Curriculum Calendar

Unit: Poetry

 

 

2010 Poetry Pre-Survey:  705, 706, 712

2010 Poetry Post-Survey:  705, 706, 712

 

Online Poetry 2009

Our Poetry 2009

 

Online Poetry 2010

Our Poetry 2010

 

 

Our poetry unit is designed to help students love poetry.  In middle school, students have

wildly opposed opinions about poetry.  (Mr. Ravin, Kill me now!  Seriously.  Kill me.) (Or, Oh

my gosh!  Poetry?  Yes!  Poetry's my husband.)  In the end, we want students to

understand that there are so many diverse kinds of poetry.  When we ask kids if they like

music, every single student raises his or her hand.  They all like wildly different kinds of music,

but they all know they can say that they love music and it can mean their kind of music.

We believe that students can learn and love poetry in the same way that they learn and love

music!

 

We introduce students to a wide variety of styles and forms for students to read and write.

We ask students to collect a variety of styles and poems that they personally love, and we

ask students to write and revise a core group of poems.  We want the students to develop

a forward idea of what poetry is and what poetry can be.  Of course, they will talk about the

whole range of ideas and craft in the poetry we read and write.  But the important thing is

that students learn they can love poetry.  (Whatever that means.) 

 

 

Final Project:

     Writing Anthology + Poetry Slam

     Reading Anthology + Poetry Online + Favorite Poem Project

 

 

Possible Minilessons:

 

 

Reading Workshop

          

          What is Poetry?  (704, 705, 708)

          We all love poetry!

          Why Poetry?

          What do you love?  (MFPP)

          What can you love? (MFPP)

 

          Response:  Opinion

          Response: Ideas (What are you thinking about?)

          Response:  Craft

 

          Read Around

          Questions

          Talk Back      

 

          Reading Forms

 

          Response:  Emulation

          Response:  Explosion

          Response:  Talk Back

 

Writing Workshop

          Personal Identity (Heart Map: We write from the heart.)

          We write from the inside.

          Witness.

          Intention: Choices that matter

          Inspired Writing I

          Elements: Image, Sound, and Form  (Group Poem)

          Intention II:  Writing Forms

          Inspired Writing II (Emulation and Update)

 

          Poetry Forms

          Found Poem:  Conversation

          Found Poem:  Independent Reading

          Found Poem:  Your Prose

 

          Voice Poems - Images

          Voice Poems - Family

          Voice Poems - Self

 

          Two Voice Poem

          Haiku Poem

          Rhyme Scheme (Patterns)

          Slam Poetry

 

          Craft: Metaphor and Simile

          Craft: Symbol

          Craft: Personification

 

          Revision: Writing with Space

          Revision: Rhythm

          Revision: Language

          Peer Revision: First Reader

 

          Performance: Elements

          Performance: Annotation

 

 

 

NOTE 2009/2010:  add in digital performance of written poem (Hughes and John, 2009)(Poem Flow)

 

NOTE 2009.2010:  YOUR THREE WORDS POEMS