Unit Concept or Theme: Poetry and Language Grade level: Eleventh Grade Length of unit: 3 Weeks

Stage 1 – Desired Results

Meaning Enduring Understandings/Generalizations: • Standardized language is used to assure universal understanding

– nonstandardized language allows for more interpretation of the reader/recipient.

• Poetry both uses and manipulates standardized language to evoke emotion, rhythm, and aesthetics.

• Both authors and readers can create meaning within a text

Essential Questions: • Why is there a stigma surrounding poetry? • How does the form of poetry affect our reading? • How much artistic license does a poet have? • Who creates meaning – the author or the reader?

Knowledge & Skills Acquisition

Learning Goals: (e.g., Iowa/Common core standards.) Reading:

1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. (RL.11-12.1.)

2. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.) (RL.11-12.4.)

3. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact. (RL.11-12.5.)

Writing: 1. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event

sequences. 2. Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone

and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or resolution). 3. Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.

(W.11-12.3.)

Language: 1. Apply the understanding that usage is a matter of convention, can change over time, and is sometimes contested. (L.11-12.1.) 2. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to

comprehend more fully when reading or listening. 3. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. Analyze nuances in the meaning of words

with similar denotations. (L.11-12.5.)

Speaking and Listening: 1. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (oneon-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades

11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. 2. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a

topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives. (SL.11-12.1.) Students will know… • Key concepts

poetry, “artistic license”, authorial concept • Elements of poetry

Form: line, stanza, quatrain, couplets Style: sonnet, ballad, ode, free verse, found Rhythm/Rhyme: meter, iambic pentameter, syllabic, trochee, stressed/unstressed, feet, verse, assonance, consonance, alliteration, anaphora rhyme scheme, scansion

• Elements of Language Punctuation: ellipse, hyphen, semi-colon Grammar: person, tense, parts of speech Figurative: metaphor, symbol, simile, metonymy, synecdoche, tone

Students will be able to… • Identify the elements of a poem and their function • Classify different types of poems according to their characteristics • Plot/number a rhyme scheme • Be able to scan a poem • Locate purposeful misuse of language in poetry • Analyze author intent and interpret choices, citing textual evidence • Create their own poem and defend the choices made • Offer opinions and ideas toward another peer’s work in a productive

manner

Resources/Materials: “How Do I Love Thee?” “After the Sea-Ship” – Walt Whitman “Because I could not Stop for Death” – Emily Dickinson “Washed Away”

“Winter Poem” – Nikki Giovani “Jabberwock” – C.S. Lewis “pity this busy monster, manunkind” – ee cummings Storybird.com – classroom and poetry feature

Stage 2 – Evidence (Assessment)

Types of assessment: Selected-Response (tests, quizzes); Personal Communication (interview, oral exam, discussion); Written Response (short constructed response questions, entrance/exit slips, essays); Performance Assessment (role-play, Simulation, labs, dramatization) Pre-assessment:

• Poetry survey – informal to both gather data on how much students know about grammar and poetry (Have they taken language courses before, have they been exposed to creative writing, how many years of grammar study, etc.) as well as get a general idea of opinions of poetry (do they like it and why, find it difficult and why, any favorite poets, most famous poet they can think of, etc.). The survey would be short, but include a mixture of question types, like scales of 1-10 on agreement, multiple choice, short answer, etc.

Formative Assessment:

• Quick writes How “After the Sea-Side?” and “How Do I Love Thee?” conform to your expectations of form/style? Defy? Why are conventions in poetry different from prose? How much artistic license should poets have? Why was “Jabberwock” still readable? What sort of conventions did C.S. Lewis pay attention to? What was difficult about writing a poem with storybird? How much did it allow or disallow authorial choice and concept? Did you find the constraints useful or hindering?

• Monitor student sharing in partner, small group, and whole class discussion • Alphabox

Summative Assessment:

• Students will create their own poem using the techniques that have been discussed in class, such as a mixture of standard and nonstandard language, varied word choice, and form. Students will also submit a 2-3 page essay that explains their choices to either conform to or resist typical conventions, how they anticipate it will be read, and how they think it worked or didn’t work based on peer reactions and how they edited after that.

SUNDAY   MONDAY   TUESDAY   WEDNESDAY   THURSDAY   FRIDAY   SATURDAY  

             Pre-­‐assessment:               Student  poetry  survey    

!   !  Unit  Intro:   !     !   !   !   !     Share  collected  data  

from  surveys  Class/teacher  discussion  “What  do  we  expect  of  poetry?”  Begin  alphabox  of  poetic  conventions  

Poetry  form/style  review  In-­‐class,  teacher  modeled/led  practice  of  “How  do  I  love  Thee?”  Small  group/form  style  practice  of  “After  the  Sea-­‐Ship”      

Entry  slip/TTYPS:    “AtSS?”  and  “HDILT”  conformity  Poetry  rhyme/rhythm  review  Model/lead  scansion  for  Sonnet  150    

GRR  Combining  identi&ication  of  form,  style,  rhyme,  rhythm  with  “Because  I  could  not  Stop  for  Death”  (1-­‐2  stanzas  per  part)  HW:  Find  one  poem  that  thwarts  ¾  poetic  conventions.  

Sharing  whip  of  poems  Small  group  discussion  of  poems  (with  provided  questions)  Full  class  analysis,  discussion,  and  interpretation  of  “Free  Verse”  

 

!   !   !"   !!   !"   !"   !"     Alphabox  review  

Introduce  and  discuss  lingual  conventions  and  purpose  in  poetry  Exit  slip:  Why  are  conventions  in  poetry  different  from  prose?      

Language  grammar/punctuation/!igurative  review  Model/lead  “Washed  Away”  Jigsaw  group  practice  “Winter  Poem”  

Entry  slip:  How  much  artistic  license  should  poets  have?  Debate  activity  HW:  Write  a  poem  on  Storybird.com  (classroom  feature)  Read  “Jabberwock”  Hand  in  alphabox  (return  next  class)  

TIPS:  Dif*iculty  in  “Jabberwock”?    DEJ  and  class  discussion  of  interpretation  of  poetry,  authorial  choice  and  concept  Intro  poem  assignment  (Staged  reading  sign  up)  Exit  slip:  Writing  with  constraints  –  storybird  

Discussion  and  interpretation:  “pity  this  busy  monster  manunkind”  (Half  whole  class,  half  small  group)  Handout:  how  to  critique  other’s  work/constructive  criticism  HW:  Poem  )irst  draft  

 

!"   !"   !"   !"   !"   !"   !"     TTYPS:  'irst  draft  of  

poetry  (without  explanation)  Give  a  glow/give  a  grow  Peer  editing/individual  work  time  on  essay  HW:  Essay  )irst  draft  

Save  The  Last  Word  For  Me  activity:  Poems,  then  !inal  comment  on  explanation  Remainder  of  time  for  staged  readings  

Poems  and  papers  due  Introduce  next  unit  

     

Stage 3 – Learning Plan