Poetry Unit

Technology Integrated Lesson

Title of Unit
Curriculum Area
Developed By

Poetry
Reading/ELA
Cynthia Johnson

Grade Level
Time Frame

7
10-15 days

Identify Desired Results (Stage 1)

Content Standards
ELACC7RL1: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn
from the text.
ELACC7RL2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary
of the text.
ELACC7RL3: Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how settings shape the characters or plot).
ELACC7RL4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the
impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
ELACC7RL6: Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.
ELACC7RI4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings;
analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

ELACC7L1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
ELACC7L4:

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading
and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
ELACC7L5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
ELACC7SL3: Delineate a speakers argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of

the evidence.
ELACC7W4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Understandings

Essential Questions

Overarching Understanding

Overarching
What is Poetry?

What is Poetry?

Topical

What are different

forms of poetry?
What is figurative
language?

Related Misconceptions
Poetry is not story telling
Poetry must rhyme

How do we use figurative

language in to enhance
poetry?
How does tone and/mood
effect poetry

Knowledge

Skills

Students will know

Students will be able to

A. The meaning of poetry.

A. Write various forms of poetry.

B. The various elements of poetry.

B. Read various forms of poetry with

understanding.

C. The various styles of poetry.

D. The authors use of words creates tone and mood.
E. Poetry is a genre with similarities and differences
to other genres.
F. Understanding a texts structure helps one
understand its meaning.

C. Recognize various literary elements

associated with poetry.
D. Use Poetry WebQuest technology to
enhance their poetry and assist in
comprehension and writing.

Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)

Performance Task Description
Goal

Role

To write, read and analyze poetry with an understanding of tone, mood and culture.
in writing and orally.

The students will work individually to complete the task but will be placed in a group during
the revising and editing stages.

Audience

A 7th grade Reading/English Language Arts class and teacher.

Situation

In the classroom with teacher, Library with media specialist and tech lab

Product/Performance

This will be expressed both

Students will write their own poems from their life experiences to read and dramatize
through oral presentation for the class. Students will also partner up to assess their

classmates oral reading performance. Students will explore theme, point of view, and tone,
and discuss with each other and share written reflections. Media specialist will assist
stuents in the technology lab as they work on the WebQuest.
Students will also interact with the Poetry WebQuest at the following website:
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~korourke/webquest.html
Standards

See above content standards

Other Evidence
Quizzes over the poetry elements and figurative language
Journal entries in a reading response journal from various poems read
Participation in class discussions
Completed poetry writing practice graphic organizer using various
figurative language
Completed poetry portfolios
Rubrics from Poetry WebQuest

Where are your students headed? Where have

they been? How will you make sure the
students know where they are going?

Teacher will introduce the unit to the students by reading and dramatizing the poem
The Creation by James Weldon Johnson. Teacher will explain to students how poetry
can be a way of expressing their feelings or rejections. Figurative language and
poetry elements will be introduced as ways to enhance their poetry writing. Various
other forms of poetry will be read to students as well as students will read poems
and discuss themes, tone and mood in their groups. Throughout the readings students
will write responses to poems read in their reading response journals and share with
the class in the authors chair. Students will also analyze various poems.

How will you hook students at the beginning of

the unit?

What events will help students experience and

explore the big idea and questions in the unit?
How will you equip them with needed skills and
knowledge?

Teacher will hook students to the unit by playing portions of songs on CDs. Songs will
vary in time era. Students will receive handouts of the words to the songs and discuss
the words and their meanings. Students will discuss the overarching question What is
Poetry.

A. Explore and discuss different forms of poetry.

B. Make inferences and draw conclusions about fictional
contexts, events and themes.
C. Use personal experiences to bring meaning to poetry.
D. Use the writing process.
E. Use technology to research and interact with Poetry
WebQuest

How will you cause students to reflect and

rethink? How will you guide them in rehearsing,
revising, and refining their work?

A. Comprehension checks both observational and through

quizzes.
B. Self-assessment on all graded activities
C. Original written poems using rubrics
D. Completing entries in reading response journals

How will you help students to exhibit and selfevaluate their growing skills, knowledge, and
understanding throughout the unit?

Students will pair up and choose a poem to read to each other orally.
Students will tell why they chose their particular poem for their
reading performance. Students will discuss what cues the author
provided for reading the poem out loud with expression. Students
will tell how the poems meaning affected their reading of the poem

out loud with expression.

How will you tailor and otherwise personalize

the learning plan to optimize the engagement
and effectiveness of ALL students, without
compromising the goals of the unit?

After reading the poem out loud, students will discuss the
poem and what it means to them. They will answer four
questions.
1.
2.
3.
4.

What is the poems theme?

What is the poems point of view?
What is the poems tone?
What figurative language (if any) is used in the poems?

How will you organize and sequence the

learning activities to optimize the engagement
and achievement of ALL students?

A. To assist in the writing process, students can

use word processing on the computer to assist
with spelling, grammar, etc. In addition,
students will also be assigned a partner to help
with the revising and editing of the paper.
B. Students can present their original poems in rap
style.
C. Students will use handouts to complete the
Poetry WebQuest and present to class.
The reading
A. The story will be played on cassette (made by

teacher) for those students who struggle with

reading comprehension.
B. Inclusion teacher will assist inclusion students with
their reading and portfolio. These students will
complete half the number of poems for their
portfolio.
C. Librarian will assist in finding poems of various
reading levels for students.
D. Teacher will model read various poems to the class as

a whole.

From: Wiggins, Grant and J. Mc Tighe. (1998). Understanding by Design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
ISBN # 0-87120-313-8 (ppk)