –Use the Poetry Anthology
1.
Read “The Moon’s the North Wind’s Cookie” aloud to students.
Post the following questions: How many stanzas does this poem have? Are there a certain number of lines per
stanza? Does the poem rhyme? If so, is there a pattern to the rhyme? Does the author repeat any lines?
Use the Poetry Anthology packet. Give each student a copy. Have students work in partners to investigate the
posted questions. Confer with students and note where students are having difficulty with these basic concepts
about poetry.
Reading
MiniLesson
When students are finished, bring the class back together to discuss the questions and tell them that have done
a great job of investigating the structure of the poem. Explain to students that you are going to read the poem
again and want them to listen closely to how the poet creates rhythm in the poem. They will be listening for
where they hear pauses and when you stress certain words or parts of words, which both contribute to the
meter. They will also be using what they noticed about the stanzas, lines, and rhyme pattern. Discuss what the
students noticed/heard overall. Then, reread certain stanzas to elaborate certain points about pausing (e.g., end
of lines, commas, semi-colons, dashes) and meter . Reread the poem all the way through one time
overemphasizing the meter. You may want to have students underline the syllables they hear stressed.
Have students note in their journals how the rhyme, meter, and rhythm in a poetry helps in the reading and
understanding of poems.
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
Lesson
2: All About Poetry
Mini Lesson: Use the Poetry Anthology
Read “The Moon’s the North Wind’s Cookie” aloud to students.
Review vocabulary from previous lesson.
Reading
MiniLesson
Today’s Questions: Do all poems have the same type of rhythm, meter, and rhyme?
introduce the ideas of imagery and tone/mood How do authors create that in their poetry? Use “The Moon’s
the North Wind’s Cookie” as a tool to discuss the other elements of poetry. Add them to class anchor chart.
Read the poem “Perhaps You’d Like to Buy a Flower?” by Emily Dickinson. How is this poem different from “The
Moon’s the North Wind’s Cookie”? Have students confer in partners, then bring the group back together to
discuss. Create an anchor chart in response journals.
Guided Practice: Assign group or partners other poems to read from the anthology. They should read the poem,
and add it to the chart in their response journal. What elements we have discussed so far are evident in the
poem?
Share: Bring students back together to read and share the poems they discussed with their partners.
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
-Listen to conversations partners have while analyzing their poetry.
-Read response journals. Are they effectively picking out elements of poetry?
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
Lesson
3: All About Poetry
Mini Lesson: Other Elements of Poetry
Today’s Questions: What are the other elements authors use in poetry?
Review:
Rhyme
Rhythm
Meter
Tone
Reading
MiniLesson
Introduce:
Figurative Language: simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration)
Hyperbole
Symbolism
Add these to the class anchor chart for elements of poetry.
Why do authors use these elements?
Have students create a chart in their response journals. Add The Moon’s the North Wind’s Cookie” to the chart.
Talk about what elements this poem has. See sample chart below.
Guided Practice: Assign group or partners other poems to read from the anthology. They should read the poem,
and add it to the chart in their response journal. Students should note the title, quote from the poem, and what
language the poet used and why.
Share: Bring students back together to read and share the poems they discussed with their partners.
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
Title & Author of
Poem
“The Moon’s the North Wind’s
Cookie”
Accurate Text Quote
“He bites it day by day”
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
What language tool did the poet
use and why do you think they
used this one? What was the
poet trying to “show” or make
you feel?
Personification – The author
wants to show how the moon
slowly disappears.
Lesson
3: Analyzing Poetry
Mini Lesson: How do I analyze poetry to help understand the author’s meaning?
Sometimes when author’s writing poetry, they use words and language that may seem confusing to us. We can
analyze the poems and interpret the language used to help us better understand.
Use the poem, “Casey at the Bat” as a mentor text.
Today’s Questions: How can I understand what an author is trying to say in a poem?
Reading
MiniLesson
Introduce the poem, Casey at the Bat. Read it out loud to students once or twice. Emphasize the rhythm and
rhyme of the poem. Are there other elements in this poem that can help you better understand the poem?
Narrative poems tell stories about events.
Narrative poems include characters, setting, and plot.
“Casey at the Bat” is a famous poem about a batter whose over-confidence contributes to his team losing the
game.
Points to hit through mini-lessons:
1. Identify Elements of poetry: rhyme, rhythm, tone, imagery, figurative language (create a chart in response
journals to record elements of poetry and examples from the text)
2. Vocabulary: This poem has a bit of vocabulary that will be unfamiliar to the students. How can they use
context and other clues to figure out what the words mean? How does understanding the vocabulary help
you understand the poetry?
3. Analyze Poetry: Now that students have identified the elements of the poem and used their context clues
skills to figure out the meaning of unknown words, have them analyze the poem. What does it mean? What
message is the author trying to say?
After mini-lessons, give students ample time to work collaboratively and individually. They should record their
thinking in their reading response journals. Also, show students where in the classroom library they can find
poetry books. When reading poetry as an independent reading choice, students can
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
Poetry Element
Example from the Text
rhyme
nine that day; inning more to play
imagery
And Blake, the much despised, tore the
cover off the ball, And when the dust
had lifted, and men saw what had
occurred, There was Johnnie safe and
second and Flynn a-hugging third.
tone (tense,
anxious)
So upon the stricken multitude grim
melancholy sat. For there seemed but
little chance of Casey’s getting to the
bat.
personification
a smile lit Casey’s face
Simile
There went up a muffled roar, like the
beating of the storm-waves on a worn
and distant shore.
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
1. The character of Casey tells us a
little bit about the difference
between being confident and being
too confident. Was Casey too
confident? Was there ever a time
in your life when you felt
overconfident about something?
What happened?
2. The Mudville Hens lost the game
that day. Do you think this was
Casey’s fault? When you are part of
a team, is it right to blame one
teammate for winning or losing? Is
it one player’s responsibility or the
entire team’s win or loss?
3. If someone from the other team
was writing a poem about this
same baseball game, do you think
the story might be told a little
differently? How might they have
changed it a bit in their “narrative”
of events?
Lesson
Readin
g MiniLesson
Comparing a Poem and Prose Summary of a Poem
Learning Target:
Lesson Seed #13
I can compare a poem to a prose summary of a poem.
Activity: (RL.4.5, W.4.8) You may find that before doing this seed you will need to spend some time with your
students on the structural elements of poetry and the structural elements of prose. This will depend on the
information you gather from seed #12. According to the thesaurus, stanzas and verses are synonyms.
“Technically, a stanza is a succession of lines that form a poem or song, and a verse is either a single line of
writing or a series of lines in a song.” RL.4.5 refers to verse as one of the structural elements of poetry.
This seed is intended to span over two or more days, depending on your class needs. You will be using “Casey at
the Bat” by Ernest Thayer from 101 Great American Poems and a prose summary of “Casey at the Bat” (LINK). It
is strongly suggested that students have access to the text being used in this seed.
Provide students first with the poem “Casey at the Bat.” Read aloud the poem to students, modeling how to
pause at line breaks, how to stress and unstress different syllables, and how to create rhythm as you read. As
you read, you want to make your thinking visible to students. This can be performed by either projecting it for
students to see, or by blowing the text up and putting on chart paper. The focus is not just on what the poem
means, but also on the structural elements of the poem. After you mark your thinking, transfer the big ideas
onto the anchor chart.
Provide students with the prose summary of “Casey at the Bat.” Have students read this together, marking their
thinking and things they notice on the prose summary. Support them as they work. Do they notice that the prose
summary visually looks different from the poem?
Bring students back together and record the things they noticed on the anchor chart. You may find that you
need to provide additional support by adding to the chart for them if they aren’t able to come up with any
relevant characteristics of prose.
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
These can be written and/or spoken. This seed as a whole will help you determine where to go next instructionally.
Compare the poem “Casey at the Bat” to the prose summary of “Casey at the Bat.” What are the similarities between the
two? What are the differences?
How do the structural elements of poetry contribute to the differences between the two versions?
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
Summary of “Casey at the
Bat”
The Mudville Nine was down to the visiting team four to two with only one
inning left to play. Two players had already struck out, and the crowd was
waiting for Casey to come to bat. They felt he was their only hope, but there
were still two players in front of Casey. The two players, Blake and Flynn,
weren’t very good but they were able to each get on a base. Jimmy Blake
landed at second base and Flynn made it to third base.
The crowd of 5,000 erupted with cheer as Casey approached the bat. They
knew that Casey was the one who would be able to win this game for them!
Casey walked up to bat confidently and calmly, smiling along the way.
Casey watched as the first ball was thrown but he didn’t swing. He said, “That
ain’t my style” The umpire called strike and the crowd went mad. They
started yelling to kill the umpire because they were angry about the strike,
but Casey held up one hand and the crowd calmed down. Casey signaled to
the pitcher and the second ball was thrown. Casey ignored this ball too and
the umpire yelled “strike two” This time the crowd yelled “fraud” but
stopped as soon as Casey gave them a scornful look. They watched his
muscles tighten up and knew that Casey wouldn’t let that ball go by again.
The crowd watched as the pitcher let the ball go. Casey swung his bat but all
he hit was air. Casey struck out a third time! Somewhere men are laughing
and somewhere bands are playing, but in Mudville there is not joy because
Casey struck out at that bat.
Lesson
Readin
g MiniLesson
Comparing a Poem and Prose Summary of a Poem
Learning Target:
I can craft a written response comparing a poem to a prose summary of a poem.
Activity: (RL.4.5, W.4.4, W.4.9) The purpose of this seed is for you to model how to take the information from
the anchor chart and craft a written response to the thinking stem: Use the structural elements of poetry to
compare and contrast the poem “Casey at the Bat” to the prose summary of “Casey at the Bat.”
Begin by reading the thinking stem aloud. Post it so that students can see it. Use this time as an opportunity to
model a good writing response for your students. Think aloud as you write. You want students to hear the
process as they watch you write.
After you have crafted a partial written response, give the students the same thinking stem and have them
continue to work to craft a written response.
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
Looking at their writing, which students were able to craft their own written response? Were students able to complete the
written response that you began modeling?
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
Lesson
Readin
g MiniLesson
Comparing a Poem and Visual Display of the Poem
Learning Target:
I can compare a poem to the visual interpretation of the poem. I can craft a written response comparing a poem
to a prose summary of a poem.
Activity: (RL.4.5, RL 4.7, W.4.4, W.4.9) The purpose of this seed is for you to model how to take the information
from the anchor chart and craft a written response to the thinking stem: Use the structural elements of poetry
to compare and contrast the poem “Casey at the Bat” to the visual representation of “Casey at the Bat.”
Provide students first with the poem “Casey at the Bat.” Read aloud the poem to students, modeling how to
pause at line breaks, how to stress and unstress different syllables, and how to create rhythm as you read. As
you read, you want to make your thinking visible to students. This can be performed by either projecting it for
students to see, or by blowing the text up and putting on chart paper. The focus is not just on what the poem
means, but also on the structural elements of the poem. After you mark your thinking, transfer the big ideas
onto the anchor chart.
Then, show students the visual representation of the poem. Add to the anchor chart previously created to
compare the poem and the prose summary. How is this version different. What does it do for you as a reader?
How does it affect your comprehension of the story? (Think about how the visual representation helps the
reader understand difficult vocabulary by allowing the reader to see the actions and emotions of the characters).
Writing the Response: Begin by reading the thinking stem aloud. Post it so that students can see it. Use this time
as an opportunity to model a good writing response for your students. Think aloud as you write. You want
students to hear the process as they watch you write.
After you have crafted a partial written response, give the students the same thinking stem and have them
continue to work to craft a written response.
Video Clip Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erfSed2MUsA
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
Looking at their writing, which students were able to craft their own written response? Were students able to complete the
written response that you began modeling?
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
Lesson
Readin
g MiniLesson
Explaining Difference Between Poetry, Drama and Prose (Review)
Learning Target:
Lesson Seed #12
I can explain major differences between poetry, drama and prose.
Activity: (RL.4.5, RL.4.1, SL.4.1) According to the thesaurus, stanza and verse are synonyms. “Technically, a
stanza is a succession of lines that form a poem or song, and a verse is either a single line of writing or a series of
lines in a song.” RL.4.5 refers to verse as one of the structural elements of poetry.
You will be using three separate texts for this seed. This seed is intended to span over two or more days.
Suggested texts for this seed are “Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing” –play (or any drama), “Casey at the Bat” from
101 Great American Poems in the exemplar texts (or any other poem), and The Sign of the Beaver (or any prose).
Students will need access to all three texts. Feel free to use other texts that would satisfy the intent of this seed.
Group students in groups of 4 or 5. Each group will receive all three texts and a piece of chart paper. Show them
how to set up their anchor chart (see below) into three columns. The title of each text goes at the top of each
column.
Students are to work together to compare the different texts and chart what they notice about each text. The
level of support you provide will depend on what your students are able to discover as they work together.
After groups have charted a few items they notice, post them and allow students to do a gallery walk.
Make sure you set the expectations for a gallery walk: read each chart and use your post-it notes to post any
questions or comments your group may have for the other group. After the gallery walk, groups get their own
chart back and have an opportunity to read the feedback others provided. They can add to/change their charts.
As a group, look for commonalities between the different charts. Start a class anchor chart. This is your chance
to clear up any misconceptions your students may have. After this activity, you will need to make some
instructional decisions. Do you need to spend more time on poetry? Drama?
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
Based on what information students are able to generate on their charts, then you may need to form small groups or plan
whole class instruction to go deeper into the structural elements of poems, drama and/or prose.
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
Other Lesson Options
Use the two poems, “Fog” and
“Dust of Snow”, follow the lesson
plan sample template.
Poetry
Poem Title
The Moon’s the
North Wind’s Cookie
Poetic Elements
Rhyme
Example from the
Poem
Say What?
Title & Author of
Poem
Accurate Text
Quote
“The Moon’s the North
Wind’s Cookie”
by Vachel Lindsay
“He bites it day by day”
What language tool did the
poet use and why do you
think they used this one?
What was the poet trying to
“show” or make you feel?
Personification – The author
wants to show how the moon
slowly disappears.
Say What?
What language tool did the
poet use and why do you
think they used this one?
What was the poet trying to
“show” or make you feel?
Title & Author of
Poem
Accurate Text
Quote
“The Moon’s the North
Wind’s Cookie”
by Vachel Lindsay
“He bites it day by day”
Personification – The author
wants to show how the moon
slowly disappears.
“unties her yellow bonnet”
Personification: The author is
trying to help us visualize that the
flower is blooming
“The cardinal’s call is an
alarm clock”
“as bright red as an apple”
Personification – trying to explain
how loud the noise is
All lines
Personification
The author is making us feel like
the pencil sharpener is really
alive. The words help us visualize
what it is doing while our pencils
are being sharpened.
miniature mountains
alliteration – makes me visuallize
small snow piles
loom
imagery
“Perhaps You’d Like to Buy
a Flower
by Emily Dickinson
“Wake Up!”
by Linnea Pearson
“Classroom Creature”
Melting Winter
“Leaves”
by Hilda Conkling
Simile – help us visualize the
coloring
Casey at the Bat
Poetry Element
Example from the Text
nine that day; inning more to play
rhyme
imagery
tone (tense,
anxious)
personification
simile
other
Poem vs. Prose Summary
Poem
Prose Summary
Poem vs. Visual Presentation
Poem
Visual Presentation
Poem vs. Prose Summary
“Casey at the Bat”
Read both the poem “Casey at the Bat”, as well as the prose
summary. What do they have in common? What is different? Give at
least 2 examples for each.
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Golden Keys
Smarter Balanced Sample CR Item
Golden Keys
A bunch of golden keys is mine
To make each day with gladness shine.
"Good morning!" that's the golden key
That unlocks every door for me.
When evening comes, "Good night!" I say,
And close the door of each glad day.
When at the table "If you please"
I take from off my bunch of keys.
When friends give anything to me,
I'll use the little "Thank you" key.
"Excuse me," "Beg your pardon," too,
When by mistake some harm I do.
Or if unkindly harm I've given,
With "Forgive me" key I'll be forgiven.
On a golden ring these keys I'll bind,
This is its motto: "Be ye kind.”
I'll often use each golden key,
And so a happy child I'll be.
Golden Keys
Explain how the organization o the poem into different stanzas
helps the reader understand its meaning. Include examples
from the poem to support your answer.
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Golden Keys
Rubrics
The Zoo Visit
Name: __________________________________________
The Zoo Visit
Read the passage below, which comes from a short story about
a boy’s visit to a zoo, and then answer the question that
follows.
Stephen leaned against the wooden fence, resting his chin
on the top. He could see the small herd of deer grazing near the
group of trees inside their enclosure. They were so beautiful!
The brown coats reminded him of the inside of a caramel-filled
chocolate bar.
Then, suddenly, a white shape emerged from behind the
trees. It was a goat just like the others, but this one had a
beautiful white coat. His classmate Joanna tapped him on the
arm and said knowingly, “It’s an albino goat. I read about them
in a book.”
Which word from the passage comes from the Latin word albus,
which means white.
My Answer:
__________________________________________