The Uses of Poetry in the Classroom

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 05.01.05

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Rationale
  3. Objectives
  4. Strategies
  5. Poetry and Historical Events
  6. Lesson Plan I: Specific Summary Analysis
  7. Lesson Plans II: Relating to the Harlem Renaissance
  8. Lesson III: Using Poetry as a Weapon for Social Change
  9. Bibliography

Rhymes and Rhythms of Black History

Jacqueline E. Porter-Clinton

Published September 2005

Tools for this Unit:

Lesson Plan I: Specific Summary Analysis

Overview:

It is important to know something about the time period the poem was written in as well as the poet, to effectively interpret poetry.

Objective:

Students will:

  1. Read poetry to interpret meaning.
  2. Keep notes of analysis in journal.
  3. Write an introductory paragraph for each poem.

Materials:

  1. Copy of poem
  2. Journal

Procedure:

The students will complete the following steps for complete analysis.

1 Title The students will ponder the title before reading the poem, and deciding what the poem may be about.
2 Paraphrase They will than translate the poem into their own words, writing a sentence or two for each stanza of the poem.
3 Connotation I will tell them to contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal. They will answer these questions in their journal: What do the words mean beyond the obvious? What are the implications, the hints, the suggestions of this particular word choice?
4 Devices I will also tell them to note anything that is repeated, either individual words or complete phrases. Anything said more than once may be crucial to interpretation.
5 Attitude The students will be instructed to observe both the speaker's and the poet's attitude (tone). Diction, images, and details suggest the speaker's attitude and contribute to understanding. (This will not be obvious in Phillis Wheatley's poem)
6 Shifts I will tell the students to look for a change in feeling. It may be noticeable with key words: but, yet, however, although; punctuation: dashes, periods, colons, stanza and line division changes in sound may indicate a change in meaning; changes in diction: slang to formal language, positive to negative; or one crucial part that stands out, maybe presenting the complete idea all by itself.
7 Title The students will examine the title again, this time interpretively.
8 Theme I will tell the students to identify the theme, recognize the human experience, or condition suggested by the poem.

After the student completes these steps, the meaning of the poem should be clear. The students will than write an introductory paragraph for the poem. It should include the title, the author, an explanation of the speaker's position, any title significance, an overall statement of "meaning" and a clear statement that answers every aspect of the prompt.

    

Comments:

George H. Cassutto

December 27, 2015 at 5:28 pm

Correction

George Cassutto was not born in Baltimore, MD. He was born in Passaic, NJ. He moved to Baltimore in 1968.

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