Poetry Friday 26-0417
#NPM 26
Happy National Poetry Month!
I am celebrating Poetry Month by pairing quotes about poetry (Poetry is…) with images. I share one each day without commentary. Below are those from April 11 to April 17. But first I will share a poem by Emily Dickinson.
There is no frigate like a book
Emily Dickinson (1830 –1886)
There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away,
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry –
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll –
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears a Human soul.
(This poem is in the public domain.)
What poet would not love the lines “Nor any Coursers like a Page / Of prancing Poetry”
Emily Dickinson’s poem pairs with the quote from Billy Collins: “Poetry is my cheap means of transportation. …” See April 15 below.
Poetry is . . . Week 2
April 11
April 12
April 13
April 14
April 15
April 16
April 17
In my classroom
Note: The bulk of my experience is teaching elementary age students and training elementary teachers. This is reflected in our activities. Discussions can be whole group / teacher led; shoulder pairs sharing, small group sharing. It totally depends on the content and the students–a decision I usually make in the moment.
My Lesson Outline
Schedule as a one-day lesson and choose which activities fit into your class time. Or better yet, do different parts of this outline each day across the week. For example, do 1-3 on Monday, 4 on Tuesday, 5-6 on Wednesday, 7 plus any independent activities on Thursday and Friday. At the beginning of each session, we chorally read the poem we are working with for the week. I had my students do their work in a composition notebook. You can read more and view samples HERE and HERE.
- I share a bit of biographical information about the poet, i.e., life span, where he/she lived, other well-known poems he/she authored, themes associated with poet’s writings in general. I also share photograph of poet if available.
- Students read the poem silently to themselves and identify words they don’t know
- We discuss these words we are unsure of, e.g., what they mean, especially in the context of the poem. We also use the internal structure of the word. We confirm that understanding with resources, i.e., dictionary.
- Students have a piece of paper (notebook, back of poem, or plain sheet) and colored pencils. They listen and visualize as I read the poem one more time. Then they have 5 minutes to sketch what they visualized. We share our sketches.
- Students silently read the poem again paying attention to the poet’s crafting techniques.
- We list and discuss those crafting techniques, i.e., their literary name, how to use them, why we think to poet used them.
- We make connections, i.e., I share the words of Billy Collins with Emily Dickinson’s poem and we discuss the quote in light of the poem.
Independent activities — Often student choice.
- Students write similes and metaphors for “poetry.” (This is unique to this poem and quote.)
- Students copy Emily Dickinson’s poem and/or the quote by Billy Collins as copywork in their Commonplace Notebooks
- Students rewrite the poem and prose.
- Students write poetry. For example, they write a poem mimicking the poet’s style, form, or use of techniques. Or they write a stanza to add to the original poem again following the poet’s style, form, and use of techniques.
- Students write answers to questions I give them. The questions are modeled after
This week’s Poetry Friday roundup
is hosted by Heidi at my juicy little universe
Thank you for hosting,
where Alice Nine teaches language lessons that
Empower Students to Read and Write
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