Erika L. Sanchez

Here is an assignment for closely reading poetry I largely stole from the NPR website (all great teachers steal, right?). I chose it because it forces students to closely examine language and draw their own conclusions about the meaning of a poem.

1. Discuss literary terms after they have read that chapter. Reinforce them with examples.
2. Discuss with students how these elements are a poet's tools which the poet deliberately uses to not only draw the reader into the poem's experience but also to reinforce the poem's message.
3. Distribute a copy of the poem and copy of a worksheet divided in half— one half is titled “I See” and the other is titled “Lumping.”
4. They are to first simply write down all of the striking images under “I See.”
5. On the right side they will lump the images into specific categories (i.e. life, death, love, social decay, etc)
6. Have them identify the stanzas in which these categories appear. Is this significant? Is there a pattern?
7. Ask students to write a short paragraph justifying what they think the poem means.

Homework (I always do this):

Take a poem that you have admired for a long time. Reread it and figure out what it is that draws you to it. Now try to imitate the poet's voice, diction, and even rhetoric.