Computer technology enhances
any writing assignment. The entire writing process; prewriting,
drafting, sharing, editing, and publishing is facilitated by
computer technology. In this lesson, the Internet may also be used
for defining, revising, and competitive writing.
Time
One 40-minute class with a follow-up the next day.
Objectives
Students will be able to use literacy devices appropriately,
and to identify them in others’ work.
This site provides a step-by-step guide on
how to write a poem and may be consulted for tips on any part of
the poetry writing process.
Procedure
Do Now: Students are given examples
of literary devices and asked to identify them. (See
the Literary Devices Worksheet)
Students exchange papers and the correct answers are reviewed.
There they review the definitions and examples
of the ones they answered incorrectly.
2. The teacher explains that the students are going to write
a poem using some of the literary devices that were just reviewed. The evaluation
checklist is given out at this time and reviewed.
3. Use the attached
worksheet to begin getting ideas on a poem about ‘love.’
This is done as a whole group as an example.
4. The students are then asked to think of a theme on their own.
Examples are:
basketball, the USA, their school, a friend,
happiness, etc., and to fill in a sunshine chart on their own
topic.
5. Teacher circulates and facilitates the work.
6. After five minutes or so, the students are asked to write a
draft of a poem of at least ten lines on the theme of their
choice. Remind them that this is just a draft. Literary devices
are going to be incorporated after the first draft.
7. The students are grouped in threes and directed to share their
poems with each other by passing them around to each other. After
each reading set (three in all), each poet should be given one
‘warm’ comment and one ‘cool’ comment. Explain to the students
that warm and cool are a way of praising and criticizing softly.
8. Now the students are asked to go back and rewrite their poems.
This time they are to try to incorporate one or more of the
literary devices that were reviewed at the beginning of the
lesson.
For those who would like to try rhyme, direct them to the Rhyming
Dictionary“ The Semantic Rhyming Dictionary” by Doug Beeferman http://cs.cmu.edu/~dougb/rhyme.html.
Homework
The students are to finish
their poems and give it a title.
Extension Ideas for the next day and
beyond
1. The teacher copies examples
of literary devices from the students’ poems and makes them into a
quiz. The students are given credit for their contribution by
their initial after their literary device. Students enjoy having
their own work used on quizzes.
Examples:
JZ – My room is a castle.
MN – Candies, cookies, and crackers can caramelize cannibals.
2.The poems are posted around the room or on
a web site, and the students do a walk-around or a click around.
The students are given five or ten minutes to see how many
literary devices they can find and identify.
3. If the students feel that their poems are particularly well
written, they may submit them electronically to:
