LESSON THREE: Using Imagery in Poetry
LESSON DESCRIPTION
Students study the use of imagery in poetry.
GRADE-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS
R2B Analyze and evaluate the author’s use of imagery in poetry.
LESSON MATERIALS
Sources of Literature:
o None
Supplies
o Overhead
o Short poem to analyze use of imagery
o Computer lab with internet access
o Formative assessment scoring guide
Handouts provided
o Three-column sensory details chart
o Three-column sensory details chart filled in
Words to know
o imagery
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Students meet in the computer lab and access the Internet site(s) provided by the teacher for the purposes of finding and submitting an example of war poetry to the teacher. Select three of the submitted poems (targeting low, average, and high reading levels). After choosing one of the three poems, students complete a three-column chart (as modeled by the teacher with a chart that has been filled in), focusing on the imagery found in the poem. They will use chart directions as follows: In the first column, identify the name and author of the poem, making sure to use correct citation format. In the second column, identify as many details as possible that pertain to imagery. In the third column, explain how these images contribute to the overall meaning of the poem. Students will submit their completed charts. Scoring guide provided.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1. Question students about the five senses. Using the cooperative learning technique Numbered Heads Together (Kagan), divide students into groups of three (or four); label groups as A, B, C (or D); have students number off within each group. Give each group an object and ask them to list examples of details about it which appeal to specific senses. Groups will not select their own spokesperson; instead, the teacher will call out a number at random (such as, C3) when calling on each group. The person having that number within the group will then report his/her group’s examples. Record the responses on the board or overhead for class discussion. Then ask other groups if they can add any additional sensory details. Explain that these types of sensory details (mental images) will be studied in poetry
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Questions for Students
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Do all objects appeal to all senses? No. Students provide examples of some of these objects. What are the five senses? How can you use the senses to describe an object not physically there? |
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Suggestion
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Explain that you want them to use words that invoke the sense: what word would make me smell the object in my mind? Explain that authors use sensory details to create specific effect. |
2. Select a short poem for analyzing the use of imagery. Model this using a T-chart on an overhead or with handouts. Model examples of imagery in the literature and will then explain how these examples contribute to the understanding of the poem.
Example: See completed three-column chart handout, "Thoughts of Hanoi," by Nguyen Thi Vinh
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Questions for Students
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What is imagery? What are the components of imagery? What contribution(s) does the use of imagery make to the understanding of the poem? More questions on sensory detail: *What senses does the author appeal to in the body of his poem? *How does the use of such imagery contribute to the meaning of the poem? |
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Suggestion
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*Make sure the students are given a clear definition of imagery. *Provide students with background information needed to understand difficult vocabulary that may be encountered during reading. *Make sure the students understand that the author carefully chooses words and details that will help the reader understand the author’s message. Add examples. *Make sure the poem is read aloud in its entirety to the students before modeling the chart. |
3. Using the chart directions below, students use their knowledge of imagery to complete a chart, based on the information contained in an unread (cold) teacher-selected poem. They chart sensory details from the poem and use these details to explain how these images contribute to the overall meaning of the poem.
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Instructions
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*Chart Directions: At the top of the chart, identify the name and author of the poem. In column one, identify as many details (images) as possible that pertain to the five senses. In the second column, explain how these images contribute to the poem’s meaning. |
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Suggestions
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Suggested Literature: "Conscientious Objector" by Edna St. Vincent Millay "In Flanders Field" by John McCrae "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" by Randall Jarrell "The Man He Killed" by Thomas Hardy (Prentice Hall Literature) |