TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY 3
NOVEMBER LESSON PLAN
Teachers: Jennifer Berry, Christina Padilla, Tracie Sedano
Subject Area: English
Grade Level: 9th Grade
Unit Title: Poetry-Beauty
Essential Question: How does poetry reveal what we might no otherwise recognize?
Lesson Title: Poetry Analysis, The Ballad of Birmingham
State Standards:
R 3.7 Recognize and understand the significance of various literary devices
R 3.1 Determine and articulate the relationship between the purposes and characteristics of
different forms of poetry (e.g., ballad)
Common Core State Standards:
RL. 9.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including
figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of several word choices on
meaning and tone
Objectives/Purpose: Students will be able to identify and offer examples of various forms of
poetry, identify and explain poetic devices, such as repetition and rhyme, identify, recognize and
explain the distinguishing characteristics of various types of poetry.
Materials/Resources Needed: Holt 3rd Course Literature and Language Arts Textbook, Ballad
of Birmingham page 464, Poetry Analysis Graphic Organizer, Youtube Video Ballad of
Birmingham Song
Input: Students will have been introduced to and practiced identifying various forms of
figurative language. In addition, students will have read The History Behind the Ballad (a
factual account of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing) on page 466 in the Holt 3rd
Course Literature and Language Arts Textbook and viewed Youtube video of actual footage of
the bombing. Finally, students will have documented the literal meaning of the poem on the
graphic organizer.
Anticipatory Set: Introduce the poetic form by writing the word “ballad” on the board and
explain to students that ballads began as stories in song form and play the ballad “One Tin
Soldier.” We will discuss the story behind the ballad and its meaning. Then, write “literary
ballad” on the board and explain that a literary ballad is a ballad written as a poem.
Lesson Structure/Activity: To practice fluency and identifying figurative language, I will read
each stanza of the ballad aloud, emphasizing the sing-songy rhythm and then choose students to
read each stanza aloud. When we have read through the ballad, I will read sentences from
“History Behind the Ballad” on page 466 of the textbook book, and choose students to read the
same sentence after I have finished. I will ask: What differences do you notice in the rhythm of
both selections? (The poem is rhythmical, with a catchy, appealing beat; the essay is prose, and
is straight facts.) Students will then listen to a musical rendition of poem in order to emphasize
the rhythm of the poem.
As a class, we will review the definitions of figurative language (rhyme, repetition, metaphor,
imagery) students need to identify in the poem. Students will be divided into pairs and each pair
will have 20 minutes to document examples of rhyme, repetition, metaphor, and imagery on
the poetry analysis form. Students will share their findings, while I create a master list using the
document camera. After the terms have been identified, the class will read the poem together.
Independently, students will identify and, in less than 20 words, explain the situational irony in
the poem.
Check for Understanding: Students volunteer answers, call on students, teacher observation,
follow-up questioning, open-ended questions, graphic organizer
Closure: In one paragraph, each student will explain the theme (the central message that can be
applied to life) that is expressed in the poem. Students will cite details from the poem to support
their answers.
Independent Practice: Identifying Figurative Language and Identifying Sounds of Poetry
Assessment: Upon the conclusion of the poetry unit, students will take the poetry final exam.
The exam will consist of defining and identifying figurative language and literary terms. In
addition, students will analyze the poem “in Just-“ by e.e. cummings found in the Holt 3rd Course
Literature and Language Arts Textbook.