Lesson Plan
Name: Emily Leimbach
Date: April 8, 2013
Subject: American Poetry in Choral Works
Grade: 9-12
Virginia SOL: CAD.1, 6, 12, 15
Start time:
Stop time:
Lesson Title: Intro to American Poetry: The Image of Poets
Objectives (What do you want students to know, do, or feel as a result of your instruction?)
1.
Students will identify important aspects of a poet’s life.
2.
Students will evaluate different sources on American poets.
3.
Students will apply their knowledge of a poet to the poem in our music.
4.
Critical vocabulary:
Materials/resources:
Robert Frost
Emily Dickinson
E. E. Cummings
T. S. Eliot
Sara Teasdale
Opinion sources
Picture book of Emily by Michael Bedard, Reading resources (given below), Poets chart, Music
for the semester (cited in calendar), Bio-poem
Intro (how do you capture their attention and get them interested?):
Pre-assessment slip

What do you know about American poets, specifically Emily Dickinson?

What are your poetry experiences? Likes, dislikes, school experience, reading outside of school?

Pair with a partner, then share with the class. We can make a basic brainstorming chart about student
knowledge on poets, specifically Emily Dickinson and talk about student opinions

If students do not have specific knowledge of Emily Dickinson, I will read aloud a paragraph on the basics of
her life.

BE SURE to collect the students’ slips on their experiences with poetry to have a better idea of students’
readiness levels
Initiating: Picture books (Stephens and Brown 249)
Teacher will read aloud Emily by Michael Bedard and Barbara Cooney (cited in Bibliography). Before reading, teacher
will tell students to keep in mind the basic ideas they know of Emily Dickinson and see how the picture book portrays
Emily Dickinson.

After: Did this picture book line up with any ideas from your previous knowledge of Emily Dickinson or my
brief paragraph? Did it change any ideas?

What kind of perspective was the picture book from? Do you think it is an accurate source? Evaluate and
explain.
Today: Beginning new unit!

Tell students (if they have not guessed already) that we are beginning a new unit: studying American poetry
in choral music.

Beginning WHAT: learning about different American poets’ lives from evaluating different sources

WHY: to get a better idea of the background of our poets and the different ways to learn about historical
figures

HOW: completing a Jigsaw activity with each group looking at two sources (one biography and one opinion
source) about a poet’s life, then sharing them with our larger groups so that they get information on your poet
Body (what comes after your interesting intro?)
Constructing: Jigsaw Activity (Cooperative Learning and Reading)
We will complete a Jigsaw Activity for the poets: Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, E.E. Cummings, T.S. Eliot, and Sara
Teasdale. Students will be split into partners, with each partner group getting assigned a poet. Each partner group
gets two sources, one that includes a basic biography and one including an opinion source (providing a different
perspective than just facts). Students will complete a chart (included) about their poet and two sources. Then
partners will jigsaw together with 4 other poet groups in order to teach others and complete their chart on the poets.
We will then join as an entire class briefly and discuss our findings.

Sources

Robert Frost: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/192 (biography) and
http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/poetry/frost/vand.htm (article interview)

Emily Dickinson: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/155 (biography) and
http://montanaacademy.tripod.com/id6.html (only “Emily Dickinson’s Influence on Romanticism)

E.E. Cummings: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/156 (biography) and
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=76095288 (discussion of his artwork)

T.S. Eliot: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/18 (biography) and
http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/04/20/reviews/eliot-lehmann.html (NYT review)
Sara Teasdale: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/658 (biography) and
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/1839811/intro-and-vl-letters-1-21-doc-april-5-2010-11-41-am-32-meg?da=y (letter to Sara Teasdale pp. 20-21)

Differentiation

Emily Dickinson is within our look at poets’ lives so students that do not have experience with poetry
can look at someone we have just discussed

Sara Teasdale materials are shorter, easier reading materials compared to other poet sources for
students who are struggling readers

Opinion sources included are not all articles so students can look at other formats of opinion sources
Utilizing: Poet-Poem Connection
Students now get into groups with those who have their same poet. They will get a poem by their poet (the poem is in
our choral music, but they will not know this yet). As a group, they need to read the poem then discuss how the
poet’s life might have led them to write that poem. Together, they must write a brief paragraph creating their own
opinion source about the poet and their poem. REMEMBER: this opinion source does not have to be absolutely correct;
rather it just must provide an opinion about the connection between the poet and poem connection.

Closure (purposeful summary-help them remember today or anticipate tomorrow):
Review and Preview

Review: different poets discussed; how to evaluate different sources; looking at poets in relation to their
poetry

Preview/introduce choral music for the unit: allow students to flip through the music and discuss their initial
feelings about the poetry, music, difficulty, etc.

Assign homework: bio-poem for their particular poet (supply the paper outline)
Homework: Bio-poem for homework.
Assessment: (How will you assess if they have mastered your objectives? Be specific.)
1. Identify article: chart and bio-poem
2. Evaluating sources: chart and jigsaw discussions
3. Applying to poem: written group opinion source about poem
Pre-assessment: (How will you know if your students already know what you are teaching?)
Pre-assessment slip already included to discover students’ experiences with poetry. This will allow me to better know
what students already know about poetry before starting our unit.
Are you differentiating lesson content, process, or product by readiness, interest, or learning profile? Explain below.
content
Students will learn about different American poets and then teach/present their information within our
Jigsaw.
process
product
Groups of sources (Emily Dickinson and Sara Teasdale) were created so that students who do
not know much about poetry or struggle with reading can still succeed in the Jigsaw activity.
readiness
interest
learning profile
For cooperative learning explain how you have insured:
positive interdependence- Within a Jigsaw activity, students must collect accurate information so that they can share
it with the rest of their group when they Jigsaw back together.
individual accountability- Students will turn in their own charts, as well as create a bio-poem for homework. The
chart provides some group help while the bio-poem is independent work because for homework.
group processing- Explicitly explaining the activity before we begin; the activity is also split up between Constructing
and Utilizing so that students have an opportunity to work step-by-step to ensure smooth sailing.
social skills- Teacher will observe students during their Jigsaw activities to be sure that things are running smoothly.
There is also always an opportunity to discuss as a group about positive and negative aspects of group work between
each activity.
face-to-face interaction- Working in groups
Reflections (So, how did it go? What will you change to make it better? Do it now or you’ll forget.)
Name:
Ms. Leimbach
American Poetry in Choral Music
Date:
Bio-Poem on an American Poet
Directions: Choose one of our American poets we discussed today in class (Sara Teasdale, Robert Frost, Emily
Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, and E.E. Cummings) and complete a bio-poem about that poet. A bio-poem (as outlined
below) provides information about a person in the form of a poem. You may follow the format provided or
you may change some of the lines around, but you MUST include at least 11 lines with the first and last name
lines (the bolded lines).
Line 1: First Name
Line 2: Four traits that describe the character
Line 3: Relative (brother, sister, daughter…) of
Line 4: Lover of ______________ (list 3 things or people)
Line 5: Who feels _____________ (3 items)
Line 6: Who needs _______________ (3 items)
Line 7: Who fears _______________ (3 items)
Line 8: Who gives ____________ (3 items)
Line 9: Who would like to see _______________ (3 items)
Line 10: Resident of _____________________
Line 11: Last Name