Poetry Exploration
In this course we will explore the poetic form by reading from various time periods, styles, and authors.
Theresa Confer
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(56)
What's included
14 live meetings
5 hrs 50 mins in-class hoursHomework
Write a poem to share with the class. Please submit the poem to the teacher 3 days prior to the final class. I will review the poems and approve them prior to students' sharing them aloud in our last class.Assessment
Students will not be assessed by the teacher. However, parents can gauge student comprehension by checking their understanding of the literary elements found in each poem.Class Experience
US Grade 5 - 8
This course will be cancelled if there are less than 3 learners Prerequisite: Students should have some familiarity with common literary elements such as: We will identify literary elements such as: imagery, metaphor, theme, simile, symbolism, stanza, rhyme, beat/rhythm). We will begin our first class with a warm up to jolt our memories regarding these terms, but terms should not be new information the students need to be taught. The rest of the course will be in the style of a relaxed socratic seminar. "A socratic seminar is a discussion, based on a text, in which the teacher asks open-ended questions. Within the context of the discussion, students listen closely to the comments of others, thinking critically for themselves, and articulate their own thoughts and their responses to the thoughts of others" .(works cited: readwritethink.org) I will make every effort to end class on time, but please be advised that if necessary class may extend 5-10minutes beyond the scheduled end time. As the teacher, I will provide a poem through screen share during each class. We will read the poem, analyze, and discuss it. We will read poems from classical and modern texts. Some of the poems we will discuss can be found here: Poems to be read: Day 1 Warm Up Activity: Literary Terms-brainstorm I'm Nobody Who Are You? - Emily Dickinson Hope is the thing with Feathers-Emily Dickinson (if we run out of time this poem will be moved to Day2) Day 2 Mirror- Sylvia Plath You're-Sylvia Plath Day 3 Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night-Dylan Thomas Cremation of Sam McGee-Robert Service we will listen to <Youtube (Johnny Cash's reading of Sam McGee)> Day 4 The Road Not Taken- Robert Frost Nothing Gold Can Stay- Robert Frost Day 5 Sonnet 18-Shakespeare Sonnet 29- Shakespeare Sonnet 130-Shalespeare Day 6 Littany-Billy Collins Did I Miss Anything?-Tom Wayman Day 7 The Gift- Li Young Lee Those Winter Sundays” -Robert Hayden Day 8 Lorax-Dr. Seuss My Job-Dr. Seuss Day 9 Trees-Joyce Kilmer The Problem of Writing Poems in the Shape of Trees Day 10 Being Brave at Night-Edgar Guest Now We Are Six-A.A.Milne Wind on the Hill-A.A.Milne Waiting At the Window Pane-A.A.Milne My Next-door Neighbor is a Witch-Samiya Vallee (only if time permits) Day 11 Mother to Son Lagston Hughes My Papa's Waltz-Theodore Roethke An Ocean of Memories- Kimberly L. Briones Day 12 The Haiku's of Jack Kerouac Day 13 Oh Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman Still I Rise- Maya Angelou Day 14 Eating Poetry-Mark Strand Look At Me- Todd Alcott Time for students to share their own works Tell tale Heart-Edgar Alan Poe ( Animated Video Youtube: only if time permits) We will discuss the form of the poem, the author's writing style, literary devices, and what we think the purpose of the writing may be. Most important of all, we will discuss our thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the poems.
Learning Goals
Students will further develop their ability to appreciate, analyze, and discuss poetry.
Students will learn by exposure to poetry. We will discuss together different types, some structured some unstructured, and some whimsical.
Other Details
Supply List
I will supply all poems via screen sharing. Where appropriate, I may also screen share YouTube readings of the poems. However, I will include the Haiku's here only because there are a large number of them. I will also share a rare poem difficult to find elsewhere: Kimberly L. Briones-An Ocean of Memories Published: February 2006 My family is the ocean around us. My father is the hurricane, knocking anything and everybody out of his path. My mother is the sunshine after the storm (my father), clearing and calming everything else. My oldest brother is the sand, kicked and blown away by my dad, but warmed with care by my mom. My oldest sister is the breeze in the wind, cool, quiet, and there when you need her. My other two brothers are the stingrays, dangerous, but also willing to fight anyone who comes along. And I, I am an old ship at the bottom of the sea, lost, abandoned, but full of memories. Haikus Jack Kerouac *** The bottom of my shoes are clean from walking in the rain. *** Snap your finger stop the world – rain falls harder. *** After the shower among the drenched roses the bird thrashing in the bath. *** Early morning gentle rain, two big bumblebees Humming at their work *** Birds singing in the dark —Rainy dawn. *** The rain has filled the birdbath Again, almost *** Useless, useless, the heavy rain Driving into the sea. *** The little worm lowers itself from the roof By a self shat thread *** Nightfall, boy smashing dandelions with a stick. *** frozen in the birdbath A leaf *** In my medicine cabinet the winter fly has died of old age *** Missing a kick at the icebox door It closed anyway.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined December, 2017
4.9
56reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate in Secondary Education
I am a certified English teacher. I believe in making learning accessible to students. Some students believe that poetry is too difficult to understand. I believe any student can understand and appreciate poetry with enough time, patience, and guidance. I strongly believe the best way to explore literature is in a relaxed discussion not in a rigid class.Reviews
Live Group Class
$50
for 14 classes2x per week, 7 weeks
25 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 10-15
5-18 learners per class
