Essential Question:
Which American poet or poem uses the components of poetry most
effectively?
Objectives:
Recognize who in America writes quality poetry.
Recognize poems of those poets.
Appreciate a variety of poem types and subjects.
Enhance questioning and culling research skills.
Gain insight into the term "good poetry."
Time Frame: 5 days about 1 hour a day
Materials:
list of American poets and poems
a variety of children’s poetry books
available teaching materials (Check web links.)
art supplies, oak tag ... for making games
(database or data recording/culling tools)
Focus Activities
Link above describes various activities.
Suggestion: The Mouse of Amherst
Inquiry Activities
Objectives:
1. Focus the research process on collecting only relevant data.
2. Become familiar with poets and their poetry.
3. Express insight on how and why poetry "moves" us.
Time Frame: 4 days 1 hr/day
Materials: (see bibliography)
a list of poets and representative poems
a variety of poetry books
thumbprints of poets’ lives
web links to data on poets
any available teaching materials
option: database to organize and sort data
Teaching Tips
1. Use small groups within the large group for direction.
2. Develop precise research parameters with students.
3. Intense culling will focus students on only relevant data.
4. Define group jobs to contribute to a communal outcome.
5. Evaluate students individually. (see
rubrics)
6. Focus on poet data relevant to the writing process.
7. Focus on associating poems with their poet.
Students:
1. Determine what relevant data to collect.
2. Select an appropriate group of poets to research.
3. Locate, cull, and catalog data.
4. Locate representative poems for each poet.
Application Activities
Objectives
Recognize poets and representative poems.
Evaluate web sites for credibility and design.
Time Frame: 1-2 days 1
hr/day
Materials
data on poets and poems
various art supplies, oak tag, etc.
word processor for writing rules
Teaching Tips
Base games on familiar real games.
card games-quickest
board games-time consuming
Possible games to choose from are --
Go Fish, Authors, Concentration,
Name that Poet, etc.
Continue sorting, culling, discussing data.
Evaluate participation and product. (see
rubric)
Students
Plan and create a poet n poetry game.
Define rules. Provide a written copy.
Plan poets and poems to use.
Create the game pieces.
Create a game box for storage.
Play the game to test it.
Teach the game to others.
top of page, Inquiry,
Application activities
