The document summarizes a classroom lesson on poetry. The teacher leads students in analyzing poems to understand the author's purpose, inspiration, and central idea. Students consider how elements like rhythm, repetition, and onomatopoeia create sound in poetry. They then apply these skills to poems by Langston Hughes and Jacqueline Woodson. Later, the teacher prompts students to write poems expressing their hopes and visions of peace for their community and world.

1. Ms. Catherine’s
Class
March 2-6, 2015

2. Objectives
• Reading Workshop
• Readers of poetry pay attention to rhythm,
repetition, onomatopoeia, and alliteration to
create sound in poetry.
• Let’s Decorate Our Door!
• Who has heard of Roald Dahl?

3. Reading Workshop
• Readers of poetry pay attention to rhythm, repetition,
onomatopoeia, and alliteration to create sound in poetry.
• Today we are going to learn about the sound of poetry…so just
like we listen to music, we can also listen to poetry too.
• Let’s start by listening to this poem:
• http://youtu.be/ltun92DfnPY
• Let’s look at the collection Poetry for Young People by Langston
Hughes which is made up entirely of poems by him.

4. Reading Workshop
• As we read each poem, we will listen and pay attention to
different techniques that Langston used to create the “sound”
of the poems.
• First, we’ll read “Danse Africaine” and we’ll pay close attention
to how Langston creates rhythm—rhythm in poetry is just like
the beat in music.
• Next, we will read “Aunt Sue’s Stories” and in this poem, we will
pay attention to how Langston uses repetition of phrases and
alliteration—the repetition of sounds at the beginning of words
to affect rhythm.
• Finally, we will read “The Weary Blues” and pay attention to
sound words, or onomatopoeia—a word like “crash” or
“bam”—it is spelled exactly as it sounds.

5. Reading
Workshop
• Did you hear a
beat?
• How did
Langston create
the beat to
sound like tom-
toms?
• Now I’m going to
tap my foot to
the rhythm as I
read…tap along
with me if you
hear the beat as
well.

6. Reading
Workshop
• How does the
rhythm of this
poem help us
understand what
the poem is
about?

7. Reading
Workshop
• Read 1st Stanza…
• Did you notice how
Langston create
rhythm?
• Let’s read on and
notice his use of
alliteration, or words
that start with the
same letter right after
each other.
• Repeat “Singing
Sorrow
Songs”…repeat with
students a few times.

8. Reading
Workshop
• Read 1st Stanza of
The Weary Blues
• Let’s notice how
Langston create
the sound of
poetry through
sound words, or
onomatopoeia.
• What did you
notice about how
Langston creates
sound?
• Turn & Talk to your
partner.

9. Reading
Workshop
• Let’s return to our chart
“What Do We Notice
About Poetry?”
• What have we noticed
today about how poets
create the sound of
poetry?
• What can we add to our
chart?

10. Reading
Workshop
• Today we have heard
different sounds in
poems and talked about
how these different
sounds help us
understand the
meaning of poems.
• As we continue reading
poetry, we will
remember the
importance of linking
sound to meaning.

11. Roald Dahl
• List of books by Roald Dahl:
• James and the Giant Peach
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Matilda
• My Uncle Oswald
• The Witches
• Fastastic Mr. Fox
• The Twits
• Tales of the Unexpected
• Georges Marvelous Medicine
• The BFG

12. Sentence Structure
Begin with the following sentence…
I run.
Add an adverb.
Add a preposition and an object for the preposition.
Add an adjective.
Put the sentence in past tense.
What do you have?

13. Sentence Structure
Begin with the following sentence…
We swim.
Tell me where “We swim.”
Add a preposition and an object for the preposition.
Add an adjective.
Make the sentence singular.
When did it happen?
What do you have?

14. Sentence Structure
Begin with the following sentence…
They speak.
Add an adverb.
Add a preposition and an object for the preposition.
Add an adjective.
Put the sentence in past tense.
What do you have?

15. Sentence Structure
Begin with the following sentence…
We could go.
Add a preposition and an object for the preposition.
Add an adverb.
Add an adjective.
Put the sentence in past tense…remember, you need to add
another verb.
Make the sentence negative.

16. Could’s Rule
Could expresses an idea or an option without imposing
one's judgment of what is "right" to do. Could is often
used for offering ideas as possible solutions.
• You could go back to where you last opened your bag
and look around.
• You could walk back along the way you just walked.
• You could search the pockets of your bag / backpack.
• You could ask people if they have seen it.

17. Sentence Structure
Begin with the following sentence…
He should sleep.
Add an adverb.
Add a preposition and an object for the preposition.
Add an adjective.
Put the sentence in past tense.
Make the sentence plural.
Make the sentence negative.

18. Should’s Rule
Should expresses one's opinion on an action to take:
advice, a strong suggestion. It is more commonly used
for peer to peer (same rank or authority) advice or with
family.
• You should check the places you have been today.
• You should cancel your credit cards.
• You should notify campus security / police.
• You should arrange to get a new identification card.

19. Reading Workshop
• Readers of poetry determine the author’s purpose by
asking, “What’s the big idea?”
• Readers of poetry need to uncover the author’s big
idea.
• In order to figure out the big idea or central message
of the poem, readers need to consider the author’s
purpose and inspiration.
• When considering the author’s purpose, we think
about why the author arote what he or she did.

20. Reading Workshop
• Does the poet
want us to think
about an
important issue?
• Does he or she
want to inspire us
and make us feel a
particular emotion?
• Does he or she
want to share an
important
experience with
us?

21. Reading Workshop
• We also consider
the author’s
inspiration.
• What inspired the
author to write this
poem?
• Does the poem
have an external
inspiration (such as
nature, the
environment, or
noise)?

22. Reading Workshop
• Does the poem
have an internal
inspiration (such as
a feeling, an
emotion, or an
experience)?

23. Reading Workshop
• Today we are going to read two poems from
Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson.
• The 1st poem is titled “Poem Book,” and the second
poem is titled “Roof.”
• As we read, ask yourselves: What was the author’s
purpose for writing this poem?
• What is the author’s inspiration?
• And, finally, what is the big idea—what is the poem
really about?

24. Reading Workshop
• We are going to read the poems three times today.
• Each time, we are going to use a different lens to
examine the text.
• The first time we read each poem, we are going to try
to uncover the author’s purpose.
• As I read aloud, I want you to consider what you think
the author wants to accomplish by writing the
particular piece.
• What is her purpose?

25. Reading
Workshop
• Read “Poem
Book”
• I think that the
author wrote
this poem to
begin the
story of the
entire book.
• She explains
why the book
is written in
the form of
poetry.

26. Reading
Workshop
• She also
introduces some
of the characters
in the story.

27. Reading
Workshop
• Let’s add
these notes to
our chart…
• Now let’s re-
read the
poem to
consider the
source of
inspiration.
• Reread the
poem.

28. Reading
Workshop
• It seems that
this poem
(and maybe
the whole
book) is
inspired by an
internal need
to speak and
be heard!
• I see that in
the line, “But
when Miss
Edna’s voice
comes on…”

29. Reading
Workshop
• Because this
seems to
silence
Lonnie.
• Notice that I
am using
clues from the
text to infer
the author’s
inspiration.
• Let’s add this
to the chart as
well.

30. Reading
Workshop
• Now that we
have read
through the
poem and
discovered
the author’s
purpose and
inspiration,
we are going
to reread the
poem for the
third time…

31. Reading
Workshop
• …to use all of
the clues we
have
uncovered to
discover the
big idea.
• Reread the
poem.
• What is this
poem really
about?
• Volunteers?

32. Reading
Workshop
• Read “Roof”
• After reading
this poem for
the 1st time,
what do you
think the
author’s
purpose was?
• What do you
think the
author’s
inspiraton
was?

33. Reading
Workshop
• Let’s add your
ideas to the
chart.
• Now let’s
move into a
conversation
about the big
idea of the
poem.
• Let’s use our
notes and
thoughts to
help us.

34. Reading
Workshop
• Who would
like to start
the
conversation?
• Today we
used our
detective
skills to
discover
different
layers of
poems.

35. Reading
Workshop
• We have
learned that
there are
many
different
ideas,
experiences,
emotions and
inspirations
that may
spark an
author’s
creativity.

36. Reading
Workshop
• As readers of
poetry, it is
important
that we learn
to use our
detective
skills to look
for things that
may not be
directly stated
on the page.

37. Reading
Workshop
• By looking
under the
surface, we
can discover
deeper
meanings of a
poem.

38. Reading
Workshop
• Also, when
we examine a
poem
multiple
times, we can
notice
differences
each time that
can help us
understand
the poem’s
big idea.

39. Writing Workshop
• We have shared lots of poems and have seen how poetry
can help us create strong images, describe our
surroundings, see the mystery in ordinary things, and even
laugh.
• Today we are going to talk about how poetry can help us
think about our hopes and dreams for our immediate
family, friends, larger community and world!
• First, I’d like to show you guys the back of this collection of
poetry called, “Peaceful Pieces” by Anna Grossnickle where
she has shared the profiles of 8 peacemakers she believes
have changed the world for the better through actions and
words.

40. Writing
Workshop
• They include politicians,
religious leaders and ordinary
people—even children, just
like you.
• The work of these people
inspired Anna to create
poems and quilts about
peace.
• Let’s read some of Anna’s
poems to hear about her ideas
regarding peace.

41. Writing
Workshop
• I find Anna’s
words to be so
calming, hopeful
and peaceful!
• The combination
of the profiles plus
Anna’s words and
quilts really inspire
me to think about
what I want for my
own family and
friends.

42. Writing
Workshop
• It also makes me
think about my
community and the
world.
• When I think about
my own hopes, I
think of several
things.

43. Writing
Workshop
• Some of the things I’d like
are no illnesses, no bullying,
using kind words, sharing,
compromising, no wars, etc.
• Let’s all create a chart in our
writing notebooks.
• Then I plan to take my list
and create a short poem
about what I want for my
world.
• Using your chart, create a
five- to ten-line poem about
your hopes.

44. Writing
Workshop

45. Writing
Workshop
• Poetry has the power to inspire others to do
wonderful things that can help make our
communities, both big and small, more peaceful,
content places for everyone.
• Today during writing time, use your list of hopes and
dreams to create a few poems connected to the
important idea of peace!
• What do you wish for your family and friends?
• Where and when do you feel most peaceful?
• What is something others in power could do to create a
more peaceful world?