Poetry

Poetry is language that drives into the heart instead of the head.

Unit Plans Poetry Links Page Poetry terms defined
Poetry terms list
Setting up your poetry journal Poetry Essay Options Sample poetry journal
Poetry Journal Rubric Essay Format Poetry Essay Rubric
  Reading your poem
to the class
 
"What is a poem 
made of?"
Ms. Hogue's old poetry class website
Two poems about poetry "How to Be a Poet"

by Wendell Berry 

"Introduction to Poetry"

by Billy Collins

Five Elements of Poetry

Metaphor Imagery Sound
Idea The Right Word

 

Unit Plans: 

By the end of our unit, students will

  • learn the poetry terms, the specific terminology poets use when they talk about poetry; click here for a link to the list of terms you will be responsible for
  • read poems that illustrate this terminology, a variety of poetic types, and universal themes; we will do this together in class.
  • complete a variety of assignments to accomplish these goals including a personal poetry journal and one essay
  • read one favorite poem aloud to the class to reinforce oral reading and presentation skills
  • show their mastery of poetry terms and elements on a unit test

Assignment Summary:
Read these web pages for this poetry unit. Click on the links for metaphor, imagery, sound, idea, and the right word that you find at the top of the page. Learn these elements of poetry. Also, learn what you can on your own about the poetry terms you find by clicking on the link at the top of this page.
Read 10 poems of your own choosing. Find links to online poetry sources on the poetry links page. Other good sources of poems are our literature book and the library. Do not choose poems that we read together in class.
  • For this unit, please read only published poems and not poems written by friends or other students. 
  • Anonymous poems are also not allowed for the poetry journal.
  • You may not use poems written for children.
  • You may not use song lyrics (see essay option #3 instead)
  • Most poems from .com sites are not to be used for this assignment. When in doubt, check with me.
  • Record the urls for the poems you'll include in your poetry journal by either copying and pasting them into Word or by making hyperlinks right away in your journal.
  •  
Keep a poetry journal.

Your poetry journal is your own collection of favorite poems (for this class). It's your own anthology. In it, you will list all ten of the poems you read for this unit, including the title and the poet.

Then, for three of the ten poems, you will write a journal entry. For each of these three poems, write why you like the poem or what it means to you. Be specific with this. Give reasons and examples to support what you say. Also, point out something specific in the poem that connects to one of the five elements of poetry found in the table at the top of this page. For example, if you found a metaphor in the poem, write it down and explain it. Or if there is a great image in the poem, show what it is.

Oral reading. Choose your favorite of these 10 (a poem of at least 12 lines long to read to the class). Introduce this poem to us by giving us an idea about what it means to you and why you chose it. Then give us the title of the poem and the name of the poet. What you wrote about in your journal will help you prepare for this reading.
  • Read what our former poet laureate, Billy Collins, has to say to high school students about reading a poem out loud. Be sure to visit this link BEFORE you read your poem to the class.

See the page for this assignment.

You will be writing an essay; choose from the options below:
  • Each essay has specific directions.
  • Each essay has a prewriting activity that must be completed and handed in. Create digital documents in Word and email them as attachments. Subject line: poetry organizer.
  • For each essay, use primarily a third person voice; in paragraphs that are reflective, you may use first person. Use first person as little as possible to retain an authoritative voice.
  • Each essay is also a hypertext essay, so as you plan it and write it, think about the connections you want to make for your reader. All links must be in-text links. Do not select more than three words in general for each hyperlink.
  • See Ms. Hogue's  notes for 2006
Unit Test

Essay Option 1: Compare/Contrast Essay
  1. Study two different poems about wind and write a compare/contrast essay showing how these two poems are similar and how they each create meaning on the theme/idea in their own ways. See the prewriting activity and specific directions.
  2. This essay is to be published in your webfolio. Make sure that you link to this page.
  3. This essay must also include five links to related sites imbedded in the text of the essay in order to make it a hypertext essay.
  4. Hand in your prewriting activity.
Essay Option 2: Personal Response
  1. Following the directions given on pages 321-323 of your literature book, write a three paragraph essay in response to any poem you choose. See the prewriting activity handout and specific directions.
  2. This essay is to be published in your webfolio.
  3. This essay must also include five links to related sites imbedded in the text of the essay in order to make it a hypertext essay.
  4. Hand in your prewriting activity.

Important Note: The poem you use for this essay may come only from the following sources. Essays written about poems from any other source (without special permission) will earn NO credit.

Sources:

Essay Option 3: Songs as poems? (You must get your song choice approved by your teacher).
  1. Persuade your reader that a song is also a poem. See the prewriting activity handout and specific directions.
  2. This essay is to be published in your webfolio.
  3. This essay must also include five links to related sites imbedded in the text of the essay in order to make it a hypertext essay.
  4. Hand in your prewriting activity.

 

Essay Grading Rubric

Essay Format

 


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