Daily Learning Plan

Poetry Unit
5th Grade

Day 1
1. Academic Prompt for student’s journal using the essential questions:
What is poetry? Is poetry useful in our modern society? What qualities make good
poetry and or bad poetry? W, H
2. Students will be given a Pre Test on essential prerequisite skills and knowledge of the
unit. E-2, W
3. Introduce Unit with Vodcast on “What is Poetry”. W, H
4. Students will work in pairs determined by their type of Multiple Intelligence earlier in
the year and choose a poem or poems from the following poetry books and
anthologies for a mini presentation to the class. Students will read through many
poems and choose one or more poems that they must analyze and share with the class.
The presentation must include a copy of their poem or poems and why they chose the
poem (s). Pairs may choose how they present their poem to the class. They may act
out what the poem means to them (bodily kinesthetic), design a concept map
(logical), create a song (musical), draw a picture (spatial), or create another poem
about the poem (linguistic) E, T, Foundational Entry Point, Differentiation
Strategy – Content and Product, Interpretation Facet

Books that pairs will read to choose a poem(s) from:

• A Poet to His Beloved: The Early Love Poems of W. B. Yeats with an introduction by
Richard Eberhart
• The Random House Book of Poetry for Children selected by Jack Preslutsky
• Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes by David Roessel and Arnold Rampersad
• The Best Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis by Caroline Kennedy
• Side by Side: Poems to Read Together collected by Lee Bennett Hopkins
• More Pocket Poems selected by Bobbie Katz
• The Golden Treasury of Poetry by Louis Untermeyer
• Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series, Complete by Emily Dickinson
• The Everyman Anthology of Poetry for Children (Everyman's Library Children's
Classics) by Gillian Avery
• Hey, You! Poems to Skyscrapers, Mosquitoes, and Other Fun Things by Paul b.
Janeczko
• The Ice Cream Store by Dennis Lee
• Something Rich and Strange: a Treasury of Shakespeare’s Verse by Gina Pllinger
• A Visit to William Blake’s Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by
Nancy Willard
• Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices by Paul Janeczko
• Where the Sidewalk Ends 30th Anniversary Edition: Poems and Drawings by Shel
Silverstein

Day 2
1. View the Vodcast on “Essential Questions and Elements of Poetry”. W, H
2. Students will get into small groups and create poster sized concept Maps to represent
one of the key vocabulary terms for the unit which include poetry, rhythm, rhyme,
repetition, figurative language, similes, metaphors, imagery, personification,
alliteration, hyperbole, limerick, concrete poems, haiku, cinquain, acrostic. They
must define the term, give an example and any other pertinent information that relates
to our poetry unit that will help with understanding. Students will present their
concept maps to the class and they will be used as references and wall art for the
three-week study of poetry. E,T
3. Informal Check for understanding on key vocabulary terms using the concept maps
that defines each term and ties the key vocabulary together as it relates to our
upcoming assignments. W, E -2

Day 3
1. View the Vodcast on “Poetry Presentation Guidelines & Types of Poetry”. W, H
2. Introduce all essential questions for the unit and rubrics for the final performance
task, which includes a digital story. All parents and the administration will be invited
to attend the culminating celebration. W, O
3. Have students visit some different poetry websites for inspiration and knowledge
about poetry. Students must list 5 important things in their journals on what was
important and worthwhile that they discovered from investigating poetry on the
Internet. Small group discussions will be held at the end of class time to promote
knowledge growth and discussion. H, E, O

http://www.slapcast.com/mp3/Jamestown/Jamestown-2009-02-04.mp3
http://www.slapcast.com/mp3/Jamestown/Jamestown-2009-06-10.m4v
http://www.poetry4kids.com/rhymes
http://www.gigglepoetry.com/
http://teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/specialist/marymassie/poetry.htm

Day 4
1. Students will rethink and revisit their responses to the earlier answered essential
questions by revisiting them in their journals. What is poetry? Is poetry useful in our
modern society? What qualities make good poetry and or bad poetry? R
2. Students will complete a feelings activity to get a better understanding of poetry and
how feelings can create authenticity to poetry. E
1. Ask your students to name as many feelings as they can. To get them started,
write "sad," "mad," "happy," and a few others on the board. As your students
think of more feelings, add them to the list.
2. Ask the students to choose one feeling from the list.
3. Have the students write down their answers to one of the following questions:
-When do I feel [insert feeling]?
-Why do I feel [insert feeling]?
-How does it feel to be [insert feeling]?
4. Students will create a simple poem based on this activity in the
student’s poetry journal.
This activity is from Poetry Teachers website.
http://www.poetryteachers.com/poetclass/lessons/feelings.html
3. Short answer quiz on key terms - poetry, rhythm, rhyme, repetition, figurative
language, similes, metaphors, imagery, personification, alliteration, hyperbole, limerick,
concrete poems, haiku, cinquain, acrostic E-2

Day 5 - 10 Creating Poetry and Visuals

Day 5 through Day 10 students will follow the same format. W, O
1. The teacher will model creating the specific poetry type for the given day. E
2. Each day students will spend 10 to 15 minutes gaining inspiration from available
sources, which include computer links, books, and dialogue with others about the
specific poetry formats for each given day. E
3. They will then use the remaining class time to create and compose the given poetry
type for the day and create visuals to coincide with their poetry presentations.
Students will be reminded of guidelines each day: T, O
• You must choose a topic related to three content areas, which include Social
Studies, Science, and Math. You will also have two free choice topics for
your presentation and one poem must be about yourself.
• You will also have choices for developing your illustrations in your digital
story that include original artwork, photographs (must follow copyright
guidelines) or Tux Paint. Over the next few days we will complete 5 different
types of poems and you’ll have the opportunity to work collaboratively on a
poem with your friends.
4. At any point students may revisit the video podcasts for poetry if needed. E, R
5. Teacher Observation of students working in groups and alone on selected poetry
types. R, E
6. Teacher Dialogue: The teacher will dialogue with the students individually about
their progress throughout the poetry-composing week. R, E

Resources available in classroom and on the Internet:

Ideas for Science poetry
http://www.k12.hi.us/~shasincl/poems_prop_cycle_weather.html
Book: Central Heating: Poems about Fire and Warmth by Marilyn Singer
Book: Star Walk by Seymour Simon

Ideas for Social Studies Poetry

The following links are related to the Civil War

http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/poetry.htm
http://www.blackcatpoems.com/w/walt_whitman.html
Book: The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Book: A Visit to William Blake’s Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by
Nancy Willard

Ideas for Math poetry

http://mathstory.com/Poems/Mathpoemspage.html
http://www.tooter4kids.com/classroom/math_poems.htm
http://www.shsu.edu/~mth_jaj/math142/poems.s05.html

Day 5 Cinquain Poem and Art work

http://teams.lacoe.edu/DOCUMENTATION/CLASSROOMS/AMY/ALGEBRA/5-
6/ACTIVITIES/POETRY/CINQUAIN.HTML
http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/davidc/6c_files/Poem%20pics/cinquaindescrip.htm

Day 6 Haiku and Art work

http://www.gigglepoetry.com/POETRYCLASS/HAIKU.HTML

Day 7 Concrete Poem and Art work

http://www.schools.pinellas.k12.fl.us/educators/tec/pravda3/concrete.html
http://www.wild-about-woods.org.uk/elearning/concretepoetry/

Day 8 Acrostic and Art work

http://home.earthlink.net/~jesmith/Acrostic1.html

Day 9 Limerick and Art work

http://www.poetry-online.org/limericks.htm

Day 10 Collaborative Poem and Art Work

1. Along with the collaborative poem students will complete Academic Prompts for
students using essential questions: Are 5th graders able to compose worthwhile poetry?
Should curriculum topics be integrated with poetry writing? What produces better
poetry: working alone or collaboration with others? R, E

Day 11 and 12
Students will work on creating storyboards for digital stories.

1. A review of the rubrics for the performance tasks will be reviewed to ensure students
are aware of what information needs to be obtained for the digital story advertisement
and the Power Point or Prezi presentations that will encompass our “Communication
and Collaboration” day. R
2. Teacher Model on how to create an efficient storyboard for effective management in
completing performance tasks on the computers. Individually, students will
storyboard plans for their digital story presentations. The teacher will coach and give
recommendations as the students work independently. E
3. Teacher Model using the LCD projector to model and review basics of creating a
digital story. E
4. Students will create their storyboards for their digital stories. Students will also begin
to organize and scan visuals so that digital story creation will flow smoothly. All
storyboards and visuals must be completed and scanned if needed as well as
organized in the student’s individual file folders on the computer before they can
begin to work on their actual digital stories. O
5. At the end of day 12: Peer Evaluation of digital story storyboards: Students will pair
up with partners to determine if their work meets the criteria listed in the rubrics.
Peer feedback will be given to each other in dialogue form as well as written
feedback from peers to improve the quality of the performance tasks. R, E-2, T

Day 13 and 14
Students will work on creating digital stories.
1. Feedback and mini conferences are held with each student from the teacher
concerning performance task assignments. E, R
2. Students work independently on the computers completing presentations for
culminating activity. The teacher provides feedback as needed. E, T, Application
Facet
3. Journal Entry – Students will reflect (Self-Knowledge Facet) about this experience
and self assess (Self-Knowledge Facet) their efforts in this process.

Day 15
1. Final Peer assessment –Students give feedback during the working process on the
computers creating advertisements and presentations. They will view each other’s
advertisements and presentations in pairs to make any final recommendations and to
ensure all work coincides with the rubrics. Teacher also gives additional feedback for
fine tuning presentations. E-2
2. Letter- Students will create (Application Facet) a letter to the National Poetry
Society explaining (Explanation Facet) their experience with poetry writing. They
will analyze by comparing and contrasting (Perspective Facet) the pros and cons of
working with others to from ideas for poems or working alone. Students will
consider (Empathy Facet) what they have learned about themselves and include
something they learned about poetry. Letters must include knowledge of poetry
elements and types of poems in their advertisement. It should document a student
created definition of poetry and factors that contribute to good poetry. Why poetry is
relevant to young people should be discussed.

Day 16 Culminating Day National Poetry Society

For the conclusion of the unit students will present their digital story presentations at the
“National Poetry Society Annual Conference” day. Parents and our administrators will
be invited for the fun. E, T