A Poem a Day Keeps the Terror Away

Shelly GruenwaldCentral Catholic High School

Teaching with Primary Sources Illinois State University

Summer 2011

Letter and corrected reprint of Walt Whitman’s "O Captain, My Captain" with comments by author, 9 February 1888. (Walt Whitman Collection)Library of Congress, Manuscript Division

Any teacher who has ever taught poetry knows that many students are terrified of poetry. This unit centers around the Library of Congress site called “Poetry 180.” My intention is to include poetry into our daily activities so that it becomes less frightening and more fun. Poetry is ideal because it is open to interpretation.

Overview/ Materials/Historical Background/LOC Resources/Standards/ Procedures/Evaluation/Rubric/ Handouts /Extension

Overview Back to Navigation BarObjectives Students will:

identify literary elements used in poetry with special emphasis on imagery, figures of speech, rhythm, rhyme and other sound effects, and tone.

apply a variety of reading strategies to poetry with special emphasis on making a poem the reader’s own.

respond to poetry using a variety of modes. prepare, plan, rehearse, and perform a poetry reading

in a poetry slam.Recommended time frame Daily for the entire school year or weekly lessons – five

per week.Grade level 6 - 12Curriculum fit English, History, Fine ArtsMaterials Access to Internet in classroom and a Smartboard or

projector.Poetry 180Notebook or JournalPoetry Term SheetPre-Assessment TestPoetry Performance Sheet

Illinois State Common Core Standards Back to Navigation Bar

Teaching with Primary Sources Illinois State University

Reading Standards for Literature 6-12:Key Ideas and Details: RL.9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual

evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RL.9-10.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas RL.9-10.8. Delineate and evaluate the argument

and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.

Writing Standards 6-12:Range of Writing:RW.9-10.10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Procedures Back to Navigation BarPrior to First Poem: Number 1 – 180 on small pieces of paper. Each day,

one will be drawn out to read and discuss. Hand out the “Poetry Terms Sheet” and briefly

discuss. Students should have an understanding of the terms before beginning.

Day One: Choose a student to read the daily poem. Poem may be discussed or written about in journals.Day Twenty (approximately): After students have become comfortable with

discussing poetry, students should form small groups or pairs. Groups will be assigned a poem and a “performance” day. Groups will plan, rehearse, and perform a poetry reading.

Repeat often.

Evaluation Back to Navigation Bar

Teaching with Primary Sources Illinois State University

Students will be evaluated in several ways. Discussion counts as part of a participation grade. Journal entries will also be checked for completion

and content. Students will be graded within their group for the

Poetry Performance.

Poetry Slam Scoring Rubric

Extension Back to Navigation BarWrite a poem imitating the structure of the daily poetry.Plan, draft, revise, edit, proof, and/or publish an essay interpreting a poem.

Teaching with Primary Sources Illinois State University

Historical Background Back to Navigation Bar

Teachers wishing to include this activity into his or her lesson plans should know terminology or vocabulary associated with poetry. The link for Poetry 180 is: http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/p180-list.html

Teaching with Primary Sources Illinois State University

Primary Resources from the Library of CongressBack to Navigation Bar

IMAGE DESCRIPTION CITATION URLA poem a day for American high schools ... a program from former Poet Laureate Billy Collins.

Interactive website on The Library of Congress. Located in Poetry and Literature.

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/p180-list.html

Letter and corrected reprint of Walt Whitman's "O Captain, My Captain" with comments by author, 9 February 1888.(Walt Whitman Collection)

Walt Whitman papers, 1837-1957Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mcc:@field(DOCID+@lit(mcc/055))\

New York, New York. Portrait of Richard Wright, poet.

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USF35-1326]

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/fsaall:@field(NUMBER+@band(fsa+8d19418))

Mr. Langston Hughes, Negro poet and playwright. Chicago, Illinois.

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USF35-1326]

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/fsaall:@field(NUMBER+@band(fsa+8d03805))

Teaching with Primary Sources Illinois State University

Poet and historian turns to films. Carl Sandburg, famous poet and Pulitizer prize winning historian has turned movie maker. He is shown here in the cutting room with Phillip Martin, film editor and technical supervisor of the film unit.

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USF35-1326]

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/fsaall:@field(NUMBER+@band(fsa+8b00868))

Informal full-length portrait of poet William Butler Yeats sitting in a wicker chair in a room in Chicago, Illinois. His left arm is bent over the arm of the chair.

Chicago Daily News negatives collection, DN-0003451. Courtesy of Chicago History Museum.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/cdn:@field(NUMBER+@band(ichicdn+n062238))

Teaching with Primary Sources Illinois State University

Handouts Back to Navigation Bar

Poetry Slam Scoring RubricGroup:

Poem Title and Number:

Poet:

Excellent -4 Well- done -3 Attempted - 2 Not Attempted -1

Pre-Reading

Group members

Author background

Author photo

Author’s style

Performance

Spoken clearly

Projected voice

Creativity

Effective for audience

Interpretation

Taught the poem

Creativity

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COMMENTS: SCORE ________________/40

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Back to Navigation Bar

Alliteration

Who is Barney Rubble’s best friend?

ANSWER: FRED FLINSTONE

Allusion

She is such a scrooge around Christmas time.

What is the term “scrooge” from?

ANSWER: A Christmas Carol

Assonance

“Feet sweep by sleeping geese.”

What sound is repeated?

ANSWER: “Eeeee.”

Denotation

What is the denotation of the following words?

Home, house, residence.

ANSWER: Where a person lives.

Connotation

What is the connotation of the following words?

Home, house, residence.

ANSWER:Home – Cozy, loving, comfortable living areaHouse – The actual building or structureResidence – Cold, no feeling

End Rhyme

What words rhyme in the following verses?

The incredible Wizard of OzRetired from his business becoz due to the up-to-date science, Of most of his clients,He wasn't the Wizard he woz.

ANSWER: Oz, becoz, and woz. Science and clients.

Teaching with Primary Sources Illinois State University

Figurative Language

There are a variety of different types of figurative language.

Imagery SimileMetaphor HyperbolePersonification Onomatopoeia

Hyperbole

Fill in the blank with an exaggeration.

You snore louder than ________

ANSWERS: A freight train, a hurricane, a fire alarm, etc…

ImageryWhat senses do the following sentences evoke?

The taste of that first defeat was bitter indeed.ANSWER: Taste

The eerie silence was shattered by her scream.ANSWER: Sound

He fumed and charged like an angry bull.ANSWER: Sight

Internal Rhyme

What words rhyme within the following lines?

I was sad because my dad,Made me eat every beet.

ANSWER: Sad, dad; Eat, beet

Metaphor

What do you call a lazy person who watches a lot of TV?

ANSWER: Couch Potato.

Onomatopoeia

Old MacDonald had a farm,Ee-i-ee-i-o,And on that farm he had a cow,Ee-i-ee-i-o,With a _____ here and a ____ there…

Fill in the blank.

ANSWER: Baa baa

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Personification

Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. There was no one there.

What two things are being personified?

ANSWER: Fear and faith

Simile

Fill in the blank.

“You eat like a ______!”

ANSWER: pig, bird, horse, etc…

Pre-Assessment Test NAME

MATCHING: Match the following forms of poetry with their definitions by putting the correct letter in the blank next to the word it defines.

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1. ______ Lyric Poem

2. ______ Free Verse

3. ______ Haiku

4. ______ Sonnet

5. ______ Catalog Poem

6. ______ Ballad

A) Poetry that does not have regular meter or rhyme

B) A fourteen-line poem written with a regular

rhyme scheme

C) Presents a list of many different images

D) Expresses a speaker’s emotions or thoughts

E) A three-line poem with seventeen syllables

F) Tells a story using steady rhythm, rhymes, and

repetition

MULTIPLE CHOICE Carefully read each question, then circle the letter of the best answer from the list of choices.

7 . The words hiss, buzz, and toot are all examples of—

A) Alliteration

B) Rhyme

C) Onomatopoeia

D) Meter

8. When a poet evokes a memory or feeling in a reader, he or she has--

A) Summarized the feeling

B) Brought a memory or feeling to mind

C) Gone into greater detail

D) Repressed the feeling or memory

9. A foot and an iamb are examples of a poem’s--

A) Rhyme

B) Syntax

C) Meter

D) Form

10. The literal dictionary definition of a word is called its-

A) Connotation

B) Syntax

C) Denotation

D) Meter

SHORT ANSWER Write a definition for the following literary terms in the space provided. Use complete sentences.

11. Figurative Language

12. Personification

13. Internal Rhyme

14. Alliteration

15. Assonance

POEM READING Read the poem below. Then carefully read each question and circle the letter of the best answer from the list of choices.

The Grass by Emily Dickinson

The grass so little has to do, —A sphere of simple green,With only butterflies to brood,And bees to entertain,And stir all day to pretty tunesThe breezes fetch along,And hold the sunshine in its lapAnd bow to everything;And thread the dews all night, like pearls,

And make itself so fine, —A duchess were too commonFor such a noticing.And even when it dies, to passIn odors so divine,As lowly spices gone to sleep,Or amulets of pine.And then to dwell in sovereign barns,And dream the days away, —The grass so little has to do,I wish I were the hay!

16. What is the best summary of this poem?

A) The green grass has a lot to doB) The grass does few things, so the poet wishes she

were the grassC) When the grass dies, it has a wonderful smell

like spices or pinesD) Hay dreams each day away, and so does the poet

17. In the following line, what literary device is being used: “With only butterflies to brood, / and bees to entertain.”A) MetaphorB) Internal RhymeC) ImageryD) Alliteration

18. The speaker says the dew is “like pearls.” This is an example of what literary device?

A) MetaphorB) PersonificationC) SimileD) Alliteration

19. In this poem, the grass is an example of what literary device?A) MetaphorB) PersonificationC) SimileD) Alliteration

20. What does the speaker of the poem say the grass does with sunshine?A) Holds it in its lap

B) Threads it all nightC) Stirs itD) Bows to it