Rachel Lenkei English 4 Shakespearean Sonnets

2013

Overview/Rationale: This lesson will reintroduce and familiarize students to the language of Shakespeare, as well as review the structure of Shakespearean sonnets. The students will be able to identify the different elements of a sonnet and analyze the interaction of these elements in several samples of Shakespeares sonnets. Enduring Understandings: The themes and images of beauty, love, time, and death have been present in literature across centuries. Objectives: o Students will be able to: Identify the structure of a Shakespearean sonnet, including rhyme scheme, meter, and stanza divisions Analyze a sonnet for theme, figurative language, and tone Apply previous knowledge of poetry comprehension, figurative language, imagery, and word choice Standards:
o o
CC.1.3.11-12.B: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences and conclusions based on and related to an authors implicit and explicit assumptions and beliefs. CC.1.3.11-12.F: Evaluate how words and phrases shape meaning and tone in texts.

Materials: PowerPoint on sonnets, copies of sonnets Procedures: o Warm-up: Students will respond to journal prompt: How would you define true love? (7 min) o Instruction/In class guided reading: Pass out copies of sonnet CXVI ( Let me not to the marriage of true minds) Ask for a student to read aloud (2 min) As a class, identify meter and rhyme scheme (2 min) As a class, discuss the theme of the sonnet and examples of figurative language (10 min) What is Shakespeare saying about love? What is the tone of the poem? What message is conveyed in the couplet? o Independent/Group work: Pass out copies of sonnet XXX (When to the sessions of sweet silent thought) (15 min) Have students get into groups of four and read aloud or independently In groups, students will identify: o Theme of poem, with textual support o Examples of figurative language o Confusing words or phrases, and try to understand as a group o Meaning of final couplet As a whole class, students will share findings o Closure: Students will write a one page analysis of sonnet XXIX, using notes from class and group discussion Assessment: Participation in guided reading; responses to teachers questions; participation in group work

Rachel Lenkei English 4 Shakespearean Sonnets

2013

Reflections