Lesson Plan for Day 4

Goals/Objectives:
StudentswillbeabletoidentifyandanalyzePOVinanarrativepoemandconnectwith
theauthorspurposeanddevelopmentoftheme(narrative,memories).Studentswillbe
abletopinpointfigurativelanguageandimagery,andthen,usethesenarrativeelements
intheirownwriting.

Standards:
CommonCore:
Themainstandardwewilladdressthroughthislessonis:
CCSS.ELALITERACY.RL.6.6:Explainhowanauthordevelopsthepointofviewofthe
narratororspeakerinatext.
Wewillusepriorknowledgeofthefollowing:
CCSS.ELALITERACY.RL.6.4
Determinethemeaningofwordsandphrasesastheyareusedinatext,including
figurativeandconnotativemeanings;analyzetheimpactofaspecificwordchoiceon
meaningandtone
CCSS.ELALITERACY.RL.6.5
Analyzehowaparticularsentence,chapter,scene,orstanzafitsintotheoverallstructure
ofatextandcontributestothedevelopmentofthetheme,setting,orplot.
Materials and Preparation:
o

Whiteboard

Smart board

o StudentcopiesofIamFrom
o StudentcopiesofOdetoFamilyPhotographsandHoods
o ExtraPencilswitherasers

o GraphicOrganizer6.62copiestoeachstudent

Classroom Arrangement and Management Issues

I will be teaching this lesson to two different classes 313 and 308. Both of these groups
have a history of side talking and distracting each other during instruction or modeling. A
few days in advance of my two-week takeover, I will be reinforcing classroom norms and
building a classroom contract with the students in each class. Therefore, each morning
before announcements, I will remind students of the classroom norms. Before this lesson,
specifically, I will mention that reading poetry is like watching a movie. You cant fully
experience it if others around you are talking. The way we analyze a poem is also not
going to work if you do not raise your hands. Its important that we collect everybodys
thoughts and ideas and reflect on it the only way to do this is to take turns.

The desks should be arranged in a U shape for this, because I want students to be able to
actively discuss the poems while keeping up with the Smartboard and my guidance. The
room is not big enough for one large U shape formation, so we will do two layers of Us.
If necessary, we can call this the Poetry Half-Circle. My students seem to like when there
are nicknames / labels for strategies.

In 308, there is a student who has severe ADHD/ODD and frequently distracts his
classmates from instruction. I will speak to him individually before class to check in and
see how he is doing. I will note down what he says to me. During instruction, I will
remind him of the classroom norms each time he misbehaves. If he seems very fidgety
and walks around the classroom, switching seats (which sometimes occurs), I will ask
him to help me with something like passing out papers. If he misbehaves 3 times, I will
politely ask my classroom mentor to take him for a walk before he can come back.

Plan 110 minutes

1) The Hook: Origin and Narrative 5 minutes

a. (5 minutes) I will ask students to take 1 minute and think of one word to
answer the question, Where are you from? Students will put their

thumbs up when they each have a word in mind, after while I will take
volunteers to share their answers. Assuming that most of the answers will
be location-based (i.e. my house, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lea
Elementary School), I will state my observation as so. If there is an outlier
(using figurative language), I will ask that student why they chose this
word. If not, I will indicate a figurative term in my own example (i.e. I
come from burnt pizzas) and we will transition into the idea that
metaphors and imagery can make narrative voice very visual and
interesting, in poetry. It adds a figurative element that almost shows
readers where you come from instead of telling them.

2) Body of the Lesson: Poems 70 minutes

a. (2 minutes) Transition to the body of the lesson by writing our sample I
am From sentence on the board and ask students to confirm what POV
this is. Today, Im going to show you examples of poems that use firstperson POV and narrative elements like the ones we just talked about
(imagery, metaphor).
b. (10 minutes) Hand out copies of the poem I am From by George Ella
Lyon, to every student. Display the poem on the Smartboard and read it
aloud (this is to model the reading for students, since there are unfamiliar
words). Before reading, indicate that the first time we will just listen to it.
The second time, we will read it and think of the literary devices and
figurative language the author is using. A student volunteer will read.
c. (15 minutes) Ask students to raise their hands and share what they
observed. What stood out to you in the poem? Who is speaking? What is
the POV? What kinds of imagery? What senses are they using (taste, see,
smell, hear, feel)? I will record their response on the Smartboard as we
discuss.
d. (10 minutes) Fill out graphic organizer 6.6 for this (modeling on the
Smartboard) together, using some of the ideas that students presented
during discussion. This will help students understand how the POV and
authors purpose helps develops the poem.
e. (20 minutes) Pass out second handout with two other narrative poems:
Ode to Family Photographs by Gary Soto and Hoods by Paul
Janeckzo. Display these on the Smartboard. Ask if students want to
volunteer and read these aloud. Have two speakers per poem, to hear
different voices. Ask students specifically to notice imagery, sensory
details, and any word or structure choice that helps build up the narrative
and the theme of where you come from, whether it is related to people

or places or things. As an alternative, if students seem to need a break

from direct instruction, they can break into cooperative pairs and mark up
these poems amongst themselves. Talking is allowed, but students must
stay in their seats. We will then come back to whole-group discussion in
the next step.
f. (10 minutes) Make a quick anchor chart of narrative elements we noticed
in all poems, to review the main poetic themes. Students can copy this
down directly on the poems. This anchor chart will act as an aid for
students in crafting their poems for homework.

3) Workshop: Sensory Brainstorming a. Transition by asking students if they need to stretch and stand up. While
they stretch, pass out the brainstorming sheet.
b. (35 minutes) In preparation to write their own I am From poems,
students will fill out the sensory brainstorming sheet. After 20 minutes, I
will indicate that now would be a good time to start on the poem template.
When students finish, they can start on the I am From poem using the
template. During this time, I will walk around and see if anybody needs
help.

4) DebriefandClosure
a. (5minutes)Wewillhaveafewstudentssharetheirresponsesforsomeof
themoredifficultbrainstormingquestionsoranexcerptfromtheirpoem
draft.Iwillinstructstudentstofinishthisforhomeworkandbringinthe
completedIamFrompoemthenextday.Studentsdonothavetofollow
thetemplateexactly.Theyhaveartisticfreedom,butmustusenarrative
elements,firstpersonPOV,andspecificchoicestodevelopthetext.

Assessmentofthegoals/objectiveslistedabove
Ourclassdiscussionsofthesecondtwopoemswillbeaninformalassessmentfor
metoseeifstudentsgenerallyunderstandtheconceptsofPOVasappliedtopoetry
(thumbsupandthumbsdownforindividualunderstanding,ateachstage).Iwillwalk
aroundandcheckGraphicOrganizer6.6whilestudentsareworkingonbrainstorming

activity.Thiswillbeanotherinformalassessment.Thefinalassessmentforthislesson
wouldbethecompletedIamFrompoem.Thedonowforthenextdaywillask
studentstofilloutagraphicorganizer6.6fortheirownpoem,tofurtherdemonstrate
knowledgeofPOVandpurposeinpoetry.

AnticipationStudentsResponses:

There is a chance that students might feel we are moving too fast in this lesson. If
students seem to be grasping the material, we will continue forward. But, if half of the
students complain about going too fast, then I will eliminate one of the poems (Hoods)
and we will focus and spend more time on Ode to Family Photographs to develop
understanding of graphic organizer 6.6.

There could be students who dislike poetry, and to allay this, I will premise by reminding
students that poetry is not easy for everyone. You may like prose more than poetry, and
thats okay, but its good to know every type of literature. Who knows, you may end up
liking poetry by the end of today!

Accommodations:
Both 313 and 308 have students who are English Language Learners and students with
behavioral and intellectual IEPs. To differentiate, I will provide the ELLs with a shorter
version of the sensory brainstorming sheet and poetry assignment (required 5 lines as
opposed to 10 lines). For the IEP students, if anyone is struggling, I will consult with my
classroom mentor and adjust the assignment for them. For general differentiation, Ive
chosen to record everything up on the Smartboard, to add a visual element and model. I
will also provide a sound recording of George Ella Lyons poem (available on her
website).
I am also considering, for differentiation and time-saving purposes to give students a
choice between Hoods and Ode to Family Photographs as an accompanying text,
using I am From as the anchor text.