Teacher Support - Unit 2 -- Poems (ENG 1D)

Activity	Methodology	Resources
1. Introduction to Poetry
a. You can write a poem!	Explain that poetry is hard to define, but it usually describes a moment, and it does so with a minimum of language. Write a five-line poem using the recipe worksheet Write a Five-Line Poem. Do several of these. Take a note explaining that one way to understand poetry is by looking at in terms of sight, sound, movement, shape, and meaning.	Write a Five-Line Poem worksheet
b. Enjoying poetry	Provide a Poetry Readings Package assignment which includes a series of poems chosen for their examples of sight (imagery, symbolism, simile, and metaphor), sound (repetition, alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, and consonance), movement (rhyme, metre, and free verse), shape, and meaning. For most poems, several comprehension or analysis questions are included that require understanding the moment the poem expresses, and particular devices used. The package will be assessed at the end of the unit. It also includes the Understanding Six Poems organizer which asks students to summarize their understanding of sight/sound/movement/shape/meaning for six poems. Provide a Poetry Devices worksheet, with examples of each device and blanks provided to experiment with writing each type of device as it is introduced. Introduce the Poetry Portfolio Assignment (see end of unit)	Poetry Readings Package; Understanding Six Poems organizer Poetry Devices worksheet Poetry Portfolio Entry pages
2. Poetry of Sight
a. Images & symbols	Read poems chosen for their imagery and symbolism, and respond to questions in the Poetry Readings Package. Complete the portion of the Poetry Devices worksheet on images and symbols, which asks students to think of a moment when you experienced a strong emotion such as happiness, sorrow, fear, surprise, and excitement. Choose one, and create a brainstorm web with adjectives describing that moment. Choose an image or symbol from one of these poems and write a 5 to 10 line poem describing a moment inspired by this image as a Poetry Portfolio Entry. No other devices are necessary (free verse is possible).	Poetry Readings Package Poetry Devices worksheet Poetry Portfolio Entry page
b. Simile & metaphor	Read poems chosen for their simile and metaphor, and respond to questions in the Poetry Readings Package. Complete the portion of the Poetry Devices worksheet on simile and metaphor which asks students to complete some "as" and "like" sentence stems. Also, given ideas or objects make short metaphors. Choose one metaphor or simile and place it at the start of a 5 to 10 line poem. Use this as inspiration for the poem. No other devices are necessary.	Poetry Readings Package Poetry Devices worksheet Poetry Portfolio Entry page
3. Poetry of Sound
a. Onomatopoeia	Read poems chosen for their onomatopoeia and respond to questions in the Poetry Readings Package. Complete the portion of the Poetry Devices worksheet on onomatopoeia which asks students to create many examples using situations (e.g. hunger). Choose one situation from the worksheet with several examples of onomatopoeia and use them in a 5 to 10 line poem. Use at least one other device practised so far.	Poetry Readings Package Poetry Devices worksheet Poetry Portfolio Entry page
b. Alliteration & repetition	Read poems chosen for their alliteration and repetition, and respond to questions in the Poetry Readings Package. Complete the portion of the Poetry Devices worksheet on alliteration and repetition which asks students to create some examples of alliteration (3 or 4 word phrases). Also think of pairs of words that fit together in which a sound is repeated.	Poetry Readings Package Poetry Devices worksheet Poetry Portfolio Entry page
c. Assonance & consonance	Read poems chosen for their assonance (repetition of vowel sounds) and consonance (repetition of consonant sounds) and respond to questions in the Poetry Readings Package. Complete the portion of the Poetry Devices worksheet on assonance and consonance which asks students to create several examples of each given prompting scenarios Choose one alliteration, example of repetition, assonance, or consonance and use it as inspiration for a 10 to 15 line poem. Use all four devices at least once in your poem (not necessarily previously written examples).	Poetry Readings Package Poetry Devices worksheet Poetry Portfolio Entry page
4. Poetry of Movement
a. Rhyme	Read poems chosen for their rhyme and respond to questions in the Poetry Readings Package. Complete the portion of the Poetry Devices worksheet on recognizing rhyming schemes which asks students to identify several examples (e.g. ABAB, AABBA, and ABCB etc.) Write a limerick (AABBA) with a funny subject. Several seed ideas are given.	Poetry Readings Package Poetry Devices worksheet Poetry Portfolio Entry page
b. Metre	Read poems chosen for their metre and respond to questions in the Poetry Readings Package. Complete the portion of the Poetry Devices worksheet which has students identify accented and unaccented syllables in lines, and count syllables in lines. (All will be iambic footed - accented then unaccented for simplicity). Then, create several lines with iambic feet and comparable metre. Working in pairs, write a sonnet (see example in Readings Package) with correct rhyme and metre (ignore feet for simplicity), using a household product provided as inspiration.	Poetry Readings Package Poetry Devices worksheet Poetry Portfolio Entry page
c. Free verse	Read poems chosen as examples of free verse and respond to questions in the Poetry Readings Package	Poetry Readings Package
5. Poetry of Shape
a. Concrete poetry	Read poems chosen as examples of concrete poetry and respond to questions in the Poetry Readings Package Write a concrete poem given concrete words as cues (boot, wind, apple, tower, skidoo tracks, rainbow, river, etc.)	Poetry Readings Package Poetry Portfolio Entry page
6. Meaning and Message in Poetry
a. Understanding the message	Read poems chosen for their meaning and message and respond to questions in the Poetry Readings Package. Write a protest poem of 5 to 10 lines about something that makes you mad, frustrated and wish you could change. Use rhyme and metre. Remind students of the concept of the topic sentence paragraph, and give an example. Students complete a topic sentence paragraph given a topic sentence stem.	Poetry Readings Package Poetry Portfolio Entry page
b. Poetry in popular song	Using the Poetry in Popular Song assignment sheet, identify a popular song suitable for use in the classroom (not offensive subject or lyrics), and find the lyrics on the Internet. Then underline examples of all poetic devices used in the poem. Write a topic sentence paragraph describing what the song is about. Write a second topic sentence paragraph discussing a vivid image from the song.	Poetry in Popular Song assignment sheet
7. Poetry Portfolio
	Assemble all Poetry Portfolio Entry sheets, and following the instructions on the Poetry Portfolio assignment sheet, touch up the poems, and choose two centre-piece poems for lengthening and improvement. Analyze poems, and identify areas for improvement using the Poetry Writing Checklist. Editing and revision are included in the process	Poetry Portfolio assignment sheet; Poetry Writing Checklist from Write Source 2000, p. 199; Self and Peer Editing Checklist
8. Unit Review & Test
	Unit review. Reminder to submit Poetry Readings Package, and Poetry Devices Worksheet.. Unit test with knowledge, application, and communication elements.	Unit review sheet Unit test

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