Poetry Unit Checklist and Self-Evaluation
Assignment/Prompt
Name: _________________________
Scoring Criteria
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Poetry Vocabulary – 16 terms are defined
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“Beware: Do Not Read This Poem”
1. The title is a kind of warning, but what does it make you curious about
and want to do?
2. Locate examples of unusual and unconventional spelling, punctuation,
and language
3. Students often say that poetry is “stuffy” and “formal.” How is the style
of writing in this poem closer to how you might write a note or text a friend?
4. How does the poem’s suggestion that you “not resist this poem” relate to
the poem’s theme?
“Young” and “Hanging Fire”
1. Young: What are the speaker’s problems and concerns? Be as specific as
possible.
2. Young: After reading, what image lingers in your mind?
3. Young: What situation is described? Give evidence, pointing to both the
text and your life.
4. HF: What are the speaker’s problems and concerns? Be as specific as
possible.
5. HF: Why is the speaker upset about her mother’s being in the bedroom
with the door closed?
6. How would you describe the difference in tone between the two poems?
Tone would describe the attitude of the speaker: depressed, upbeat, forlorn,
optimistic, lighthearted, etc.
7. To what extent do the two poems capture real problems and concerns of
youth?
“Song of the Open Road” and “The Road Not Taken”
1. Song: What kind of person is the speaker? Give evidence to support your
reply.
2. Song: What is the message or theme you think the poem gives about
life/human nature?
3. Road: Chart the rhyme scheme of the poem, as described in 291 “Literary
Analysis.”
4. Paraphrase one of the poems by re-writing it in straightforward, modern
English.
5. What are the differences in the choices of the speakers?
“Lineage” and “The Courage That My Mother Had”
1. Lineage: What image of the speaker’s grandmothers does the poem
leave?
2. Courage: What does this poem suggest about the speaker’s values and
priorities?
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Definitions only are given = 16
Definitions and some references to poems
we read = 18
Definitions and many references to poems
we read = 20
Short reply = 8
Reply w/ explanation = 10
One example of each type = 7
Many examples of each type = 10
Only gives items repeated from question
two = 8
Gives items w/ explanation = 10
No clear theme = 7
Something like a theme = 9
Clear theme and link = 10
List refers to poem = 10
Mentions images from poem = 7
Mentions one image from poem = 9
Gives image, names the imagery type = 10
Makes no link to real life = 8
Links poem to life = 10
Lists three-four items = 7
Lists 5-6 items = 9
Lists 7-10 items = 10
Gives one sentence explanation = 8
Gives extended explanation = 10
Answer doesn’t give a tone word = 0
Tone word makes no sense = 5
Tone word choice explained fully = 10
Links between poems and real life are
given, not explained fully = 8
Links between poems and real life
explained fully = 10
Score
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AVERAGE the
four scores >>>
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AVERAGE the
six scores >>>
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8 or 10
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Statement of theme is a statement about
the poem’s topic/focus = 8 or 10
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0 or 10
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Shortened the original? = 6
Still looks like a poem = 8
Flowing sentences, same length as original
= 10
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Repeats only words from poem = 8
Gives new way to view the figures in the
poem, keeping overall feel = 10
States only what the speaker wants = 7
Relates speaker’s wants to what was
written in poem (for evidence) = 10
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AVERAGE the
four scores >>>
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3. What do the speakers in the two poems have in common? What
similarities are there between the grandmothers in the Walker poem and the
mother in the Millay poem?
4. Conduct the “Literary Analysis” activity on 611.
“My Papa’s Waltz” and “Grape Sherbet”
1. Waltz: What senses do the images hit, and what do they suggest about
the father’s life?
2. Waltz: How does the speaker feel about being waltzed by his father?
3. Investigate the rhyme scheme and meter in each poem. Considering the
subjects in each poem, why does it make sense that “Waltz” is more strict and
“Sherbet” free?
4.
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Similarities mentioned, not explained = 8
Similarities listed AND explained =10
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You did it = 10
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Images listed, but not named = 7
Images listed, named = 8
Images listed, named, link to father given
= 10
No explanation for feeling given =7
Feeling and explanation given = 10
Full explanation missing = 7
Full explanation of one poem, not the
other = 8
Full explanation of both poems = 10
You did it = 10
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Conduct the “Literary Analysis” activity on 616.
“Theme for English B” and “The Writer”
1. Conduct the “Active Reading” activity described on 466.
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2.
Theme: Who is the speaker? What challenge(s) does he face?
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3.
Writer: Who is the speaker? What challenge(s) does the speaker discuss?
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4. Writer: Identify the metaphors employed in the poem that relate to
writing.
5. What similar ideas about creative struggle do you find in the two poems?
TOTAL the points together
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10 = Table has at least 4 observations per
poem and a generalization about writing
10 = speaker is identified through poem’s
evidence; challenges are explained
10 = speaker is identified through poem’s
evidence; challenges are explained
10 = Two metaphors explained through
use of the poem’s words/phrases
10 = A statement about creative struggle
is made with EVIDENCE from the poems
for support
Poetry terms
Beware …
Young/Hanging Fire
Road poems
Lineage/Courage
Waltz/Sherbet
English B/Writer
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AVERAGE the
four scores >>>
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AVERAGE the
four scores >>>
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AVERAGE the
five scores >>>
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_______ / 80