Poetry Unit Speaker and Situation
This unit focuses on chapters one and two in the Perrine’s anthology. With our first
poetry unit, we address various methods of responding to poetry through inquiry forms
and personal response. We also focus on having an understanding of how the speaker’ s
background and situation affect the language and structure of the text before moving into
a figurative interpretation of it.
Focus Skills and Subjects
During the early part of this unit we work on concepts of connotations of
language, contexts of speaker and setting, form, syntactical units and
structures, and recognition of the literal scene being described in the piece.
A strong basis in the literal concepts presented in a poem alongside an
understanding of what context the poem falls into are prerequisite to
figurative interpretations. The figurative interpretations, using TPFASTT
format, begin with Chapter Three.
Read all prose for each chapter by the date after which it is listed; read all
poems in each chapter unless otherwise instructed.
January 5th and 6th Chapter One: “What is Poetry?”
Read all poems as well as prose introduction, in class intro to poetry
response.
January 6th First poetry response is due, one full page, hard copy, typed,
dbl spaced, TNR, standard format and heading as described on fall
syllabus (to any poem in chapter one, focusing on speaker and setting,
form, syntactical units and structures, and recognition of the literal scene
being described)
Introduction to TPFASTT (paraphrase and title only for response)
January 7th and 12th Chapter Two: Continue poetry readings as well as
responses using syntactic and literal approach during review period
January 7th; also, timed writing (last one to prose selection)
January 12th Continue Chapter Two
January 13th Chapter Three, in class full TPFASTT
January 14th Continue Chapter Three; first poetry response due, this one
based on any three elements of TPFASTT and how it leads to theme, same
format as above
January 15th First poetry timed writing
January 16th TPFASTT Chapter three poems in class; prose intro to
Chapter Four
January 20th Poetry Response based on TPFASTT, three elements and
how it leads to theme due on any Chapter Four Poem; practice AP Exam
selection on poetry
January 21st Chapter Five prose and poetry; TPFASTT in class
January 22nd Timed writing in poetry; continue Chapter Five
January 23rd Discuss one volunteer’s essay at length; begin memorizing
one Ch 6 poem of ten lines or more and sign up for food that symbolizes
your poem
January 26th Chapter Six poetry recitation and eating; Chapter Seven;
poetry response due same as previous using three elements of TPFASTT
and how it leads to theme
January 27th Chapter Seven continued
January 28th Chapter Seven continued
January 29th Poetry Timed Writing; Chapter Eight discussion and
TPFASTT one poem
January 30th Discuss one volunteer’s essay; practice AP poetry test
selection
February 2nd Chapter Nine poetry discussion; poetry response due in same
format as above to one poem from Ch 9
February 3rd Chapter Ten poetry discussion; TPFASTT in class
February 4th Continue Chapter Ten; imitate one poem’s tone after
identifying what creates that tone
February 5th Timed writing; Cornell Notes on chapters eleven, twelve, and
thirteen
February 6th Discuss one volunteer’s essay; discussion of Chapter twelve
application of rhythm and meter in selected poems
February 9th Discussion of Chapter Thirteen application of sound and
meaning in selected poems; poetry response due using same format as
previous to any poem in Ch 13
February 10th Chapter Fourteen, prose and poetry; choose one
pattern/structure to imitate for a Valentine’s Day love poem; be prepared
to read or recite it February 13th
February 11th Chapter Fourteen discussion continued
February 12th Poetry timed writing and work on poem; bring food related
to poem
February 13th Poetry recitations and dining
February 16th Chapter Fifteen discussion of prose and poetry and poetry
response due in same format as above
February 17th Continue Chapter Fifteen
February 18th Chapter Sixteen discussion of poetry and prose; TPFASTT
in class
February 19th Chapter Sixteen continued, timed writing
February 20th Discuss one volunteer’s timed writing; practice AP poetry
test
February 23rd Featured Poets Section and introduction to poetry long
essay
February 24th Featured Poets section and Poems for Further Reading;
TPFASTT test on two poems
February 25th Practice AP poetry test
February 26th AP Poetry Timed Writing; choose poem and outside
academic or juried source to use for long poetry essay
February 27th Discuss one volunteer’s essay; check poem and outside
source with me; write thesis statement
March 2nd Outline due for poetry essay, include Works Cited page
March 3rd Work on poetry essay in class
March 4th First draft of poetry essay due in duplicate hard copy; poetry
essay peer editing; I circulate
March 5th Same as above
March 6th Revise poetry essay draft in class
March 9th Polished and revised poetry essay due; sign up for metaphorical
food for tomorrow
March 11th and 12th Watch Il Postino and eat metaphorical food
March 13th Return essays and discuss grades; Readers’ Theater
introduction; NEW UNIT: DRAMA (be sure to have read 1021 to 1028 as
well as Susan Glaspell’s one act , Trifles)
To be continued…
 Write
Our first long term poetry essay requires students to select an author
and read/analyze multiple of their poems. They must then research (research skills
have been addressed in previous years’ curricula) the author and time period and
write a discussion (expository essay) of how the author, literary traditions, and
environment (context) is evidenced in the poems subject, style, language, and/or
structure. Editing needs are dealt with during learning lab or at the end of class.
Students are to practice their own editing styles (they must be independently
evaluating their language and structure).
Poetry- Tone, Language, and Form


 This unit focuses on chapters 13, 16, 17, 18 and 19 of the Norton textbook.
Now that students have received a gentle introduction into poetry interpretation,
we begin a more in depth discussion of the terms and techniques involved.
 Focus Skills and Subjects
This unit focuses on the tone, language, structures and terminology
involved in poetry discussions. We discuss a wide variation of subjects ranging
from precision and ambiguity of language, imagery, and the implications of
metaphor, allusions, internal structure, external form, and sound structures. We
are looking for students to question why poets make the textual choices that they
do in poems. Students must interpret how the imagery, figurative language, tone,
etc alter the effect of the poem.

 Read
In addition to the chapters headers students will read poems by
Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson, Theodore Roethke, Sharon Olds, William Carlos
Williams, Linda Pastan, William Shakespeare, John Donne, Edward Robinson,
Samuel Coleridge, Dylan Thomas, and E.E. Cummings.
 Write

 Students must write an in depth poem analysis that discusses how the
structural, figurative, and language choices in a poem combine to accomplish the
poems purpose. The essay receives a round of in class peer conferences to help
students edit. This essay has a special focus on student’ s abilities to use
appropriate strong adjectives and modifiers as well as a focus on the technical
vocabulary being used to describe the poetic devices/elements. For this essay our
revision focuses on the student’ s ability to use proper diction in their discussions.

 Journal projects at this time tend to focus on annotation skills. Students are
introduced to inquiry/annotation methods like those outlined by The Great Books
Foundation. Students have a series of questions that they use as prompts to
explore authors possible motivations for language choices, structural elements,
images, and other poetic devices.
 Unit 7- Drama


 This unit focuses on chapters 26 and 27 of the Norton Textbook. We focus on
discussing the differences in dramatic writing as well as what distinguishes the
dramatic tragedy from the dramatic comedy.
 Focus Skills and Subjects
This unit focuses on the differences between drama and fiction,
focusing especially on character, tone, style, purpose, and how sets and props
affect the text.

 Read
As well as the Norton chapters, students read Bernard Shaw’ s
Pygmalion, Margaret Edison’ s Wit, and Anton Chekhov’ s The Cherry Orchard.
The major piece for the unit is Shakespeare’ s Hamlet

 Write
This essay is an argument essay that asks students to take a stand on
whether Hamlet is still valid or relevant in modern society. In the discussion of
why it is or is not students must discuss the subject, elements, presentation,
language etc of the play.
