Introduction to Poetry Lesson Plan
By Charles Martin
OBJECTIVE:
To introduce students to the poetry unit by exposing them to a variety of poetry styles and giving them the tools to help them create meaning from poetry.
RATIONALE:
Poetry can be intimidating and uninteresting to students. This introductory lesson to the unit is designed to peak their interest with music and lyrics (poetry of a different sort), show them how to use word and punctuation clues to unlock the meaning of poems and to encourage them to use their imaginations and experiences to create their own personal meanings of poetry.
PROCEDURE:
1. Explain what will be covered in the lesson.
2. Hand out lyrics to Tom Petty song "Zombie Zoo" and direct them to free-write their thoughts on the meaning while they are listening to the song. At songís conclusion, write down thoughts on tone, setting and speaker.
3. Class discussion on what the song is about. Solicit individual interpretations.
4. Explain that the exercise is exactly what I want them to do in small groups with the seven poems from the textbook they were assigned to read. Reinforce that they are to take note of tone, setting and speaker, in addition to offering individual interpretations of the poems. Tell them to use words and punctuations for clues as to meaning.
5. Break class into seven groups of three each. Have each group pick one of the seven poems.
6. Monitor group work. Seat check of homework assignment that was due.
7. Reconvene the class and have each group present its findings.
MATERIALS:
-- From "Adventures in Reading" text: "The Face in the Mirror,íí by Robert Graves; "Dream Deferred," by Langston Hughes; "The Fawn," by Edna St. Vincent Millay; "Iíll Tell You How The Sun Rose,íí by Emily Dickinson; "A Song of The Moon," by Claude McKay; "Jazz Fantasia," by Carl Sandburg; "Manhole Covers," by Karl Shapiro.
-- Lyrics to "Zombie Zoo" by Tom Petty.
-- Compact disc player.
EVALUATION:
-- Students will hand in a homework assignment based on three of the seven poems they were expected to read for class. Evaluation will be based on how well they followed the instructions: Does their work include an interpretation, several paragraphs in length, of three poems? And does it describe what strategies they used to help them understand the poem?
-- Students will demonstrate the ability to discuss in small groups the poems and present the outcome of those discussions to the entire class.