Unit 3 6th Grade Readers and Writers Use a Variety of Comprehension Strategies to Interpret and Create Poetry **THE BIG PICTURE – Reading and Writing Unit of Study: Readers use a variety of comprehension strategies to interpret and create poetry. See: Lucy Calkins “Poetry” in Units of Study for Primary Writing. Link to: www.gigglepoetry.com Livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit/19138 I.

Immersion 

A major emphasis of this unit is to help students develop a love of poetry. Poems should be read for discussion as interactive read alouds, not for dissection.

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First readings of poetry should be in their entirety. During the second and third readings, students can linger and take on the work of the mini-lesson.

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Talk is imperative during this unit. Students should be in partnerships or small groups in service of deeper understanding.

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It is important to fill the classroom with a wide variety of poems. Include poems with strong examples of simile, metaphor, and personification in the read aloud and shared reading.

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Reading poetry aloud is critical. Multiple readings of the same poem are encouraged. The teacher's pace, cadence, pause points, and voice all evoke different responses/emotions in the listener. Multiple readings allow students to experience the same poem in different ways. The first reading gives you a feel for the poem. The second reading helps you to understand the author's message. The third reading allows you to consider the language and organization of the poem. It is suggested that the teacher use one poem throughout objective 1 to model how focus changes and understanding deepens with multiple readings.

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During this Unit of Study students should also continue to read their just-right books.

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This unit has infused Reading and Writing lessons. Depending on your time constraints, you will need to decide whether the lesson can be taught in one block or if you will need to teach the reading portion one day and the writing portion the next day. If you decide to teach the lesson in two days, teach the reading portion on the first day.

Indicators of Understanding: 1. Readers are able to identify different styles of poetry and read from a selection with fluency and expression. 2. Readers can identify a variety of literary devices in context. Students articulate how those devices improve their comprehension. 3. Readers make connections, ask questions, and use sensory images to infer meaning in poetry. 4. Readers demonstrate their ability to synthesize a text by articulating in their own words, their thinking about the big ideas in a poem. II.

Interactive Read Aloud

(suggested books may be found in The Interactive Read Aloud by Linda Hoyt) A. Teacher selects poems relevant to life experiences (include some narrative poems). 

Teacher identifies strong examples of figurative language: simile, metaphor, and personification in poems.

****Read poem as a read aloud first, before turning a poem into a shared reading. Students will need a copy of each poem used in order to create a personal collection of mentor texts. B. Teacher models and students practice highlighting the use of rhythm (beat) and rhyme. Teacher points out where rhyming words generally occur in poetry:  Last word in line  Every other line  Last word in a stanza, etc.  Teacher and students notice that not all poems make use of rhyme and rhythm. 

Using poems teacher models and students practice: Enriching vocabulary and language Using literary devices to deepen comprehension -Similes -Metaphors -Line-breaks -Punctuation -Personification Identifying: -Internal rhyme -Rhyme scheme -Onomatopoeia -Rhythm -Alliteration -Repetition -Assonance

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III.

Teacher demonstrates and students experience the strong mental images and feelings poetry can create. Mini – Lessons

Objective 1: The following mini-lessons teach readers and writers to examine poetry as a genre. 1. Readers and writers determine how to best understand a poem by previewing. LISTEN: Teacher models noticing the title, author, features, and form before reading the poem for the first time, then reading it through for the first time to get a general sense of the poem. Form:  bolding  shape  stanzas  use of white space  punctuation Features:  organization  first and last lines  rhyme scheme or lack of rhyme  internal rhyme (if any)  repetition TRY: Students will preview and read poetry paying particular attention to the features. SHARE: Teacher highlights 3 or 4 specific, positive behaviors she noticed and wants to continue. MATERIALS: Poems 2. Readers read poetry differently. LISTEN: Teacher models how readers reread poetry to think about and practice cadence, phrasing, expression, emphasis, pauses, etc. in order to access the meaning of poetry. Refer to the list of Selected Poetry Resources and select a poem that lends itself to a dramatic reading. Share with students the importance of practice in effective dramatic readings. Model a dramatic reading that is practiced as well as one that is not practiced, noting the difference practice makes to the delivery of the poem. TRY: Students reread several poems, practicing the different ways to read them, including drama. Provide students with a wide variety of poems to read. Students will select a poem to dramatically share with their partner. Allow time for all students to read and practice a dramatic reading of a self-selected poem. SHARE: Teacher highlights 3 or 4 specific, positive behaviors she noticed and wants to continue.

MATERIALS: poems 3. Readers and writers reread to deepen understanding, stopping and thinking after each part. LISTEN: Teacher models how to stop and think after each stanza or part of the poem. Teacher models jotting notes about his/her thinking after each stanza or part:  meaning  reactions  feelings TRY: Students reread a poem, stopping to think about their feelings, reactions, and the poem's meaning after each part. SHARE: Teacher highlights 3 or 4 specific, positive behaviors he/she noticed and wants to continue. MATERIALS: poems 4. Readers and writers understand that poetry evokes emotion by the reader and the writer. **Teacher and students bring a meaningful item from home. LISTEN: Teacher models how readers reread poetry to think critically about the feelings generated by the poem. Teacher models writing about her special, meaningful item using words that evoke strong emotions in the reader. TRY: Students read and reread a poem, marking their thinking and recording how their thinking evolves as they reread. Students set the meaningful item on their desk and write about it using emotional words and phrases, understanding that the “form” of the poem is not as important as the words and the emotions generated by those words. SHARE: Teacher selects 3 or 4 students to share the emotions generated by the words chosen by the author. MATERIALS: poems, self-selected meaningful item

Objective 2: The following mini-lessons teach readers and writers to use mechanics and literary devices to make meaning. 5. Readers and writers notice the literary devices of patterning, repetition, white space and shape and form used by poets. LISTEN: Teacher reads a few more journal entries from Love that Dog as well as other poems and highlights in several mentor text poems the use of:  patterning  repeating words  phrases and stanzas  white space  shape and form

TRY: Students work with a partner to look for and identify examples of the literary devices of patterning, repetition, white space, shape, form and alliteration in their poetry collection. SHARE: Teacher highlights the work of 3 or 4 partnerships and lets them share their discoveries. MATERIALS: poems, Love that Dog and other poems that are not traditional in their use of the literary devices. 6. Readers and writers use figurative language in poetry. *** This lesson should be repeated over several days in order to provide a rich understanding of various types of poetry.*** LISTEN: Teacher reviews the work already done with figurative language. Teacher reads aloud various poems and models identifying the use of simile, metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia, idiom, personification, in several poems. Teacher explains how the author uses figurative language to contribute to the meaning of the poem. Teacher describes ways in which figurative language helps the reader create mental images by describing things in a unique or unusual way. Teacher models by using figurative language during writing poetry. TRY: Students work in partnerships to read poems and identify examples of figurative language: simile, metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia, idiom and personification. Then explain how these examples contribute to the meaning of the poem. Note: During shared reading and read alouds, emphasize the use of figurative language: simile, metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia, idiom and personification. SHARE: Teacher guides small groups to share figurative language identified in the poems that were read. (Reading share) Students will write their findings on a graffiti wall specifically for figurative language. Teacher guides small groups to share figurative language students used in writing their own poetry. (Writing share) MATERIALS: poems, mentor texts from figurative language lessons previously taught, graffiti wall

Objective 3: The following mini-lessons teach readers to use strategies to think deeply through poetry. 7. Readers and writers make personal connections to poetry. LISTEN: Teacher models making personal connections while reading aloud a poem of choice. Teacher thinks aloud how this poem connects to his/her own life. Example: "I think this poem is about loss because I felt the same way last week when my dog died." Teacher reads another poem and students turn and talk about the personal connections made as she read the poem. Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky are good sources for poems that connect with children. TRY: Students read a poem and make personal connections. Students make note on sticky notes of their reactions as they read. Students try to bring in personal insights that would benefit the reader. SHARE: Teacher shares 3 or 4 of the students’ sticky notes. Students share their writing with their writing partners. MATERIALS: poems, graffiti wall (personal connections)

8. Readers and writers identify how word choice evokes sensory images and mood. LISTEN: Teacher models identifying word choice. Teacher thinks aloud about the mental images and mood evoked by the word choice used by the poet. Poems affect a reader emotionally and create a mood:  sadness  guilt  regret  joy  longing  fear (scary or mysterious)  happiness (bright or cheerful)  laughter (humor) TRY: Students read and make mental images and identify mood created by word choice in the poem. Students list examples of important word choice examples on sticky notes. Students study mentor texts containing examples of strong word choice, then practice using strong word choice when writing their own poems. SHARE: Teacher guides students to place sticky notes containing examples of strong word choice on the graffiti board. Teacher shares 3 or 4 students’ writing that exhibits great word choice.

9. Readers use their senses when reading poetry. LISTEN: Teacher highlights how poets use specific and strong words to create imagery in order to activate senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Teacher models the use of sensory words in her own poem. Teacher demonstrates the importance of these words by sharing her poem with and without the use of these important words. TRY: Students work in small groups to read poems to identify and record words and phrases that activate their senses. Students include these words and phrases on the graffiti board. Students include sensory words as they write their own poems. SHARE: Students share their writing with their writing partners.

10. Readers ask questions of the text when reading poetry. Writers ask questions of themselves as they write. LISTEN: Teacher models collecting his/her thoughts after reading a poem and asking questions such as:  What is the poem all about?  How is this poem organized?  What makes this poem special?  What makes this poem memorable?

 How does this poem make me feel?  What senses does this poem activate?  What is this poem telling me?  What senses are being tapped as I read? Teacher models asking questions of himself/herself as a poet as he/she models writing his/her own poem.  What is my poem all about?  How will my reader be able to connect with my poem?  How do I want my poem to be organized?  What makes my poem special?  What makes my poem memorable?  What emotions do I want my reader to feel?  Does my poem evoke sensory images?  How does this poem make me feel as I am writing?  What am I really trying to say to the reader? TRY: Students work with partners to read and interact with poetry by practicing pausing, reflecting, and asking questions about the poem’s meaning. Students write their own poems by asking and answering critical questions of themselves in reference to their poem. SHARE: Students share in small groups the questions and answers they found as they read poems. Students share their writing with their writing partner. The students share the questions they asked of themselves as they wrote their poems. MATERIALS: poems

Objective4: The following mini-lessons teach readers to interpret and synthesize poetry. 11. Readers deepen their understanding of a poem's meaning by inferring. Writers write with depth in order to allow readers to infer. LISTEN: Teacher models how some poems require a reader to read "between the lines" in order to understand the message. They show how connecting the words to their schema and making inferences help them to deepen meaning. Teacher models how there may be more than one possible interpretation of a poem. Teacher models writing with depth through the use of figurative and sensory language. Write in a manner that allows several interpretations.

Some questions to include:  Why does the author include line # in the poem?  Why does the author use italics or repetition?  What message did the author wish to convey? TRY: Students read and reflect on the deeper meaning of poem(s) by inferring. Students include depth in their writing through the use of figurative and sensory language.

SHARE: Students share with their partners the work they have done today as readers and as writers.

12. Readers synthesize the meaning of a poem in their own words. LISTEN: Teacher models stating the big idea of a published poem into his/her own words. Example: "This is all about forgiveness because they became friends again and I think they'd have to forgive each other to have a future relationship." TRY: Students work with partners to read and synthesize the meaning of a published poem. Students work with their writing partner to synthesize the partner’s poem. The students will then discuss what the reader synthesized and what the student poet intended when writing the poem. SHARE: Teacher selects 2 or 3 partnerships to share their work with synthesizing. MATERIALS: published poems and student poems

Objective 5: The following mini-lessons teach readers to make connections between poems and other texts. 13. Readers develop the ability to make specific connections between texts and employ these strategies while reading. LISTEN: Teacher reviews how to make text-to-text connections. We understand that as we read we connect to other texts that we have already read. We think about other characters, genres, ways in which certain authors have written, and also big ideas that might be the same across the texts. Refer to a Venn Diagram or a T-chart as a tool to use to compare and/or contrast different texts. Teacher selects a familiar poem that was read during this unit and a familiar text that was read previously. Together, teacher and students complete comparison graphic organizer looking characters, theme, or other events (teacher selects).

Objective 6: The following mini-lessons teach writers to write poems in response to the topics and themes that surround them. 14. Writers spark ideas for poems. Connect: Teacher engages students by setting the tone for the future work within the unit. Teacher might say, “In this unit, we will all become poets. We will read a variety of poems with a writer’s eye noticing structure, craft, and voice. We will use all that we discover about poetry to create our own poems. We will begin by leading wide awake lives and noticing the small details of our lives that may ignite an idea for a poem. Teacher may say, “Poets have a variety of strategies for sparking ideas for poems.”

Teach: Sometimes poets write about fierce wonderings and concerns of the heart or world. Teacher may say, “Some of the best ideas for poetry come from things we wonder about and things that concern us deeply.” Teacher models using teacher created wonderings and concerns as examples. Active Engagement: Students turn and talk with a partner about fierce wonderings and deep concerns that spark ideas for poetry. Link: Teacher may say, “Today and every day, remember that poets write from the heart. Sometimes those concerns of the heart and fierce wonderings can spark ideas for the poems they may write.” Try: Students create entries and ideas for poetry by thinking about fierce wonderings and deep concerns of the heart. Students use their selected topic or theme to channel their ideas. Share: Teacher chooses 1 or 2 students to share their ideas for poetry that were sparked by fierce wonderings and concerns of the heart. Materials: teacher created examples for modeling, poetry folders or notebooks 15. Writers brainstorm words and phrase for poetry. Connect: Teacher may say, “Poets have more than one strategy for ways to spark ideas for poetry. Today we will add another strategy to your writer’s toolkit.” Teach: Poets brainstorm words and phrases about their topic before writing. Teacher and students choose a topic as a class and then begin to brainstorm words and phrases for possible use in a poem. Teacher begins to compose a poem and think aloud in front of the students. Active Engagement: Students turn and talk about possible words and phrases that could be added to the class brainstorming list Link: Teacher may say, “Today and every day when you are gathering ideas for poetry, it may be helpful to brainstorm words and phrases about your topic to help spark ideas for possible poems.” Try: Students choose one of their own topics or themes to brainstorm possible words and phrases for their poem. Students begin to compose a poem using the brainstorming list. Share: Teacher chooses 1 or 2 students to share their ideas for poetry that were sparked by creating a list of words and phrases related to their chosen topic or theme. Materials: chart paper, mentor poems 16. Writers select poetic words and language. Connect: Teacher may say, “Now that we are beginning to craft poems using strategies to help spark our ideas, we will focus our attention on selecting the precise words and language of the poem.”

Teach: Poets select words and language to help their poem come alive. Teacher models selecting poetic words and language by using a mentor poem or teacher created poem. Some poets use techniques such as onomatopoeia and alliteration. Teacher thinks aloud about word choice asking questions such as, “Are there any words that surprise me? Which words feel exact and true? Which words add music to the poem? Why did the poet choose those particular words? Which words are examples of poetic techniques we discussed?” Active Engagement: Students turn and talk with a partner about the language and word choice of the poet and how it helps make the poem come alive. Link: Teacher may say, “Today and every day when you are crafting poems, select words and language that help your poem come alive. Remember that poets make decisions about word choice by asking questions about the emotion and meaning they hope to convey in their poems.” Try: Students craft poems selecting poetic techniques, words and language that help their poem come alive. Students ask questions about the emotion and meaning they hope to convey through careful selection of poetic words and language. Share: Students share with a partner. They discuss the reasons for selecting the words and language of their poems. Students use the teacher prompted questions from the lesson to give each other feedback. Materials: mentor poems, teacher created poem, possible anchor chart with word choice question stems from the lesson 17. Writers create rhythm and shape through structure of a poem. Connect: Teacher compliments students in their work of crafting poems that convey meaning and descriptions of what matters to them with words in order to allow readers to see the world in a brand new way. Invite students to now turn their attention to the structure, rhythm, and shape of poetry. Teach: Poets use stanzas, line breaks, and white space to create rhythm and shape. Teacher may say, “Poets use stanzas and line breaks to create rhythm and turn prose into poetry. Poets often use white space around the words to pause, take a breath, and make something stand out from all other words.” Teacher models by putting one of their own narrative blurb or prose on chart paper and breaking it into lines. Teacher may say “This is not a poem. When I take a sentence and break it into lines, poets call those places line breaks.” Demonstrate by marking the spots with a little slash. Discuss the different spots poets consider placing line breaks in order to form the structure and shape of their poem such as: at end punctuation marks, at important words, and sometimes when it would sound good to pause. Teacher continues to add slashes with student input, thinking aloud about those decisions. Teacher shows the class how to rewrite a draft of the poem by going to a new line at each of the slash marks. Active Engagement: Students turn and talk with their partner about places they think the teacher should add slashes to represent line breaks.

Link: Teacher may say, “Today and every day as you write, consider the possible structure, rhythm, and shape of your poems. Adding line breaks, stanzas, and white space are ways poets change the structure, rhythm, and shape of their poems.” Try: Students experiment with changing the structure and shape of their poems by listening for rhythm and making decisions about adding line breaks and other structural elements. Share: Teacher chooses 1 or 2 students to share their restructured poems. Materials: teacher created narrative blurb or prose to be turned into a poem on chart paper

18. Writers create comparisons using figurative language. Connect: Teacher might say, “Poets create powerful pictures in the reader’s mind by using figurative language.” Teach: Poets create comparisons using figurative language such as simile and metaphor. Teach students the power of metaphors and similes by studying a few examples. Encourage writers to make comparisons between something ordinary to something it has never been compared with before. Teacher and students create similes and metaphors centered on a chosen topic. Active Engagement: Students talk with their partner about where they might add imagery to their poem by using similes and metaphors. Link: Teacher may say, “Today and every day when you are crafting or revising your poems, you may try to use similes and metaphors to make interesting comparisons.” Try: Students practice using similes and metaphors to create comparisons that help convey meaning to the reader. Share: Students return to their partners and share 1 example from their poem where they used similes or metaphors to create imagery. Materials: mentor poems or teacher created poems for demonstration

19. Writers ask questions to revise and recraft their poem. Connect: Teacher praises students for their effort in “trying on” the different structural elements and rhythm of poems and by creating comparisons through figurative language from the previous lessons. Tell students that they have already begun to revise as real poets do by having restructured their poems. Let them know, that poets don’t wait until “revision” time to rethink or recraft their poems. It’s always revision time in poetry. Teach: Poets ask questions of themselves as they write. Teach students that this work helps them discover the deeper meaning in their poems and begin to plan for a collection of poems that shows

different perspectives of their chosen topic or theme. Teacher models the revision process by asking questions of her writing as she rereads. Teacher may use the following anchor chart. Anchor Chart: Guidelines for Revising Your Own Poem 1. Read the poem out loud. 2. Ask someone else to read your poem back to you. 3. As you listen to your poem ask yourself some of these questions:   

Does the poem make me feel anything? Which words, lines, or images stand out to you? Are there any words or images that feel untrue?

Active Engagement: Students close their eyes as the teacher reads her poem out loud. The students picture the image of the poem and how it makes them feel. Students turn and talk about possible revisions that could be made to the poem. Students use the anchor chart to prompt discussion. Link: Teacher may say, “Today and every day, take time to revise your poems early on in your drafting stage and do it over and over again using the basic guidelines for revising.” Try: Students may reflect on their writing by posing questions and answering them through sentence stems such as, “I’m writing about this because...” or “I want my reader to feel and think...” or “One thing that may be missing here is...” Share: Teacher chooses 1 or 2 students to share their revised draft of a poem. Materials: anchor chart Guidelines for Revising Your Own Poem, student copies of anchor chart, teacher created poem for demonstration

20. Poetry Choice: Becoming a Well-Versed Poet **These activities will take several days.**

Connect: Teacher may say, “Now we are ready to begin sorting through poems and putting together a collection that highlights our different tones and perspectives regarding various topics or themes. We will explore several stations within the classroom and create a personal poetry anthology.” Teach: Poets often reflect and explore various types/forms of poetry before writing their own. Teach students that this work helps them discover the deeper meaning in their poems and begin to plan for a collection of poems that shows different perspectives and themes and in turn develops them into “well-versed” poets. Teacher previews instructions for poetry stations and demonstrates the activities/expectations within each station.

Link: Teachers please cut and paste the following link into your browser for the poetry stations: https://docs.google.com/a/csisd.org/document/d/14nqMRve__tl3JsybBj9Y3Vv_cfOInFafKKgBZ7X_2kc/ pub

SHARE: Teacher highlights 3 or 4 specific, positive behaviors she noticed and wants to continue.

TEKS 4(A) explain how figurative language (e.g. personification, metaphors, similies, hyperbole) contributes to the meaning of a poem. 8(A) evaluate the impact of sensory details, imagery, and figurative language in literary text 19 (D) make inferences about text and use textual evidence to support understanding 19 (E) summarize and paraphrase texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order within a text and across texts 19 (F) make connections (e.g., thematic links, author analysis) between and across multiple texts of various genres and provide textual evidence

Conferring during Reading Workshop

Indicators of Understanding

When conferring, you might say / ask:

1. Readers are able to identify different styles of poetry and read from a selection with fluency and expression.

1. What features make a poem different from other genres of literature? Which of these features have you found in the poems you are reading? Show me a place where the author used some rhyme/repetition, rhythm. Show me how you read this poem.

2. Readers can identify a variety of literary devices in context. Students articulate how those devices improve their comprehension.

2. Show me where you found different literary devices: repeated words, alliteration, patterns, etc. Let’s look at similes, metaphors and/or personification you found. Tell me about these. How do they help you understand the poem?

3. Readers make connections, ask questions, and use sensory images to infer meaning in poetry.

3. In what ways did you connect with this poem? Which of your senses were awakened by this poem? What questions did you ask of this poem to better help you understand it? What mood does this poem create in your mind? What techniques did the author use to help create this mood? How did you respond to this poem? What is the general topic of this poem? How did you react to this poem? What made you feel that way?

Small Group

When data shows students are… / For students who you notice are… 1. struggling to understand poetry as a genre and struggling to read poetry fluently.

2. not identifying literary devices and using them to help understand poetry

3. not making connections, asking questions, and using sensory images to infer meaning in poetry

You might try… 1. presenting more shared reading of poetry and demonstrating fluency and identifying features of poetry (stanza, organization, use of white space, etc). 2. using simple poems with obvious rhyme, repetition, and alliteration. Having students underline examples of different features while working with a partner. Demonstrating in more shared reading examples: simile, metaphor, and personification. Having students write their own examples of literary devices

3. doing more shared reading or partner reading. Using shorter poems that relate well to a younger reader. Demonstrating asking questions of the poet. Circling words that connect to senses. Drawing a picture that captures the mood rather than using words. Circling words that are important to the student and asking them to think about why those words/ideas stood out.