INTRODUCTION

Poetry is what I'd like you to learn
If you follow my steps, an "A" you will earn
You will be the teacher for once this time
You'll analyze, compare, research and rhyme

Poetic devices we'll know in no time
This will help us to analyze rhyme
We'll picture the images created by the poet
You'll be creating your own before you know it
 

You will be a teacher and a poet for this unit.  You will be discovering the elements of poetry, so that you can teach a poem and share some of your favorites and even some that you have written yourself.  You will be working with one other student.  You will analyze and teach a poem to your class including how the life of the poet influences the poem.  You will also share how the poetic elements influence the poem you've chosen.
 

Reading a Poem - Helping you read and enjoy a poem

Analysis of a poem - This is a sample of an analysis of a poem, including theme, poetic devices and a commentary.

Harlem Renaissance Poets - You will be choosing one of these poets for your project

Literary Elements - This site will familiarize you with different poetic devices

Narrative Poetry - This site looks at the elements of narrative poetry

STEP 1.  Your first task is to get a basic understanding of the most common poetic terms.  DEFINE these words: alliteration, assonance, consonance, diction, imagery, internal rhyme, rhyme scheme, metaphor, onomatopoeia, simile, stanza, symbol, theme, tone, personification, verse, hyperbole.

STEP 2.  Check out these poems.  You and a partner should find 12 of the poetic devices you've defined.  Write down the name of the poem and the example of each poetic device you find.

STEP 3.  Narrative Poetry.  What is it?

STEP 4.  Create your own narrative poem.  Here is your assignment.

STEP 5.  Take a look at the the poem "Harlem: A Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes.  You will be teaching a poem to the class using some of this format.

STEP 6.  BECOMING A TEACHER/REASEARCHER

 1.  You and your partner should take some time reading some Harlem Renaissance Poetry.  You will need to choose from one of the following poets on this site.  Your poem must be at least 12 lines long.

2.  Once you've decided on a poet for your project you will need to split your duties in half.  One of you will be the researcher and one of you will be the analyzer.

3.  The researcher should spend some time researching the background on their poet so they can analyze how the background of the poet affects what he has written in the poem.  You will need to share information with the class that is important about your poet and then tell how you believe this affects your poem.

4.  The analyzer will spend time finding as many of the literary elements in their poem as they can.  You must find three to discuss with the class.

5.  You and your partner should come together to start your PowerPoint Presentation. Click here to receive the directions.

6.  For your presentation, you must lead the discussion in the opposite job that you have researched.   That way you will both be held accountable for all of the information that is being taught.

You will be evaluated by the following:

Narrative Poetry:  Sample      Checklist
                        Scoring Guide

PowerPoint Presentation:  Sample
                               Scoring Guide