Grade: Middle
Subject: Language

#788. Poetry (8th Grade)

Language, level: Middle
Posted Wed Apr 30 21:14:16 PDT 2008 by Marta Bourjeili (Marta Bourjeili).
Oak Avenue, Temple City
Materials Required: Copies of handouts
Activity Time: 45 Minutes
Concepts Taught: Poetry Lesson

Teacher: Ms. Bourjeili
Class: English 8
Date: January 15th 2008
Lesson: S.O.A.P.S and Elements of Poetry.
Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to identify the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject and tone in various poems. They will also build on prior knowledge and demonstrate an ability to identify other elements of poetry in various poems. We will also be able to use this knowledge to analyze the meaning of the poetry.
Standards:
Vocabulary and Concept Development 1.1
Comprehension 1.1 and 1.2
Literary Response and Analysis 3.0
Anticipatory set:
Begin class with the Word of the Day, then transition into the poetry unit by connecting it to the information learned the previous day regarding Elements of Poetry. Also discuss the difficulty in understanding poetry on their own and ask the students if they have ever encountered difficulty. Let them know that today we will be going over ways to make sense of poetry.
Input:
· Begin by introducing the S.O.A.P.S handout.
o Go over the information on the handout and review the questions.
o Review the purpose of the handout and how it helps to identify other elements of poetry.
· Modeling:
o Place a poem on the overhead, read it as a class, and go through the S.O.A.P.S handout together, answering all questions.
o Check for understanding by asking students to participate in the answering of the questions.
· Differentiation:
o Special needs students:
§ Give students who are in need of special assistance the notes from yesterdays assignment. Also give them the additional handout titled "What is critical thinking?"
§ Help explain to these students how S.O.A.P.S works again, and ask specific questions for understanding such as:
· Now that we have gone over SOAPS, can you tell me what the main reason for this assignment is?
· Are you having any difficulties with any of the steps?
· Do you have any questions?
· Can I explain anything further?
· What should the end result of this assignment look like?
§ Then sit with these students and go over one poem with them, showing them again what each step looks like (group students together at two desks).
§ Students will be asked to take the same test as the rest of the class, but with added time and support.
o Gate Students:
§ Students will be given more challenging poems to analyze, and will be asked questions in a different way on the exam.
§ Students will have a similar, yet more challenging exam with questions designed to test them at higher levels.

· Guided practice/monitoring:
o In class, read another poem together, then ask the students to go through and identify the S.O.A.P.S on their own. Ask them to share the information they have as a class.
o For the second poem, ask students to continue to complete it on their own, then share with their groups.

· Closure:
o As class comes to an end, ask students to share their ideas on how this strategy helps them to better understand the poetry by focusing their ideas and helping them to identify the key points of the poem.
o Explain that this will help when completing the exam, because it makes them discuss the terms used in poetry. Let them know that the exam will cover all aspects of poetry learned in the last week, especially the speaker occasion and audience. Since all the poems we learned about have specific moods, tones, reasons, and speakers, the information in the SOAPS box is easily figured out. All they have to do is access information they learned before to help them figure out the larger meaning of the text.
Independent practice:
Ask students to go home, read the remaining poems and identify the elements of poetry as well as complete a S.O.A.P.S list.
For students who need extra assistance, allow them to take all notes home about the elements of literature, SOAPS, and What is Critical Thinking. Also give them hard copies of examples to look at while they are at home.
Materials Needed:
150 Soaps Handouts
150 Copies of Poems
35 Copies of "What is Critical Thinking"
35 Copies of a SOAPS example
Reasoning for the assignment:
This type of assignment forces students to apply the information they have learned before, and extend their own knowledge by thinking critically about the terms we have covered. The students are also able to reinforce the knowledge by applying the information to another source, and connecting it to their personal experiences or personal knowledge.
Moreover, this assignment will help them study and prepare for the exam.
Reasoning for the differentiation:
For the GATE students, the differentiation occurs on a simple level. Those who have demonstrated that they are already familiar with these concepts, and need to be challenged, will find themselves challenged with harder reading material. The poetry they will read will force them to think at a higher level and apply information they learned previously, connect it to the outside world, and to their own personal experiences.
The students, who have special needs, are being supported by the information provided. They are learning the same concepts as their peers, however they are receiving much more scaffolding with the additional information. Although I presented the information to the entire class, by presenting it again to them in a smaller setting, they are able to view the process a second time, and perhaps catch information they may have missed. Moreover, they are able to ask questions that they may not have asked in a large group for fear of embarrassment. Finally, the additional support and time to take the test will allow them to fully process the questions before answering, hopefully encouraging them to take their time and do well.