Hansra 2013

Subject: Writing; Grade 10:

(50 minute class)
Unit: Poetry
Designed by: Sam Willett
Section 1 Desired Results
Philosophy: Many students learn better from participating in an activity rather than listening or
reading about it, and it stands true with poetry. To best achieve understanding of ones own poetic
style, students must practice and interact with the art form in multiple varieties. If given an example
of a style, provided by the teacher, they can become familiar of what the final product looks like and
what steps were necessary in doing so. Next, the students and teacher will develop an example
together, explaining those steps and how to execute them. Finally, students will be given an
opportunity to write own poem, practicing the learned strategies.

State your philosophy of literacy that drives this lesson. Then write 1-2 sentences linking your philosophy to
the activities in your lesson.

Essential Questions: What is poetry? How do I write poetry?

Standard:
Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the
action and convey experiences and events.
1. Knowledge and Understanding:
Identity essential characteristics of writing a poem
Understand the importance and beauty of poetry
2. Skills:
Think critically of the focus of description and imagery in poetry
Differentiate between writing a story and poem
3. Reasoning:
Interpret ideas or text to write about/critique an idea
4. Products:
Produce their own set of poems (final assessment)

Targets: Students should achieve target in a 50-minute period.
Students are to analyze the process of writing a found poem and collaborate to put together a class
example for the purpose of create their own found poem.

Section 2 Learning Plan

Materials: SmartBoard, Elmo document camera, poetry PowerPoint, Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson (pg.
11-End), student writers logs, student-generated phrase/word list (assigned for homework yesterday)

Procedure:
Ice Breaker (5 minutes)- What would you rather have, fame or wisdom?
- Class will be divided into two groups, one for each response. Each group will be given a two minutes
to discuss their reasoning and prepare a response.
- After considering both responses, teacher will present a list of big ideas, which was generated in
class yesterday. Both fame and wisdom are big ideas and can be manipulated by the authors style.



Hansra 2013
I Do (10 Minutes)- Teacher will read
- Teacher will recap the meaning of found poetry, discussed in yesterdays class- Found poetry helps
students discover their own style through word choice and approach to poetic elements. In a found
poem, excerpts from a piece of text or personal observations are organized to tell a story or
communicate a message to the reader.
- Yesterday, we learned about how to generate a found poem without using a text. Today, we are going
to be inspired by a text and focus o rearranging someone elses words.

We Do (25 Minutes)- Teacher will read Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson (pg. 11-End) to the class
and instruct them to record phrases and words that catch their ear in their writers journals.
- The focus of the found poem will surround a basic synopsis of Mandela
- Students will prompted to consider important literary elements (setting, characters, plot, vocabulary,
repetition) and reminded of the poetic terms (style, imagery, simile & metaphor, personification,
onomatopoeia, free verse) already covered in class while reading the text.
- After finishing the story, students will be given one minute to look over their recorded list and pick the
most important/appropriate phrases on their list.
- The teacher will activate the SmartBoard and open a blank document, where the class-generated
found will be composed. Teacher will call on students in the class to provide phrases and words to
build the poem. The teacher will facilitate participation to assure that a chronological and accurate
representation of Mandela is developed.

Wrap-Up (3 Minutes)- Teacher will poll the class to reflect on what they had learned during class.
Teacher will synthesize their participation with already learned poetic concepts to connect previous
lessons.

You Do- Students will answer exit slip start writing their own found poems
- Before working, students will be instruct students to answer What is found poetry on post-it note and
turn it in as an exit slip.
- After turning in their exit slip, students map start writing their found poems. The teacher will monitor
student writing progress, lend assistance, and read over student poems, if asked.


Homework (You Do): Write a completed found poem (approximately one page in length) for next class.
- Teacher and students will conference at the end of the week about their completed poems. This will
allow students to learn about what they are doing well and still needs improvement.

Resources-
- http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/word-mover-b-
30964.html
- http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/LP/LA/creating_found_poetry.htm
-
Section 4 Reflection: As you are learning how to lesson plan for this class, be sure to reflect on the
components to ensure that you have alignment.

Philosophy:
What is my philosophy regarding how students best learn?
Does my activity reflect the answer to this question?

Standard(s):
Does the target give students an opportunity to demonstrate proficiency of the standard?

Target(s):
Does the activity provide students with an opportunity to achieve the target?