Poetry: Do I Dare?
A daring poetry project of self-exploration and expression
Project Overview:
Students will understand, interpret, discuss, analyze, and appreciate a variety of poems. They will identify and understand connotation, tone, theme, and different poetic structures and devices. Each student will create original poems that fit their unique voice and sense of identity.
Essential Questions:
Enduring Understandings: What are the big ideas?
Student Outcomes:
What will students know, understand and be able to do by the end of this unit?
Products:
What will students produce to demonstrate and celebrate their learning?
Students will:
Students will understand, interpret, discuss, analyze, and appreciate a variety of poems. They will identify and understand connotation, tone, theme, and different poetic structures and devices. Each student will create original poems that fit their unique voice and sense of identity.
Essential Questions:
- How do individual poets express themselves, their identities, and various themes in their work?
- How can I express myself through poetry?
Enduring Understandings: What are the big ideas?
- Poetry can be interpreted in many ways
- Poets make deliberate and thoughtful decisions about style, tone, rhythm, structure and word choice
- Poetry can take many forms
- Poetry is about the use of carefully chosen language
- Poetry is an important and valued literary genre
- Poetry is __________________. (This open-ended statement will be decided upon at the end of the unit.)
Student Outcomes:
What will students know, understand and be able to do by the end of this unit?
- Read, discuss, perform, and appreciate a variety of poems
- Analyze poems and identify different poetic forms and devices
- Create original poetry using various forms and incorporate various poetic devices
- Evaluate, compare, and contrast poetry
- Research the cultural and historical context of poems/poets
- Know and understand the body of work and cultural/historical context of at least one poet
Products:
What will students produce to demonstrate and celebrate their learning?
Students will:
- Create two personalized coffee coasters. Students will transpose a personal poem of their own on the back of a hand-made coffee coaster. On the front of the coaster, students will artistically arrange a variety of images that capture the theme of their poem. These coasters will be on permanent display at a local coffee shop for the use and enjoyment of customers.
- Participate in spoken word the night of exhibition.
Here is a video I made to launch the "Do I Dare" poetry project.
Poetry Reader Used throughout the unit
Meet the poets
During the first week of school, each student was asked, "If you could choose one word to describe you, what would that word be?"
Coffee coasters
Students learned about symbols, texture, and connecting colors with emotions, and applied this to thoughtfully creating their coasters.
Poetry Cafe Night
After all students preformed their poems on stage, family members and friends were asked to reflect on the night. Here are some of their thoughts...