Lesson Plans
School: Midwest Central High School
Grade: 10
Dept: English
Instructor: Patia Picken
BACKGROUND FOR LESSON IMPLEMENTATION:
Students in this English II course have had minimal school instruction in poetry (poetic elements,
poetic form, how to analyze and interpret poetry). It is assumed that the students have a working
foundation of basic literary elements such as figurative language, voice, and point of view.
PROCEDURES:
Week 1
Day 1: Objectives—Recognize ways of making meaning from a poem.
Hook
•
3 video clips: Discovery Education clip of Rita Dove (former Poet Laureate of the
United States) talking about “Why Poetry Matters” (approx. 6 minutes). Following this
clip, two other clips will be shown: Louder Than a Bomb and Our Stories Kick Back
Like “Canons” (YouTube). These two clips feature Kevin Coval (Chicago, IL) and Idris
Goodwin performing slam poetry. Purpose of showing these three clips is to demonstrate
the power of language (through poetry) to discover and interpret the world (both near and
far) around us.
In class reading
Textbook (Elements of Literature, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 4th course). “A Conversation
with Alice Walker” page 502. On SmartBoard, a quote by Robert Frost will be shown: “A
poem…begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness. It is
never a thought to begin with. It is at its best when it is a tantalizing vagueness.” ASK students
to compare Frost’s quotation to comments made by Alice Walker. DISCUSS the point that
Walker is making with her anecdote about living with her friend in California and writing poetry
at “5 o’clock in the morning.”
Teach
Six Strategies or “tips” for reading a poem: 1. Read until punctuation (Students should recall
this from their Shakespeare reading strategies); 2. If you’re baffled, find the subject and verb; 3.
Look for figures of speech—and think about them; 4. Listen to the sounds; 5. One reading isn’t
enough; 6. Perform the poem.
Students
Practice the reading strategies: In groups of four, each group will apply the first four strategies
to “Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser (pg. 504 in their textbook). Members of each group
will then summarize what they learned about the poem by applying these strategies. The fifth
strategy will then fall into place as students will learn the “one reading isn’t enough”.
Day 2: Objectives—Read “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes applying various reading
strategies; Interpret literary elements such as figurative language and symbolism.
Writing Prompt: Students will write their thoughts on the following questions: “What is
poetry? What does poetry have to do with everyday life? Volunteers will be taken to read their
writing or discuss their thoughts.
Teach: PPT presentation to review and/or teach figurative language—SIMILE, METAPHOR
(direct, implied, extended), PERSONIFICATION.
I will read “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes for the first reading. Guided discussion will
follow the first reading. ASK—What is she really telling her son to do? Ask for a volunteer to
read the poem aloud a second time. ASK—What kinds of experiences do you think the mother
is talking about in lines 3-7? What kinds of responses to these experiences is she describing in
lines 8-13? What impact does figurative language have on the reader? Ask for a volunteer to
read the poem aloud a third time. ASK—What do you think might have motivated this mother’s
“speech” to her son?
Assignment: Give students a copy of an excerpt from Susan Sheehan’s “A Lost Childhood”.
Students will take the voice of the mother from Langston Hughes’ poem and write a letter to
“Crystal” offering her advice.
Day 3-4: Objectives—Read “Courage” by Anne Sexton applying various reading strategies;
Interpret literary elements such as figurative language and symbolism; Write a dialogue.
Discussion: ASK students to connect to the title of today’s poem—COURAGE. ASK—What
IS Courage to you? What are some examples from your own life that illustrate your view of
courage?
Cooperative Learning: Students will be divided into groups of 4. ASK each student in each
group to read one stanza, continuing to switch readers by stanza until the poem is finished (it is a
four stanza poem). In notebooks, jot down questions about things that were confusing during the
first read through. Jot down figurative language used that either confused or enlightened you.
Read through the poem a second time. Focus on the figures of speech. Find the similes and
implied metaphors in the first stanza. Where is personification used?
Discussion: The third reading will be done with the class back together as a whole. ASK—In
what acts does the speaker see courage in childhood? What progression does each stanza
represent? What seems to transform sorrow in this poem? How does the speaker personify
sorrow? Do you think this is true to life?
Assignment: With a partner, pretend that Langston Hughes and Anne Sexton met to talk about
“Mother to Son” and “Courage”. What similarities would they find in these two poems? What
differences? WRITE a dialogue that Hughes and Sexton might have in which they discuss the
poem’s themes, characters and figurative language.
Day 5: Students will present their dialogues to the class.
Week 2
Day 6: Objectives—Read and interpret “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert
Frost; Interpret symbolic meaning.
HOOK: Show movie clip of Star Wars. Discuss symbolic meanings in the movie (Obi-Wan
and Yoda symbolize wisdom, Darth Vader symbolizes evil, Luke Skywalker symbolizes the
quest for goodness in his world).
MINI-LESSON: What symbols stand for; Where do symbols come from?; Why create
symbols?
Apply reading strategies to the Frost poem. Discuss layers of meaning each time the poem is
read.
HOMEWORK: Questions 1-6 pg 519 (hypothesize, synthesize, analyze, infer, connect0
Day 7: Objectives—Read and interpret “Loveliest of Trees” by A.E. Housman and “George
Gray” by Edgar Lee Masters; Interpret connotations; Interpret symbolic meaning; Express
understanding through creative writing
MINI-LESSON: Connotations
HOMEWORK: Collect ideas for a poem—Students will think of a place they would like to be.
In notebooks, each student will brainstorm what they see, hear, taste, touch and smell. Who
might be with them? (These brainstorming notes may become part of the student’s original work
for the final multi-media project.
Day 8: Objectives—Read and interpret “Miss Rosie” by Lucille Clifton; Interpret idioms;
Interpret figurative language.
MINI-LESSON: Idioms
Read the poem using the reading strategies taught during the first week of the unit. Chart the
sensory details that Clifton uses to create her images.
DISCUSSION: Which figure of speech in the poem seems to be the most powerful and why?
What picture does that figure of speech create for you? What might Miss Rosie symbolize?
HOMEWORK: Collect ideas for a poem—Students will write figures of speech that tell what
some person or scene reminds them of. They should think in descriptive images.
Day 9: Objectives—Students will browse a variety of 2.0 tools to create, present, and publish an
online poetry anthology.
Laptop computers will be provided for each student. Students are already familiar with Glogster
and museum box. This class period will allow students to explore other types of media that they
feel will best represent their final assessment for this poetry unit.
Day 10: Objectives—Report discoveries about 2.0 tools to the class.
Students will have the opportunity to teach, question and show their classmates the 2.0 tools that
they found interesting or problematic from the previous day’s work.
Week 3
Day 11: Objectives—Read and interpret the poem “I Am Offering This Poem” by Jimmy
Santiago Baca; Identify lyric poetry; Interpret metaphors; Recognize imagery; Relate imagery to
feelings.
MINI-LESSON: Define imagery. Discuss how we can distinguish some poets based on the
imagery they use (for example, Robert Frost and Langston Hughes). Use the short poems
“Moons” and “The Moon was but a Chin of Gold” both by John Malcolm Brinnin.
Use reading strategies to interpret the poem “I Am Offering This Poem”. Discuss how Baca’s
poem is a love poem, yet it is not necessarily a romantic love poem. For whom could this poem
have been written?
HOMEWORK: Collecting Ideas: Suppose you were the person being addressed in Baca’s
poem. Write your answer to the speaker either in verse or in prose form. Do you like what the
speaker says to you or about you, or are your feelings something else? Who is the speaker in
your imagination?
Day 12: Objectives—Recognize rhythm; Distinguish between meter and free verse; Use
scanning to understand stressed and unstressed syllables in metrical poetry; Recognize types of
feet (iamb, trochee, anapest, dactyl, and spondee)
MAIN LESSON: Instruct students in the many “Sounds of Poetry” (rhythm and meter)
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: use “Exit cards” to check and reinforce the lesson (5 questions
about metrical poetry, free verse, scanning, feet)
Day 13-14: Objectives—Read and interpret “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” by
William Shakespeare; Analyze the sonnet form (quatrains/couplet); Identify inverted sentence
structure.
Use reading strategies to interpret the poem.
HOMEWORK: Write a poem imitating the structure of a Shakespearean sonnet. Students may
imitate the first four words: “Shall I Compare Thee….” In the first quatrain, present the
comparison (the question) and give a quick answer. In the second quatrain and third quatrain,
elaborate on that answer. In the couplet, sum up the main point. Try using iambic pentameter.
Day 15: Objectives—Become familiar with a 2.0 tool that will best represent your digital poetry
anthology.
Laptop computers will be provided for all students. Flip cameras will also be available as an
option for one facet of the student project.
HANDOUT: Poetry Project Objectives, Project instructions, Project expectations in the form of
a grading rubric, Presentation schedule and rubric.
Week 4
Day 16-20: Objectives—Project Work Time
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