Group Poetry Assignment
You will work as a group to analyze a poem, and then present your poem and analysis
to the class.
Answer the following questions:
1. Describe the author’s life. Anything unique about him/her? Any awards
won?
2. What type of poetry is this poem? (Free verse, sonnet, narrative, lyric, etc.)
3. Does the title have any significance? Why or why not?
4. What is the theme or special meaning of the poem?
5. Does the poem rhyme? If so, what is the rhyme scheme?
6. Is the poem free verse? If so, which characteristics of free verse are present in
the poem? (catalogue, parallelism, repetition, etc.)
7. List images and explain their meaning. Images can be similes, metaphors,
personification, allusions, or sensory details)
Draw a chart on your own paper:
Kind of Image
Image
What does the image suggest?
8. Are there any symbols? Alliteration? Assonance?
9. What is the tone of the poem? Give examples of words or phrases that convey
the author’s tone.
10. How do these elements contribute to the overall beauty and them of the
poem?
Create a poster following the format below:
“Poem’s Title”
Writer’s name
Copy your poem
here
Loaded words or words that need defining
go here. Explain.
Examples of figurative language from the
poem go here.
Illustrations of poem’s imagery go here.
Summary o f the poem goes here.
Theme o f the poem goes here.
Group member’s names
and hour go here.
Concept Sheet
Concept/Objective: Use figurative language to analyze poetry in preparation for poetry
analysis essay.
Grade Level: Advanced Juniors
Materials Used: Textbook (should include literary term dictionary)
Handouts
Butcher paper
Markers
Glue
Brief Description:
As a group, students are assigned a poem from the textbook. Each group is
responsible for “teaching” their poem to the class. They must read the poem to the class
in a way that shows understanding. Then the group summarizes the poem, goes over the
examples of figurative language that they find in the poem, discusses the theme(s) of the
poem, and answers all of the questions on the first handout. Once they have done this
they must explain their how all of these elements combine to create the beauty and
message of the poem.
Comments: After this exercise, students may select a different poem from the text and
write their own poetic analysis. This is typically a very formal paper complete with
parenthetical documentation.
Submitted by: Paige Mayhew
Email Address: pmayhew@norman.k12.ok.us