ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES

ROUND TABLE REVIEW

Planning Points

Approximate Time Needed: Two 90 minute classes
Correlation to English I SCS 5.01, 5.02
Correlation to NC High School Exit Exam Competencies: C-1, C-2, PI-11, PI-12, PS-15

Lesson Objectives:

• Students will apply the definition of literary devices to the selected Romantic poems
• Students will locate and record examples of literary devices found in the poems.
• Students will interpret poet's purpose of using the device as it shows and conveys meaning in the poem.
• Students will work in groups for a common goal in order to make appropriate choices as to what goes on the displays.

Materials Needed:

• Copies of poems
• Bulletin board paper
• Markers
• List of literary and rhetorical terms
• Romanticism notes

Description:

• Prior to this review, students will have discussed the following poems: William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper" (Innocence), "The Chimney Sweeper" (Experience), William Wordsworth's "The World is Too Much With Us" and "London, 1802", Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind," and John Keat's "Ode on a Grecian Urn."
• Also, prior to this review, the teacher will have presented the cultural and literary context centering around the characteristics of Romanticism and the literary and rhetorical devices explored in each poem that convey the meaning/theme found in the poem.
• Students will need to have access to the characteristics of Romanticism presented to them in class.
• Students will also need a list of literary and rhetorical devices developed and found in each poem: tone, mood, imagery, simile, metaphor, repetition, paradox, personification, apostrophe, irony, theme, sonnet, lyric, ode, allusion, blank verse, symbolism, parallelism. This list can be placed on the board, the overhead, generated on a sheet of paper, or created in chart format.
• Place around the room, in seven places, seven pieces of bulletin board paper. At the top of six of those pieces, write the title of one of the above poems, so that all six poem titles are placed on six individual sheets of paper. On the seventh, create something fun, like Reasons Why I like to be Called Mr (Mrs.) __________ Lil' Cherubs."
• Divide class into seven groups, assigning an initial station to each group.
• Based on the initial section, students in the group will need to reread or skim the poem; identify one of the literary terms applied in that poem; and write the textual example where the term appears; and then write an explanation of the terms significance to the author's purpose and meaning.
• Time them. Each group gets 5 minutes to complete the above task. Call time. Have the entire group go to their station, write the information they gathered on the piece of paper. Then have them return to their seat.
• The groups will rotate. A runner from each group will go to the next station to record what the previous group has written. There cannot be any duplication.
• Complete the same time on task activity until all of the terms are used. Then have students rotate around the stations reading the definitions, examples, and significance of each term.
• The next activity requires a list of romantic characteristics.
• Using the same group or creating new ones, have them read each poem and locate the romantic characteristics applicable to each poem.
• Time them again. Have them write the characteristic and an example from the poem that applies to that characteristic. Have them rotate until you are satisfied that all characteristics have been used. They can continue these notes and examples down the paper. The seventh piece of paper can be changed to given them some variety.
• Use these pieces of bulletin board paper as a spring board for further review the next or a transition to something different, or as a review for a test.

Assessment:

• The teacher will evaluate students based on selection, definition, and significance of term applied to the poem. The teacher needs to frequently rotate to each group, ensuring adherence to time schedule and the no duplication rule.
• The teacher can assess each student (or group) by asking questions from the displays, testing their knowledge of not only what they accomplished, but also what the students remember from the reading of the other groups' writings.
• Formal assessment can be measured through an objective test on these terms.

Additional Notes:

This activity could be easily adapted to other Romantic poems or to other content. Once finished with this review exercise, have students could create a literary term poster, defining each term, located examples in the selected poems, and explaining significance of each term in relation to the poem. Also, they should illustrate the example found in the poem.

Teacher's Notes:

<< Back | Table of Contents | Next >>