LESSON TITLE
Day 2: Comparing Messages through Poetry
OBJECTIVES
*Content Objectives
-Students will prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
-Students will present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
*Literacy Objectives
-Students will apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They will draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features.
TEXT(S)
“The Prairies” by William Cullen Bryant
“Indian Names” by Lydia Sigourney
“Population Drifts” by Carl Sandburg
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
-Handout: Instructions for activity
-Handout (enough for 1/3 of class)
-“The Prairies” by William Cullen Bryant
-“Indian Names” by Lydia Sigourney
-“Population Drifts” by Carl Sandburg
-Computers with internet access (at least 3)
-Printer
CONTEXT OF INSTRUCTION
Previously, students in this 11th grade American Literature classroom have been taught literary criticism. The day before, they critiqued a newspaper editorial and learned the basics of the garden vs. machine debate. Tomorrow, students will read “Letters from an American Farmer” and have a class discussion.
DESCRIPTION OF CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
*Before Reading
When students arrive, I will break them into three groups. I will hand each group multiple copies of either “Indian Names”, “The Prairies”, or “Population Drifts.” Each handout will have a website where the full text for each poem can be found online, as well as instructions for this activity.
*During Reading
The instructions on the handout will ask students to choose one Reader in their group. The Reader will read the poem aloud. Students will then choose one Recorder; this student will write down any words that are confusing or important, or any questions the students may have. The groups will then choose a Navigator. The Navigator will find the poem online, then will copy and paste the words from the poem into Wordle.com to create a Wordle. Finally, the group will choose a Reporter, or a student that will present the information to the rest of the class. Each student will read actively while the Reader reads the poem aloud, noting any questions, observations, or confusion.
*After Reading
After the students read the poems, they will plug the words of the poem into a Wordle. Students will then follow the prompts on their handouts and make inferences about the poet’s intent by using textual evidence. Students will spend the last ten minutes of class presenting their findings.
ASSESSMENT
The teacher will walk around the room and observe the cooperative learning that is occurring in each group. The teacher will take notes regarding who is participating and what kind of critical thinking and collaboration is occurring, as well as who stays on task. Finally, the teacher will formally evaluate each group’s ability to analyze their poem’s message and present the information to their classmates.
REFERENCES
p. 315
Alvermann, Donna E., Phelps, Stephen E., & Gillis, Victoria Ridgeway (2010). Content area reading and literacy (6thed.) Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
NEED CITATIONS FOR POEMS