ELA 9: Poetry Unit Outline
Mr. Steel
During this unit of
study on poetry, students will develop their interpretive skills and reading
comprehension through daily reading and analyzing, as well as comparing and
contrasting a number of classic poems. Students will develop an understanding
of poetic devices and literary terminology through independent research,
creative application, and formal testing. All students will write a formal
critical essay on a poem of their choice. Finally, students will have the
opportunity to examine the relation of poetry with music through independent
analysis and oral presentation of a musical lyric of their choice.
WORK AND ASSESSMENT
Minor Assignment
Students will engage in analysis and interpretation of selected poetry. Reading comprehension assignments will
be graded for quality of thought, understanding, and literacy (sentence
structure, syntax).
Minor Assignment
All students will write a creative
poem in order to demonstrate their facility with various poetic and literary
devices. Each poem will be accompanied by the student's analysis of at least FIVE poetic devices being
used.
Major Assignment
Students will choose their favourite poem. It is not necessary that the
poem be one that we have studied in class. Students will write a double-spaced,
5 paragraph critical essay about
this poem. Students may choose from one of the following topics (others are
possible):
|
Ø
death Ø
love Ø
hardship or suffering Ø
nature |
Ø
divinity Ø
social (in)justice Ø
evil Ø
wisdom |
Each student submission should follow the guidelines I have laid out for
previous essays. Also, please attach a copy of the poem that you are examining
in your essay.
Test
Each student will be expected to study, to understand, and to apply all
poetic devices terminology correctly, as these will appear on the Poetry Unit Test. This test will assess
reading comprehension skills in lieu of upcoming provincial examinations.
Major Assignment
Every student will make an oral presentation of the lyrics to a song of their choice. Students are expected to explain the meaning of the song, its significance, as well as the artist's use of at least FIVE literary or poetic devices.