Suggested Poetry for Comparative Analysis
Several poems included are excellent for comparative analysis at the twelfth grade and have been included in the overview having cross-references with this specific purpose in mind. I do not profess to have made a complete compilation of works; hence, listing will evolve as necessary.
(table 05.01.14.01 available in print form)
It is my contention that through the vertical team approach, when students reach the twelfth grade level, they will be better equipped to explicate poetry orally and in written form. Students must transfer skills from one level to the next and yet, some method of engraining such skills must also come from a focused collaboration among teaching professionals. This is a great challenge at all levels of education. It becomes quite comfortable for students to retain information for the moment. But what happens when students must recall foundational information/skills—building blocks—in order to demonstrate understanding at a greater depth? Building blocks are not available and students and teachers end up in a dauntingly harmful cycle of remediation.
This curriculum unit suggests that a better way exists. Vertical teaming is a viable pedagogy. We cannot afford to function in isolation from one another within the discipline of secondary English, especially if students are to gain and retain very critical foundational skills that they need.
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