Lesson Plan

Grade/Subject: 10-1/ELA Unit: Poetry Lesson Duration: 80 minutes

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES

General Learning Outcomes:

GeneralOutcome#2:Studentswilllisten,speak,read,write,viewandrepresenttocomprehendand
respondpersonallyandcriticallytooral,printandothermediatexts.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

2.2 Respond to Texts

2.2.1 Experience various texts
2.2.2 Construct meaning from texts
2.2.3 Appreciate the artistry of texts

2.3 Understand Forms, Elements, and Techniques

2.3.1 Understand forms and genres
2.3.2 Understand techniques and elements

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will:
1. discover the forms of free verse and slam poetry.
2. write a collaborative free verse poem.
ASSESSMENTS
Observations: Key Questions:
Watch for engagement throughout the activities How does the way poetry is performed enhance its
message?

Written/Performance Assessments: Work on poetry portfolio (due Thursday March 23, 2017)

LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED

Resource #1: Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms
Resource #2: Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing (5th ed.)
Resource #2: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/carl-sandburg

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

An Introduction to Reading and Writing 5th ed. pg. 750 Langston Hughes
Beautiful Slam Poetry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaXvaIteP-8
Get Lit story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fckE9Kb5LF4
Get Lit: Somewhere in America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YshUDa10JYY
Harry Baker Dinosaur Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdjNw8SZc5U
PROCEDURE
Introduction (3 min.):
Hook/Attention Grabber:
SAY: Today is one of my favourite poetry days. We get to talk about free verse and slam poetry.

Body (70 min.):

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Learning Activity #1: Free Verse Poetry
SAY: Free verse poems do not follow the rules, and have no rhyme or rhythm; but they are still an artistic
expression. They are sometimes thought to be a modern form of poetry; but, the free verse types
of poem have been around for hundreds of years. (see notes)

DO: Read free verse example: Langston Hughes (see notes)

DO: Write the following helpful hints for writing a free verse poem on the board: (remind them its only
one approach to writing free verse)

The following steps will help you to write your free verse:
Choose a topic.
Use the topic as a title.
Brain Dump unload connections, experiences with/about, describe the topic, lines with figurative
language, details, facts, etc.
o Put all these things on a piece of paper.
Organize the list so that it conveys meaning.
Read through and make sure it flows the way you want it to (paying attention to line breaks,
punctuations, etc
Final Copy.

DO: Brainstorm ideas with the class on the board. When weve generated a good brain dump of ideas,
have them write a free verse poem based on what we had brainstormed. SHARE

Learning Activity #2: Slam Poetry and Poetry Slams

SAY: Free verse and Slam poetry are often the same thing. The term Slam Poetry actually refers more to
the way in which your poem is presented more than anything else. (see notes)

DO: Show examples of slam poetry (YouTube clips linked above)

DO: Discuss the Get Lit movement

Learning Activity #3: Poetry Portfolio Writing

DO: Give them the remainder of the class period to try their hand at free verse, slam, or other poetry for
their poetry portfolios. Let them know that well be sharing our poems as a class next week.

Closure (2 min.):
Consolidation/Assessment of Learning: Today we learned about free verse and slam poetryhow its
formed and the powerful effect it can have. I challenge you to try writing some free verse/slam poetry
write a lot, then youll be able to pick and choose from your poems and present your best work in your
portfolio.

Transition To Next Lesson:

SAY: Next lesson we are going to be looking at Limericks! and it just so happens to be St. Patricks Day
tomorrow!

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Notes:

Modern free verse began with Walt Whitmans Leaves of Grass, published in 1855. Others who are
known for their free verse poetry are Carl Sandburg, Langston Hughes, e.e. cummings, and William
Carlos Williams. In free verse poetry, there are no set rules: no specific rhyming scheme, syllable
count, metric pattern, line arrangement, or theme. The poet is free to write however s/he wants.

Langston Hughes

A poet, novelist, fiction writer, and playwright, Langston Hughes is known for his insightful, colorful
portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties and was important in shaping
the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance.

One of the most vital and energetic movements in poetry during the 1990s, slam has revitalized
interest in poetry in performance. Poetry began as part of an oral traditionpoets were devoted to the
spoken and performed aspects of their poems. This interest was reborn through the rise of poetry slams
across America; while many poets in academia found fault with the movement, slam was well received
among young poets and poets of diverse backgrounds as a democratizing force. This generation of
spoken word poetry is often highly politicized, drawing upon racial, economic, and gender injustices as
well as current events for subject manner.

A slam itself is simply a poetry competition in which poets perform original work alone or in teams
before an audience, which serves as judge. The work is judged as much on the manner and enthusiasm
of its performance as its content or style, and many slam poems are not intended to be read silently
from the page. The structure of the traditional slam was started by construction worker and poet Marc
Smith in 1986 at a reading series in a Chicago jazz club. The competition quickly spread across the
country, finding a notable home in New York City at the Nuyorican Poets Caf.

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Theme for English B
By Langston Hughes
The instructor said,

Go home and write

a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you
Then, it will be true.

I wonder if its that simple?

I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.
I went to school there, then Durham, then here
to this college on the hill above Harlem.
I am the only colored student in my class.
The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem,
through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,
Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,
the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator
up to my room, sit down, and write this page:

Its not easy to know what is true for you or me

at twenty-two, my age. But I guess Im what
I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you.
hear you, hear mewe twoyou, me, talk on this page.
(I hear New York, too.) Mewho?

Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.

I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.
I like a pipe for a Christmas present,
or recordsBessie, bop, or Bach.
I guess being colored doesnt make me not like
the same things other folks like who are other races.
So will my page be colored that I write?
Being me, it will not be white.
But it will be
a part of you, instructor.
You are white
yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.
Thats American.
Sometimes perhaps you dont want to be a part of me.
Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
But we are, thats true!
As I learn from you,
I guess you learn from me
although youre olderand white
and somewhat more free.

This is my page for English B.

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Langston Hughes, Theme for English B from Collected Poems. Copyright 1994 by The Estate of Langston Hughes. Reprinted with the permission of
Harold Ober Associates Incorporated.
Source: Selected Poems (Vintage Books, 1959)