Poetry Unit

Curriculum Area
Time Frame
Developed By
Description
Rationale

English Language Arts

5 weeks
Katherine Baldus

Grade Level
Class Period

Seventh Grade
45 minutes

The focus of this unit is to help students with mastering reading and writing poetry.

Identify Desired Results (Stage 1)

Transfer Goal
Students will be able to independently use their learning to

Interpret mentor texts as well as using their observations of the mentor texts to compose their own original poetry.

Essential Measurable Learning Goals

Missouri Learning Standards Addressed

Students will be able to

1. Students will read closely to understand both explicit and

inferential meaning in poems

R.L.1.A, R.L.3.D

2. Use writing process to write original poetry demonstrating an

application of figurative language and other poetic techniques

W.2.A, W.3.A.A, W.3.A.C

3. Analyze and evaluate key elements of poetry: figurative

language, structure, word choice, imagery, sound, symbolism,
and speaker.

R.L.2.A, R.L.2.B, R.L.2.C, R.L.2.D

4. Effectively communicate with peers about appreciation and

evaluation of poetry, and give feedback to peers regarding
their personal poems

S.L.1.A, S.L.2.A

Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)

Performance Task Description
You are cordially invited (OK, so you really are being forced!) to write a poem! Choose any topic to write about, but please choose either assignment A
or B, or do both in one poem. I do not wish to give you a line requirement, but the poem should be a decent length. (If you have to ask if its long
enough, its probably not!) Focus on making the poem feel complete to you and the reader.

Assignment A
This poem should appeal to at least three of the five senses. Ideas: You could write a poem about being a child pretending to be something other than
human or about stopping time just for a moment to record all of the sensory details of some particularly significant moment in your life.
Assignment B
This poem should include at least three different literary devices. The tone can be serious, silly, poignant, melancholy, whatever you want!
Your first poem must be a narrative poem. You could describe a significant moment in vivid detail, retell a significant incident in history or your own
life, or tell of a hero in a moment of decision. If you so choose to right a second poem it can be any type of poem.

Rubric for final assessment of the unit:

Beginning
1
Spelling,
grammar, and
mechanical
errors
Appropriate
Structure

Form

Imagery
OR

Figurative
Language
Title

Developing
2

Poem has so
Some capitalization and
many errors that it punctuation errors, but
distracts from the
very few misspelled
poem.
words
The structure the
Student uses some
student uses is not elements of a narrative
that of a narrative
structure including
poem.
organization, tone, and
voice.

Accomplished
3

Exemplary
4

Poem has very few capitalization,

punctuation, or misspelled words.

Poem has no spelling, grammar, or

mechanical errors.

Score

Student uses appropriate narrative Student excels at narrative structure

structure including organization, tone, and tells a vivid narrative with clear
and voice.
plot, characters, and setting.

Poem is written in Poem has a coherent Poem has a coherent structure of lines Poem has a coherent structure of
sentences and
structure of poem but
and stanzas. Lines end in a way that
lines and stanzas. Lines end in a
comprised of
lines are "choppy" and when read aloud sounds natural. End way that when read aloud sounds
paragraphs. No no clear understanding punctuation is not used at the end of natural. End punctuation is used at
clear poem
of where lines should
phrases.
the end of phrases.
organization.
end.
Poem has no
Poem has detail that Poem has precise and accurate detail
Poem has several examples of
detail that creates creates an image in the
in the poem to help the
precise and accurate details in the
an image in the mind of the reader as to reader understand someone, an object, poem to help the reader understand
mind of the reader. someone, an object, an
an animal, or a place in the poem.
people, objects, animals, and places
animal, or a place in the
in the poem.
poem.
Poem uses no
examples of
figurative
language.

Poem uses one example Poem uses two examples of figurative

of figurative language to language to help the reader appreciate
help the reader
the poem.
appreciate the poem.

Poem is rich with figurative

language to help the reader
appreciate the poem.

There is no title for Title for poem does not Title makes sense with the theme of the
the poem.
make sense with theme poem or something that is in the poem.
or anything in the poem.

Title is creative and reveals

something to the reader.
Score:__________/20

Standards

W.2.A, W.3.A, R.L.2.C, R.L.2.A

Other Evidence
There will be several formative assessments to assess whether students have grasped the standards and objectives for that day. Then these standards and
objectives will piece together to encompass the learning goals and standards focused on for the unit.
Formative Assessments
Annotations of a variety of poems
Exit slips
Poetry exploration activity
MAP practices
Whole, group, and individual discussions
The summative assessments includes three parts, one part will be a meaningful test where students will be given several multiple choice and short
answer questions to gauge their understanding of the first essential measurable learning goal. This assessment will include cold reads that are poems
similar to those worked on throughout the unit, and questions pertaining the explicit and inferential meaning in the poems. The second part of the
summative assessment is for students to compose an original poem including examples of figurative language, appropriate structure and form. The third
part is for students to read their poem speaking clearly, audibly, and to the point, using conventions of language as appropriate for the task, purpose, and
audience. While presenting students will use appropriate volume at an understandable pace.
Summative Assessments
Unit test including cold reads
Original poem
Presentation of poetry to class (Poetry Slam)

Learning Plan (Stage 3)

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Objective: Students will be able to

list and define the elements of
poetry with 70% accuracy.
Mini-lesson: Define poetry terms
Guided Practice: Poetry webquest
Formative assessment: Mini-quiz
over poetry terms

Objective: Students will be able

to annotate poetry with 70%
accuracy.
Mini-lesson: annotating poetry
Guided Practice: poetry
scavenger hunt
Formative assessment:
completed poetry scavenger hunt

Objective: Students will be able

to create a first draft of a poem
with 70% accuracy.
Mini-lesson: writing poetry
Guided Practice: Preassessment writing poetry
Formative assessment:
First draft of poem

Objective: Students will be able

to annotate the poem Dreams
Deferred and create similes
with 80% accuracy.
Mini-lesson: Biography on
Langston Hughes and annotating
poetry review
Guided Practice: Dreams
deferred analysis and discussion
Formative assessment: Dreams
deferred poem

Objective: Students will be able

to analyze a narrative poem with
80& accuracy.
Mini-lesson: narrative poetry
Guided Practice: structured
discussion of what a narrative
poem looks like
Formative assessment: analyze
Papas Fishing hole
Homework: read several poems
and pick favorite poem

Objective: Students will be able

to recite poetry with appropriate
tone, volume, and pace with 80%
accuracy.
Mini-lesson: reciting poetry
Guided Practice: Students recite
favorite poem to class
Formative assessment:
Exit slip on what reciting poetry
looks like

Objective: Students will be able

to brainstorm and outline a poem
with 80% accuracy.
Mini-lesson: Performance task
for the unit, brainstorming, and
outline
Guided Practice: Show
students example of
brainstorming and outline
Formative assessment:
Brainstorming evidence

Objective: Students will be able

to write a first draft of a poem
with 80% accuracy
Mini-lesson: writing first drafts
of poems
Guided Practice: example of
first draft of teachers poem
Formative assessment:
Finish first draft of poems

Objective: Students will be able

to provide constructive feedback
for their peers poems with 80%
accuracy.
Mini-lesson: Peer feedback
Guided Practice: Individual
revision tasks
Formative assessment:
Final draft of poem due

Students share poems with the

class

Teacher reads The Highway

Man aloud to students and
stops for think-alouds

Objective: Students will be able

to analyze The Highway Man
with 80% accuracy
Mini-lesson: review of The
Highway Man
Guided Practice: Work in
groups for of analysis sheet
Formative assessment:
Students will finish analysis on
their own

Objective: Student will be able

to understand the explicit and
figurative language of poems
with 80% accuracy
Mini-lesson: Read the road not
taken aloud and think-aloud
Guided Practice: Small group
discussion summarizing the
poem
Formative assessment:
Completed The Road Not Taken
analysis sheet

Breakout room poetry review

Test over poetry

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