ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES

RESPONDING TO POETRY

Planning Points

Approximate Time Needed: 5- 90 minute classes
Correlation to English I SCS 1.02, 2.03,4.01.4.02,4.03, 5.02, 6.01
Correlation to NC High School Exit Exam Competencies: C2, C5, C7, PI9, PI13, PS15

Lesson Objectives:

The activity focuses personal, critical, and analytical response to American poetry. The activities described for days one and two are to allow students to see that they have the ability and language to critically evaluate literature before introducing them to published literary criticism. Student research projects should be supported by literary criticism not merely summaries of the critical opinion on a work.

Materials Needed:

• Literature or poetry Anthologies, online access to American poetry (Sites like Poetry.Org at http://www.poets.org/ ), or databases such as Exploring Poetry
• Graphic organizers
• Access to computers, Power Point, and data projector for poetry presentations

Description:

Day One/ Personal Critiques

• Students make a personal connection to the themes or ideas of the unit's poetry. Use journal prompts, poems, or music to evoke responses. (The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame site - www.rockhall.com - has great suggestions for music lesson ideas.)
• Students then read and respond to a select poem (teacher assigned or student selected from an approved source) and note responses on a flow chart type graphic organizer. Students responding to same poem share graphic organizers.
• Groups create posters that reflect their personal and literary evaluation of the poem. Posters are presented to the class and discussed.

Days Two/ Scholarly Critiques

• Define the word critic. Have students reflect on the criticism expressed on their poetry posters and generate a list of the criteria used for evaluation of the poems.
• Using student generated evaluation criteria, have each student read and review the same poem. They should chart their review. As a class or in small groups, share their critiques.
• Provide students with a short, scholarly critique of the same poem. (Gale Publishing provides a variety of sources for modern and contemporary literary criticism.)
• Have students compare their criticism to a scholarly reaction to the poem. Using a chart, journal entry, or Venn diagram, have students compare their criticism to the scholarly one. Share these reactions.

Day Three/ Synthesizing Evaluation

• Assign students to groups (2 - 3 students each) assign each group specific poems, poet, theme or style of poetry. (Gauge student interest and ability in this selection.)
• Group members individually read and respond to the poems. Use two-column notes to record lines from the poem and their personal reactions/understanding/evaluation of them.
• Groups meet to share their reader response entries. They create a web to help them correlate their opinions and evaluations of the poems.
• Introduce Poetry Project* to the class and necessary research tools.

Day Four/ Media Research

• Groups divide the research tasks. Each member completes one component of the research. (Including reading, annotating, and note taking and compiling bibliographic information.)
• Groups review research and create a preliminary presentation outline. Teacher reviews outlines, note taking and working bibliography. Whole group instruction on effective oral presentations, using visual aids, and power point.

Day Five/ Creating a Final Product

• Groups meet to storyboard power point presentations and speech outlines. Then, if possible, have students create power point presentations and speech outlines in class.
• Peer review of presentations and outlines occur; students evaluate clarity of message, depth of analysis, meeting the criteria of the assignment, mechanics and usage. Students revise and edit writing.

Presentation

Note: With set up and student questions, oral presentations may take 10 - 15 minutes

Assessment:

Students can be evaluated on group participation, completing the steps of the research project and the depth, accuracy and clarity of research presentations. Additionally, evaluate the oral presentations using a teacher-designed rubric.

Additional Notes:

• For less advanced students the critical component of the research can be replaced with biographical or historical review.
• Time spent with media specialist before the project is adapted for your students is invaluable. Talk to them about the resources available in print and online. Be sure that all students can complete their research in the school library. Additionally, to make library time efficient, have media specialists pull books or set up links to useful web pages and databases.
• Also, students who will be held accountable for the poetry presentation information will be more attentive to their peers. A quiz or written response can meet this need.

Teacher's Notes:

Poetry Project

Your goals for the project are to read and understand your assigned poems, evaluate literary criticism of the poem's theme or the poet's writing style, and make a contemporary connection to the poem.

You will present your research to the teacher and the class using a formal outline and Power Point presentation.

This presentation is due on ______________________.

Procedures

The Reading, Researching and Thinking Activities

1. Read your poem. Using two column notes, respond to specific ideas, images or themes of your poem. Be authentic in your response.
2. Share your reader response ideas with your research group.
3. Create a web that synthesizes group reactions/opinion. Your web is due on _____________________.
4. Research your poems and poet in the media center. Consult the sources recommended by the media specialists. Find a piece of literary criticism about your poems or the poet's style.
5. Write a bibliography entry for your article(s).
6. Read and annotate your article. Write a one-paragraph summary of the information. This is due on ___________.
7. Compare your opinion of the poem to the opinion in the literary criticism.
8. Find a contemporary connection to your poem. This is a modern American poem that expresses what you see as the most important idea in the poem. Copy the poem, annotate it, and write a paraphrase of its meaning. Hand a copy of the poem and the paraphrase in on _______________________.

The Project Preparation Activities

1. Complete all reading and research.
2. Determine how your presentation will answer these questions:
   • What does the poem mean?
   • What do critics think about the poem?
   • Do you agree or disagree with these critical opinions? Why?
   • How does your modern poem connect to your assigned poem?
3. Plan and prepare your PowerPoint presentation. Be sure to consider the notes your received on effective presentations.
4. Also, outline the text of your presentation and write a works cited page. Have outlines, power point presentations and works cited pages undergo peer critique.
5. Run through your presentation with your partner; be sure you are confident and polished.

ll research and preliminary information is due on ________________. All PowerPoint presentations, outlines and works cited pagers are due on __________________________. In class on ____________________ you will present your speech to the class.

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