Poetry Unit, ELA

Sophomore Level

Duration: 9 days

Standards:

 RL 9-10.2  RL 9-10.9  W 9-10.7

 RL 9-10.4  RL 9-10.12  W 9-10.8
 RL 9-10.6  RL 9-10.13  W 9-10.11c
 RL 9-10.7  W 9-10.6  W 9-10.12


Unit Rationale:
Students need to be exposed to a variety of poetic forms. Vocabulary will be enhanced through
the unit and helps us meet many state standards.

Goals:
For students to understand different types of poetry and connect with something on a personal
level, not just head knowledge, but a deeper understanding.

Objective:
Students will study 15 types of poetry, with examples of each, and analyze. They will also
write some of their own poetry. The final assessment will be a research digital poster project as
outlined in lesson 7.

Differentiated Instruction Anticipated:

Skeletal notes, read aloud (audio/video options), reduction of writing on the poster project for
those with IEPs or 504s.

Materials:
 School-issued iPads (chargers)
 Canva app on iPads to make digital posters

Lesson 1
 Poetry Terms Notes (Google Slides)
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MLIy1kMOSQpsA3sW9STnII1mgMe-
BQhhzjS7wPYSjXo/edit?usp=sharing
 Tell students about the digital poster project for the assessment at the end of the
unit

Lesson 2
 Rhymed Poetry
o “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe
 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48860/the-raven
  Audio: https://youtu.be/BefliMlEzZ8 (12 minutes)
 Free Verse
o “I, Too” by Langston Hughes
 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47558/i-too
 Audio: https://youtu.be/i5qC-Ncn6rg (1 minute)
 Lesson: https://youtu.be/t6bVyliNE-Y (3 minutes)
 Blank Verse
o “Ulysses” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45392/ulysses
 Audio: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/play/77056 (5 minutes)
 Assignment: Vocabulary
 Select 5 words or names of people and places from the poem that
you do not know (or 5 that most would not know)
o Find the definitions, copy and paste onto the attached
assignment
o Write your OWN sentence for each word now that you
know what it means

Lesson 3
 Epic
o “The Waste Land “by T.S. Eliot (not the whole thing…)
 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47311/the-waste-land
 Audio: https://youtu.be/CqvhMeZ2PlY (26 minutes)
 Narrative Poetry
o "Annabel Lee" Edgar Allan Poe
o https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44885/annabel-lee
o Audio: https://youtu.be/0voJDAxPeLI (2 minutes)
 Haiku
o Haiku poems:
 https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/other/haiku/
o Write a haiku due at the end of class (give 15 minutes of class time)
 If time allows, students may share their haikus

Lesson 4
 Sonnet
o “Yet Do I Marvel “by Countee Cullen
o https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42611/yet-do-i-marvel
o Audio: https://youtu.be/XKAuuMl9gHs (1 minute)
o Lesson: https://youtu.be/CeVajL3gZ98 (stop at 8:23)
 Pastoral
o “The Workforce” by James Tate
 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49676/the-workforce
 Elegy
o “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman
 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45474/o-captain-my-captain
 Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSAymj4hp7Y (2 minutes)
  Lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzZ5NJyZ16I (3 minutes)
 Introduce Digital poster project on Canva, tell students the requirements, show sample

Lesson 5
 Ode
o “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats
 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44477/ode-on-a-grecian-urn
 Audio: https://youtu.be/2r45c03_L5E (3 minutes)
 Lesson: https://youtu.be/GoOf6_yVAvc (3 minutes)
 Lyric Poetry
o “A Song to Sing” lyrics by I.T.Z. Hanson (lyric analysis)
 https://youtu.be/SfjokbZS2Nk
(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CidAljZpFtujGytS_jnTg6xO3jD9L
bylI5NccqZ1Dec/edit?usp=sharing)
 Limerick
o https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/other/limerick/
o Write one, due at the end of class (give 15 minutes)
o If time allows, students may share their limericks with the class

Lesson 6
 Ballad
o “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen (lyric analysis)
 https://youtu.be/uCVDd0wMYXk (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1
rWIDsB6lon9CGS1478xJMUmQ6JxG79KdStvIeNz4QKk/edit?usp=shari
ng)
 Soliloquy
o Various
 https://youtu.be/5wMzB2cYnsY
 Villanelle
o “September 2011” by Elizabeth Seydel Morgan
 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/55798/septemb
er-2011
o “Monarchy” by Emily Rosko
 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57840/monarchy
 Download the Canva app to iPads and show students how to use it. Remind students of
requirements that will post on Google Classroom for reference

Lesson 7
 Use the Canva app to create digital posters
o Find a poem on www.poetryfoundation.org that is at least 3 stanzas long (copy
and paste onto Canva. Change font and size if they want to).
 Find poem for the digital poster project
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/browse#page=1&sort_by=recently_added (show
students how to to search for poetry, type of poetry, school/period or poet’s region)
 List information about the poem:
 o Poem name, poet name, type of poetry (refer to notes from Lesson 1), rhyme
scheme (if there is one), tone, theme, and why they chose that poem
o Find images that fit your poem (or of the poet) to print and put on poster
o Write a brief biography for your poet to print and put on your poster (must answer
all of the below questions).
 Full name, birth date, death date (if deceased), types of poetry written,
how many works were published, interesting facts about the poet
o Typed MLA works cited for poem, all images, and information in brief biography

Lesson 8
 Work on poster project

Lesson 9
 Work on poster project, save as pdf, and upload to Google Classroom
 Poetry poster due by 4pm

Potential Resources to expand the unit (supplemental):

https://www.literacyideas.com/poetry
www.poets.org
 References

28 Limerick Poems. Family Friend Poems. (n.d.).

https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/other/limerick/.

66 Haiku Poems. Family Friend Poems. (n.d.).

https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/other/haiku/.

Alfred, L. T. (n.d.). Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45392/ulysses.

Annabel Lee - Edgar Allan Poe. YouTube. (2011, February 1). https://youtu.be/0voJDAxPeLI.

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (Lyrics) . YouTube. (2020, April 11).

https://youtu.be/uCVDd0wMYXk.

Countee Cullen Lesson. YouTube. (2020, April 27). https://youtu.be/CeVajL3gZ98.

Cullen, C. (n.d.). Yet Do I Marvel by Countee Cullen. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42611/yet-do-i-marvel.

Eliot, T. S. (n.d.). The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47311/the-waste-land.

Hughes, L. (n.d.). I, Too by Langston Hughes. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47558/i-too.

"I, Too" Video Summary. YouTube. (2021, January 6). https://youtu.be/t6bVyliNE-Y.

Keats, J. (n.d.). Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44477/ode-on-a-grecian-urn.

Langston Hughes - I, Too. YouTube. (2020, February 21). https://youtu.be/i5qC-Ncn6rg.

Morgan, E. S. (n.d.). September 2011 by Elizabeth Seydel Morgan. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/55798/september-2011.
"Ode on a Grecian Urn" by John Keats (read by Tom O'Bedlam). YouTube. (2009, August 24).

https://youtu.be/2r45c03_L5E.

Poe, E. A. (n.d.). Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44885/annabel-lee.

Poe, E. A. (n.d.). The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48860/the-raven.

Poetry 101: Learn About Poetry, Different Types of Poems, and Poetic Devices With Examples -

2021. MasterClass. (n.d.). http://www.masterclass.com/articles/poetry-101-learn-about-

poetry-different-types-of-poems-and-poetic-devices-with-examples#what-is-mimesis-in-

poetry.

Poetry Foundation. (n.d.). Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/play/77056.

The Raven (Christopher Lee). YouTube. (2013, June 24). https://youtu.be/BefliMlEzZ8.

Rosko, E. (n.d.). Monarchy by Emily Rosko. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57840/monarchy.

Six Odes of John Keats: Ode on a Grecian Urn. YouTube. (2020, April 19).

https://youtu.be/GoOf6_yVAvc.

Soliloquies and Asides. YouTube. (2017, November 13). https://youtu.be/5wMzB2cYnsY.

A Song to Sing lyrics video. YouTube. (2011, October 14). https://youtu.be/SfjokbZS2Nk.

SpokenVerse. (2009, August 8). O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman (read by Tom

O'Bedlam). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSAymj4hp7Y.

T.S. Eliot reads: The Waste Land. YouTube. (2013, August 2). https://youtu.be/CqvhMeZ2PlY.

Tate, J. (n.d.). The Workforce by James Tate. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49676/the-workforce.
Whitman, W. (n.d.). O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45474/o-captain-my-captain.

Yet Do I Marvel by Countee Cullen. YouTube. (2015, February 10).

https://youtu.be/XKAuuMl9gHs.

YouTube. (2021, January 8). "O Captain, My Captain!" Video Summary. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzZ5NJyZ16I.