Content Objective Standard Text Target Task Explain why some poets use personification by identifying and explaining the elements of poetry found in various poems about the city. MA.8.A RL3.2 RL3.5 City, Oh, City!, 89-92 Writing Target Task Why do poets use personification? How does personification help a reader better understand a poem s central message? Use examples from multiple poems to support your answer. Language Objective: Scholars will use explicit evidence from the text to describe characters and situations within the text. Scholars will support their claims in logical, coherent sentences that build on one another to strengthen their argument. Exemplar Student Response A Poet can use personification to explore a new perspective of a familiar thing. City,City In City, City, Marci Ridlon personifies the city to show how differently it can make her feel. Wrong and bad Looms above me/ when I m sad Throws it shadow/ on my care Sheds its poison/ in my air Pounds me with its/ noisy fist, Spray me with its/ sooty mist. Makes it feel like the city CAUSES the poet to hate it and that it is directed at the poet, if she just talked about hating the city, it wouldn t seem like the city was against her, it might make the reader feel like it was the POET who had the problem, not the CITY that had the problem. Golden-clad Lifts me with its/ strength and height Takes me to its/ crowded heart Holds me so I/ wont depart Makes it feel like like the city is causing the happiness and that it is intentional Flowers Are a Silly Bunch In Flowers are a Silly Bunch, Arnold Spilka personifies nature to show why he prefers the city. While trees are sort of bossy Rivers do seem saucy But mountains mean Except as otherwise noted, 2015-2017 Match Education, and licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. 1
While weeds all ask for pity Uses personification to strengthen his argument for living in the city because it isn t just that he doesn t like nature, it is that there is a PROBLEM with nature Things to Do If You Are a Subway (this is an extended metaphor because it likens a subway to a dragon, so I would tell the kids that this is something different that we will learn about later) Criteria for Success for Target Task 1) Scholars can determine if a poem is written in free verse or a rhyme scheme 2) Ss can identify alliteration (no repetition, onomatopoeias, or similes here) 3) Scholars can define personification as a structure poets use to describe an object as if it were a human 4) Scholars can infer WHY an author would use personification 5) Scholars can synthesize the effect of personification on the authors perspective of the subject he writes about Key Vocabulary and Definitions Personification giving human-like qualities to an inanimate object Before Reading Introduction: This is the first day in a collection of poems about the city. While reading all of these poems continue to spiral and have scholars notice the structural elements that have already been introduced. Materials New focus: personification Vocabulary: Introduce vocabulary and use it in context. Poetic Structure Mini Lesson: Personification WHAT: Personification is when a poet describes an object like a person or gives objects human-like qualities HOW: The poet gives the object human traits, feelings, and actions WHY: Poets use personification to intensify their perspective of an object Preview the target task. Except as otherwise noted, 2015-2017 Match Education, and licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. 2
During Reading Focus Poem One: Gift with the Wrappings Off 90 o What structural elements does the poet include to help a reader better understand the Christmas Pup? Why? (onomatopoeia, rhyming) o Showing you that even with a hassle, the dog is still worth it o Rhyming connects to this CM because even if it hard to rhyme, it can all be worth it o Perspective on having a dog: ITS GREAT even if it s hard Materials Focus Poem Two: City, City 91 o Read the sentence from the poem below. When I m sad,/throws its shadow/on my care. What type of figurative language is this? Why does the poet include it? What other examples are there in the poem? (PERSONIFICATION; treating city like a person. Incudes it because the city is so harsh it feels personal. Other examples sheds its poison/ pounds me this its fist/ sprays me and lots from part II) o Why does the poet include stanza one and stanza two? o How does the poet convey the central message of the poem? Having CONFLICTING FEELINGS about the city personification makes it feel like a personal relationship between the city and the poet rather than an impersonal one strengthens her sense of being conflicted o How can you have such conflicting emotions about a place? What is a place that you feel conflicted about? Why might a poet write about this? Focus Poem Three: Flowers Are a Silly Bunch 92 o Identify the personification. What is being personified? What effect does it have? nature is being personified and it is showing how nature isn t all that great o Rhyme scheme or free verse? No rhyme SCHEME, but some rhymes o Rhymes all showing how nature isn t all that great Rudolph Is Tired of the City? How does the author convey her perspective of the city? Rhyming, saying what she would like to do She is in charge of doing the pushing Compare with Flowers (opposite opinions, both use rhyming, in Flowers it is nature doing all of the ACTION where in Rudolph, it is the POET doing all of the action) Except as otherwise noted, 2015-2017 Match Education, and licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. 3
Partners City, Oh, City! 89 What connections do you have to cities? How does the author help you visualize the city? Structures: alliteration, rhythm and rhyme Perspective of city: It is magnificent Just for One Day 90 Alliteration CM: Slow down for a minute break in rhythm in last 4 lines, force you to slow down when you read it aloud IND: Sing a Song of Subways Alliteration Rhyme scheme Perspective of subway: crammed Feels rushed with the short sentences, this mimics the feeling he describes of the subway Things to Do if you are a Subway Extended metaphor of subway as monster Feelings are strong that the subway really feels like an underground dragon Free verse Line length also mimics the pace of the subway What is the power of having words on a page mimic a feeling you have in a distinct place? Why might authors want to do this? (e.g. WHY would an author want the words on a page to actually feel like a subway ride?) After Reading Why would this collector put these poems together? Why is it important to think about others perspectives on different parts of life (the city)? How can it help us develop our relationship with our city? Materials MC B, C CLOSING Connect today s lesson to the essential questions. Except as otherwise noted, 2015-2017 Match Education, and licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. 4
Name: Vocabulary Do Now Read the following excerpt from the poem, City, City. Takes me to its Crowded heart, Holds me so I Won t depart. What part of speech is the bolded word? a. Noun b. Verb c. Adjective What do you think the word depart means? Except as otherwise noted, 2015-2017 Match Education, and licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. 5
Multiple Choice Target Task Part A What is personification? a) A comparison between two unlike things. b) Giving human qualities to inanimate objects. c) A comparison between two unlike things using like or as. d) A word that describes a sound. Part B Which lines from City, City are an example of personification? a) I wouldn t live/another place. b) City-City,/Golden-clad, c) Holds me so I/Won t depart. d) I long to live/another place. Except as otherwise noted, 2015-2017 Match Education, and licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. 6
Writing Target Task: Why do poets use personification? How does personification help a reader better understand a poem s central message? Use examples from multiple poems to support your answer. Brainstorm Except as otherwise noted, 2015-2017 Match Education, and licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. 7
Except as otherwise noted, 2015-2017 Match Education, and licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. 8