For our last assignment of the semester we were asked to plan and teach a week long poetry unit. My poetry unit focuses on poetic language and word choice. On day one, we will introduce poetry through performance. Students will have the opportunity to perform poems individually, with partners, or with small group. On day two, we are addressing ordinary versus poetic language, as well as emphasizing comparison techniques such as simile and metaphor. Students will participate in a hands on investigation of “cuties” in order to practice word choice. On day three, we are discussing the musical toolbox, specifically alliteration, repetition, and rhyme. Students will explore elements of the musical toolbox within song lyrics. On day four, we will introduce object poetry. Students will read and write poems about objects and from an object’s point of view. On day five, we will focus on revision strategies. Students will utilize skills learned in previous lessons to revise their own object poems. Students will have the opportunity to share their individual work.
I'm going to highlight the lesson from day two of my poetry unit.
Reflection:
Using the “exploring cuties” activity was really beneficial for students. The hands on piece translated really well into discussing poetic language. Students were really invested in coming up with language to describe cuties that wasn’t ordinary. The only issue that arose was with structure. Students started by writing in paragraphs as opposed to in lines or stanzas. We paused during independent writing to review poetic structure and then helped students individually with inserting line breaks in their poems. The figurative language used by most students was really impressive. It’s clear that they’ve been discussing figurative language a lot with their teacher.
Shared Writing:
Independent Writing:
Callie, it is awesome to see this lesson in action! It is really impressive to see some of the language that your students used in their poems.