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Poets: Songs My Teacher Taught Me
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Activity Description
This activity titled "Songs My Teacher Taught Me" is a series of three lesson plans intended to guide students through approximately one month of poetry study. This unit involves minimal technology requirements but extends across a wide range of poetry. Of the eighteen poets included; eight are women, six are African-American; two are nineteenth-century poets and the three lesson plans are thematically broken into "What is Poetry?", "Poems of Childhood," and "Self and Society." Each of the three lesson plans includes a short reading list, a brief introduction setting tone and theme, a series of analytical questions, two creative activities, and at least one writing assignment.
Also at the site, you will find all you will need to teach poetry including curriculum, essays on poetry, biographies of more than 200 poets, the text of nearly 600 poems, and RealAudio of 80 poems read by their authors. Poets.org also allows visitors to create their own anthologies of content from the site.
Preparation
- Open the Web Site Example to the page on Curriculum & Lesson Plans.
- Select the lesson titled: Songs My Teacher Taught Me. As Anthony notes in his Teaching Guide [www], the lessons can be presented in many different ways and are hence applicable to a wide variety of classrooms and students. We would encourage your to look over the Teaching Guide for ideas on how to present the material.
- You may want to prepare a Word document that contains the poems you have decided to use for the lesson so students can re-read the poem while trying to answer the analytical questions.
- Decide which of the analytical questions you want to use. You could create a handout with those questions to handout to individual students, or if you are working with a group or class, put the questions on a PowerPoint so students can re-read the questions as they review the poem.
- If this lesson does not meet your needs, look through the other lessons and find one that's appropriate.
Teacher Tips
- These poems can be used to practice reading skills.
- Teacher can read aloud, students can silent read, have choral readings, read and listen.
- Students can write their own poetry alone, in pairs or in groups collaboratively.
- Students can read and listen online to poems being read.
- Check out their Tips for Teaching Poetry [www] page for more ideas.
More Ways
- Students can use the computer to write their poems, using word processing, editing, spell checkers, online thesaurus, online dictionary, etc.
- For more technology integration, have students establish blog sites using Weebly or Wordpress (or another free blog tool) to post their poems or thoughts about the poetry you have covered in the lesson or as homework assignments.
Program Areas
- ASE: High School Diploma
Lesson Plan
• Activity:
Ask students:
"What is your earliest memory of a song, lullaby, or poem someone taught you?"
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- Share responses in small groups.
- Volunteers share with the whole class.
- Goal: Connect personal memories to the idea that poetry often begins in childhood experiences.
- Mini-Lecture and Discussion:
Introduce the unit focus:
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- Defining poetry
- How poems capture personal, childhood, and societal experiences.
- Play a recording of a poet reading aloud a poem (use Poets.org audio archives).
- Explain that students will read poems grouped into three themes:
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- What is Poetry?
- Poems of Childhood
- Self and Society
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Interactive Presentation:
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- Display selected poems on a projector or share printed copies.
- Read each poem aloud (teacher reads once, students read chorally once).
- Present 2–3 analytical questions per poem using a PowerPoint or Google Slides.
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Example Analytical Questions:
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- What emotions does this poem bring out?
- How does the poet use imagery or sound?
- What connections do you see to your own life or childhood?
Collaborative Analysis:
- Divide students into small groups.
- Each group selects one poem to re-read and discuss using the guiding questions.
- Each group creates a poster or digital slide summarizing:
- Poem title and author.
- Key emotions or images.
- One quotation that stood out.
Exit Ticket Writing:
- Each student writes a quick response: "Which poem was most meaningful to you and why?"
- Collect their responses to assess comprehension and personal engagement.
Creative Options:
- Write Your Own Poem:
Students write a poem modeled after one of the themes: memory, childhood, or self in society. - Poetry Blogging:
Students create a free blog (on Weebly, WordPress, or Google Sites) and post their poems, reflections, or favorite poems from the lesson.
- Tutorials: Weebly for Education | WordPress for Students
- Poetry Recording:
Students record themselves reading their poems aloud, integrating audio recording tools (like Vocaroo or Flip).
Documents
- Songs My Teacher Taught Me.png - Screenshot of poets.org lesson plan on "Songs My Teacher Taught Me
Subjects
- English Language Arts
- American Literature
- English 1-4
- Literature