Teacher Candidate: _Kayla Purcell____________________ Date: _1/21/14______THE UCI LESSON PLANNER

Part 1: Classroom Information

Grade: __4___ Content Area/Class Title: Reading/RtI “Challenge” group__________School/MT: _Meadow Park Elementary/Janet Anderson_________ Group Size: __36____ Lesson Length: 60 minutes

Classroom Context: Total enrolled: __36___ Second language learners: Emerging_0__ Expanding_0__ Bridging_0__ RFEP_1__ Special needs students (IEP, 504, RSP, GATE): 0 IEP, 6 GATE, 1 ELL

o GATE students (Peyton, Nathaneo, Joey, Leah, Kaelyn, and Wilson): enrichment and peer work with GATE peers and non-GATE peers

o EL student (Janice): check in with student for understanding prior to beginning work on the task, use manipulatives and visuals throughout lesson

Part 2: Planning for the Learning Sequence

Topic: Introduction to Poetry “What is Poetry?”

Learning Trajectory for this Topic (Concepts, Skills, Knowledge Surrounding this Topic):

Before your lesson (previous grades and earlier this year)

Your lesson After your lesson (this grade & beyond)

Determine what elements make up a story.

Identify story structure elements including characters, setting, problem, climax, solution, theme.

Compare and contrast the similarities and differences of two items.

Create a defining in context circle map to activate prior knowledge of a topic.

Read poems in third grade class.

Explore features of poems.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.5

Create a defining in context map to define poetry.

Identify features of a specific poem to generalize features of all poetry.

Compare and contrast a poem and its’ features to a story and its’ elements.

Identify several purposes of poetry.

Determine whether a story is a story or a poem and explain why based on its features.

Practice how to read a poem with attention to

Determine the theme of a poem from its details.

Explore figurative language.

Identify metaphors, hyperboles, similes, personification, rhyme patterns, alliteration, and onomatopoeia in poetry.

Analyze metaphors, hyperboles, similes, personification, rhyme patterns, alliteration, and onomatopoeia for meaning in poems.

Write your own poem using figurative language

Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.

the punctuation at the ends of the lines.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.5 Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.

features.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.5 Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.

Part 3: Planning for the Lesson

A: Standards

i. Key Content Standard : CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.5 Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.

ii. Target CCSS-M Standards for Mathematical Practice , or NGSS Science and Engineering Practices , CCSS-ELA Capacity of Literate Individuals

They build strong content knowledge. Students establish a base of knowledge across a wide range of subject matter by engaging with works of quality and substance. They become proficient in new areas through research and study. They read purposefully and listen attentively to gain both general knowledge and discipline-specific expertise. They refine and share their knowledge through writing and speaking.

iii. Related ELD Standard : 6. Reading/viewing closelya) Describe ideas, phenomena (e.g., pollination), and text elements (main idea, character traits, event sequence, etc.) in detail based on close reading of a variety of grade‐level texts with light support.b) Use knowledge of morphology (e.g., affixes, roots, and base words) and linguistic context to determine the meaning of unknown and multiple‐ meaning words on familiar and new topics.

B. Objectives

i. Learning Objective :

Cognitive Behavior: Students will write their own definition of poetry in a “Defining in Context” circle map by identifying the essential features of “A Dragon’s Lament” by Jack Prelutsky, comparing and contrasting “A Dragon’s Lament” with Aesop’s “The Tortoise and the Hare,” and reading the “What is Poetry” poems, “A Doe and Her Fawns” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”

Student Learning Focus: Students will determine features of poems and explain how poems are different from stories.

ii. Language Objective (transfer this from "Incorporating Academic Language"):

Students will identify defining features of poetry after reading “A Dragon’s Lament,” “A Doe and Her Fawns,” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” to build an understanding of what poetry is in general.

C. Assessments:

i. Informal assessment strategies you will use during classThink-Pair-Share: Students will discuss with their desk partners what poetry is after listening to a reading of “A Dragon’s Lament” by Jack Prelutsky. Students will discuss with their desk partners why “The Tortoise in the Hare” is not a poem. Students will discuss with their desk partners what to add to their circle maps. Students will share their final definition for poetry with their desk partners.

Monitoring Students’ Progress During Task: Students will read “A Dragon’s Lament” and analyze what features poems have independently. Students will read “The Tortoise and the Hare” and determine whether it is a poem or not. Students will create a Defining in Context circle map, “What is poetry?” to define poetry and give examples. Students will read “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and code for unfamiliar or interesting vocabulary and concepts.

Open Discussion: (Some) students will explain what poetry is to the whole class. Students will ask questions about vocabulary or concepts they do not understand from “A Dragon’s Lament.” (Some) students will share what they added to their circle maps. Students will ask questions about vocabulary or concepts they do not understand from “A Doe and Her Fawns.” (Some) students will share what they added to their circle maps. Students will ask questions about vocabulary or concepts they do not understand from “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”

Quick-Write: Students will explain why “The Tortoise and the Hare” is not a poem based on its features.

ii. Written assessment you will use to determine, for each individual student, to what extent they have met your learning objectives.

Students will explain what makes a poem poetry on their Defining in Context circle maps.

D. Lesson Resources/Materials (e.g., handouts, manipulatives, special supplies):

Document camera 38 copies of “A Dragon’s Lament” by Jack Prelutsky Students’ Reading journals 38 copies of “The Tortoise and the Hare” by Aesop 38 Poetry packets 2 blank pieces of lined paper (for modeling on document camera)

Part 4: Instructional Sequence - Engaging Students in the Learning Process

Introduction (__5_ min.): Describe how you will make connections to prior knowledge, let students

know what the focus of the lesson is, and tap into their experiences and interests.

Explain to students that they will be starting a new unit, poetry!

Tell students that they will be listening to and looking at different poems during the lesson to

help write a definition for poetry and build their understanding of poetry as a literature genre.

Explain that you will read a poem called “A Dragon’s Lament” by Jack Prelutsky to them to

activate their prior knowledge of poetry.

Ask them to think about what poetry is while you read the poem aloud.

Read “A Dragon’s Lament” by Jack Prelutsky aloud. Do not place on document camera for

students to view.

Have students open to a clean page in their Reading journals.

Inform students to work independently to create a “Defining in Context” circle map writing

down anything they know or remember about “poetry.”

Model for students how to set up the “Defining in Context” circle map on the document

camera.

Monitor student progress as they complete the task by walking around the room and asking

students questions about their thinking. Assist them to activate their prior knowledge of poetry.

Have students turn to their desk partners and share what they remember or know about poetry

from their Circle Maps.

Select four or five volunteers to share what they wrote about poetry on their circle maps.

Model for students writing these volunteers’ contributions down on the piece of paper on the

document camera.

Ensure students are adding to their circle map if they do not already have that information

written down.

Body of the Lesson (__50__ minutes): Describe step-by-step what the teacher and the students will

be doing during the lesson.

Call one student from each row up to the front of the class from each row to pass out copies of

“A Dragon’s Lament” to each student in their rows.

Inform students that they will now read the poem independently with the question in mind,

“What features do poems have?”

Write “What features do poems have?” on the whiteboard.

Emphasize that students know to underline or highlight any new vocabulary they have

questions about.

Monitor students by walking around the room as they read “A Dragon’s Lament,” think about

the guiding question, and code for new vocabulary.

Have students ask questions about vocabulary they encountered in “A Dragon’s Lament.”

Prior to answering the questions for these students, ask the other students if they answer the

question about the vocabulary or concept themselves.

Ask the whole class the following question:

o After reading “A Dragon’s Lament,” what features do poems have?

Have students turn to their desk partners and explain what features they noticed about “A

Dragon’s Lament.”

Select three or four student volunteers to describe poetic features they noticed in “A Dragon’s

Lament.”

Model for students adding these poetic features to the Defining in Context circle map.

Ensure students add the new findings to their circle maps.

Explain to students that although they are reading one specific poem, they are examining that

poem to generalize about most or all poems.

Emphasize that in order to demonstrate they are making a generalization about poems rather

than only talking about “A Dragon’s Lament,” they would use a specific introductory clause.

Model the use of the sentence frame “After reading _________, I believe poems have

__________” for students.

Ask the whole class the following question:

o What was the author’s purpose in “A Dragon’s Lament?”

Have students discuss with their desk partners the author’s purpose for writing “A Dragon’s

Lament.”

Select one or two students to explain the author’s purpose for writing “A Dragon’s Lament.”

Model for students adding this purpose to the Defining in Context circle map.

Ensure students add this information to their circle maps.

Explain to students that they will now look at a piece of literature and determine whether or not

it is a poem and why it is a poem or why it is not a poem.

Pass out “The Tortoise and the Hare” to the student at the end of each row to pass down their

rows.

Instruct students to read the piece of literature when they get it and look at the features or

elements of the passage to determine whether or not it is a poem and why.

Inform students that they should highlight or underline any new vocabulary or concepts they

need clarified.

Have students ask questions about vocabulary they encountered in “The Tortoise and the

Hare.”

Prior to answering the questions for these students, ask the other students if they answer the

question about the vocabulary or concept themselves.

Instruct students to turn to a clean page in their Reading journals.

Tell students they will have a few minutes to write a journal entry explaining why they think

“The Tortoise and the Hare” is a poem or why they think it is not a poem based on its features.

Inform students they need three pieces of evidence from the passage for why it is a poem or

why it is not a poem.

Have students title the journal entry, “Compare and Contrast: Stories and Poems.”

Model for students the title on a piece of paper on the document camera.

Monitor students’ progress on the task by walking around the room and asking students

questions about their thinking:

o What features did we say poems have?

o Does this passage have those features?

o What is story structure?

o What are the elements in a story?

o Does this passage have those elements?

Ask one or two students to share their responses with the class.

Have students turn to their desk partners and explain how a poem is different than a story.

Remind students to practice utilizing the introductory clause, “After reading __________, I

believe a poem ____________” when discussing with their desk partners.

Select one student to explain how a poem is different from a story to the whole class.

Pass out the “Poetry Packet” to the student at the end of each row to pass them to each student

in their row.

Instruct students to read the first page independently titled, “What is Poetry” to get a better

sense of what poetry actually is.

Inform students to add anything new they read to their Defining in Context map for poetry.

Call on four to five students to ask what they added to their maps from the “What is Poetry?”

reading. Emphasize that they are only giving major ideas, not direct quotes from the passage.

Model for students adding the new information to the circle map.

Ensure all students are adding the information to their circle maps.

Have students turn to the third page in their Poetry Packets, also titled, “What is Poetry?”

Instruct students to read the page independently.

Have students underline or highlight any new or interest vocabulary they would like clarified.

Monitor students’ progress by walking around the room.

Have students ask questions about vocabulary they encountered in “A Doe and Her Fawns.”

Prior to answering the questions for these students, ask the other students if they answer the

question about the vocabulary or concept themselves.

Ask students to discuss with their desk partners why the student from the poetry packet thought

a poem was a better way to describe her experience than a paragraph or research report.

Select one or two volunteers to explain why the student chose to express herself in a poem.

Ask the whole class and select volunteers:

o After reading “A Doe and Her Fawns”, is there anything we need to add to our circle

maps that would help us define poetry?

Model for students adding the new information to the circle map on the document camera.

Ensure students are adding the new information to their circle maps.

Have students turn to the next page in their Poetry packets, titled “How to Read a Poem.”

Explain to students that one does not read a poem like they would read a story.

Tell students that this page in the poetry packet will help them read poetry in a special way.

Inform students you will read aloud the first two paragraphs above “Stopping by Woods on a

Snowy Evening.”

Read aloud the first two paragraphs above “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”

Inform students that the directions for them to read the poem is beneath the poem itself.

Explain to students that they will read the poem carefully all the way through independently.

Then they will whisper read the poem aloud.

Emphasize that students should pay close attention to the punctuation or lack thereof when

reading.

Remind students to underline or highlight any new vocabulary to be clarified.

Have students read through “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” twice.

Monitor students’ progress by walking around the room and listening to students as they read

the poem aloud.

Have students ask questions about vocabulary they encountered in “Stopping by Woods on a

Snowy Evening.”

Prior to answering the questions for these students, ask the other students if they answer the

question about the vocabulary or concepts themselves.

Ask for a student volunteer to read “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” to the class

aloud, poetically and with correct punctuation.

Ask the whole class the following question and select volunteers:

o Is there an important idea we have learned about reading poetry that we can add to our

circle map?

Select one or two student volunteers to explain what to add to the circle map about poetry.

Model for students adding the new information (read poetry based on punctuation at the end of

lines) to the circle map.

Ensure students are adding this information to their circle map.

Explain to students that they will summarize all the information they have learned about poetry

into one definition.

Ask students to write their own definition of poetry at the bottom of their circle map page.

Ensure students utilize the sentence frame, “After reading ‘A Dragon’s Lament’, ‘A Doe and

Her Fawns’ and ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’, I believe poetry is ___________”

when writing their definitions.

Monitor students’ progress by walking around the classroom and asking students questions

about their thinking.

Closure (___2___minutes):

Ask students to share their own definitions of poetry with their desk partners.

Select one or two student volunteers to share their definitions of poetry aloud with the whole

class.

Have students pack up their RtI materials.

Send Mr. Gong’s students and Mrs. Taketani’s students back to their homerooms.

Part 5: Incorporating Academic Language(to be completed after you have planned the content part of your lesson plan)

1. Describe the cognitive task(s) related to the content learning objective:

Students will write their own definition of poetry in a “Defining in Context” circle map by identifying the essential features of “A Dragon’s Lament” by Jack Prelutsky, comparing and contrasting “A Dragon’s Lament” with Aesop’s “The Tortoise and the Hare,” and reading the “What is Poetry” poems, “A Doe and Her Fawns” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”

Students will determine features of poems and explain how poems are different from stories.

2. Language Demands: How will students be communicating in relation to the content in the cognitive task(s)? Identify the communicative mode.

o Collaborative (engagement in oral or written dialogue with others)

Discuss Defining in Context circle map about poetry with desk partners. Discuss poetic features of “A Dragon’s Lament” with desk partners. Discuss the author’s purpose for writing “A Dragon’s Lament” with desk

partners. Discuss how poems are different than stories with desk partners. Discuss why the student in the poetry packet chose to express herself through a

poem rather than a paragraph or research paper with desk partners. Share own definition of poetry with desk partners.

o Interpretive (comprehension and analysis of written and spoken texts)

Listen to an oral read aloud of “A Dragon’s Lament” and think about what poetry is.

Read poems to identify specific features of poetry. Read “The Tortoise and the Hare” and determine why it is not a poem using

evidence from the story. Read “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” aloud to practice reading

poetry with correct punctuation.

o Productive (creation of oral presentations and written texts) Create a Defining in Context circle map about poetry.

Write an explanation with evidence deciding why or why not “The Tortoise and the Hare” is a poem or is not a poem.

Some students will verbally explain what to add to their circle maps from the Poetry packet.

One student will orally perform “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” for the whole class.

Write own definition for poetry.

3. Looking at all of the ways your students will be using language, which one of the language demands (from #2 above) do you want to systematically address?

Students will read poems to identify specific features of poetry.

4. What genre / function do you want to systematically address in your lesson plan that will scaffold students to stronger disciplinary discourse?

Identify: Students will identify defining features of poetry after listening to and reading poems.

5. What is/are the language objective(s) for your lesson? (Note: be sure to copy and paste this into the top of the lesson planner.)

Students will identify defining features of poetry after reading “A Dragon’s Lament,” “A Doe and Her Fawns,” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” to build an understanding of what poetry is in general.

6. What does your language objective sound like/look like for different levels of language learners (see samples below)?

Emerging Expanding BridgingTeacher reads the poem to students, stopping to identify key words and provide rephrased definitions, meanings, and/or L1 vocabulary. Teacher asks student guiding questions about how a poem is different from stories they have read such as, “How does this poem look different from a story?”

For each stanza of the poem, the teacher asks students guiding questions about features of poems such as, “How does this poem look different from a story?” Students read independently. The class discuss about features of poetry.

Students read the text independently. Teacher guides student after reading by asking questions such as, “What unique features did you notice about this poem? How is it different from other literature you’ve seen?” Class discusses the about the features of poetry using evidence from the poems.

7. What linguistic feature(s) are you going to explicitly "teach" your students? (e.g., compound sentence, introductory clause, sequence words, genre cue words)

Introductory clause: After reading _________, I believe poems are/have _______________ because______________.

8. What learning "interval" will you include in your lesson plan to support your Language Objective?

Instruction Guided Practice Independent PracticeAfter students have read “A Dragon’s Lament, explain to students that although they are reading one specific poem, they are examining that poem to generalize about most or all poems. Emphasize that in order to demonstrate they are making a generalization about poems rather than only talking about “A Dragon’s Lament,” they would use a specific introductory clause. Model the use of the sentence frame “After reading _________, I believe poems have __________” for students.

After students have read “The Tortoise and the Hare”, remind them to practice utilizing the introductory clause, “After reading __________, I believe a poem ____________” when discussing with their desk partners.

When students are writing their own definitions of poetry toward the end of the lesson, remind them to utilize the sentence frame, “After reading ‘A Dragon’s Lament’, ‘A Doe and Her Fawns’ and ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’, I believe poetry is ___________” when writing their definitions.

9. What key vocabulary will students need during this lesson? New to this lesson: Stanza, queer, downy, contrite, brimming, brute, brazenly, pillage,

loot, talons Previously taught but need continued support: Poetry, rhythm, oblivious, frolic Previously learned: Rhyme, punctuation, story structure

10. Be sure to incorporate your ideas in #7 above into your actual lesson plan! Use yellow and green highlighting to match. (Note: Be sure to account for these language experiences in the timing of your lesson.)

Assessment Notes: * Be sure to incorporate assessment items of your targeted academic language into your assessments.* Be sure to review any assessments you are going to use, and consider what modifications you may need to make for your language learners.

Lesson Reflection

Make notes on actual lesson plan to indicate what worked, what didn’t, missed opportunities, evidence of student learning, monitoring, and other anecdotes. In addition, please respond to the following questions:

LEARNING GOAL

1. What was your content learning objective?

Students will write their own definition of poetry in a “Defining in Context” circle map by identifying the essential features of “A Dragon’s Lament” by Jack Prelutsky, comparing and contrasting “A Dragon’s Lament” with Aesop’s “The Tortoise and the Hare,” and reading the “What is Poetry” poems, “A Doe and Her Fawns” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”

EVIDENCE

2. a) What specific examples of student learning do you have that showed students met or made progress toward the content learning objective? Please complete the chart below.

Teacher Actions &/or Strategies Evidence of Student LearningI asked students to read “A Dragon’s Lament” by Jack Prelutsky and answer the question, “What features do poems have?” Moreover, I had students add these features to their Defining in Context circle map on poetry. I had students share aloud the features of poetry they noticed from “A Dragon’s Lament” and other students added this information to their thinking maps.

The students were able to provide features of poetry through exploration of “A Dragon’s Lament” in the whole class discussion such as, “rhyme,” “expresses feeling”, “focus on one moment”, “lines,” “different types like haiku and couplet,” “details,” “many adjectives,” “new vocabulary,” “have figurative language such as hyperbole, simile, and alliteration” and “pattern.” All students had added at least two features to their map independently prior to the whole class discussion.

I provided students with copies of “The Tortoise and the Hare” in order to determine whether that particular piece of literature was a poem or not and why. I instructed students to write a response to the prompt in their Reading journals including three pieces of evidence from their Defining in Context map about poetry.

100% of students correctly determined that “The Tortoise and the Hare” was not a poem. Each of the students were able to refer to three defining features of poetry to explain why “The Tortoise and the Hare” is not a poem. For example, one student wrote, “I think The Tortoise and the Hare is not a poem because it does not have rhymes, it does not have a lot of figurative language, and there are no lines.”

I had students turn to their desk partners and explain one difference between stories and poems for closure.

100% of the students were able to name one difference between poems and stories such as, rhyming, stanzas, patterns, or figurative language.

b) Write a narrative that explains the decisions and strategies you used that led to successful student learning of your content learning objective. The first instructional strategy that led my students to make progress toward the learning objective is the Defining in Context circle map about poetry. By having my students think of features of poetry prior to reading “A Dragon’s Lament,” and after reading the poem, students were able to activate prior knowledge

about poetry to build an idea of what poetry is. Because students were filling in features of poetry in their thinking maps, they were thinking of different ways to define poetry in general or different characteristics of poetry as a literature genre. Additionally, my strategy to have students compare a poem with something that was not a poem, rather a story, (The Tortoise and the Hare), my students would further their understanding of what makes a poem poetry by having a nonexample of poetry. Moreover, because I asked my students to prove why “The Tortoise and the Hare” wasn’t a poem using the defining features of poems they created as a class, the students were forced to truly build a definition of poetry in their mind. Finally, my strategy of having students pair-share one difference between stories and poems was to lead students to verbalize a defining feature of poetry to their partner. Because the students are focused on the characteristics of poetry, they will be able to meet the learning objective tomorrow, to write a definition or generalization about poetry as a genre.

3. a) What specific examples of student learning do you have that showed students struggled to meet or make progress toward this goal? Please complete the chart below.

Teacher Actions &/or Strategies Evidence of Student LearningAfter reading “A Dragon’s Lament” aloud to the students, I had them start a Defining in Context circle map about poetry. I asked that they write down anything they remember or know about poetry including features, poems, or poets.

Almost all students only had one or two things written on their thinking maps. For example, one student wrote, “Rhymes.”

I asked students to read “The Tortoise and the Hare” and determine whether or not it was a poem and why. Students were required to use three pieces of evidence in their responses from their poetry defining in context circle maps.

In students’ journal responses, about 50% of the students overgeneralized the ideas on their circle map about poetry. For example, many students wrote, “The Tortoise and the Hare is not a poem because it does not have figurative language.” Thus, because figurative language was on their thinking map as a feature of poetry, they assumed it could not be used in other genres of literature.

b) Write a narrative that explains the decisions and strategies that may have interfered or created missed opportunities in terms of student learning. The main decision that might have interfered with student learning was to have students compare and contrast stories and poems without explaining that stories can have some of the same features poems have and vice versa. Ultimately, I should have clarified that the features written on their thinking maps were not exclusive to poems. If students had known this before writing their journal responses, they might not have made overgeneralizations like, “’The Tortoise and the Hare’ does not have figurative language.”

ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES and/or NEXT STEPS

4. Considering student learning, if you were to teach this lesson again, what decisions and strategies would you change (in planning, instruction, and/or assessment) to teach an upcoming lesson? Why?

If I were to teach this lesson again, I would prepare context clues for possible vocabulary words for students. Although I did circle and define words I suspected students would need clarification on, I did not consider having students re-read the sentences for context clues. If I had prepared ahead in this way, I could have helped students build their own definition and understanding of the

vocabulary rather than either having a peer tell the student what the definition was or telling the student the definition of the word myself. Additionally, before having students write the journal entry determining whether or not “The Tortoise and the Hare” was a poem and why, I would have clarified the idea that not all features of poetry are exclusive to poetry. In other words, the characteristics about poetry that students came up with on their defining in context circle maps about poetry are not exclusive to poetry. If I had clarified this for students, they would have been able to compare stories and poems easier than they did during the lesson.

5. Using the evidence of student learning described and observed, what will be your next steps in future instruction with the class, small groups, and/or individual students?

Because my students did not verbalize the idea that stories are different from poems because they have story elements (setting, characters, plot, etc) I would like to start off by returning to the idea of comparing stories and poems. By doing so, I believe my students will build a greater understanding of a definition for poetry. After the students discuss the differences between stories and poems, I will have them start reading the poetry packet with the “What is Poetry” article in it. My students will read about further features of poetry that they did not define themselves. Additionally, my students will return to their defining in context maps and add these features to their thinking maps. Moreover, students will read the article, “How to Read a Poem” and practice reading poems with “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost. Lastly, students will write a generalization or the definition for poetry in general at the bottom of their defining in context circle maps for poetry.

A Dragon’s Lament

By Jack Prelutsky

I’m tired of being a dragon,

Ferocious and brimming with flame,

The cause of unspeakable terror

When anyone mentions my name.

I’m bored with my bad reputation

For being a miserable brute,

And being routinely expected

To brazenly pillage and loot.

I wish that I weren’t repulsive,

Despicable, ruthless, and fierce,

With talons designed to dismember

And fangs finely fashioned to pierce.

I’ve lost my desire for doing

The deeds any dragon should do,

But since I can’t alter my nature,

I guess I’ll just terrify you.

The Tortoise and the Hare

Once upon a time there was a hare who, boasting how he could run faster than anyone else, was forever teasing tortoise for its slowness. Then one day, the irate tortoise answered back: “Who do you think you are? There’s no denying you’re swift, but even you can be beaten!” The hare squealed with laughter.

“Beaten in a race? By whom? Not you, surely! I bet there’s nobody in the world that can win against me, I’m so speedy. Now, why don’t you try?”

Annoyed by such bragging, the tortoise accepted the challenge. A course was planned, and the next day at dawn they stood at the starting line. The hare yawned sleepily as the meek tortoise trudged slowly off. When the hare saw how painfully slow his rival was, he decided, half asleep on his feet, to have a quick nap. “Take your time!” he said. “I’ll have forty winks and catch up with you in a minute.”

The hare woke with a start from a fitful sleep and gazed round, looking for the tortoise. But the creature was only a short distance away, having barely covered a third of the course. Breathing a sigh of relief, the hare decided he might as well have breakfast too, and off he went to munch some cabbages he had noticed in a nearby field. But the heavy meal and the hot sun made his eyelids droop. With a careless glance at the tortoise, now halfway along the course, he decided to have another snooze before flashing past the winning post. And smiling at the thought of the look on the tortoise’s face when it saw the hare speed by, he fell fast asleep and was soon snoring happily. The sun started to sink, below the horizon, and the tortoise, who had been plodding towards the winning post since morning, was scarcely a yard from the finish. At that very point, the hare woke with a jolt. He could see the tortoise a speck in the distance and away he dashed. He leapt and bounded at a great rate, his tongue lolling, and gasping for breath. Just a little more and he’d be first at the finish. But the hare’s last leap was just too late, for the tortoise had beaten him

to the winning post. Poor hare! Tired and in disgrace, he slumped down beside the tortoise who was silently smiling at him.

“Slowly does it every time!” he said.