Modern/Contemporary Poetry Presentation
Presentation: (informal grade)
Each presentation will include the following elements:
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Biographical Background on poet (this would include not only their biography, but historical
events of the time)
Information on his/her style of poetry
Read 2 most relevant poems by the poet
Explain when they wrote the piece/what they wrote it in response to
Explain the meaning of the poem.
o Explain the theme of each poem
o Highlight when, how, and why the poet used specific literary element-define and give examples
of this literary element as seen in the poems you have chosen
o
o
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Provide one additional poem for class to TPCASTT
Provide guided notes for the class to complete. I will put a rubric on the back of these notes so
that your peers can provide you feedback on your presentation.
Your presentation should take approximately 30 minutes. This includes your poet
presentation, reading and discussion of poems, and TPCASTT with class.
You may use note cards, but you may not read straight from a piece of paper/note cards. You
must maintain eye contact with your audience. This is your Graduation Presentation practice!
You must have an MLA Works Cited page for your research/presentation.
Portfolio: (formal grade)You will turn in a notebook/folder with all your research, an analysis of your
poems, and your Works Cited page. Please include printouts of anything you use in class to teach your
lesson including PowerPoints, Prezis, guided notes, and/or any other handouts.
Visual Aid: You MUST have some sort of visual. This could be a PowerPoint presentation, a Prezi, a
poster, a piece of art…something that will enhance your presentation and help your peers
understand/appreciate your poet. You must be able to present your poems on a PowerPoint simply so
your peers can follow along.
Advanced Format:
Since these are volatile times in history, it might be helpful if you found some music to play along with
your presentation.

Music to play along with your presentation, to logically set the mood or an additional song that can
connect to your presentation: +5
Written Reflection: After your presentation you will use the feedback and notes from your peers to
compose a 1-page typed written reflection to include in your portfolio. This reflection is due within 3
class days of your presentation. This reflection will count as an additional 10 potential points to your
presentation score. Without this reflection your presentation will be incomplete.
Poet
Student
Poems
Literary Terms
Due
Date
Langston Hughes
Kathleen
speaker, rhythm,
repetition
4/28
Claude McKay
Catie H.
Sonnet, form, meaning
4/28
James Weldon
Johnson
Matt Davis
sonnet, form, meaning
4/28
Countee Cullen
Maggie Barclay
Harlem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers,
I,Too, The Weary Blues, Mother to
Son, I too Sing America
If We Must Die, America, Harlem
Shadows, The Tropics of New York
My City, Mother Night, O Black and
Unknown Bards
Any Human to Another, For a Lady I
Know, Fruit of the Flower, I have a
Rendezvous with Life
Harvest Song, Song of the Son, Cotton
Song, Reapers
A Black Man Talks of Reaping, The
Day Breakers, God Give to Men
Lucinda Matlock, Minerva Jones,
George Gray, Spoon River Anthology
Richard Cory, Dear Friends,
MiniverCheevy, The House on the
Hill
Chicago, Grass, Fog, I am the People,
the Mob
Acquainted with the Night, The Road
Not Taken, Nothing Gold Can Stay,
“Out, Out-“, Fire and Ice, Mending
Wall
A Song of the Degrees, Ballad of the
Goodly Fere, The Return
Theme, figurative
language
4/29
Theme, figurative
language
Theme, figurative
language
Narrative Poetry,
speaker’s attitude
Narrative poetry,
speaker’s attitude
4/29
Tone, diction, sensory
language
Style: diction, imagery,
mood, ambiguity
5/1
Imagism: common
speech, rhythm, free
verse, imagery
Helen, Pear Tree, The Pool, Stars
Imagism: common
Wheel in Purple
speech, rhythm, free
verse, imagery
Moreover, the Moon--, Lunar
Imagism: common
Baedeker, The Dead
speech, rhythm, free
verse, imagery
Spring and All, This Is Just to Say, It is Imagism: common
a Small Planet, To a Poor Woman,
speech, rhythm, free
The Red Wheelbarrow
verse, imagery
anyone lived in a pretty how town,
Form: meter, rhyme,
maggie and millie and molly and
rhythm, punctuation,
may, in Just, love is more thicker
spelling, capitalization,
than forget
grammar
Poetry, Silence, Sojourn in the Whale, Form: meter, rhyme,
You are Fire Eaters, The Paper
rhythm, punctuation,
Nautilus
spelling, capitalization,
grammar
5/1
Jean Toomer
Arna Bontemps
Edgar Lee
Masters
Edwin Arlington
Robinson
Peyton Dee
Laura Bones
Carl Sandburg
Jade Schilling
Robert Frost
Garrett Clark
Ezra Pound
Eli A
H.D. (Hilda
Doolittle)
Taylor Busse
Mina Loy
Jamaal Jackson
William Carlos
Williams
Will Dunbar
e.e. cummings
Lucius Brown
Marianne Moore
Alex M.
4/30
4/30
4/30
5/1
5/2
5/2
5/5
5/5
5/5
Poet
Student
Poems
Literary Terms
Edna St. VincentMillay
Neha
Stream of
Consciousness,
dramatic monologue
T. S. Eliot
Nick Llanos
Randall Jarrell
Taylor Phillips
Aunt Helen, Sweeney among the
Nightingales, Rhapsody on a Windy
Night, Whispers of Immortality, The
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner, A
Man Meets a Woman in the Street, Next
Day, The Woman at the Washington Zoo
Life for My Child is simple, Primer for
Blacks, The Bean Eaters, the Mother, We
Real Cool, the sonnet-ballad
Gwendolyn
Brooks
Kevin
McNamara
Aunt Helen, Sweeney among the
Nightingales, Rhapsody on a Windy
Night, Whispers of Immortality, The
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
Anecdote of the Jar, Of Modern Poetry,
The River of Rivers in Connecticut, The
High-Toned Old Christian Woman
Adolescence-III, Testimonial, Straw Hat,
Dusting
5/14
Stream of
Consciousness,
dramatic monologue
The Man in the Moon, Forgetfulness,
Flames
Dreams, A Poem on the Assassination of
Robert F. Kennedy, Mothers, Kidnap
Poem
Beware: Do Not Read This Poem, I am a
Cowboy in the Boat of Ra, Jacket Notes,
Skirt Dance, from Mumbo Jumbo
5/15
Wallace Stevens
Rita Dove
Billy Collins
Grant Adcock
Nikki Giovanni
Maggie R.
Ishmael Reed
Alicia Wilson
Ai
Sydney T.
Walter Dean
Myers
McKenna P.
Sylvia Plath
Elana L.
Maya Angelou
Shel Silverstein
Due
Date
5/6
Tone, imagery
5/6
Repetition,
anaphora
5/14
Tone, imagery
5/14
Sound devices:
alliteration,
assonance,
consonance
Imagery, allusion
5/15
Rhythm, rhyme,
allusion, subject
5/15
Repetition, rhythm,
rhyme, sound
devices: alliteration,
assonance,
consonance
Cuba, 1962, Conversation, Disregard
Imagery, dramatic
monologue,
speaker’s voice
Summer, Love that Boy, Jazz, Goodbye to Imagery, sensory
Old Bob Johnson
details, repetition,
rhyme
Winter Trees, Lady Lazarus, Morning
Imagery,
Song
alliteration, rhyme
Still I Rise, Alone, Awaking in New York, Repetition,
Million Man March, Phenomenal Woman parallelism, rhythm,
rhyme
5/16
Where the Sidewalk Ends, Whatif, One
Inch Tall, Sick, Invitation, A Light in the
Attic
5/20
Alliteration,
hyperbole, imagery,
rhyme
5/16
5/19
5/19
5/19
Name: __________________________________________
Modern/Contemporary Poetry Units
Element
Superior
Research
15
Organized printouts of
all research.
Annotated notes
Quality, scholarly
sources.
Above Average
12
Organized printouts of
all research
Note taking present
Quality sources
Average
9
Printouts of all
research
Variety of sources
Below Average
6
Printouts of all
research
Variety of sources
Works Cited
5
Contains few if any
errors in the MLA
format.
Superior source
material with citations
and references.
Guided Notes
10
Provides a strong
foundation for peers
to follow along and
take notes on the most
important aspects of
the presentation.
Visual
Presentation
Poetry
Analysis
20
Creativity and
thoughtfulness is
demonstrated.
Successfully conveys
the spirit of the poet
and the literary
period.
4
Contains some errors
in the MLA format
Good source material
with citations and
references.
8
Provides an effective
foundation for peers
to follow along and
take notes on the most
important aspects of
the presentation.
16
Creativity and
thoughtfulness is
demonstrated.
Effectively conveys
the spirit of the poet
and the literary
period.
15
12
Expertly analyzed and
explained, referencing
the literary period and
the elements of focus
related to the poet
Analyzed and
explained, referencing
the literary period and
the elements of focus
related to the poet
3
1
Contains several
errors in the MLA
format
Effective source
material
6
Provides a foundation
for peers to follow
along and take notes
12
Conveys the spirit of
the poet and the
literary period.
9
Contains serious
errors in the MLA
format
Few source material
2
Provides very little
guidance or format to
follow presentation.
8
Does not show
creativity.
Ineffectively conveys
the spirit of the poet
and the literary
period.
6
Minimally analyzed
and explained the
poems.
Neglected to
adequately analyze
and explain the poem.
Portfolio Assessment Rubric
Point Conversion:
A: 60-65
B: 55-60
C: 50-55
D: 45-50
F: >45
Total Points: ______________________
Honors English III Presentation Rubric- Poetry Presentation
Excellent
4 pts
Good
3 pts
Fair
2 pts
Poor
1 pt
Communication &
Speaking Skills
Speaks with superior
pitch, pace, and
grammar pronunciation.
Demonstrates excellent
posture, is confident,
and engages the
audience.
Speaks with
appropriate pitch,
pace, and grammar
pronunciation.
Demonstrates
excellent posture, is
confident, and
engages the
audience.
Speaks with
inconsistent pitch,
pace, and grammar
pronunciation.
Demonstrates
excellent posture, is
confident, and
engages the
audience.
Speaks with deficient
pitch, pace, and
grammar
pronunciation.
Demonstrates
excellent posture, is
confident, and
engages the
audience.
Presentation
Content
Expertly defines purpose
of presentation and
maintains focus
throughout. Content is
displayed clearly
through the visual
presentation.
Coherence
Conveys expert
knowledge of content.
Successfully defines
purpose of
presentation and
maintains focus
throughout. Content
is displayed
effectively through
the visual
presentation.
Conveys substantial
knowledge of
content.
Adequately defines
purpose of
presentation and
somewhat maintains
focus. Content is
displayed somewhat
effectively through
the visual
presentation.
Conveys adequate
knowledge of
content.
Minimally defines
purpose of
presentation and is
inconsistent with
focus. Content is
cluttered and too
compact to be
viewed clearly in the
visual presentation.
Conveys insufficient
knowledge of
content.
MLA Format &
Sources
Uses the most relevant
and current information
that provides in-depth
insight.
Uses relevant and
current information
that provides
valuable insight.
Uses valid
information that goes
a step beyond
common knowledge.
Uses insubstantial
information that is
primarily common
knowledge.
Responses & Time
Responds to peers’
questions accurately
and adheres to the time
guideline.
Responds to peers’
questions accurately
and adheres to the
time guideline -/+ 2
minutes.
Responds to peers’
questions vaguely
and adheres to the
time guideline -/+ 4
minutes.
Responds to peers’
questions
inadequately and
adheres to the time
guideline -/+ 5
minutes.