MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Office of Academics and Transformation
Department of Language Arts/Reading
English Language Arts (ELA) Exemplar Lesson
GRADE 12 (ELA) EXEMPLAR LESSON – Teacher Copy
Quarter 3, Week 27-28: 03/04/13 – 03/15/13
Learning Objectives
The goal of this exemplar lesson is to give secondary students an opportunity to explore targeted passages of complex texts. Students will, through
student and teacher reading and scaffolded discussion of text-dependent questions, recognize elements of Romantic poetry, as exemplified by
Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias,” and John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn”. Vocabulary is learned from context and writing aids deeper
understanding of text. The lesson culminates in an evidentiary writing activity. Teachers may need to further scaffold the activities to address
individual students’ needs depending on the intent of the lesson and specific learners’ needs.
Rationale: This lesson compares the poems of two Romantic poets: Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), and Ode on a Grecian Urn,
by John Keats (1795-1821). The two-week lesson will serve as an Exemplar Lesson for Quarter 3, Grade 12, British Literature. Through close study of
the poems and examination of the language and literary devices, as well as interpretation of meaning, students will be able to identify two or more
versions of the concept of immortality. Students will engage in close, analytic reading to trace elements of the implications of immortality and how
these implications are enhanced through the artful use of poetic devices.
Text Title(s): “ Ozymandias,” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, p. 848, and “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” p. 866, by John Keats
Genre/Text Structure: : Literary Fiction & Nonfiction – Poetry
Targeted Text Selection –
Pages 848 and 866
Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
RL.11-12: 1-10; W.11-12: 1-6 ] LS. 11-12
http://www.corestandards.org
Lesson Sequence
PERFORMANCE TASK /CULIMINATING INDEPENDENT WRITING ASSESSMENT:

Write a well-supported two-page expository essay in which you identify the views of immortality expressed by Shelley in “Ozymandias” and
by Keats in “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” discussing how poetic devices and use of language contribute to their predominant themes.
GUIDING QUESTION(S):

Ozymandias and “Ode on a Grecian Urn” may be played and/or read silently. Students will also independently read pages 848 and 867;

Returning to the text, the teacher asks students a small set of guiding questions about the first poem. The targeted text should be in front
of the students as they engage in their discussions

What is the visual image that the poem evokes? If you were the set designer for this scene, what would it contain?

In what way does the poet comment on immortality?

Rereading is embedded in the text-dependent questions and the activities that follow.

In groups or with a partner, identify the rhyme scheme and meter of the poem

Graphic organizers or reader response journals serve as a means to organize thoughts for prewriting activities.

Respond in writing.

Repeat this sequence for “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
1
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Office of Academics and Transformation
Department of Language Arts/Reading
English Language Arts (ELA) Exemplar Lesson
GRADE 12 (ELA) EXEMPLAR LESSON – Teacher Copy
Targeted Text : “Ozymandias”
Lesson Sequence
Ozymandias
I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Quarter 3, Week 27-28: 03/04/13 – 03/15/13
Vocabulary
Ozymandias=a
Greek name for
the Egyptian
pharaoh Ramses
II, who reigned
from 1279 to
1213 B.C.
Teacher Activities and Techniques
Text-Dependent Questions
Activity 1:


trunkless legs:
legs separated
Possible answer: The massive head lies on the ground
beside the body of the pharaoh. The face is still locked
into an impervious frown.
from
the rest of the
body
visage= face
Activity 2:

sneer= a facial
expression of
scorn or hostility
in which the
upper lip may be
raised
The expression
lasts longer than
the sculptor
whose hand
mocked those
passions and the
king whose heart
fed those
passions.
What is the visual image that the poem evokes? If you
were the set designer for this scene, what would it
contain?
Create a picture or a collage representing the scene
that the poet describes.
In pairs or groups, make notes from the text which
support the answer to this question:
In what way does the poet comment on immortality?
Be prepared to present your conclusions.



Possible answer: The enormous stone figure is in ruins.
There is nothing but barren wasteland surrounding it,
yet its inscription reads, “My name is Ozymandias, king
of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Even the
most powerful kings are not immortal
Activity 3:
In groups or with a partner, write a rubric for the
following activity, with scores ranging from 1 through 4
(1 being the lowest score). Write descriptions for each
numerical score.
.
In groups or with a partner, identify the rhyme scheme
and meter of the poem. Are there exceptions in rhyme,
and/or meter? What is the effect of the exceptions?
Possible Answer: The poem is written in fairly regular
iambic pentameter. The exceptions in the meter add
emphasis:
Stand in the desert
Look on my works
Nothing beside remains
The rhyme scheme a,b,a,b, is consistent throughout
2
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Office of Academics and Transformation
Department of Language Arts/Reading
English Language Arts (ELA) Exemplar Lesson
GRADE 12 (ELA) EXEMPLAR LESSON – Teacher Copy
“Ode on a
Grecian Urn”
Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fring’d legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loath?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair! e
Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unweariéd,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoyed,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy’d,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.
Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead’st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest? f
What little town by river or sea shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e’er return.
O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,”—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
Quarter 3, Week 27-28: 03/04/13 – 03/15/13
Activity 4:
Unravished Untouched
haunts about:
surrounds.
Sylvan: pertaining
to trees or woods
Tempe. . . Arcady:
two places in
Greece that
became
traditional
literary settings
for an idealized
rustic life.
Tempe is a
beautiful valley;
Arcady (Arcadia)
is a mountainous
region.
loath: unwilling;
reluctant.
pipe-play the
flute
timbrels:
tambourines.
Ditties of no
tone-songs
without melody
cloy’d: having
had too much
of something;
oversatisfied.
Citadel-castle,
place of refuge
Attic: pure and
classical; in the
style of Attica,
the part of
Greece
where Athens is
located;
bredeinterwoven
(braided) design.
Pastoral -an
artistic work that
portrays rural life
in an idealized
way.
Close Read: Divide class into 5 groups. Each group does close
reading of one stanza of the poem. The group must analyze
vocabulary and language choice, figures of speech, classical
allusions, content meaning, rhyme scheme and meter (rhythm).
Each group will translate their stanza into modern English, and
present their conclusions to the full group.
Ode: A classical Greek lyrical verse in three parts- strophe,
antistrophe, and epode, sung or spoken in tribute to a person or
thing.
Possible Answers: Rhyme scheme: ababcdedce; ababcdeced,
ababcdecde, ababcdecde, ababcdedce
Stanza 1 opens with the strophe, a tribute to the pastoral life
depicted on the urn. The pristine bride and attendants, pursued
vehemently by men and gods, to the music of minstrels and
pipers(flutists), and the entire scene on the urn surrounded by a
decoration of leaves and flowers.
Stanza 2, the antistrophe, compares real tunes to imagined ones,
and concludes that “those unheard are sweeter”. The poet
comments that the musicians in the scene can never leave their
song, the leaves on the trees will never fall, the nearly successful
lover will never kiss his bride, yet he should not grieve, because he
will always love her, and she will always be beautiful.
Stanza 3 continues the antistrophe. The trees will always be fresh
and green, the young lovers will never have to say goodbye to
spring, the piper will never get tired, his songs will always be new,
and love will be always fresh and expectant. In contrast, true
human passion outside the urn leaves the heart sad and sated,
with a fever and a thirst.
Stanza 4 further extends the antistrophe. The poet describes
another scene on the urn, in which a priest leads a calf decorated
with garlands to the altar to be sacrificed. Townspeople follow to
the sacrifice. The little town and its castle beside a river or a
seashore, are empty and silent forever; the pictured folks will
never return.
Stanza 5 is the Epode. Here, the poet returns to praise the
beautiful, decorated urn, with a braid of marble men and
maidens, branches and grasses. He says the urn, like eternity,
takes us away from our daily concerns; when his generation is old,
the urn and its pastoral scene will remain, “a friend to man”, and
reminding us that “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” the only thing
we mortals know, and the only thing we need to know.
Activity 5:
Shelly and Keats are both commenting on aspects of immortality.
Consider the relationship between humans and works of art.
Identify the aspect of immortality in each poem, making
reference to specific lines and language. Take notes and be ready
3
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Office of Academics and Transformation
Department of Language Arts/Reading
English Language Arts (ELA) Exemplar Lesson
GRADE 12 (ELA) EXEMPLAR LESSON – Teacher Copy
Quarter 3, Week 27-28: 03/04/13 – 03/15/13
to share them with the class.
Formative Assessment/ Rubrics
Evidentiary Writing Assignment
Extension Activities/Further Resources
Interdisciplinary Connections, if applicable
Greek Mythology
Romanticism/English Romantic Poets
Activity 3, above. Students create the rubric, prior to the
assignment.
PERFORMANCE TASK /CULIMINATING INDEPENDENT WRITING
ASSESSMENT:
Write a well-supported two-page expository essay in
which you identify the views of immortality expressed
by Shelley in “Ozymandias” and by Keats in “Ode on a
Grecian Urn,” discussing how poetic devices and use of
language contribute to their predominant themes.
Technology:
www.discoveryeducation.com – (see links embedded in pacing guide)
www.classzone.com
Graphic Organizers at www.classzone.com
4
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Office of Academics and Transformation
Department of Language Arts/Reading
English Language Arts (ELA) Exemplar Lesson
GRADE 12 (ELA) EXEMPLAR LESSON – Teacher Copy
Quarter 3, Week 27-28: 03/04/13 – 03/15/13
English Language Learner (ELL) Resources and Strategies
Build Background/Media Connections
Have students watch the video segment from Discovery Education titled Ramses: Great
Builder at: http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/349F77C6-D1EE4B7A-840E-C19E863B19DD. Discuss why Ramses II was considered one of the greatest
pharaohs of Egypt. Encourage students to describe the statues and temples that still
leave an imprint on Egypt today.
Academic Vocabulary
Explain the following literary terms using examples from the poem ‘Ozymandias’.
rhythm: pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry
meter: repetition of a regular rhythmic unit in poetry
foot: each unit of meter; consists of a combination of stressed and unstressed
rhyme: word pair or set whose accented vowel sounds are identical
rhyme scheme: a pattern of end rhyme in a poem
Rhyme Scheme/Rhythm/Meter
Complete Literature 20, Lesson 20 Rhythm and Meter Practice Worksheet A found in
McDougal Littell Easy Planner use it to analyze the effects of rhythm and meter in a
poem. Help students answer these two questions about poem ‘Ozymandias’:
1. How does the meter affect the rhythm of the poem?
2. How does the meter affect the mood of the poem?
Vocabulary: Related Vocabulary
Writing Task/Views of Immortality
Citation (APA)
Funk & Wagnalls, (2005). Immortality.
[Encyclopedia Article]. Available from
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/
Discuss these categories and terms with your ESOL students from the poem ‘Ode on a
Grecian Urn’. Use McDougal Littell Transparency E19 - Definition Mapping to analyze
what they know about each key concept before reading and then, have the students take
notes during reading.

sacrifice (line 31), “an offering made to a god”;

altar (line 32), “a raised area where religious ceremonies are performed”;

priest (line 32), “religious holy person”;

garlands (line 34), “chains of flowers”;

pious (line 37), “devoutly religious.”
Help students analyze the following definition of Immortality. Ask them to write a
paragraph explaining what Immortality means to them.
 IMMORTALITY, unending existence of the soul after physical death. The doctrine of
immortality is common to many religions; in different cultures, however, it takes
various forms, ranging from ultimate extinction of the soul to its final survival and the
resurrection of the body. In Hinduism, the ultimate personal goal is considered
absorption into the “universal spirit.” Buddhist doctrine promises nirvana, the state
of complete bliss achieved through total extinction of the personality. In the religion
of ancient Egypt, entrance to immortal life was dependent on the results of divine
examination of the merits of an individual's life. Early Greek religion promised a
shadowy continuation of life on earth in an underground region known as Hades. In
Christianity and Islam, as well as in Judaism, the immortality promised is primarily of
the spirit. The former two religions both differ from Judaism in holding that after the
5
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Office of Academics and Transformation
Department of Language Arts/Reading
English Language Arts (ELA) Exemplar Lesson
GRADE 12 (ELA) EXEMPLAR LESSON – Teacher Copy
Quarter 3, Week 27-28: 03/04/13 – 03/15/13
resurrection of the body and a general judgment of the entire human race, the body
is to be reunited with the spirit to experience either reward or punishment. In Jewish
eschatology, the resurrection of the soul will take place at the advent of the Messiah,
although the reunion of body and spirit will endure only for the messianic age, when
the spirit will return to heaven.
Student Copy
Text Title(s):
Genre/Text Structure:
Text Selection
Mc Dougal-Littell, Page 848
Ozymandias
I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless
things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that
fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Vocabulary
Ozymandias=a
Greek name for the
Egyptian
pharaoh Ramses II,
who reigned
from 1279 to 1213
B.C.
Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fring’d legend haunts about thy shape
Activity 1:


trunkless legs:
legs separated
from
the rest of the
body
sneer= a facial
expression of scorn
or hostility in which
the upper lip may
be raised
Unravished Untouched
haunts about:
surrounds.
Sylvan: pertaining
to trees or woods
Tempe. . . Arcady:
two places in
Greece that
became traditional
literary settings
for an idealized
rustic life.
What is the visual image that the poem evokes? If you were
the set designer for this scene, what would it contain?
Create a picture or a collage representing the scene that the
poet describes.
Activity 2:

visage= face
The expression lasts
longer than the
sculptor whose
hand mocked those
passions and the
king whose heart
fed those passions.
“Ode on a
Grecian Urn”
Text-Dependent Questions
In pairs or groups, make notes from the text which support
the answer to this question:
In what way does the poet comment on immortality?
Be prepared to present your conclusions.
Activity 3:

In groups or with a partner, write a rubric for the following
activity, with scores ranging from 1 through 4 (1 being the
lowest score). Write descriptions for each numerical score.

In groups or with a partner, identify the rhyme scheme and
meter of the poem. Are there exceptions in rhyme, and/or
meter? What is the effect of the exceptions?
Activity 4:
Close Read: Divide class into 5 groups. Each group does close reading
of one stanza of the poem. The group must analyze vocabulary and
language choice, figures of speech, classical allusions, content
meaning, rhyme scheme and meter (rhythm). Each group will
translate their stanza into modern English, and present their
conclusions to the class.
6
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Office of Academics and Transformation
Department of Language Arts/Reading
English Language Arts (ELA) Exemplar Lesson
GRADE 12 (ELA) EXEMPLAR LESSON – Teacher Copy
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens
loath?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not
leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal—yet, do not
grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love and she be fair! e
Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unweariéd,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoyed,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy’d,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.
Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead’st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest? f
What little town by river or sea shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e’er return.
O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,”—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
Tempe is a beautiful
valley; Arcady
(Arcadia)
is a mountainous
region.
loath: unwilling;
reluctant.
pipe-play the flute
timbrels:
tambourines.
Ditties of no tonesongs without
melody
Quarter 3, Week 27-28: 03/04/13 – 03/15/13
Ode: A classical Greek lyrical verse in three parts- strophe,
antistrophe, and epode, sung or spoken in tribute to a person or
thing.
Write a SUMMARY
Write a SUMMARY
Write a SUMMARY
cloy’d: having had
too much
of something;
oversatisfied.
Citadel-castle, place
of refuge
Attic: pure and
classical; in the
style of Attica, the
part of Greece
where Athens is
located;
bredeinterwoven
(braided) design.
Write a SUMMARY
Write a SUMMARY
Pastoral -an artistic
work that portrays
rural life in an
idealized way.
Activity 5:
Shelly and Keats are both commenting on aspects of immortality.
Consider the relationship between humans and works of art. Identify
the aspect of immortality in each poem, making reference to specific
7
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Office of Academics and Transformation
Department of Language Arts/Reading
English Language Arts (ELA) Exemplar Lesson
GRADE 12 (ELA) EXEMPLAR LESSON – Teacher Copy
Quarter 3, Week 27-28: 03/04/13 – 03/15/13
lines and language. Take notes and be ready to share them with the
class.
NOTES:
Evidentiary Writing Assignment:
PERFORMANCE TASK /CULIMINATING INDEPENDENT WRITING
ASSESSMENT:
Write a well-supported two-page expository essay in which you
identify the views of immortality expressed by Shelley in
“Ozymandias” and by Keats in “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” discussing how
poetic devices and use of language contribute to their predominant
themes.
Extension Activities/Further Resources
Technology:
www.discoveryeducation.com – (see links embedded in pacing guide)
www.classzone.com
Interdisciplinary Connections, if applicable
Greek Mythology
Romanticism/English Romantic Poets
Graphic Organizers at www.classzone.com
FOR QUESTIONS CONCERNING THIS DOCUMENT PLEASE CONTACT THE DIVISION OF LANGUAGE ARTS READING, 305-995-3122; For Elementary
Grades: Rosa Ochoa-Yannazzo (rochoaYannazzo@dadeschools.net) ; or Secondary Grades: Erin Cuartas (ecuartas@dadeschools.net).
8