Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 58154
"City, City": A Comparison
In this close reading lesson, students will read 'City, City" by Marci Ridlon and analyze how the poet uses words to describe the city. Students will write
a comparison piece to explain what the poet says about the city in stanzas one and two.
Subject(s): English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 3
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Document Camera,
Computer for Presenter
Instructional Time: 1 Hour(s) 30 Minute(s)
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: poem, compare, contrast, literal, nonliteral, sensory words, personification, city, poetry, figurative
language, close reading
Instructional Design Framework(s): Direct Instruction, Writing to Learn
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
T Chart Sort Sensory Personification.docx
Line by Line Organizer_Stanza 1 of City City.docx
Line by Line Organizer_Stanza 2 of City City.docx
Writing Frame for City City.docx
Informative Writing Rubric for Compare and Contrast_Third Grade.docx
Compare and Contrast Organizer for City City.doc
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will be able to:
Read the poem, "City, City", by Marci Ridlon, closely for understanding.
Ask and answer questions about a poem, referring to the text for answers.
Identify nonliteral language (such as personification and sensory language) and determine its meaning in the text.
Write to describe the relationship between the two stanzas in the poem "City, City".
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students need to know the characteristics of poetry.
Students need to understand personification as a type of figurative language.
Students need to be able to identify sensory words.
Students need to know that comparing and contrasting involves finding similarities and differences.
Students need to be able to find evidence in the text to support their answer.
Students need to write using grade-appropriate organization, conventions and language.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
Essential Question: Why is the use of nonliteral language important in this poem?
page 1 of 3 Focus Questions:
How does the poet use words to describe a topic?
What figurative language does the poet use?
What sensory words does the poet use?
How does the poet use nonliteral language to describe city life in stanza 1?
How does the poet use nonliteral language to describe city life in stanza 2?
How does the poet really feel about city life?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
FIRST READING:
1. Create an Anchor Chart as you review the elements of poetry. Review the following terms: rhyme, rhythm, stanzas, literal and nonliteral language. Give examples
of each. Explain to students that words or phrases can have literal or nonliteral meanings. Tell them that a nonliteral meaning is when a phrase means something
other than the exact words in it. Explain that authors sometimes use nonliteral meanings in their writing as a way to make a comparison or an exaggerated statement
about something; for example, "it's raining cats and dogs", "break a leg", and "put a cork in it" are nonliteral phrases. A literal phrase means what it says, such as "it
is storming", "do well", and "be quiet". Figurative language is nonliteral. Personification is a type of figurative language that gives human characteristics to animals or
objects, such as "the clouds pushed each other around". Sensory language appeals to our senses, such as words like twinkling, bumpy, salty, banging, and slimy.
Reviewing the meaning of stanza (a division in a poem, a certain number of lines in a poem), rhythm (a patterned repetition, an arrangement of words with stressed
and unstressed syllables) and rhyme (a similar sound at the ends of lines in poetry).
2. Project the poem, "City, City"by Marci Ridlon and read it aloud, alerting the students to listen for words that describe the city. Ask the students to write down a word
or phrase they heard that describes the city on a sticky note. Students will post the notes.
3. Prompt students to recall what sensory words and personification are. Ask how might we sort or group the posted words and phrases. Display a t-chart labeled
"Sensory Words" and "Personification". Ask students to move the posted words to the correct column on the t-chart (for example, looms, sooty, golden-clad and
shines would be charted under SENSORY WORDS and pounds, takes, and crowded heart would be charted under PERSONIFICATION). Call on students to come up to
classify the words on the chart.
4. Introduce the essential and focus questions and discuss possible answers.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
SECOND READING:
1. The students will read the poem out loud as a choral reading. The students will discuss the meaning of the poem by responding to text-based questions using
evidence from the text in their responses. (As an alternate activity students can be partnered and answers can be written on white boards and shared)
What does the word looms mean in the poem?
How does the word create the feeling the author has for the city?
How does the author feel about the city at the end of the first stanza?
What do you visualize when you hear the words "golden-clad?"
How does the author feel about the city at the end of the second stanza?
What words does the author use to convey her feelings?
How does the poet use sensory words in each stanza?
Where in the poem does the poet use personification?
How can you infer what the poet's true feelings are about the city?
2. Students will be paired and given a two-column chart for stanza 1 and stanza 2 to complete an analysis of the poem with a shoulder partner. The two-column chart
will have each line from the poem on one side. Students will complete the second column with what they think each line means. For example, "City,city wrong and
bad" could mean that the author feels that the city is not a good place. Upon completion of the chart partnered students will write one summary statement for each
stanza. Responses will be shared between pairs of students and then teacher can call on different pairs to share ideas with the entire class.
THIRD READING:
1. Have students read the poem "City, City".
2. Provide students with a copy of a compare/contrast graphic organizer. Instruct them to complete the organizer by adding words that DESCRIBE the city in stanza
one and the city in stanza two. Remind students that they can use the t-chart and two-column notes to help them complete the graphic organizer.
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
1. Review the attached rubric before beginning to ensure that students understand the expectations for the writing.
2. Students will write a compare/contrast piece responding to the prompt: Write an essay to compare and contrast stanzas 1 and 2 in the poem, "City,
City". Remember to include examples from the text to support the similarities and the differences between the two stanzas.
3. Students can use any of the graphic organizers created in the lesson when writing the response to the above prompt.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
1. Ask students to create a poster labeled CITY with a line down the middle. Instruct them to illustrate and label each side, with one half of the paper showing the city of
stanza 1 and the other showing the city of stanza 2.
2. Allow students to share their illustrations.
3. Review the essential and focus questions.
Summative Assessment
Students will write a compare/contrast piece responding to the prompt: Write an essay to compare and contrast stanzas 1 and 2 in the poem, "City, City".
Remember to include examples from the text to support the similarities and the differences between the two stanzas.
Use the Informative Writing Rubric to evaluate student writing.
Formative Assessment
Students will participate in text-based discussions and complete various graphic organizers to demonstrate understanding of the text throughout the lesson. The teacher
page 2 of 3 will be able to ascertain student understanding based on the students' oral and written responses.
Feedback to Students
The teacher will model a comment in reference to the poem: "In stanza 1, the poet says....."
The teacher will prompt participation in the discussion and provide feedback by asking guiding questions as students are completing the graphic organizers.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
Anchor Charts will be posted throughout lesson and students may be encouraged to refer to them.
Choral reading allows all students to read aloud.
Students can complete the graphic organizers with a partner.
A writing frame would assist students who have difficulty writing.
Extensions: Students will write a poem describing the good things about THEIR TOWN in one stanza and the bad things about their town in the other stanza using
sensory words and personification.
Suggested Technology: Document Camera, Computer for Presenter
Special Materials Needed:
Copy of The Random House Book of Poetry for Children poem "City, City" by Marci Ridlon
Chart paper
Sticky notes
Copies of graphic organizers (attached)
Writing rubric
Additional Information/Instructions
By Author/Submitter
No lexile is available since the targeted text is a poem.
As a close reading activity, this lesson focuses on the application of targeted skills, not as an introduction.
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Linda Campbell
Name of Author/Source: Linda Campbell
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Levy
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
LAFS.3.RL.1.1:
LAFS.3.RL.2.4:
LAFS.3.RL.2.5:
LAFS.3.RL.4.10:
LAFS.3.W.1.2:
Description
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the
answers.
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.
Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter,
scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the
grades 2–3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
a. Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.
c. Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of
information.
d. Provide a concluding statement or section.
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