Robin A. Welsh
Teacher: Robin Welsh
Grade: Grade 11
English III Enriched Lesson Plan
TEKS Lesson Plan
Texarkana Independent School District
T.I.S.D
Subject/Course: English III Enriched
Time Frame: 45 minutes
Lesson Plan Number: 89
Topic/Process: Civil War poetry of Walt Whitman
Textbook: Glencoe Literature: The Reader’s Choice, Texas Edition, pages 406-408
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS):
(7) Reading/comprehension. The student comprehends selections using a variety of strategies. The student
is expected to:
(A) establish and adjust purpose for reading such as to find out, to understand, to interpret, to
enjoy, and to solve problems;
(B) draw upon his/her own background to provide connection to texts;
(C) monitor his/her own reading strategies and make modifications when understanding breaks
down such as by rereading, using resources, and questioning;
(D) construct images such as graphic organizers based on text descriptions and text structures;
(E) analyze text structures such as compare/contrast, cause/effect, and chronological order for
how they influence understanding;
(F) produce summaries of texts by identifying main ideas and their supporting details;
(G) draw inferences such as conclusions, generalizations, and predictions and support them with
text evidence and experience;
(H) use study strategies such as note taking, outlining, and using study-guide questions to better
understand texts; and
(I) read silently with comprehension for a sustained period of time.
(8) Reading/variety of texts. The student reads extensively and intensively for different purposes and in
varied sources, including American literature. The student is expected to:
(A) read to be entertained, to appreciate a writer's craft, to be informed, to take action, and to
discover models to use in his/her own writing;
(B) read in varied sources such as diaries, journals, textbooks, maps, newspapers, letters,
speeches, memoranda, electronic texts, and other media;
(C) read American and other world literature, including classic and contemporary works; and
(D) interpret the possible influences of the historical context on literary works.
(9) Reading/culture. The student reads widely, including American literature, to increase knowledge of
his/her own culture, the culture of others, and the common elements across cultures. The student is
expected to:
(A) recognize distinctive and shared characteristics of cultures through reading; and
(B) compare text events with his/her own and other readers' experiences.
(10) Reading/literary response. The student expresses and supports responses to various types of texts.
The student is expected to:
(A) respond to informational and aesthetic elements in texts such as discussions, journal entries,
oral interpretations, enactments, and graphic displays;
(B) use elements of text to defend, clarify, and negotiate responses and interpretations; and
(C) analyze written reviews of literature, film, and performance to compare with his/her own
responses.
(11) Reading/literary concepts. The student analyzes literary elements for their contributions to meaning in
literary texts. The student is expected to:
(A) compare and contrast aspects of texts such as themes, conflicts, and allusions both within and
across texts;
(B) analyze relevance of setting and time frame to text's meaning;
(C) describe the development of plot and identify conflicts and how they are addressed and
resolved;
(D) analyze the melodies of literary language, including its use of evocative words and rhythms;
(E) connect literature to historical contexts, current events, and his/her own experiences; and
(F) understand literary forms and terms such as author, drama, biography, myth, tall tale, dialogue,
tragedy and comedy, structure in poetry, epic, ballad, protagonist, antagonist, paradox, analogy,
dialect, and comic relief as appropriate to the selections being read.
(12) Reading/analysis/evaluation. The student reads critically to evaluate texts and the authority of sources.
The student is expected to:
(A) analyze the characteristics of clearly written texts, including the patterns of organization,
syntax, and word choice;
(B) evaluate the credibility of information sources, including how the writer's motivation may affect
that credibility; and
(C) recognize logical, deceptive, and/or faulty modes of persuasion in texts.
TAKS: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Concepts:
Alliteration
Enduring Understandings/Generalizations/Principles
The student will understand:
Whitman’s use of alliteration and consonance
sets a solemn tone.
Free Verse
Whitman chose free verse and bold language to mirror his view of
the new freedom and new ideas of America.
Repetition
Whitman’s use of repetition emphasizes the overpowering force of
war.
Sequence of Activities (Instructional Strategies):
1.
Journal focus: Write a paragraph about what you know about the Civil War. Causes? Results? Share and
discuss responses.
2.
Discussion: Point out details of Whitman’s volunteer nursing in army hospitals after his brother was
wounded.
3.
Activity: Students read “A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim” and “Beat! Beat! Drums!” silently
first, then have volunteers read the poems.
4.
Activity: Have student and a partner the make a list of the many people Whitman writes about in “Drums”
and how each person is affected.
5.
Have students identify the identity of each of the three dead soldiers in “Daybreak Gray.”
6.
Creative writing: Write a short story based on “Daybreak Gray”. Treat the poem as the beginning of the
story.
Assessment of Activities:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Creative writing
Class discussion
Journal response
Classroom observation
Prerequisite Skills:
1.
Key Vocabulary:
1.
2.
3.
4.
gaunt
grim
blooming
divine
5. speculators
6. parley
7. trestles
Materials/Resources Needed:
1. Textbooks
Modifications:
1. Pair students for step 4.
2. Extended time for creative writing assignment.
Differentiated Instruction:
1. Use the Internet to research medical and general health practices during the Civil War. Present findings to the
class by using power point presentation or scripted skit.
Sample Test Questions:
1. What does Whitman’s comparison of the third dead soldier to Christ in “”A Sight in Camp” tell you about his
emotional reaction to war? Explain and cite text evidence.
2. In “Beat, Beat Drums,” the drums and bugles stop
a. never.
b. at night.
c. when the war ends.
d. when there is a cease fire.
Teacher Notes:
1.
Project developed and delivered through a Collaborative Research Grant between Texarkana
Independent School District and TAMU-T Regents’ Initiative.