Poetry Project

After reviewing a poem by a fifth grade student on the Favorite Poem Page, students were given the following task.

1. Students will select a poem of there choice from the Childrens Poetry Page or another source of their choosing.

2. Students will print out their poem and read to understand: Elements of Poetry
Identify the following in your poem:
Genre- What kind of poem is this? (Love sonnet, rap, satire, ode, free verse, etc.) Read from the Elements of Poetry site.

What the authors purpose was for writing the poem? What effects does he or she want to produce in the readers mind?

What is the poets tone or feeling in the poem (Usually represented by adjectives)? Most poems cover a wide range of feelings or emotions. Do you see any interesting or unusual word choices in your poem? Where do you find the poet's word choice to be particularly important or effective? How? Why?

How do sound and rhythm echo or reinforce sense, feeling, and intention?

In what ways does figurative language like imagery, symbols, similes and metaphors contribute or add to the meaning(s) of the poem?

What time period is your poem from? Does it represent a specific time in history? Does it express how people felt during a specific time period?

Response: Which passages in the poem to respond to most strongly and why?

3. Once you have answered all of these questions, on a word document, you are ready to make your movie. You will make a movie of yourself reciting the poem, with emotion, so practice several times with a family member before recording.

4. After you record yourself reciting the poem you will then explain why you chose the poem, how it made you feel when you read it, what was your favorite part etc.

5. When you have finished polishing your movie, you will embed it into a webpage. Below the movie you will type the poem and site the source where you got it from. For example.

"The Sloth," copyright © 1950 by Theodore Roethke from The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke by Theodore Roethke. Used by permission of Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.

6. Finally, make some finishing touches on your web page and save to present after break!!