Learning Experience Plan

Subject: English Unit: Poetry Topic: Introduction to Poetry Content Standards: R1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. R4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. Learning Experience Outcomes This introduction to poetry will help students understand what goes into making poetry and by the end of the lesson the student will be able to write their own poem. The students will ultimately be able to explain what a poem is and how it is different from other genres of literature. Students will familiarize themselves with the steps to close reading poetry. Each student will learn the steps and be able to continue using and practicing this skill throughout the year. Through close reading, the students will improve their reading skills and understanding of poems. The ultimate outcome will be the students continuing to use the skill for close reading in the future. The students will also be able to practice academic conversation and academic language which will improve their vocabulary and discussion skills. The students will also be able to use prior knowledge from past lessons to practice their academic language. The students will be able to perform the learning demand of analyzing. Learning Experience Assessments The students will come together for group work and perform a close read on a poem. Once they have done this they will then discuss what meaning they pulled from the text and then present their findings to the class. Students will write their own poem which will then be assessed. A template for an I Am poem will be handed out for the student s to complete. Then they must post their written work in the class group on Edmodo.com and must respond to two of their classmates poems. Grade level: 6th Grade Day/periods: Day 1

Differentiation: The Prezi Presentation is a great tool to use for students who learn visually. When teaching students the steps for close reading there is a picture in the Prezi Presentation as an example of how a close read of a poem should look. Students who do well learning visually will extremely benefit from this. There will be group work as well so that the students have a chance to work with each other. Students who do well working with others will benefit from this, while other students who dont do too well will gain experience in it. The assessment given to the student is also one that many can do well with. I have incorporated their interest into the lesson by allowing them to write about themselves. Students who excel linguistically will benefit from this and those who dont will gain experience. Students who are attached to social networking sites will also benefit from the Edmodo assignment.

Approaching

On-level

Beyond

Curriculum Integration The students will use prior knowledge from past lessons. Close reading will be familiar to the students from past lessons but this time it will be on a poem. The similarity between the two will allow students to have a better understanding. Materials/R esources Procedures/Strategies

Day 1 Anticipatory Set: There will be a Do-Now on the board for the students to answer. The Do-Now will ask students to describe what they think poetry is. Activating Prior Knowledge: The students will volunteer answers to build an overall meaning from what they already know about poetry. As a class the students will build a definition of what poetry is. Prezi presentation provided below Direct Instruction: With the beginning of the lesson I would like to remind the students what the central focus for the English Content area is: Comprehend, construct meaning from, and interpret complex text. Explain to the students that this is a skill in which they must master. The lesson will then begin with a Prezi presentation as a way to engage the students while learning. The Prezi presentation will begin by explaining to students exactly what poetry is. From there it will continue on in explaining the different genres of poetry that exist. The next step will be to teach students how to read poetry. The scariest part about poetry is reading it because many people feel intimidated. I will make the environment a safe one for the students so that they will feel comfortable while sitting in on a lesson that is intimidating for most people. The students will see that they arent the only ones who feel uncomfortable with poetry. Understanding that they arent the only ones will allow the students to venture into the lesson knowing that they wont be the only ones confused. I will show the students how to close read a poem to pull out maximum information. The steps on how to close read will be written up on the presentation for the students to copy down into their notes. These steps on how to close read a poem will guide students when reading a poem. It will allow them to practice close reading which was taught earlier in the year, activating prior knowledge. As a class we will go over a poem and perform the steps of close reading on the poem. By doing this the students will be able to see how it is done and will have the opportunity to ask questions if they are confused. The poem that will be used is The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.

Robert Frost poem provided below.

Guided Practice: Once I have gone through the steps to do a close reading of a poem with the students, I will then separate the students into groups of three to practice the steps of

Poems are provided below.

close reading a poem. Each group will be given the poem Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost to practice reading. The steps on how to close read a poem will be left up on the board for the students to reference during this activity. The groups will be responsible to use each step for their passage. It must physically be written on a separate sheet of paper what was done for each step. The students must be able to use academic conversation to convey their reasoning to each other on how each step was done and why. Throughout their discussion, academic language must be practiced to further develop their learning. This will continue the process of developing a vocabulary and in their confidence to use academic language on a normal basis. I will walk around the classroom during this group activity to monitor the progress of the students. I will provide students with the opportunity to ask me questions during their close read of the poems. As students discuss the poem they must write down their findings to come up with an argument. Once each group has finished, the students will present. Each group will go through the steps and cite each spot in the passage that they marked according to the steps. Closure: Once each group has finished presenting their findings, we will go back to our seats and review what was learned today. I will ask students to volunteer one of the steps that they learned today. Once all steps have been giving, I will then ask students if they have any questions or comments about the steps to close reading a poem. The overview of the lesson will strengthen what the students have learned so they are more comfortable with using the steps for close reading a poem on their own to develop their reading and comprehension skills. Independent Practice: The students will receive a template on how to write an I Am poem. The template will be explained to the students and they will have the opportunity to ask questions about the homework so that there will be no confusion while they do it. An example will be provided for the students as a way to show them how it is required to be written. A rubric will be provided for the students to show what I am looking for. The students are required to write their own poem as a way to show them that it isnt too hard. Students are scared of poetry because they believe it is too hard to read it and write it. By writing a simple I Am poem they wont be as intimidated. They will feel accomplished that they actually wrote a poem. The students will also be provided with a class code to a website called Edmodo. This is a social networking site but for education. It is geared towards learning and incorporates what the students enjoy doing on their free time. Through this website students will be able to find worksheets and rubrics that they need. With the provided code, students will post their I Am poems in the class group. The students will then respond to two poems. The students will have fun because it is another version of facebook and they are doing homework at the same time. It is engaging and caters to their interests.

Template provided below with example.

Edmodo code provided below.

Learning Experience Plan Subject: English Unit: Poetry Topic: Literary Devices Content Standards: Reading Standards for Literature 6-12 RL 2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments. RL 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone. Learning Experience Outcomes: Students will read poetry and draw meaning from it. The students will go over and recognize literary devices such as metaphors, similes, symbolism and more. In the end they will argue the meaning of the poem. Students will do this on their own afterwards. Learning Experience Assessments: The students will come together for group work and form an argument for their audience of what the poem actually means. They will use examples from the text to argue their point. Then for homework they will be doing this by themselves with a song of their choice. Grade Level: 6Th Grade Day/Periods: Day 2

Differentiation: Within the lesson plan there are visuals used in the form of a Power Point. Students who learn visually will benefit from this strategy. At the beginning of the lesson there is music as well for musically advanced students who learn well in that way. Group work is also done for students who do well working with others. Approaching: On-Level: Beyond:

Curriculum Integration: The students will be incorporating the lesson from yesterday in todays lesson. The section on close reading will be put to use for homework while reading the lyrics of Katy Perrys song Fireworks. Materials/Resources Procedures/Strategies:

Day 1: Les Miserables quote provided below Anticipatory Set: Have a Do-Now set up on the board asking the students to write down in their notebooks what they think the quote means. Activating Prior Knowledge: Once everyone has completed the Do-Now question, they can start to volunteer their answers and explain what they know about the literary devices. Direct Instruction: Start the lesson off explaining to the students what literary devices are. Have a power point that lists devices they need to know with the definitions. Each literary device will have a picture as an example or a phrase to show. The students will then be asked to take an educated guess about what each literary device means. I will help students by showing techniques that can be used to using each literary device. The students will also be able to stop and make comments or ask questions about the devices to gain a deeper understanding of it. The students will be provided with a worksheet of the literary devices and are required to write down the definitions and examples next to each word. During the lesson I will be teaching students important brick and mortar words that they need to understand. The Brick words would include the literary devices included in the Power Point, while the mortar words would be what explains the brick words. For example I will explain what compare and contrast means when speaking about Metaphor and Simile. This will give students a greater understanding of what must be done when putting the words to use. Guided Practice: The students will then get into groups of three and work on a worksheet together. The worksheet will contain a word bank filled with the literary devices. There will then be examples of each one listed and students must identify which is which. They will have to use the new academic language they have learned to communicate with one another. If students have trouble understanding any of the new academic vocabulary or its meaning, they will be able to use their notes worksheet. The students will also be able to stop and ask each other questions about certain sections to gain a deeper understanding. In turn the environment I provide for my students will allow them to feel comfortable in taking risks and asking me about certain items. Once the students are finished with the worksheet we will go over it as a class to make sure that everyone understands everything that was taught. The students will then be given an index card to be used as an exit slip. On this exit slip I would like students to pick five literary devices of their choosing. For each literary device I would like the students to give an example sentence. The students should follow the format of the group worksheet that was done before this. The sentences should follow the format of those sentences. The purpose of this assessment is to see where the students are in the learning of this lesson. A rubric will be provided for the students as well to show them exactly what is being looked for once they hand the exit slips in.

Prezi Presentation link provided below.

Notes worksheet provided below.

Group worksheet provided below.

-Homework Worksheet included

Closure: The group will then reassemble and do a quick re-cap as to what we learned in class today. I will ask the students what new things they have learned and each one will be able to give me an answer. I will then answer any last minute questions that they have about literary devices. This will strengthen what was learned in class so that students are more comfortable with using the words that they learned. It will make the students more comfortable with the new academic language and it forces them to use the terms when speaking to me about them. A literary devices rap video will also be shown to the students as something fun and as a preview to tomorrows lesson. Independent Practice: The homework for them will be to go home and read the lyrics to Katy Perrys song Firework. They should be able to do a close reading on the poem and pull out meaning from it and use the literary devices they have learned to prove their point. They will cite everything and present it to the class. The material from the past two lessons should assist the students in doing this assignment. This assignment will allow the student to see that songs are poems as well. Everything they listen to is poetry. This will lead into the lesson for tomorrow because the students will be writing their own rap songs as a final assessment.

Learning Experience Plan

Subject: Literary Terms in Context Unit: Poetry Topic: Literary terms in Poetry Content Standards: Writing Standards 6-12 WS.1. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. SLS.2. Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study. Learning Experience Outcomes Students will: Demonstrate their understanding of several literary terms by creating a rap in a collaborative group. Use definitions to guide their understanding of literary terms when used Learning Experience Assessments In a previous lesson using a PowerPoint presentation, students were given a list of literary terms and their definitions. These definitions will be used to assist the students in creating their raps. Within the rap students will be required to Grade level: 6th Grade Day/periods: Day 3

number the examples of their literary terms. They will create a corresponding worksheet in which they list the literary terms that were used in their poems. Students will exchange these worksheets with their pier groups and complete them. By completing them students will be assessed on how they identify literary terms when used in context. Each rap will be presented to the class. Students will have rap battles in which they compete against each other for the title of Best Rap. Well feature the lyrics of the winner of Best Literary Rap on our class website. Differentiation: PowerPoint presentations accommodate visual learners. The creation of the rap accommodates linguistic learners and musical intelligence. Group Collaboration accommodates interpersonal learners. Approaching On-level Beyond Curriculum Integration: The students will be using prior knowledge from past lessons. They will integrate their knowledge of literary devices and poetry into this lesson. Materials/ Resources Procedures/Strategies

in context. Create a rap by using literary terms in everyday context.

Day 3 YouTube link provided below. Sponge Activity: As the students are walking into class and preparing for todays lesson play the example rap video from YouTube. Theyll be so intrigued as to why the teacher is playing a rap video in class! Anticipatory Set: Have a Do-Now set up for the students to work on at the beginning of the period for 5 minutes. The Do-Now should require students to take out their cootie catchers with the definitions of their literary terms on them, as well as any flashcards the students have made.

Students will then be asked to do the following: Using your definitions to guide you, produce a rhyme that demonstrates your understanding of the literary term. Example: Time is a thief you grow up way too fast. What happens to the moments

we wish would only last? Use the example above. Explain to the students what literary term was used Metaphor and how. Time isn't really stealing anything, this metaphor just indicates that time passes quickly and our lives pass us by. Then ask the students why you might have used the rhyme? Why was there a rap playing when they first walked into the classroom? Activating Prior Knowledge : Have students present their Do-Now answers to the class. The different examples will help students understand how to produce a rhyme. Direct Instruction: Tell students that the goal of their rap is to incorporate ALL literary terms that were previously taught, and then demonstrate their ability to use them in context with their classmates through a rap. Well feature the lyrics of the winner of Best Literary Rap on our class website. Make sure that students have the 2012 Year in Rap handout. The chart takes students through the steps of writing a rhyme about news stories. They can repeat the steps for their other raps on literary terms. (Note: If students want to write their rap over beats, they can choose from 20 original beats on the Flocabulary Web site.) Encourage students to peruse the Flocabulary Week in Rap archives for examples on how to set up rhymes. 1. List the first literary term. 2. Rewrite the line so that the most important part to remember is at the end of it. This will help you and your audiences remember it better. 3. List words that rhyme with the final word or words. Students can also list slant rhymes, or words that almost rhyme. 4. It is important to make sure that the tone of the rhyme matches the weight of the literary term. For example, a humorous tone would likely be inappropriate if students are talking about a tragedy. If they are having trouble coming up with a rhyme, they can try retooling the first line. 5. Students should repeat this process for each literary term. Share the rubric that well be using to select our winner. This will help guide students toward creating stronger raps, or even to give them an assignment grade. Inform the students that they will be creating a worksheet or list that numbers each term used. They will exchange this list or sheet with another group to complete. That sheet will require the students to read through the rap. Where each term is numbered, they will have to write which literary term was used. Example: Time is a thief (1) you grow up way too fast. What happens to the moments we wish would only last? 1. Metaphor - this metaphor just indicates that time passes quickly and our lives pass us by. Guided Practice: Students will compose the rap in groups of four. They will use the steps

above to assist in their creation of the rap. After the rap is completed students will go back and number examples of where they used literary terms in their rap. Once each term is numbered they will exchange raps with another group and attempt to label and explain each literary term that is used in the rap. This sheet assesses that the students can both identify these terms in context as well as explain their usage. Closure: The students will present their raps to the class in a rap battle. One group will recite after another. Each student will be able to vote on which group will win the title of Best Rap. Independent Practice: The students will use the list/worksheets created by each group as a form of independent practice. They will complete these sheets and hand them in with a copy of each rap.