Creating Classroom Community by Crafting Themed Poetry Collections

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

3, 4, 5

Overview

Students begin by brainstorming types of poetry, then examining themed poetry collections to find examples. They create a working definition of poetry that they will revisit throughout the unit. Next students reexamine the collections, identifying what the poems have in common and generating a list of characteristics of thematic poetry collections. Students then begin work on their own poetry collection. In each session, they read, analyze, and write a different form of poetry, including diamante, cinquain, 5W, Bio, I Am, Name, Acrostic, Limerick, and Two-Voice poems. For some forms, they write about themselves and for others, they interview and write about a classmate, but all the poems follow the theme of "getting to know each other". Throughout the process, students complete a checklist to organize and track what they learn about poetry forms and elements of poetry. Graphic organizers are included for each poetic form.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.11

Read and reread grade-appropriate poetry, practicing phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression.

UP:ELA21.3.11

Vocabulary

  • Reread
  • Grade-appropriate poetry
  • Phrasing
  • Rhythm
  • Rhyme
  • Meaningful expression

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The features of poetry include phrasing, rhythm, and rhyme.
  • Words rhyme if their vowel and ending sounds are the same (example: ham, Sam).
  • Rhythm is a steady beat made by stressed syllables in spoken words.
  • A phrase is a group of words.
  • Strategies to show meaningful expression, including making appropriate changes in voice, pitch, and expression while reading poetry orally.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Read and reread grade-appropriate poetry.
  • Practice rhyming, stressing syllables that create rhythm, grouping together words in phrases, and meaningful expression when reading poetry.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Poetry is a genre of text that uses distinctive style and rhythm to aid in the expression of feelings.
  • They can reread poetry to practice their use of phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.18

Demonstrate content knowledge built during independent reading of informational and literary texts by participating in content-specific discussions with peers and/or through writing.

UP:ELA21.3.18

Vocabulary

  • Demonstrate
  • Content knowledge
  • Independent reading
  • Informational text
  • Literary text
  • Content-specific discussions

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Content knowledge is information learned about a specific subject.
  • Content knowledge can be learned by independently reading text.
  • Informational text is nonfiction text, and literary text is fictional.
  • Active listening skills.
  • Writing skills.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Build content knowledge from independently reading informational or literary text.
  • Use content knowledge learned from independent reading in content-specific discussions with peers.
  • Use content knowledge learned from independent reading in writing.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Content-specific discussions with peers can demonstrate the content knowledge they learned through independent reading.
  • They can produce writings that demonstrate knowledge of content-specific information.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.42

Write poetry or prose in response to visual images to interpret their meanings.

UP:ELA21.3.42

Vocabulary

  • Poetry
  • Prose
  • Visual images
  • Interpret

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Poetry is a genre of text that uses distinctive style and rhythm to aid in the expression of feelings, while prose is written in ordinary language.
  • Writing can be created in response to visual images.
  • Visual images carry meaning to viewers.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Write poetry or prose after viewing visual images to explain their meaning.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Visual images can inspire them to write poetry or prose to describe their feelings and explain the image's meaning.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.25

Explain how the form of a poem contributes to its meaning.

UP:ELA21.4.25

Vocabulary

  • Poem
  • Form

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Poetry can be written in different formats.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify the form of a poem.
  • Describe how a poem's form helps convey its meaning.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Poems have varying forms that can be used to convey different meanings.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.32

Respond in writing to literature and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts, both independently and with support, demonstrating grade-level proficiency.

UP:ELA21.4.32

Vocabulary

  • Respond
  • Writing
  • Literature
  • Informational texts
  • Stories
  • Dramas
  • Poetry
  • Cross-curricular texts
  • Independently
  • With support
  • Grade-level proficiency

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Responding to text in a written format demonstrates comprehension of the text.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Independently and with support, create grade-appropriate written responses after reading literature and informational text.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • To respond in writing to literature and informational texts, they must read critically, have a deep understanding of the text's content, and use appropriate writing skills.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.5

Demonstrate fluency when independently reading, writing, and speaking in response to grade-level literary and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts.

UP:ELA21.5.5

Vocabulary

  • Fluency
  • Independently
  • Literary text
  • Informational text
  • Stories
  • Dramas
  • Poetry
  • Cross-curricular texts

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Fluency is the ability to read, write, or speak at a pace that does not negatively impact meaning or understanding.
  • Responding to text through writing and speaking demonstrates comprehension.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Independently read grade-level literary and informational text fluently.
  • Demonstrate fluency when writing.
  • Demonstrate fluent speech.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • The ability to read fluently supports comprehension, or understanding, of the text.
  • The ability to write and speak fluently helps clearly communicate with others.
  • One way to demonstrate comprehension of literary and informational text is to respond in writing or through speaking.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.32

Respond in writing to literature and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts, independently and with grade-level proficiency.

UP:ELA21.5.32

Vocabulary

  • Literature
  • Informational text
  • Stories
  • Dramas
  • Poetry
  • Cross-curricular texts
  • Independently
  • Proficiency

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Responding to text in a written format demonstrates comprehension of the text.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Independently create grade-appropriate written responses after reading literature and informational text.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • To respond in writing to literature and informational texts, they must read critically, have a deep understanding of the text's content, and use appropriate writing skills.

CR Resource Type

Lesson/Unit Plan

Resource Provider

ReadWriteThink

License Type

Custom
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