Ms. Eichenberger’s English Class
March 2017
Volume 1, Issue 1
Practical Poetry
POETRY UNIT: FEBRUARY 24TH-MARCH 9TH
Our Poetry Unit will span a total of 10 class days, two of which will be used for class registration and for our annual spring pep rally. Our schedule for this short unit will be posted
on OneNote, Vue and will be given to students in class so they may record it in their planners. In addition to the calendar, students’ homework will be posted in each of these three
locations as well as additional practice in OneNote. Please reach out to me with any questions at [email protected] as always. Students will take their poetry
test on March 9th and will spend March 8th reviewing in class for the test.
CLASS REGISTRATION– MARCH 2ND
On March 2nd, students will have the opportunity to register for their electives for next
year. Our school counselors will teach students how to register for classes both on paper
and on the computer. Your student(s) will bring home a paper copy of their plans for
elective classes next year and the counselors have encouraged them to discuss their class
decisions with you. As your student(s) go into 8th grade and beyond, their elective choices will have more of an impact on their ability to graduate so I encourage you to begin
talking to your student(s) about their foreign language requirements for either the advanced or standard diploma in high school as colleges have different language requirements for students. If you or your student wish to change their registration, you may do
so on our school website under “Counseling.” The deadline for such changes is March
31st.
THE HIGHWAYMAN– FEBRUARY 27-28
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
We will be starting our poetry unit with Alfred Noyes’ ballad “The Highwayman” to ease
students into analyzing poetry and providing ample opportunity for students to reacquaint themselves with poetic devices. Students will be using their vocabulary sheets
assigned on Friday, February 24th to help analyze the poetic devices found in “The Highwayman.” Students will be introduced to a graphic organizer called a TPCASTT organizer
to help them break down poems to support poetic analysis. Students will start by making
a prediction about the title, followed by paraphrasing the poem itself line by line and
stanza by stanza. After paraphrasing, students will identify various poetic devices such as
metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, consonance, assonance and repetition. Students will
then identify the speaker and the speaker’s attitude/tone. In addition, students will look
for shifts within the poem– places where the tone or focus of the poem changes. After
reading through the entire poem, students will reevaluate the title and identify a theme
for which they can provide evidence from the poem.
Poetry Unit Overview ................. 1
After analyzing the poem as a class and in small groups, students will listen to an audio
recording of the poem to help enhance understanding. Students will then watch a short
animated video of the poem and after a discussion on the content of the poem will write a
quatrain from the point of view of one of the characters. This activity will indicate both
the students’ understanding of the plot of the poem and their understanding of the quatrain format.
 Class Registration-March 2nd
Class Registration ...................... 1
“The Highwayman” .................... 1
Helpful Study Materials ............. 2
Upcoming Dates......................... 2
Sonnet Lesson ............................ 2
UNIT SCHEDULE
 “The Highwayman”- February
27th-28th
 Class on Sonnets– March 1st
 Pep Rally-March 3rd
 “Annabel Lee”- March 6th
 Comparing Poetry– March 7th
 Review Day– March 8th
 Poetry Test-March 9th
MATERIALS ON ONENOTE TO HELP STUDENTS STUDY FOR THE
POETRY TEST
Example of the TPCASTT format students will use to learn to analyze poetry

Vocabulary List

Extra TPCASTT Practice

Sonnet 130 Under
“Sassy Sonnets” section

Sonnet Prezi

Poetry Practice Packet

Comparison and Contrast: “Let America be
America Again” vs “I
Hear America Singing”

Comparing Poems
Prezi

Poetry Review Guide
(Handed out in class)
SONNET LESSON– MARCH 1ST
Although it is unlikely that students will be extensively questioned on sonnets on the 7th
grade SOL, sonnets are a poetic form that is studied carefully in 8th grade. Therefore, a
day on sonnets in 7th grade will provide students with important background information
for next year and give them a head start on next year’s curriculum.
In class, we will go over the basic structure of both Italian and English sonnets with a
particular focus on the English sonnet form. Students will then learn about iambic pentameter through a “living iambs” activity and will practice identifying lines that are in
iambic pentameter in preparation for the poetry test on March 9th. If students are still
having difficulty with iambic pentameter in particular or any other element in our poetry
unit, they are encouraged as always to come to see me during lunch for extra assistance
and practice.
Students will engage in guided practice analyzing a provided sonnet, and will then have
the opportunity for practice in small groups and alone. Students will then listen to two
audio versions of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 before analyzing the sonnet on their own.
Students will have access to both practice sonnets on OneNote in addition to access to the
Prezi that I used to introduce sonnets in class, so they can study effectively at home.
There will be a section on sonnets in both the Poetry Review Guide which students will
complete in class on March 8th and on the Poetry Test on March 9th. When students
complete the review guide on March 8th, they will compare their answers to those of the
guide key so they can ensure that they are studying accurate information and can be successful on the Poetry Test. As always, students and parents alike are welcome to stop by
the classroom to ask questions or reach me via email at
[email protected].
UPCOMING DATES

Persuasive Ad Unit:
March 9th-17th

And Then There
Were None Persuasive Writing Unit:
March 20th– April
25th

Spring Break: March
31st– April 9th

SOL Skills Review:
April 26th– May 10th
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