AN INTRODUCTION TO POETRYWhat is poetry? Though often defined through a series of rules based on rhythm and rhyme, poetry continues to be a loosely defined genre within literature. In this lesson students will learn:
Though poetry is often subject to rules and standards that identify a piece of writing as "poetic" and not poetic, students will learn that, though there are rules, sometimes the rules are made to be broken. Students will also learn about more contemporary movements in poetry and resistance, as they will learn about the Slam Poetry movement, which historically has its beginnings in Chicago Urban Youth Culture. |
An introduction to the poets
(The Harlem renaissance to the contemporary age)
In this unit, students will be introduced to early and modern poetic movements, starting with the Harlem Renaissance and continuing into the Hip Hop era. Some of the poems students will review are listed below:
Note: This list is far from comprehensive, and is subject to change.
- "I ,Too, Sing America" - Langston Hughes (The Harlem Renaissance)
- "America" - Allen Ginsberg (The Beat Poetry Movement)
- "Fight the Power" - Public Enemy (Hip Hop)
- "Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent Well-Read Person Could Believe in the War Between Races." - Lorna Dee Cervantes (Chicana Poetry Movement)
Note: This list is far from comprehensive, and is subject to change.
Group project - tpcastt eXERCISE
After a brief review of the poets and their works, the students will break up into small groups and be assigned one of the poems discussed in class or a poem of their choosing from the Outlaw Bible of American Poetry. Once in their groups students will engage the work in a TPCASTT Exercise. A sample of a TPCASTT Template can be found by following the link in this text.
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What is a tpcastt exercise?A TPCASTT exercise allows students an opportunity to better understand the purposes of poems by breaking down the work into a few basic elements with which to analyze and discuss. TPCASTT itself is an acronym for:
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Further assessment
In order reinforce the notion that this brief introduction to poetry does not end once the final bell rings, students will be encouraged to read and interpret the lyrics of poems or songs that they find meaningful to their experience. Students will maintain a journal of poems or songs they choose to discuss, as well as brief answers to a few guiding questions including:
Students will be required to answer these questions briefly, as well as provide the poem or song in order to be discussed in class. Written answers will be collected in the student's Poetry Portfolio.
- What social or cultural issues does the poet discuss? What do these individuals speak for? Against?
- What lyrics or lines strike you as powerful, moving, or particularly interesting? Why?
- How does the artist utilize thematic elements of poetry (metaphor, simile, allusion, etc.) to discuss social issues. Do these artists/poets make their beliefs explicit, or implicit?
Students will be required to answer these questions briefly, as well as provide the poem or song in order to be discussed in class. Written answers will be collected in the student's Poetry Portfolio.