"Any age child, why not begin with a picture book? Why not incorporate art work,
why not move all the tables in the classroom and act out loud?”
~Alice Lucey (Head of Middle School Division)
why not move all the tables in the classroom and act out loud?”
~Alice Lucey (Head of Middle School Division)
Performing a PoemOverview: This activity is about acting out or embodying a poem. This would be most effective in a section specifically on poetry and/or sonnets.
Literacy: Reading, Writing Why?: To give the students the opportunity to embody a poem to better understand what goes behind the poem. Ages: Sixth-Eighth Grade |
How |
In preparation for this activity the teacher will want to put up poems and/or sonnets along the walls and tables in the classroom. The idea behind this is to create a gallery space for the students to explore the different poets and poems within the room. The number of poems should be exactly half of the class you have because the students will be paired up on the poems later. If there is an odd number then have one group with three students.
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Common Core Standards |
Sixth Grade
RL.6.5 Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot. W.6.7
Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and refocusing the inquiry when appropriate |
Seventh Grade
RL.7.5 Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning. W.7.7
Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation. |
Eighth Grade
RL.8.5 Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style. W.8.7
Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. |
Modifications |
For a more HIGH RISK class these poem embodiments can be shown to the class as a presentation. Speaking and Listening standards could apply here as well as the original standards.
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The presentation also makes this activity longer. The teacher may have to think about making this a longer term project.
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Resources |
Activity PDF |
Below is a downloadable PDF of the activity you have just read.
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