Poetry Unit- English II
Hagburg- Fall 2012
Objective: Students will read a wide range of world poetry focusing on the
values and ideals of a wide range of countries.
Guiding Questions: In what ways does a poem mirror the values and ideals
of a country’s values?
How does poetry help us to see the world more clearly and understand and
appreciate its cultures better?
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Formative Assessments:
Socratic Seminar (State Standards 1.1, 1.2, 2.2): Students will work in groups
to generate a discussion questions and to become an expert on an assigned
poem. Criterion B will be assessed; students should focus on context, meaning,
structure, language, tone, AOI and reflections on culture. It is expected that all
students actively participate in the seminar. Each student will read the poem and
actively engage in meaningful discussion and share their thoughts and analysis
of each poem (State Standard 2.1a).
Original Poem-Creative Assessment Practice (State Standard 3.1)- Students
will use the knowledge that have learned from analyzing poetry to craft an
original poem which reflects their personal values and ideals. Criterion A and C
will be assessed here.
Summative Assessment: Unseen commentary (practice response to literature).
Students will study one unseen poem that addresses the following parts:
context, meaning, structure, language, tone, AOI, and reflections on culture.
Criterion A, B and C will be assessed (State Standards 3.1, 3.2, 3.3).
Poems
1) Limbo by Edward Kamau Brathwaite
2) Nothing’s changed by Tatamkhulu Afrika
3) Island Man by Grace Nichols
4) Blessing by Imtiaz Dhaker
5) Two scavengers in a truck, two beautiful people in a Mercedes by Lawrence
Ferlinghetti
6) Night of the Scorpion by Nissim Ezekial
7) Vultures by Chinua Achebe
8 What where you like? By Denise Levertov.
9) Search for my Tongue
10) Unrelated Incidents
11) Half-Caste
12) Not my Business
KEEP ANNOTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS OF POEMS IN A POETRY NOTEBOOK
FOR THIS UNIT!!!
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As you read each poem, try to answer the following key
questions in your poetry notebook:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
What is the poem about?
What is the stance or viewpoint of the poet?
What is the purpose of the poem?
What is the poet trying to convey?
Why did the poet write this poem?
What are the emotions or mood of the poet?
What does the poet want you to feel?
How does the poet achieve this?
1. S
2. L
3. I
4. M
5. S
Structure (stanza, divisions etc)
Language (the use of words)
Imagery (what is the effect of similes and metaphors)
Movement and rhythm (regular or irregular? Effect?)
Sounds (alliteration, rhyme, assonance, onomatopoeia)
Day 1- Sept 6th - Finish mythology presentations
Intro to poetry- “Dead Poet’s Society” videos
Discuss poem
Day 2-Sept 10th
“Limbo” by Edward Kamau Brathwaite
Read and annotate in class
Analyze language, structure, imagery, movement and sounds
(Slideshare Annotation as a sample)
Read “Nothing’s Changed” by Tatamkhulu Afrika (PPT notes and
class annotation and discussion) and compare with “Limbo”
Day 3-Sept 12th
“Nothing’s Changed” and “Limbo” continued
Discuss Background for Socratic Seminar- You will work in groups of
4 throughout this unit.
Address Purpose, Background, Key Elements, Questions and
Seminar Structure
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Practice Socratic Seminar as a class with “Island Man” by Grace
Nichols
Day 4-Sept 13th
NWEA Testing
Socratic Seminar practice continued
“Blessing” background and intro
Day 5-Sept 17th
Socratic Seminar practice for “Blessing”
*Daily activities relevant to each poem will be provided by me
throughout the unit.
Read “Two Scavengers in a Truck” and annotate for HW
Day 6-Sept 19th
Class discussion for “Two Scavengers in a Truck”
Day 7-Sept 20th
Class reading and discussion of “Vultures”
Day 8-Sept 24th
Socratic Seminar practice for “What were you like?”
Read “Search for my Tongue” and generate discussion questions for
Socratic Seminar
Day 9-Sept 26th
Socratic Seminar for “Search for my Tongue”
Day 10-Sept 27th
PPT and discussion of poem
Text on text annotation for “Unrelated Incidents” compared to “Search
for my Tongue”
Day 11-Oct 1st
Individual annotation of “Half-Caste”
Day 12-Oct 3rd
Annotation and commentary practice on “Not my Business”
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Day 13- Oct 4th
Final assessment- Annotation and commentary of an unseen poem!!
Begin writing an original poem!
Day 14-Oct 8th
Write poetry!!!!
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Comparing poems for English
Write the name of the poem and poet here
Write the name of the poem and poet here
Subject Write a short description (one
sentence) of what each poem is about.
Theme What are the main ideas in the poems?
Meaning Is each poem straightforward or
ambiguous in meaning? What do you think it
means?
Viewpoint What is the viewpoint?
Tone and mood Comment on each poem’s
tone and mood. Does either poem make any use
of humour or irony?
Interesting details Comment on any details
which you find interesting in the poems
Structure and form Describe the structure and
form of the poems – look at such things as
rhyme, metre/rhythm, stanza form
Key images Look for the key images in each
poem. In each case say
 what the image is
 what it means
 how it works in the poem
Other technical features Are there any other
technical features, such as sound FX, contrast,
colloquialism or wordplay?
Personal response Give your own response to
the poems, with reasons
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Quiz Questions
Answer the following questions in full sentences
1) In what country was the poem “Nothing’s Changed set?
2) What does the narrator contrast to show the differences in
the way of life for black and white people?
3) What is the ‘North circular’ referred to in the poem “Island
Man”?
4) Is the poem “Island Man” written in the first or third person?
5) What is the ‘sudden rush of fortune’ referred to in ‘Blessing’?
6) Apart from the title, select two or more words or phrases
from ‘Blessing’ that suggests the water is a gift from God.
7) What material was the man’s suit made from in “Two
Scavengers…?
8) How many hours have the scavengers been up for when the
meeting takes place?
9) How many times was God’s name said in “Night of the
Scorpion”?
10)
What did the father do to try and get rid of the poison?
11) What is a ‘Charnel house’ that is referred to in the poem
“Vultures”?
12) What is the name of the camp that “Daddy” is the
Commandant at?
13) How many voices are heard in the poem “What were they
like”?
14) Does the second speaker ask any questions during the
poem?
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