Unit 3: "TWo roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference" -Robert Frost
Length: 4 weeks
October 13th-November 7th
Rationale:
Unit three will be four weeks long and will include a combination of songs and poems that all have to deal with journey, identity, and world-view. We will discuss Robert Frost’s “The Road not Taken,” William Wordsworth “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon, and the song “One Day” by B.O.B. The main assignments and culminating texts in this unit will be a “Where I’m From” poem, a literary terms test, a poetry exploration, and a poem and poetry reading.
This unit will use multiple activities and methods for approaching literature. According to Smagorinsky, “students appreciate approaching literature through a variety of structures, tasks, and activities, which alleviates the tedium that they have unfortunately come to expect in school” (Smagorinsky, 44). When exploring poetry, we will also spend class time to visualize the texts. Having students draw, envision, and map out what they are thinking when analyzing poetry will do this. “When we make thinking visible, we get not only a window into what students understand but also how they are understanding it” ( 27). The final projects will include a poetry exploration and a chance to experiment with reading and writing poetry. By having these as culminating texts, students will be able to understand how poems differentiate in themes, verse, and modes of expression.
Unit Goals:
-To explore journey and identity by analyzing and evaluating various modes of expression, poetry, and writing
-To connect poetry and visual learning to the way that we view our self and our surroundings.
-To experiment with expressing beliefs, opinions, and identity within poetry.
Texts:
-Poem: “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon
-Poem: “The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost
-Poem: “I Wandered Lonely as a Clod” by William Wordsworth
-Song: “One Day” by B.O.B.
Activities:
-Map it Out: Students will visualize the poems read by illustrating (or mapping out) what they are reading. This activity will be used to develop a deeper understanding of the meaning of the poems.
-Venn Diagrams: Students will work in groups to compare and contrast the texts using a Venn diagram model. We will then discuss these diagrams as a class.
-Literary Graffiti: An online drawing space paired with questions regarding the texts. This activity is intended to help students visualize what they are reading while also challenging them to think critically and analytically about a text.
Assignments:
-“Where I’m From” Poems: Students will write a poem about where they are from using the example by George Ella Lyon. These poems may be written in any structure, as long as they are 20 lines long. If students wish to write haiku’s, they must write 3-5.
-Literary Terms Test: This will assess student understanding of literary terms and poetic devices and how they are used in specific works and texts. It will ask students to analyze a chosen poem by labeling literary devices (alliteration, personification, etc.).
-Vocabulary Quiz: Words will be highlighted in a specific text, students will be asked to define them using contextual clues.
Culminating Texts:
-Poetry Writing and Reading: Students will write a poem and read it to the class as part of the assignment.
-Exploration of Poetry: Students will research a poet and specific poem that interests them. They will then write a 2-page essay on why they like the poem, what it means to them, and give a brief overview of the context and analysis of the poem.
Assessment Tools:
Checklist: A checklist will be used to assess the “”Exploration of Poetry” culminating text. This checklist will have 5 components that need to be addressed in order for the student to get full credit.
Rubric: A rubric will be used to grade the Poetry Writing and Reading. 70% of the rubric and grade will be based off student writing while the other 30% will be evaluated based on the reading and presentation of the poem to the class.
Unit Calendar:
Unit three will be four weeks long and will include a combination of songs and poems that all have to deal with journey, identity, and world-view. We will discuss Robert Frost’s “The Road not Taken,” William Wordsworth “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon, and the song “One Day” by B.O.B. The main assignments and culminating texts in this unit will be a “Where I’m From” poem, a literary terms test, a poetry exploration, and a poem and poetry reading.
This unit will use multiple activities and methods for approaching literature. According to Smagorinsky, “students appreciate approaching literature through a variety of structures, tasks, and activities, which alleviates the tedium that they have unfortunately come to expect in school” (Smagorinsky, 44). When exploring poetry, we will also spend class time to visualize the texts. Having students draw, envision, and map out what they are thinking when analyzing poetry will do this. “When we make thinking visible, we get not only a window into what students understand but also how they are understanding it” ( 27). The final projects will include a poetry exploration and a chance to experiment with reading and writing poetry. By having these as culminating texts, students will be able to understand how poems differentiate in themes, verse, and modes of expression.
Unit Goals:
-To explore journey and identity by analyzing and evaluating various modes of expression, poetry, and writing
-To connect poetry and visual learning to the way that we view our self and our surroundings.
-To experiment with expressing beliefs, opinions, and identity within poetry.
Texts:
-Poem: “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon
-Poem: “The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost
-Poem: “I Wandered Lonely as a Clod” by William Wordsworth
-Song: “One Day” by B.O.B.
Activities:
-Map it Out: Students will visualize the poems read by illustrating (or mapping out) what they are reading. This activity will be used to develop a deeper understanding of the meaning of the poems.
-Venn Diagrams: Students will work in groups to compare and contrast the texts using a Venn diagram model. We will then discuss these diagrams as a class.
-Literary Graffiti: An online drawing space paired with questions regarding the texts. This activity is intended to help students visualize what they are reading while also challenging them to think critically and analytically about a text.
Assignments:
-“Where I’m From” Poems: Students will write a poem about where they are from using the example by George Ella Lyon. These poems may be written in any structure, as long as they are 20 lines long. If students wish to write haiku’s, they must write 3-5.
-Literary Terms Test: This will assess student understanding of literary terms and poetic devices and how they are used in specific works and texts. It will ask students to analyze a chosen poem by labeling literary devices (alliteration, personification, etc.).
-Vocabulary Quiz: Words will be highlighted in a specific text, students will be asked to define them using contextual clues.
Culminating Texts:
-Poetry Writing and Reading: Students will write a poem and read it to the class as part of the assignment.
-Exploration of Poetry: Students will research a poet and specific poem that interests them. They will then write a 2-page essay on why they like the poem, what it means to them, and give a brief overview of the context and analysis of the poem.
Assessment Tools:
Checklist: A checklist will be used to assess the “”Exploration of Poetry” culminating text. This checklist will have 5 components that need to be addressed in order for the student to get full credit.
Rubric: A rubric will be used to grade the Poetry Writing and Reading. 70% of the rubric and grade will be based off student writing while the other 30% will be evaluated based on the reading and presentation of the poem to the class.
Unit Calendar:
Standards: