Imagery A Poetry Unit Author: Grade: Subject: Duration: Key Concept: Generalizations: Facts/Terms Skills CA Standards Alan Zeoli 9th English Two Weeks Imagery Poets use various poetic devices to create imagery Poetry uses imagery to connect to the reader s experiences Imagery is what enables poetry to appeal to readers on emotional as well as intellectual levels Poetry, by means of imagery, offers a unique reflection of human thought and emotion and, thus, a unique way of understanding our own lives Imagery is a crucial component of the process of creating meaning in poetry The elements of poetry are the tools that poets use to create sensory images The reliance on imagery is one primary thing that distinguishes poetry from prose See Handout on Terms To be able to analyze the poem for elements of poetry To be able to identify how the elements of poetry work together to create imagery To be able to analyze a poem for meaning To be able to see how the imagery adds layers of meaning to the message of the poem To be able to connect the message of the poem to student s life To be able to write a poem that makes use of at least ten elements of poetry 1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development Students apply their knowledge of word origins to determine the meaning of new words encountered in reading materials and use those words accurately. Vocabulary and Concept Development 1.1 Identify and use the literal and figurative meanings of words and understand word derivations. 1.2. Distinguish between the denotative and connotative
Essential Question Materials: meanings of words and interpret the connotative power of words. 3.0 Literary Response and Analysis Students read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of literature that reflect and enhance their studies of history and social science. They conduct in-depth analyses of recurrent patterns and themes. The selections in Recommended Literature, Grades Nine Through Twelve illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. Structural Features of Literature 3.1 Articulate the relationship between the expressed purposes and the characteristics of different forms of dramatic literature (e.g., comedy, tragedy, drama, dramatic monologue). 3.2 Compare and contrast the presentation of a similar theme or topic across genres to explain how the selection of genre shapes the theme or topic. Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text 3.5 Compare works that express a universal theme and provide evidence to support the ideas expressed in each work. 3.7 Recognize and understand the significance of various literary devices, including figurative language, imagery, allegory, and symbolism, and explain their appeal. 3.8 Interpret and evaluate the impact of ambiguities, subtleties, contradictions, ironies, and incongruities in a text. 3.9 Explain how voice, persona, and the choice of a narrator affect characterization and the tone, plot, and credibility of a text. Literary Criticism 3.11 Evaluate the aesthetic qualities of style, including the impact of diction and figurative language on tone, mood, and theme, using the terminology of literary criticism. (Aesthetic approach) Unless one has ESP, one interacts with the world exclusively through one s five senses. Is it any wonder that when poets evoke those senses with their verses, our experience with the poem is enriched? Set of poems Overheads Construction paper for Literary Elements/Poetic Devices wheels Brads
Poetic Devices Knowledge: To be able to define and produce the essential Elements of Literature/Poetic Devices Tiered based on readiness Work will be done in pairs of the teacher s choosing Using Analytical Intelligence Pre-Assessment Generalization: Objective: Input/ Handouts: Informal based on knowledge of students Poets use various poetic devices to create imagery that appeals to our five senses Students will define, quote examples of, and create examples of, the primary poetic devices that poets use Teacher will provide handout (Poetic Devices) to students and discuss/go over the poetic devices listed and defined there. Teacher will provide handout with assignment and explain procedures. (Poetic Devices Wheel) Independent Practice Students will work in pairs; each pair will produce a Poetic Device Wheel in which the circle of the wheel is divided into 24 sections of 15 each with an undivided circle in the center about one inch in diameter. Paraphrasing and Summarizing Knowledge: To be able to paraphrase and summarize a poem as a starting point for searching for deeper meaning Differentiated based upon readiness and flexible groupings In this case, students will form their group of four and teacher will select appropriate poems for each group Using Analytical and Practical Intelligence Generalizations: Poetry, by means of imagery, offers a unique reflection of human thought and emotion and, thus, a unique way of understanding our own lives Imagery is a crucial component of the process of creating meaning in poetry The elements of poetry are the tools that poets use to create sensory images
The reliance on imagery is one primary thing that distinguishes poetry from prose Objective: Input/ Handouts: Students will be able to accurately paraphrase and summarize various poems Frost used to define poetry as what gets left out of translation. He might have been speaking of translation from one language to another, but the idea is valid for summary as well. Thus, summarizing poems to clarify action, plot, character, etc. is a useful starting point, but it will also highlight the difference that imagery makes in creating poetry out of what otherwise might be prose. Use Stopping by Woods on a Snow Evening to illustrate. Summary: A man driving a horse-drawn cart or sleigh pauses beside a forest to watch the snow falling on it; the horse seems to want to keep moving, and the man decides he ought to move on, although the scene is pretty, and even inviting. Frost s sixteen lines contain infinitely more meaning than these forty-four words. Let s see how. Activities: Teacher leads class through process with Frost s poem. Step one: convert to prose, add words and alter punctuation accordingly Step two: convert to paragraphs, order sentences so that they make sense in a traditional or linear manner Step three: compare to original to see if the paraphrase seems to accurately translate the poem into prose Students work in groups on different poems and go through entire process Groups present to class to share their results
Analysis for Meaning Using Imagery Knowledge Grouping To analyze poems to determine how poetic devices are used to create imagery and how imagery is used to create meaning Flexible grouping (if groups are arranged by teacher they can be made heterogeneous so that students can learn from one another in non-threatening situations; Numbered Heads) Using Analytical Intelligence Pre-Assessment Generalizations Objective Input Informal based upon performance on summarizing task because, since it is impossible to separate imagery and poetic devices from poetry, success in paraphrasing and summarizing would suggest an ability to understand the implications of the poetic devices/imagery Poets use various poetic devices to create imagery Poetry uses imagery to connect to the reader s experiences Imagery is what enables poetry to appeal to readers on emotional as well as intellectual levels Imagery is a crucial component of the process of creating meaning in poetry The elements of poetry are the tools that poets use to create sensory images Students will work together in groups to determine the ways in which imagery works to create/enhance meaning The teacher will model the process (and will have already extensively modeled it in this highly recursive set of lessons) of analyzing poetic devices for the effects they produce and then tying this effect to the theme/meaning of the poem. Students will then work in groups using the Group Word Web technique to associate imagery with meaning Process Step One: Students sit in groups of four, with desks pushed together so that they make one central flat surface. Working with a large piece of butcher paper: o The group first discusses the poem in general terms and decides upon the main theme or message in the poem. o They must come to a consensus on this.
o o o o This theme is then written in the primary circle that will form the center of the web. Then, each student makes a bubble in the space in front of her/him between the central circle and the corner of the paper. In this bubble, the student writes one (or one category) of poetic device that the group believes is prominent and important in the poem, and draws a line connecting that bubble to the central circle. Teacher gives starting signal and, for one minute (or whatever length of time teacher deems appropriate) each student writes as many examples of that device as s/he is aware of in the poem and gives line number (if poem is long). The paper is then rotated one quarter-turn so that a new bubble appears in front of each student. o Teacher gives starting signal and the student either adds additional examples or, ideally, begins to connect bubbles to each example explaining what images result, which senses are addressed, what meaning is produced, etc. o At each subsequent quarter-turn movement of the paper, students add interpretation ideas to any of the bubbles in front of them. They can elaborate on earlier comments, add new ideas, disagree with comments, offer alternative views, etc. Step Two: Group takes a few minutes to read over results, going device by device. o For each device they decide the three most important occurrences (if there are that many) and the meaning of each. o These they list on the back or on another sheet of paper. Step Three: Students within groups will be numbered off one through four. Teacher will randomly ask different numbers to share different aspects of the group s results Reflection Knowledge: To reflect upon the meaning of a poem, especially as it emerges from the imagery, and to make connections between the messages, events, emotions, actions, expressed in the poem and one s own life and experiences
Differentiated based on Interest Choice of poem and Student Profile Gardner: interpersonal, intrapersonal Using Creative Intelligence Generalization Objective Input/ Handouts Process: Poetry uses imagery to connect to the reader s experiences Imagery is what enables poetry to appeal to readers on emotional as well as intellectual levels Poetry, by means of imagery, offers a unique reflection of human thought and emotion and, thus, a unique way of understanding our own lives Students will be able to make personal connections to the poetry they read. These connections will be enhanced and enriched by the way the imagery in the poems speaks directly to emotion and memory, often bypassing intellectual engagement altogether (like music) Poetry Questions (a set of questions designed to focus students thinking on the imagery and emotional/personal associations that poems evoke Students will work individually. Each student chooses a poem to work with and: Answers the questions with regard to that poem; Makes an illustration that conveys her/his emotional/personal connection to poem Writes a reflective journal discussing the connections that s/he is able to make between the poem and her/his own life Culminating Activity: Summarize, Analyze, & Reflect Knowledge: To be able to put all the elements together with respect to one poem: paraphrase/summary, technical analysis, and personal reflection. Differentiated based upon Readiness and Interest Using Analytical, Practical, and Creative Intelligence Generalization Objective Process See Above Students will each choose one poem and produce a complete response to it using all the skills and techniques developed thus far in the unit. The students will: Select a poem on which to work
Paraphrase and summarize the poem Answer Questions for the analysis of poetry Produce a word web analyzing imagery and poetic devices Write an analytical essay supporting thesis about effect of imagery on meaning Answer Poetry Questions Write reflective essay on personal connection to poem Produce an illustration that represents that connection Assemble the parts into a folder Post-Assessment Rubric Summary Component HIGHLY PROFICIENT 5 or 6 Accurately and completely summarizes the poem PROFICIENT 3 or 4 Provides an adequate summary of the main elements of the plot of the poem, but does not go beyond the basics NOT YET PROFICIENT 1 OR 2 Provides a sketchy summary of plot of poem Interpretive/ Analytic Component Clearly identifies and states theme of poem Displays a clear understanding of the meaning of the poem as it relates to theme Accurately and completely analyzes poet s use of imagery to convey this theme Analyzes the language of the poem and persuasively connects language to imagery Is coherently organized with ideas supported by evidence and analysis Consistently demonstrates a writing which is sophisticated, fluent, and mostly free of technical errors Identifies a legitimate theme and displays understanding of its meaning, but without sufficient clarity or depth Analyzes language and imagery but lacks profundity or sophistication Demonstrates adequate and somewhat coherent organization Ideas supported by evidence and analysis which lack subtlety and depth Demonstrates a writing style that is mature and fluent but marked by numerous mechanical or stylistic errors Wholly or substantially inadequate, fails to meet goals of assignment