Visualizing Meaning in Poetry
Excerpt from Meeting Standards with
Inspiration.
Overview
Learning how to read and think about poetry is often considered a
difficult and even painful task. This lesson provides a way into poetic
thinking that will reduce the stress and perhaps even provide a path to
enjoyment.
Standard
Students apply a range of strategies to comprehend, interpret,
evaluate and appreciate texts.
Skills
1. Literary analysis/interpretation
2. Critical thinking
3. Inference
Materials needed
1. Inspiration®
2. Poetry collection
3. LCD or other projection equipment
Preparation
1. Choose a poem appropriate for your class's ability and interest,
then using the example diagram, create a template or simply download it
from www.inspiration.com/mstemplates.
2. Go through the poem line by line with the class and record their
reactions, questions and interpretations of each line as subtopics.
3. Continue to display the diagram as students write a brief
interpretation of the poem based on the activity.
4. Have the students choose a poem of their own to analyze.
On the computer
1. Have students type the poem they've chosen into the diagram, one
line per box.
2. Students enter their reactions, questions and interpretations as
subtopics of each line of the poem.
Follow-up activities
1. Students present their diagram to the class.
2. Categorize subtopics as a preliminary to writing an interpretive
essay.
3. Have students compare their diagrams with other students'
versions. |
