I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Imagery

Essential Question:

What role do the senses play in understanding and writing poetry?

Bridge:

Senses

Content:

Poetic Devices

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: To connect students with childhood memories.

Activity: Write a brief description of the incident surrounding a childhood photo or memento that they bring to class.

Assessment: Completion of descriptive passage.

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: To share the childhood experience.

Activity: In small (or large) groups, students will attempt to match the photos or mementos with the appropriate student. Then they will share their recollections with the group.

Assessment: Student participation and effort.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: To recall sensory impressions surrounding the incident.

Activity: Students will try to re-create the incident by recalling all sensory impressions and recording them on a chart under the appropriate columns for sound, sight, taste, touch, and smell.

Assessment: Number of sensory impressions recorded.

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: To define poetic terminology.

Activity: The teacher will present and define the following poetic devices: free association, dream images, half-rhyme, consonant chime, alliteration, imaginative symbolism, puns.

Assessment: Student note taking and objective quiz on terminology.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: To read the poem "Fern Hill" and identify the poetic devices.

Activity: Students will complete a worksheet finding examples of the poetic devices listed in "Fern Hill."

Assessment: Appropriateness and completeness of examples of poetic devices on worksheets.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: To extend student understanding of imagery.

Activity: Students will create, in small groups, a collage representing Thomas' imagery in "Fern Hill."

Assessment: Student participation and effort as evidenced in the collages.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: To apply the concept of imagery to individual experience.

Activity: Students will use their sensory charts (from activity 2R) to create their own figurative language to describe their initial experience in prose or poetry.

Assessment: The originality and appropriateness of the figurative language to convey the experience.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: To share and compare their second "figurative" versions with their original versions of the childhood recollection.

Activity: Students will read their figurative versions and their original versions and will compare the effects of the two versions in a small group discussion.

Assessment: The quality of personal analyses and insights.

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: