Students Present Narrative Poem Lessons to the Class

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Objective

SWBAT teach the class about the three elements in their narrative poems.

Big Idea

Learn it ---> Teach it ---> Know it forever.

Lesson Author

Devon O'Brien

Leonardtown, MD

Grade Level

Eighth grade

Subjects

English / Language Arts

Poetry

Literature

poetry (American Lit)

Writing

poetry (Analysis)

Standards

RL.8.2

Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

RL.8.3

Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

RL.8.10

By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

SL.8.5

Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

Student Group Presentations of Poetry Analysis and Performances

60 minutes

Works in Progress

So, today* was the day that we have been waiting for...the students presented their poems and "taught" them to the class. Since I split the presentations over two days, the students did not have to sit through 60+ minutes of poetry discussions. However, they did have to take some notes. I instructed them to write down some brief notes on the three aspects of narrative poetry on which we are focusing: story, narrator, and structure. The goal that I set for the lesson was that students would continue to construct their understanding of how the elements of narrative poetry work together to form a cohesive whole.

While the presentations were not really polished, the students did a decent job with the PowerPoints, so their classmates could get some good notes. The only part of the lesson that I really thought was disappointing was the performances. I didn't preview their performances, and the students didn't do a great job preparing. Listening to a student read slowly and without appropriate enthusiasm or inflection can really detract from the impact of the poem. That said, I think the students who performed "felt" the reaction of their classmates, so hopefully, they will do a better job of preparing in the future.

All in all, the activity was successful -- especially the group work analyzing the poem for the three elements. That work was good and meaningful; perhaps requiring the presentations without a lot of extra time to prepare was a tall order.

* Logistical Notes: These presentations were enacted over two days, with three groups performing, per day. Because I have classes of 28 students, I formed six groups of four and five. For all of our sakes, I planned for each group to present for about 5-7 minutes, and I factored in some transition times with set up and pulling up documents, etc.