Poetry Unit

Grade/Subject

4th Grade Reading and Writing

TEKs Knowledge and Skills:

4.4 Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Poetry. Students
understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and
elements of poetry and provide evidence from text to support their
understanding. Students are expected to explain how the structural
elements of poetry (e.g. rhyme, meter, stanzas, line breaks) relate to form
(e.g., lyrical poetry, free verse).
4.8 Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Sensory Language.
Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about how an
authors sensory language creates imagery in literary text and provide
evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected
to identify the authors use of similes and metaphors to produce imagery.
4.16 Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary text to express their
ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas.
Students are expected to:
b. write poems that convey sensory details using the conventions of
poetry (e.g., rhyme, meter, patterns of verse).
1.

Standards: Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an
understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world;
to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the
workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic
and contemporary works.

2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an
understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human
experience.
3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate
texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers,
their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and
their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure,
context, graphics).
4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style,
vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process
elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and
punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss
print and non-print texts.
7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by
posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g.,
print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit
their purpose and audience.
8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases,
computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and
communicate knowledge.
9. Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and
dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.
10. Students whose first language is not English make use of their first language to develop
competency in the English language arts and to develop understanding of content across the
curriculum.
11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of
literacy communities.
12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for
learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information). NCTE Standards
http://www.ncte.org/standards/ncte-ira

The verbs applications of the TEKs

Students will:
Understand
Draw Conclusions
Make Inferences
Write
Provide Evidence
Explain/ Express
Create

Vocabulary Students Need to Know

Figurative Language: Simile,
Metaphor, Onomatopoeia,
Alliteration
Poetry: Free Verse, Haiku, Cinquain,
Diamonte, Clerihew, Limerick, Bio
Poem, 5 W
Rhyme, rhythm, stanza, structure

The English Language Learner

Standards:
I-3B Connections. Use the language
at the intermediate level to obtain,
reinforce, or expand knowledge of
other subject areas.
A-1A Engage in oral and written
exchanges, including providing and
obtaining information, expressing
feelings and preferences, and
exchanging ideas and opinions.

Differentiation for identified 504RTI- Special Education:

Extended work time
Sentence stems for notes
Various means of communication
amongst myself and peers

The Essential Questions of THINKING:

How can you use poetry to express your feelings, emotions, thoughts?
How does poetry differ from a story?
What is your opinion on the various forms of poetry?
Would you rather write poems to express yourself or short stories? Why?
Begin with the end in mind: What will students be tested on?
The students are not tested over poetry for the 4th grade Writing STAAR,
but for the Reading one, they are tested over comprehension of the poem.
I believe that in order for students to truly understand the meaning of a
poem, they must first know the components of poetry. This is why I started
from the very beginning- the use and understanding of figurative language
and ended up with the most common forms of poetry that 4th grade
students should know. Students will need to know the various forms of
poetry, the meanings of the poem, how the structure affects the poem, and
how to use poetry as a creative means of communication.
How will students demonstrate understanding as a SUMMATIVE
evaluation? Students will be tested on their understanding of the various
forms of poetry based on their final project of writing said various forms of
poetry. They will also answer STAAR related analysis questions based on
poetry. Their final project will be their own creation of their Poetry
Anthology. The students will have to complete various types of poems,
but each creation will be their own.
FORMATIVE Assessment for Lesson 1: Students will use various
aspects of figurative language in their writing, and be able to explain their
meanings in texts that they read. By offering varying means of exit tickets
and discussions, I will be able to tell when and where I need to offer mini
lessons or reteach a concept again.

Lesson 1 Students will use and understand the various forms of

figurative language, and be able to express figurative language in their
everyday writing and poetry.

Content: Figurative/Sensory
Language

Imagery
Simile
Metaphor
Onomatopoeia
Hyperbole
Personification
Alliteration

The Learner Activity 5E

Engage Have students close

their eyes and picture their
bedroom. Tell a partner as
many details as you can about
everything in your bedroom;
hook for imagery.
Explore Have students read
various works of text (fiction)
to see if they notice any
pictures being represented by
words. Without giving them
any definitions, have them
look for comparisons between
two things, and words that
express sound, or any
exaggerations. This peaks
their interest on what they will
be learning next, without the
hassle of knowing all of the
terminology first.
Explain Students take notes
on the figurative language
definitions in their interactive
notebooks. They draw pictures
and make their own meanings
of the words. This includes a
lot of discussion amongst
peers to enhance the peerteach-peer method.
Elaborate After students
understand the definitions and
their meanings, and have seen
several examples of the
elements of figurative
language, have students find
at least 10 examples of
figurative language in a story

of their choosing.
Evaluate Have students
teach the class their 10
examples, if students are
misunderstanding a concept
(like hyperbole) have a mini
lesson to explain it again.
Show more examples if
needed.

FORMATIVE Assessment for Lesson 2: This lesson will require students

to explain, demonstrate, and apply the rules and structures of poetry to a
poem. They will show me what they understand based on how the
structure affects the meaning, the look, and the affect of the poem.
Through various discussions, and direct teaching from myself and peers,
students will be able to understand the importance of poetry structure,
including: rhyme, rhythm/meter, stanzas, and structure/scheme. Students
will also create a couplet, to emphasize the importance of a rhyme
scheme.
Lesson 2 Learning Objective: Students will understand and be able to
apply the importance of structure in a poem. They will be able to use
various aspects of structure to create a poem, beginning with a couplet.

Content: Poetry structure

(importance) and a
couplet.

The Learner Activity 5E

Engage Show students What is

Rhyme
Rhythm
Stanza
Rhyme
scheme/structure

Poetry by Shmoop video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=5x7saqOf6_Q
o Discuss with students what other
forms of literacy use structures
similar to poetry (e.g. music,
drama)
Explore Students will receive a poem
(The Homework Machine Shel
Silverstein) and after reading it through
twice, will write down everything they
can about the poem. They can tell me if
they see any patterns, any meanings
behind the words, any sort of structure.
After everyone is finished, they will turn
and talk to their shoulder partner to
compare their answers.
Explain Students will take notes in their
interactive notebook using a foldable
that has the definitions of rhyme,
rhythm, stanza, and rhyme scheme
(AABB). Using various poems, we will
discuss each component as a whole
class. I will have a poem on the projector
and go around the room and have each
student tell me a component of the
poem, from where the rhyming words
are, to what sort of rhyme scheme is in
the poem. At this point, the students will
only know the structures AABB and
ABAB. We will cover more later.
Elaborate After students have seen
several examples with me of all the
components, I will introduce an
elaboration of an AABB rhyme scheme
called a couplet. I will explain that a
couplet is a two lined poem where the
ending words rhyme, so it would be AA.
For a challenge for the advanced
students, I will have them write a 5
couplet poem that has to make sense,
(so ten lines in total)
Evaluate Based on the depth that
students write their couplets, I will be
able to assess if they understand what a

rhyming pattern is, what lines in a

poetry look like, and if they
automatically write with rhythm. If
students are not understanding the
concepts, I will have small group
discussions and interactions. Students
will share their couplets with their peers
in order to get feedback on if they wrote
them correctly. Students will take charge
of grading and assessing (for the most
part). I will be there to address
misconceptions.

Formative Assessment for Lesson 3: Students will begin writing their

poetry anthologies. A free verse and a shape poem will be the first poems
in it, so this will give me an idea of their creativity level, and students can
write freely without concern of structure.
Lesson 3 Learning Objective: Students will read, understand, and create
a free verse and a shape poem.
Content: Free Verse and Shape
Poem

The Learner Activity 5E

Engage I will show students

student created free verse
poems (Clouds of Birds)
http://msmcclure.com/?
page_id=1264
Explore Students will
brainstorm ideas for poems,
without worrying about
structure or any rules. I will tell
them they need to come up
with at least 5 different things
to write about, but dont start
writing yet. After everyone has
come up with their list, they
will share their ideas with a
shoulder partner. Students will
discuss how they could make it

into a poem by making it seem

like a story.
Explain I will give students
notes on Free Verse poetry by
showing them more examples
of free verse. We will discuss
the fact that there doesnt
have to be any structure at all,
or it could be rigid structure.
Free verse is exactly its name;
free. This explanation will be a
lot of discussion and example
showing.
Elaborate Students will then
create their own free verse
poem and share with the class.
After each student performs
his/her poem, the students will
write a short paragraph about
what the poem means to
them. For an example, if
Student A writes a poem about
loving football, Student B (that
is listening to the poem) will
write about how she has no
interest in football, even
though Student A loves it.
Students will then write their
own shape poems. We will
discuss the fact that shape
poems are the exact same as a
free verse poem, except they
are in the form or shape of
something, and the content of
the poem must represent that
shape. For an example, if
Student A wrote a heart poem,
they would write about how
amazing love is and how much
it means to him, whereas
Student B wrote a heart poem
and how icky love is (because
they are in 4th grade).
Evaluate The summative
assessment for this lesson will

be based on their effort on

writing their free verse, and
the effect of their shape poem
(if they followed the guidelines
of a shape poem).
Formative Assessment for Lesson 4: Students will understand and be
able to write a Haiku poem based on their environment and an imaginative
environment. They will write the poem correctly using the specific structure
of the poem.
Lesson 4 Learning Objective: Students will identify, understand, and
write a proper Haiku poem using the necessary structural aspects.
Content: Haiku

The Learner Activity 5E

Engage The students will go

outside to the courtyard. They
will bring a sheet of paper and
a pencil. I will ask them to
write down everything they
see or notice outside. I will tell
them to be very descriptive of
nature, how they feel, what
they see, their opinion on
nature, etc. As we leave to
head into the classroom, I will
tell them now you are ready
to write a poem. This will get
them hooked onto the new
form of poetry, Haiku.
Explore I will have the
students get an IPad and find
examples of Haiku poems.
They will find their favorite and
share with the class. They will
write down their reflections on
what they think the poems
mean to them.
Explain I will then give
students a foldable that
explains the history and
structure of a haiku, and we
will practice writing the 575

rule. For the students that

need extra support, I will
provide a mini lesson on what
a syllable is, just to recap the
idea of 5 syllables on the first
line, 7 on the second, and 5 on
the third.
Elaborate After students
write and read several
examples of Haiku poems, I
will provide them the Twaiku
Poetry packet. This is a
published style of Haiku that
combines the elements of
Haiku and the style of Twitter. I
will show them published
Twaikus and then have them
create their own. The packet
has the information about
twitter (only able to use 140
characters) and the set up
lines to write a Haiku, so
students will be able to use
their prior knowledge in order
to complete this project. If I
can, I will publish their works
on an educational Twitter
page.
Evaluate At this point I will be
assessing whether or not
students followed the rigid
structure (575) of Haiku. If so,
then I will assess if their poems
are about nature or not. The
requirement is to follow the
575 rule and be about nature,
so if they did not follow these
steps, I will pull these students
aside, have a mini lesson, and
expect them to revise their
work. For a challenge, I will
have the advanced students
write a Haiku about an
imaginative natural world. This
could be from a fictional story,

video game, or movie.

Formative Assessment for Lesson 5: This lesson will consist of several

mini lessons that are very common. At the end, students will be able to
clearly read, understand, and write the following poems: cinquain,
diamonte, clerihew, limerick, bio poem, and a 5w poem.
Lesson 5 Learning Objective: Students will understand, teach, and write
the following poems: cinquain, diamonte, clerihew, limerick, bio poem, and
a 5w poem. Students will teach each other and assess each others poems.
Content: Cinquain, Diamonte,
Clerihew, Limerick, Bio Poem, and
5W

The Learner Activity 5E

Engage I will open the lesson

up by explaining to the
students that I will not be their
teacher for the next several
poems. I will tell them that
they will have to work
together and independently to
learn and understand the
structure and meanings of the
poems, and each student will
have to teach another student
each poem. The students will
be the teacher for the week.
Also, before they can ask me a
question about the poem, they
must first ask their shoulder

partner and two other

partners (if the shoulder
partner didnt know the
answer). Essentially, the
students will be relying on
their peers for help, they will
be utilizing the tools in the
classroom (IPads and books)
to gather information, and
they will assess each others
work. I am just going to be a
warm body so that the
students can truly learn in a
constructivist approach.
Explore Here students will
gather the necessary tools
(IPad, books, magazines) to
find the structures of each
poem. They will read the
poems individually and then
try to decipher the structures.
At the end of this day I will
give them the structure of the
poems just to make sure all of
the students are on the same
page.
Explain After all of the
students can identify each of
the different types of poems
by its structure, and have read
various levels of examples
(from student works to
professionals) the students
will partner up and teach each
other how to write a particular
poem. (I will assign each
student a poem and we will
rotate in a way that every
student will have been taught
each type of poem [by a
different student]). Then after
the students have taught each
other, they will check their
notes and add anything they
might have missed from the

previous day.
Elaborate Now that students
understand the concepts of
each type of poem, thanks to
their peers, they will now
begin to write the various
poems. Here they will write in
their Poetry Anthologies in
order to keep everything neat
and ready to publish.
Evaluate Students will be
given a rubric in order to
evaluate the work of their
peers. Students will partner up
and grade/assess one
classmates work. The rubric
will have places to check off in
order to keep grading simple.
The rubric will also be made
as a class, with my help to
make sure they did not forget
anything, so the rubric will be
fair and student made.

This poetry unit will probably take a little more than two weeks, depending
on how many interruptions you have in your classroom. It starts out very
teacher driven and ends up student driven. For the last section, the teacher
does not teach hardly at all, all of the weight relies on the students. The
students will determine how much they want to learn, and how much they
are able to do.