Jess

Jessica Smith Text Set October 31, 2007 EDC 448

This text set is designed for an eighth grade Language Arts class that is studying poetry. The texts focus on figurative language and personal reactions to poetry. The students are at an average level and have had previous poetry experience, yet not extensive. The unit is intended to help them understand the aspects of figurative language on a much more intimate level and for them to develop an ability to respond to poetry and create their own poetry.

A. Print Resources Text #1: Novel Text #2: Trade Book Text #3: Poem Text #4: Poem Text #5: Poem Text #6: Interview B. Media Resources Text #7: Poet Recording Text #8: Song w/ Lyrics C. Online Interactive Resources Text #9: “Poetry Builder” Text #10: Online Quiz D. Instructional Resources Text #11: Lesson Plans
 * Creech, Sharon. (2001). Love That Dog. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
 * The novel, Love That Dog is about a young boy who is beginning to learn how to respond to and love poetry. The novel includes his responses to different poems in a poetic form, especially his poem about his dog whom he loves dearly.
 * I selected this text because it shows students that they can write their own poetry and even begin to love the poetry of others.
 * I would have students read this during the middle of my poetry unit after I have introduced them to many of the poems referred to in the book and many aspects of figurative language.
 * ATTACHMENT: I did not include a copy of the book.
 * Scheer, Justin and Bilek, Marvin. (1964). Rain Makes Applesauce. NY: Holiday House.
 * The trade book is a silly book which uses seemingly nonsense phrases in a rhythmic way.
 * I selected this book because it is a great way to introduce students to figurative language and rhythm.
 * I would read this to the students at the very beginning of our poetry unit. Then have them do a journal write on the book and their feelings about the language used while citing certain favorite phrases.
 * ATTACHMENT: I did not include a copy of this book.
 * Oliver, Mary. (n.d.). When Death Comes. Boston: Beacon Press.
 * This poem is a fantastic poem that uses beautiful figurative language to describe the narrators feelings about life and death.
 * I selected this poem because it is one of my favorite poems of all time and touches upon issues that are real to us and evokes ideas about how we are living our lives.
 * I would use this poem as an in class assignment and have students identify aspects of figurative language that they see in the poem, I would have them respond to it with an ungraded quick write so that I could read everyone’s feelings on the poem.
 * ATTACHMENT: See attachment #1 for a copy of this poem.
 * Frost, Robert. (1969). Nothing Gold Can Stay.
 * On a direct level, this poem is about fall and the beauty of the colors.
 * I have selected this poem because Sharon Creech’s book refers to the poetry of Robert Frost and because his poetry is full of great amounts of figurative language from personification to similes.
 * This is another poem that I will introduce to students and have them respond to. It will be used to further their understanding of the aspects of figurative language that we have been discussing.
 * ATTACHMENT: See Attachment #2 for a copy of this poem.
 * Frost, Robert. (1921). The Road Less Taken. New York: Henry Holt
 * This poem describes a narrators tough decision between a “main” road and a “less taken” road.
 * I chose this poem because it is beautiful, and helps students realize that sometimes there are choices they need to make and oftentimes the less travelled road is better for a particular person.
 * Once again, this poem uses great amounts of figurative language and I will use it to expose students to even more Robert Frost poetry, it will be used alongside the poems included in the novel Love That Dog.
 * ATTACHMENT: See Attachment #3 for a copy of this poem.
 * Sakaria, Neelia. (2001, September). [Interview with Sharon Creech author of Love That Dog]. Bookwire.
 * This is an interview with Sharon Creech about her life, her feelings about her books, why she wrote them and much more.
 * I chose this piece because it is important to give students the opportunity to see a primary source about an author they are studying. It shows them how Creech feels and what inspires her to write.
 * I would distribute this interview to students before we begin reading Creech’s book, Love That Dog and have them split into partners where each partner would read either Creech’s part or the interviewers part.
 * ATTACHMENT: See Attachment # 4 for a copy of the interview.
 * Williams, William Carlos. (1942). PennSound. Retrieved October 25, 2007 from http://www.writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Williams-WC.html
 * This piece is a recording of William Carlos WIlliams reading his poem “The Red Wheelbarrow”.
 * I selected this piece because it is important to hear the poet read the poem as he/she intended it to sound. The poem is included and referred to in Creech’s book and it is necessary for us to read and discuss the poem before we read Creech’s book.
 * The students will follow along with Williams reading of the poem and then respond to his poem and how it differed with him reading it versus when they read it. The poem will be read before we delve into Creech’s, Love That Dog.
 * ATTACHMENT: Audio is online, therefore not attached.
 * Vedder, Eddie. (1993). Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town [Recorded by Pearl Jam]. On Vs. [medium of recording: CD], Seatle: Epic.
 * This is a wonderful recording by Pearl Jam, the lyrics are poetic and use figurative language. It is about trying to remember the past and how memories fade over time.
 * I selected this piece to evoke emotion in the students and to have them realize that most songs include aspects of poetic figurative language.
 * I will have the students listen to the song while reading along with the lyrics then noting the aspects of figurative language. They will then be assigned to bring in their own example of song lyrics with this type of language.
 * ATTACHMENT: See attachment #5 for a copy of the lyrics.
 * Scholastic. (2007). Poetry Writing with Karla Kuskin. Retrieved October 27, 2007, from http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/karla_your_poem.htm
 * This website walks students through how to write a poem with descriptive words. It uses figurative language to create a poem about the writer.
 * I selected this activity because it is a step by step guide for students and it is online and very interactive. The students have the opportunity to read other students poems and publish their own to the database.
 * I will have the students do this in class before they are instructed to write poems completely on their own using all of the language we have discussed.
 * ATTACHMENT: See attachment #6 for a print out of the front page.
 * Quia. (2007). Figurative Language Quiz. Retrieved October 30, 2007, from http://www.quia.com/quiz/449371.html?AP_rand=1859580696
 * This online quiz tests students on their knowledge and application of various forms of figurative language such as similes, idioms, hyperbole’s, etc...
 * I selected it because taking a quiz online is different than a typical paper quiz and the students get a chance to use technology more often, which they love.
 * I will use this as an assessment of their knowledge of the basic terms that we will cover and have covered throughout the unit. It will not be the main form of assessment and will be administered both before and after the poetry unit so that I can pre-asses their knowledge and see how far they have come.
 * ATTACHMENT: See attachment # 7 for a copy of the quiz.
 * Mr. Donn. (2007). Figurative Language Lesson Plans and Activities. Retrieved October 31, 2007, from http://languagearts.mrdonn.org/figurative.html#whatis.
 * This website provides a great amount of ideas for teaching different types of figurative language and it includes worksheets, activity ideas and powerpoint presentations to use for the class.
 * I selected this because it provides a great range of ideas.
 * I can use it to decide how best to teach my own classroom and possibly show some of the Powerpoints to the class, I can also use some of the ideas for worksheets.
 * ATTACHMENT: See attachment # 8 for a print out of the front page.

I feel as though all of these texts are important for students to read. Since the text set is designed for a lengthy poetry unit every student will read or listen to every piece on the list. Most of the reading will be done in class either in groups or full-class work. I will begin the unit with reading the trade book and have students begin to develop their ability to respond to poetry by having them do a journal write. We will then take a pre-quiz so that I have a greater understanding of what exactly students know already so that we can spend time on what they need to develop. We will then read and analyze many poems using our understandings of figurative language. We will conclude the unit with reading Creech’s book and then writing our own poems.

OBJECTIVES: Content Area Learning Objective: RI GLE W–8–13.2 Using rhyme, figurative language (Local). EXAMPLES (of figurative language): simile, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia (Local) Reading Strategy Objective: RI GLE R-8-16.2 Generates a personal response to what is read through a variety of means ... Providing relevant details to support the connections made or judgments (interpretive, analytical, evaluative, or reflective) (Local)

Hi Jess, Approaching poetry from various angles seems like a really effective way to teach students to appreciate this art. For example, I like that you included a poem written by Sharon Creech and an interview with her. Sometimes the best way to teach is to model, and by hearing Creech speak about her poetry, it might help some students who struggle with poetry open up. The only thing I think that could improve your text set would be if you added more non-conventional poetry texts, like the songs and interviews. Poetry on its own, for those of us who struggle with it, can be boring and difficult to understand. These alternative texts offer a great support, and perhaps more of them would enrich your text set. Thanks, Siobhan