LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Title (or focus) of the Lesson: Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet vs. English (Shakespearean) Sonnet

Grade Level(s): _10th grade English Time Required for Lesson Delivery: 20 – 25 Minutes

Purpose(s) for teaching the lesson: It is essential that students recognize that in poetry
there are a variety of forms, which are created by constraining certain aspects of the poem. By
understanding the form and the constraints associated with a specific style, students will be able
to understand the complexity behind such forms, which will create appreciation of the form,
word choice, and rhyme scheme behind it. It will also increase their ability to write in a specific
form as well as look at writing not as a wild untamed entity, but an orderly object.

Objective(s): SWBAT Define Iambic Foot, Italian sonnet, Shakespearian sonnet and Iambic
Pentameter. SWBAT Identify an Iambic Foot within an Iambic Pentameter Line (e.g. mark the
stressed and unstressed syllable). SWBAT Decide if a given poem is English or Italian.

Reading
• Standard 2 – Students will read for literary response and expression.
o Distinguish between different forms of poetry and recognize how the author uses
poetic form to convey message or intent.
o Read literary texts aloud to convey meaning.
Writing
• Standard 2 – Students will write for literary response and expression.
o Write original literary texts.
• Standard 4 – Students will write for social interaction.
o Share the process of writing with peers and adults.
Speaking
• Standard 4 – Students will speak for social interaction.
o Respond respectfully.

Materials:
A. Materials for Teacher Use: Whiteboard/chalk board, chalk/marker, poems
B. Materials for Student Use: Pen and Paper

Instructional Strategies:
I. Opening: The first 3-5 minutes I am going to do a think pair share as a bell ringer. The
bell ringer will be “What is the point of learning about seemingly archaic/old poetic forms such
as the sonnet?” During this activity I will illustrate that we learn these forms not only because
many of the great poems are written in sonnet form, but also because they exemplify that writing
is an art that is founded upon structure and rules. Writing is like a sport and without and rules
there is no rhyme or reason to it. If one were to simply read a poem without understanding the
form or the care the poet took to write each word the message would only be understood at the
surface and no deeper analytics will take place. That is to say each word is important and by
understanding that students can become better writers and analyze better. It will also help me
understand where each student is at (readiness) in respect to the sonnet form.

II. Body: The first 10 Minutes of the lesson will be direct instruction. That is lecturing the
students on the basics of Iambic Pentameter and both types of sonnets. This will be done via the
chalkboard. I will visually illustrate all of the parts of each sonnet on the board. First I will
introduce all elements of the sonnet (attached sheet). Afterwards I will list and explain the
iambic foot and then the iambic pentameter. Following that I will talk about the differences of
the two sonnets. I will present them with an example of both. During this process I will check
for understanding by for understanding by having students reiterate, in their own words, the
things they learned. After I feel that every student has a good understanding of sonnets, I will
put them in groups of 3. I will hand each group 1 of 6 different sonnets (3 of each sonnet). It
will be there job to say which kind of sonnet it is and tell me the Volta.

III. Closing: The homework will be for them to write the first half of a sonnet (the will
choose what kind of sonnet, but they have to explicate it at the top of the paper). It doesn’t have
to follow the same kind of content that a traditional sonnet does (e.g. courting). The main idea is
for the students to understand the intricacies of writing a sonnet. What I mean by this is that you
have to work around words in order to get the appropriate syllabic pattern and rhyme scheme.
This will not only allow me to assess their understanding of the sonnet, but is a nice transition
into the next days lesson which is looking at the content of the sonnets analytically.

Assessment

I. Assessment Methods and Evaluation

A. Assessment: The group work done in class. Check for understanding throughout
lesson. Homework.

B. Evaluation: Since this is an introductory lesson I will only use ✔+, ✔-, ✔ to help
me gauge how well the students are understanding the material.
II. Self-assessment/reflection:

A. Teacher self-assessment: N/A

B. Student self-assessment & Student Assessment of Instruction: N/A

Additional Section

Reflects Educational Unit Themes:

KNOWLEDGE OF CONTENT
 _____ Content in Context

_____ Learning Environments

_____ Technology

KNOWLEDGE OF PEDAGOGY

_____ Assessment

_____ Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

_____ Recursive Learning

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

_____ Collaboration

_____ Modeling

_____ Multiculturalism and Diversity