Classroom Activities
Introduction to figurative language
Understanding and using figurative language is an integral part of reading and writing poetry. Because this unit focuses on a fundamental approach to reading and understanding poetry, it is imperative that students are introduced, or in some cases reintroduced, to the power and utility of figurative language. While there are dozens of figurative language terms that are used in discussing poetry, it is prudent to present students with small groups of the terms at first, letting them master the easier, more frequently used ones, then add to the difficulty and complexity of the terms and their usage. Irrespective of which terms are introduced and when (I do recommend beginning with simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom, alliteration), the figurative language/vocabulary development process can be the same. To begin, set up a space for a poetry word wall in your classroom. The word wall does not have to be anything extravagant, just a place where students can have a visual reference to the terms they are working with. The word wall should contain a list of figurative language terms that are being learned. If space permits, post images of the terms to help with language acquisition. If images are not available, examples work just fine. You may even consider using some examples suggested by your students. Next, give students the terms that you want them to learn, including the definitions and examples. Armed with their new vocabulary, students will then create flashcards with the term and definition on the front and a student friendly example on the back. These flash cards are quick and easy references for the new vocabulary students will acquire and can be used as part of their poetry tool kit, especially when they come to learn more complex figurative language terms. Once students have had a bit of practice with explaining and giving examples of the different terms, they can continue their practice by listening to a series of popular music songs and identifying examples of figurative language present in the songs. The following songs are pretty catchy, widely known and full of examples of figurative language: Firework by Katy Perry, Replay by Sean Kingston, Thriller by Michael Jackson, and Fireflies by Owl City. Lyrics to these words are available on the website www.azlyrics.com. Students can be put in pairs to read the lyrics and highlight the different figurative language terms. After identifying the examples of figurative language, students can be invited to share their findings with the whole group and explain which examples correspond to which term. Depending upon the size of your class, you may want to assign students whole songs or stanzas. When students have shared out their examples, they can select a topic or emotion that their song addressed and use figurative language of their own to write a statement that speaks to that emotion/topic.
Composing an ekphrastic poem
The requirement that students write an ekphrastic poem as one of their performance tasks may initially seem daunting to most students but their fears can be eased by giving them a poem writing framework that makes the process easier and is especially useful for writing an ekphrastic poem. First, students should be asked to consider the speaker’s voice in the poem. Is the speaker a person who is being shown the work of art? If so, what are their immediate reactions and then upon closer inspection, what has been illuminated for them? Does the work of art elicit strong, reactive feelings or is there a slow buildup of admiration, joy or resentment? Perhaps the speaker is the work of art itself or a person in the work of art. What story does this work of art or person want to tell? What is the temperament of the work of art or this person? Do you detect snark and contempt, or is the attitude angry, hostile, furtive or affable? Once students have established a speaker, they may then be asked to write about the scene being portrayed or the object being showcased, including the feelings they are experiencing while viewing the work of art. Encourage students to also relate the work of art to something that it reminds them of. They could even imagine what was happening while the art was being created. Invite students to imagine a story behind what they see depicted and speculate about why the artist created the work; and in doing this have them speak directly to the artist in their poem. Posing these questions and having students very carefully and thoughtfully consider them goes a long way toward reducing the fear and intimidation students may have about producing an original composition.
Paideia Seminar
Paideia Seminar is an iteration of the Socratic Seminar that similarly encourages students to engage in thoughtful discussions about subject matter with their classmates, promotes civil discourse and allows students to patiently speak, listen to and collaborate with their peers while focusing on a specific text. The Paideia Seminar has 3 components; a pre-seminar, seminar and post-seminar. During the pre-seminar, students are organized into a circle so that they are able to make eye contact with their peers. A review of the standards and objectives follows the opening of the seminar to establish a learning focus and purpose. Next, background knowledge of the text is activated or supplied along with clarification of important vocabulary words. In the case of this particular pre-seminar, students will have already completed a close reading of the text (Monet’s Waterlilies, or The Little Black Boy) so supplying background knowledge may not be necessary unless students are new to the text. Included in the pre-seminar is a self-reflection where students consider the ways that they usually participate in group discussions and set an individual goal, with teacher support, that challenges them to be more engaging or participatory. Finally, the group creates norms for the seminar to encourage ownership of the activity and maintain its student driven focus. Norms can include guidance on how to respond to questions or comments, when to signal a desire to speak, time constraints, etc. The seminar portion of the Paideia is teacher facilitated but student driven. The teacher askes open-ended questions about the text and as students respond, they are required to cite specific textual evidence and details to support their responses, including quoting passages as evidence. The facilitator can ask questions about theme, historical relevance/perspective or specific textual details. Given that one of the final products that students will be assessed on is a critical analysis essay of a poem’s theme, it would prove beneficial to explore theme in great detail during the seminar, including how the author develops the theme and what textual details support the theme. Also included in the seminar is a requirement for students to personalize or transfer and generalize the knowledge they are acquiring from the exercise to their own lives. The post-seminar portion is an opportunity for students to reflect on the individual goals they set in the pre-seminar as well as assess their movement toward mastery of the outlined standards and objectives. The post-seminar can be conducted in a variety of ways that provide different opportunities for students to demonstrate growth and/or mastery, including writing, drawing, discussion or oral presentation.
Identifying Theme
In the case of many of my students, identifying theme has proven to be an exercise in frustration and inaccuracy. While many high school students can complete this task with ease, that has not been the collective experience of my group of students, and because they will be required to write a critical analysis essay which focuses on how a theme emerges in a text, I thought it prudent to add a mini-lesson on identifying theme. As you well know, theme is the underlying message of a text and can sometimes be considered its “big idea”. Theme is very subtle and highly subjective, unlike other literary concepts like plot and setting that are more concrete. It has helped my students to look at theme as the critical belief about life that the author is trying to convey in their writing. The teacher should remind students that theme is not the same as an explicitly stated topic and is not often directly announced. Theme is a timeless and universal statement that touches on universal human experience yet is sometimes different for everyone who may be reading the same text. To help students identify a poem’s theme, I use this very simple formula: topic + author’s feelings about the topic=theme. After reading and annotating a text, students will benefit from the use of a graphic organizer to collect their information on theme. A simple organizer has three columns with enough space for writing, with the headings: topic, author’s feelings about topic with evidence, theme with evidence. Students can practice on well-known fairy tales before they tackle other, more complex texts. Although very simple, this organizer is student friendly and is a sound pre-write for the critical analysis writing assessment.
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