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Teacher Resources by Grade
|1st - 2nd||3rd - 4th|
|5th - 6th||7th - 8th|
|9th - 10th||11th - 12th|
Compiling Poetry Collections and a Working Definition of Poetry
|Grades||3 – 5|
|Lesson Plan Type||Unit|
|Estimated Time||Eight 50-minute sessions|
MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY
- Overhead or LCD projector
- Transparencies/copies of poems used for instruction
- General classroom supplies (chalkboard, chart paper, markers, etc)
- Student writing notebooks and folders
- Blank composition books
- A computer with Internet access
- A wide variety of poetry books to be used for instruction and student exploration
- Examples of themed poetry collections or anthologies (e.g., Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems by Kristine O'Connell George)
- Poetry Collection Checklist Chart
- Links to Other Forms of Poetry and Elements of Poetry
- The Children's Poetry Archive
- Poetry Box Rules
- Elements of Poetry
- Choose the poetic forms that you'll focus on in this lesson (e.g., concrete/shape poetry, haiku, two-voice, cinquain, free-verse). Five forms work well. See The Children's Poetry Archive and Links to Other Forms of Poetry and Elements of Poetry for additional options and materials.
- Familiarize yourself with the elements of poetry with any of these resources: Poetry Box Rules; Elements of Poetry; and Riddle Poem Features.
- Make copies of the poems that you will be using to teach the forms of poetry and craft elements of poetry for students.
- Arrange for students to have their writing notebooks and folders, and blank composition books, which will be used to compile their poetry collections and definitions.
- The forms of poetry and elements of poetry in this lesson are simply recommendations. Feel free to customize the forms and craft elements for your own needs.
- Make a copy of the Poetry Collection Checklist for each student.
- If desired, test the Poetry Collection Checklist Chart on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.