SCSD Grade 4 Reading
Unit 3: Poetry
~17 instructional days/4 weeks
Power Standard: RL.4.5
Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the
structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts
of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or
speaking about a text.
Supporting Standards: RL.4.1, RL.4.2, RL.4.4, L.4.5, W.4.2
Unit Focus:
In this unit, students immerse themselves in the world of poetry, a genre that carries
enormous power in small packages. Students learn to pay close attention to poetic
techniques; poetry necessitates that readers think about how the author’s language and
structural decisions impact the meaning of the poem.
Unit Outcomes:
I can explain the characteristics of poetry.
I can explain how poetry is different from prose.
I can describe the structural elements of poems, such as verse, rhythm and meter.
I can describe the effect of literary devices, such as alliteration, personification,
similes, and metaphors.
I can determine the theme of a poem.
Text Set:
Final Task:
The following poems are recommended for this unit:
“What is Black” - Mary O’Neill
“Flint” - Christina Rosetti
“The Drum” - Nikki Giovanni
“On Turning Ten” - Billy Collins
“The Birches” - Robert Frost
“Humanity” - Elma Stuckey
“Casey at the Bat” Summary of “Casey at the Bat”
After reading the poem, “Casey at the Bat,” and a prose summary of the poem,
explain the author’s specific structural and language choices in the poem and the
effect those choices have on the reader.
Unit Overview
UNIT LAUNCH
Text
“What is Black?”
“Flint”
“The Drum”
Previously
introduced
poems
Lesso
n
1
2
3
Lesson Type for
Whole Group
Instruction
Inquiry
Read Aloud/Unit
Vocabulary
Reading Minilesson
Reading Minilesson
DIRECT SKILLS
INSTRUCTION
4
“Birches”
CLOSE
READING
DIRECT
SKILLS
INSTRUCTION
CLOSE
READING
“On Turning
Ten”
“Humanity” or
previous poems
5
6
7
8
9
10
“Casey at the
Bat”
11
12
13
14
WRITTEN
RESPONSE TO
TEXT
UNIT CLOSING
“Casey at the
Bat” and the
prose summary
15
16
17
Reading Minilesson
Close Reading: Phase 1
Close Reading: Phase 2
Close Reading: Phase 3
Reading Minilesson
Reading Minilesson
Close Reading: Phase 1
Close Reading: Phase 2
Close Reading: Phase 3
Writing Minilesson
Writing Minilesson
Celebration
Objective
SWBAT examine different types of text to explain how poetry is similar to and different from
prose and drama.
SWBAT recognize structural elements by looking for rhythm, meter, verse in a variety of
poems. (Define terms for students, then read aloud the recommended poems and have
students identify examples of the terms)
SWBAT identify elements of figurative language by looking for alliteration, repetition, and
personification, then asking: “What effect does this have on the reader? Why did the author
use it?”
SWBAT identify similes and metaphors and analyze their effect by:
-Looking for comparisons
-Asking: does this comparison use “like or as?” which means it’s a simile? Or does it just
compare two things without “like” or “as,” which makes it a metaphor?
-Reflecting: “How does this comparison help me visualize or understand this part?”
SWBAT monitor understanding of a poem by reading a chunk or a stanza, pausing, and
jotting/sketching what’s happening in that part
SWBAT explain what happens in “On Turning Ten” using details and examples from the text
SWBAT understand the author’s use of structural elements and figurative language in “On
Turning Ten”
SWBAT determine the theme of “On Turning Ten”
SWBAT discuss an author’s purpose in writing a poem by asking, “What does this poem make
me feel? What did the author do to make that feeling?”
SWBAT determine a deeper meaning of a poem by asking: What is the author trying to teach
us about the subject of the poem, or about life overall?
SWBAT locate and define unknown terms in “Casey at the Bat”
SWBAT explain what happens in “Casey at the Bat”
SWBAT explain how the author uses structural elements and to what effect in “Casey at the
Bat”
SWBAT determine the theme of “Casey at the Bat”
SWBAT draft a response to the final task by reading a prose version of “Casey at the Bat” and
comparing and contrasting the effects on the reader. (“When the poet does ___, it makes the
reader…”
SWBAT use teacher and peer feedback to revise the response to “Casey at Bat”
SWBAT celebrate classmates’ hard work by reading aloud class favorites!