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We the People 2007: Songs of Yourselves: Designing Your Own Poetic Vision
Description:
This is a lesson for eleventh grade students and is designed to be taught collaboratively between the school library media specialist, the eleventh grade English teacher, and the art teacher. The lesson will be built around content that corresponds with the eleventh grade English unit on American poetry. The lesson will begin at the library with the playing of an audio recording of Walt Whitman reading lines from his work, "America." Students will then be given an information problem in which they will be told that a local museum will soon be hosting an exhibit on Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass." The museum is interested in obtaining high school students' derivative works that evoke the emotions of Whitman's poetry. Five exceptional student works will be selected by museum representatives and displayed in the museum for the length of the exhibit. All of the student work will be prominently displayed in the school library and the SLMS will hold a special evening event to honor the student work, inviting students, parents, teachers, administrators and board members to the event.
Goals & Objectives:

Instructional Goals:

  • Students will be able to successfully locate Internet resources to complete their research project.
  • Students will learn biographical information about the poet Walt Whitman.

 

  • Students will be able to create an original work based upon a selected poem by Walt Whitman.

 

Learning Objectives: 

 

  • Using the Internet, students will locate at least four credible sources that discuss biographical information about Walt Whitman and be able to complete an activity sheet regarding events that shaped his poetry. 

 

  • Using the book, Leaves of Grass, students will each select one poem that he or she thinks addresses happiness or the pursuit of happiness.

 

  • Working in groups of two or three, students will discuss the emotions revealed in their selected poem and write at least three words or phrases that portray those emotions.

 

  • Using the three words or phrases that each student wrote about their selected poem, each student will create an original work in a medium of their choosing that depicts those emotions. 

 

  • Students will be able to present their original work to their classmates by identifying the emotions the work depicts and why.

 

 

Materials & Sources:
  • Audio recording of Walt Whitman reading lines from poem "America"
  • Book Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
  • whiteboard
  • computer
  • ELMO Projector
  • Internet connectivity
  • Activity Sheet (See attached Supporting Files)
  • Materials provided for student presentation, as needed
Procedures:
     

  Day One:  The SLMS plays a short audio recording of Walt Whitman reading a few lines from his poem, “America” without telling the students the identity of the poet.  After the audio recording, the SLMS will generate discussion about who may have written the poem, and subsequently basic information about Walt Whitman. 

A whiteboard may be used to brainstorm ideas about the poet.  Next, the SLMS will present the information problem to the students.  The SLMS will explain that a local museum will soon be hosting an exhibit on Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.  The museum is interested in obtaining high school students’ derivative works that evoke the emotions of Whitman’s poetry. 

Five exceptional student works will be selected by museum representatives and displayed in the museum for the length of the exhibit.  The SLMS will distribute brochures that the museum is releasing to support the exhibit. The SLMS will then explain that they first must locate at least four credible Internet resources containing biographical information about the poet and complete an activity sheet on the same. 

Next, the SLMS will conduct a short lesson on evaluating web resources so that they can decipher credible web sites.  During this short lesson plan, the students will view the interface of a search engine on a projection screen.  The SLMS will then brainstorm ideas on how to search for another poet, such as Emily Dickinson, and how to determine what sites are credible and those that are not. 

At the conclusion of the short lesson, the the students will have received a refresher on evaluating web sites.  The SLMS will then review the learning objectives with the students.

 

 

     Day Two:  SLMS will provide a short review of the learning objectives and provide the students with their activity sheets.  The SMLS will explain the components of the activity sheet and how this will help them gather information about the poet and to help them understand how certain life events may have shaped his poetry.  The students will then begin researching biographical information about Walt Whitman using the Internet.

The rest of the class period will be devoted to student research.  The SLMS and English teacher will continually circulate to provide feedback as the students embark on their projects. 

 

     Day Three:  The SLMS provides a recap of the entire assignment.  Students may be given more time to complete their activity sheet as needed.  The SLMS and English teacher then direct the students to select one poem each from Leaves of Grass (they have the book from their English class) that they believe addresses happiness or the pursuit of happiness, and to enter the title of this poem on their activity sheet.  They will then break into groups of two or three to discuss the emotions revealed in the selected poems, and why they think those emotions are present in the poem.  The SLMS and English teacher will circulate to provide feedback as the students engage in group discussions.  The SLMS and English teacher will then ask the students to think about and discuss experiences that created the same emotions for them.  Once they have been able to identify and discuss such emotions, they can begin thinking about creating an original work that depicts the emotions identified.  The SLMS and Art teacher will then explain that the original work can be created using any medium and may consist of poetry, short stories, art work, songs, vodcasts, podcasts, plays, etc.  Materials for the project will be provided by the English teacher, art teacher, or the SLMS, depending on the medium.  The Art teacher will lead a brief discussion as to how emotions can be conveyed through different mediums.

 

 

     Day Four:  The SLMS will provide another overview of the whole project.  Students will start or resume work on their original work.  The English teacher, Art teacher, and SLMS will provide feedback on this process.

 

Day Five:  This project will be spread out over five class periods.  At the end, all students will need to have the activity sheet completed, and students will present their original work to the class.  The students will be surprised by the presence of a museum representative who will be there to witness the presentations and select the five best works.  The museum will also create a plaque depicting the name and school of all students whose work is selected to display during the exhibit.  The other student works will be displayed prominently in the school library.  As a surprise reward, all students will receive a free ticket to view the exhibit at the museum.  A challenge activity would be for the students to create school wide advertisements about the event, inviting parents, teachers, administrators and board members to view the student work on display in the library during a designated weeknight/weekend evening.

 

 

 
Assessment:
- The SLMS and English teacher will work collaboratively to provide students with the assistance and observation of two teachers while they work on their activity sheets, and perform group work, and create the individual portion of the assignment.
- The SLMS, English teacher, and Art teacher will work collaboratively to provide students with the assistance and observation of three teachers while they create their original work.
- During the creation of their original work, students will be referring to the poem they selected and the three words or phrases they used to describe the emotions revealed in that poem, thereby demonstrating that they used the original source and the descriptive words/phrases to create the work.
- By completing the activity sheet, students will demonstrate that they have learned biographical information about the poet and the impact of life events on his work.
- By completing the activity sheet, students will demonstrate that they have written three words or phrases about the emotions revealed in their selected poem.
- By completing the activity sheet, students will demonstrate that they have obtained four credible Internet sources containing biographical information about the poet.
- The ability of the students to work in groups will be assessed by the teachers.
-The end result of the project will be an oral presentation about the emotions depicted in their selected poem and why. This will demonstrate the students' comprehension of the task, their ability to interpret a poetic work, and make a derivative work.
Collaborators:
English teacher Art teacher
Sources:
Print this Lesson Plan
Presented By: Leslie Savage
Collaborative: English teacher Art teacher
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