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By Emma McDonald
Here is a unit that I do every year on poetry. I have used this unit with 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th
grade students. I use the 4-MAT lesson planning cycle, so this covers both right and left brain
students as well as all four learning styles.
1.) I introduce the unit with a song written/typed out on a transparency.
I keep each line short and try to do a song that is a type of ballad or has some sort of a "story".
This type of song will look very much like a poem when written out. I have students read the
transparency and ask them for their thoughts. (Keep it to a minimum - just 2 or 3 students). I
then introduce the concept of how poetry began ... as a way to remember important events.
The "historian" or "storyteller" in the tribe/town often told events in a singsongy chant with short
lines that were easy to remember. This way he/she was able to pass along the information to
others. Sometimes the information was sung and later if someone couldn't remember the
tune, they would simply chant it and generations later it may have even lost the chanting and
simply was recited. Much of history was remembered through this oral tradition until writing
was invented. Next I read the "poem" out loud and muse, "how would this sound to music I
wonder?" Then I play the song. We quickly discuss how many of our songs are like poems.
Can the students think of other songs that are more like stories or poems than merely a
chanting of the same phrase over and over. (Keep this short as well…students love to go on
and on about popular music).
2. The next part of the unit takes more than just one day.
During this part of the unit I give notes and activities for the students on the following concepts:
imagery, simile, metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia (sp?), personification, blank verse,
rhyme, rhythm, ballad, epic, etc. I like to do individual lessons on the various terms (I usually
combine terms so that I teach and practice two terms each class period). First I read
examples of the concept, then I give notes on the definition and how it is used in poetry, next I
have students do some sort of activity to use/practice the concept, lastly I have students create
something for homework that shows they understand the concept. For example: When
teaching onomatopoeia I like to introduce with the Dr. Seuss book, Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can
You? (Yes this is a children's book, but it is easy to read and is an entire book about
onomatopoeia. I've used this every year with 7th and 8th graders). Then I give the notes on
onomatopoeia that I like for my students to keep in a special "poetry" section of their binder or
a special folder. Once notes have been taken, which usually only takes about 10 minutes or
so, then I give students a fun activity in class. I normally have my students brainstorm 5 to 8
things that they encounter on their way home or in their home that make noises. Once they
have this list, they are to create words that imitate the sound of the object/machine/animal/?.
(Example: shoes on pavement…clip clop clip clop, doorbell…ding dong, air
conditioner…whirr). This is done in class so that I can walk around and help those having
trouble thinking of items and/or having trouble with the concept. Their homework assignment
is then to create a short story that tells about their afternoon. Within this short story (no more
than 1 page, no less than 1 paragraph), the student must use each onomatopoeia they came
up with in class.
3. Once I have taught the poetry terms, then I take some time to teach the different types of
poetry.
I don't usually go into ALL of the different types of poetry, but stick to these: concrete, cinquain,
haiku, couplet, name poems, limerick, ballad, blank verse, and sometimes the sonnet. Each
day we cover one or two different types of poems - we read an example or two, then we take
notes on the specifics of the poem, then the students write their own (part in class and part as
homework). I usually require that the poem contain one or more of the poetry concepts learned
earlier. Sometimes I assign a poetry recitation where students have one or two weeks to
memorize a poem (four lines or more) and then recite it in class. I usually request that it be
one of the types of poems we have studied/will study.
4) Once all of the concepts and types of poems have been taught, then I assign my students
an individual project.
They are to create their own poetry book with original poems. They may either use the poems
created for homework and revise them for publication, or they may create new poems.
Students create a front and back cover and come up with a title for their book. I usually
laminate these covers (hint: make sure they put their name in small letters on both the front
and back cover pages). Students then write out their final copy of each poem on white sheets
of paper and illustrate the pages. Once they are finished, I bind each book with the school's
book binding machine. You can get comb bindings in any office supply store for pretty cheap
prices. When the students are done, they have a beautiful book with their newly published
poems. Sometimes I ask each student to turn in one illustrated poem for a class anthology
and then publish a class anthology that I keep.
I have spent anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 weeks doing this unit. If you only have 3 weeks, then
you need to leave some of it out, but if you have 6 weeks, you can really do a lot of fun things
with it!
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