Overview
Poetry is a form of literature spoken or written, that emphasizes rhythm, other intricate patterns of sound and many possible ways to suggest a meaning. The way a line of poetry is structured can be considered a kind of garment that shapes and clothes the thought within it. Poetry has evolved along with its rules. It is a genre that is often changing. One characteristic that makes poetry different from ordinary language is that it uses many kinds of repetitions. This characteristic is enhanced by poetic meter, which is a repetition of sound or beat. The line of a poem is a unit, a structure of phonics and meter. This will be looked at in its simplest form: syllables. Also, in Nursery Rhymes there is much repetition of sound. They may use assonance, the echoing of vowels, and consonance, the echoing of consonants. These and other repetitions will be explored in my unit, which is written for a kindergarten classroom.
I have said that young children learn reading through patterns of sound. This unit will teach patterns of speech through poetry. The recognition of sounds (phonemes) will be achieved by using alliterations. The alliterations will be introduced by using the English alphabet. The letters are introduced randomly in sets of three and four. This will be for the student's enjoyment and review of the letters. A poem will be read each week, after the set of alliterations has been learned. The students will be able to dissect the poem with the guidance of questions. Poetry fixes the attention through rhyme, rhythm, meter, repetition, alliteration, assonance and consonance. Not all poems have all of these traits. Rhyme is frequently presented as one of the traits used most in poetry. The words at the end of the lines rhyme. Some words can rhyme in the middle of the line as well. Alliterations, assonance and consonance are rhymes as well. These are the basic contributing factors to this unit. Rhythm is another trait in poems. The syllables that are stressed or unstressed can be important, as in the Limerick lesson. I use the La lum method of explaining rhythm. The unit of the syllable is discussed as well. For instance, Lum is one syllable and La lum is two syllables and la lum la is three syllables.
Specific skills will be targeted. This will also help with promoting the joy of listening to the spoken word. New vocabulary will be introduced for a Poetry Word Wall to be established.
Listening to these different forms will expose the students to other rhythmic patterns. A discussion will be developed based on the poem and will be carefully monitored through specific questions that will target comprehension and reading for fluency.
A portfolio will be built from the poetry readings. There will be eight forms of poetry explored. Inspired by the poems that will be read, the students will draw eight illustrations with writing accompanying them. This will at the end become part of their writing portfolios.
The portfolio will be assessed using a rubric. The illustrations will be part of an art infusion project with the emphasis on the detail of the illustration. Some of the techniques that will be used will be analyzing the poem as it relates to the drawing. I will be looking for neatness and the relevance of the drawing to the poem. A field trip to the Carnegie Museum of Art has been included through my participation in Gateway to the Arts. This will be to learn about the visual art object and how it can tell a story. This relationship is considered to be aesthetic education using inquiry, context and reflection. The inquiry will be guided by a resident artist. The story that will be told is based on the exhibit the Chariot of the Aurora. It is an art deco masterpiece that was made for the Grand Salon of the French luxury ocean liner the Normandie in 1935. It has a Greek mythology theme, a story about the mother of the four winds. Her four sons appear above her as the wind and seasons. Another part of the mural represents the stars and has a huge navigation compass in the center. All of the goddess Aurora's sons have names and have something to do in the artwork. In the rationale section you can go to a site on this topic. With the help of an Artist in Residence in my classroom I will be trying to get my students to see the connection of the art objects to the story. I would hope to see this more as the portfolios develop.
The different types of poems in this unit are called patterns. These patterns will be explored by the students in their portfolio writings. I will give them exposure through the field trip in hopes of enhancing their work.
The students live in an inner city urban setting. In this unit I am going to use poetry to reinforce the current reading curriculum, which has been developed with this environment in mind. The unit can be adapted to other grade levels and for learners with special needs.
Comments: