Donika Zherka and Erin Percacciolo Education 376 Learning Segment Outline: Concept: Poetry Outcomes Conceptual Knowledge

e Students will be able to 1. Close read poetry. 2. Interpret complex texts. 3. Identify literary devices throughout complex text. 4. Produce a written product incorporating the elements of poetry. Assessment: 1. Composition of a rap song in which students can combine elements of poetry and their lives. Students must be able to explain their usage of the elements throughout the rap song. The goal of this summative assessment is to evaluate student learning and comprehension of poetry and its elements. Description of Lessons: Poetry -What is poetry? -How can we read poetry to fully understand what the author is trying to convey?

-What elements of poetry can help us while reading? -Various poems will appear throughout the lessons. 1) Central Focus a) The central focus requires students to construct meaning from and interpret complex texts. The students must then create a written product. The purpose for the content that will be taught to the students is so that they will be able to interpret poems intellectually and be able to write their own poetry. This will enable students to lose the fear they have for poetry. This lesson segment and the central focus will teach students how to be experts in reading and writing poetry. b) No specific text required. c) The learning objectives of this unit clearly correspond with the central focus of the English content area. The central focus states that the student will construct meaning from and interpret complex text. Throughout the learning segment, the students will be reading poetry. With each reading the class finishes there will be a class discussion to interpret what was read. The students will put to use the steps to close reading poetry as well as the literary elements that the students learn. The students will be able to discuss and construct meaning from the reading by building off of each others ideas. The assessment for this learning segment requires students to hand in a written product that is a rap song. The students must incorporate the literary elements that they have learned and be able to explain what they have written so that there is purpose behind the writing. d) The lesson plans in this learning segment are able to build off of each other to deepen the learning of students in the English-Language Arts content area. These lesson plans have the ability to do this due to the fact that they are linked in some way. The learning segment

starts off with a lesson on how to do a close reading of a poem. This assists students in the reading of the poetry to help them understand what they are reading even more. The students will then learn the literary elements that are involved in poetry so that they can deepen their understanding of poetry. Their knowledge on close reading poetry and the literary terms will allow students to interpret the poetry fully. These aspects will then lead to students having the ability to write their own rap song. By learning the elements of poetry and by reading different poems, the students will have an understanding of poetry and be able to write their own. The end product will be the rap song. 2) Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching a. In the 6th grade, the students should have a basic background in a lot of what the lessons are based off of. The students know to the read complex texts but they might not necessarily know how to interpret them, especially poetry which the lesson is based off of. The students know how to write but they do not know how to write a poem, or in this case a rap song, that includes literary devices and then be able to explain what elements went into writing their rap song. The students are learning how to do all of this in this lesson segment. The students know how to read but they do not know how to read effectively which is why we will teach students how to do a close reading on a poem. b. The majority of the students are of African American descent or Hispanic and a few of Caucasians in the mix as well. These students are from The Bronx and the majority of them come from low income households. Their everyday experiences arent the same as those in the suburbs. These children have seen a lot more than other kids their age. Students come from backgrounds which include poverty, frequent re-locations, and homelessness. These issues contribute to their difficulty with focusing on instruction and require the teacher to actively engage them.

3) Supporting Students English-Language Arts Learning a. Prior knowledge of the students background in the English content area guided the lesson plans. Knowing their prior academic learning and their personal backgrounds allowed me to produce a lesson segment that the students will be challenged by, but will be able to learn. The lesson segment that I have constructed also allows for the students to use their personal backgrounds. This will allow students to engage in the lesson and have interest in what is being taught. The students need their interests and their life struggles to be used in the class because it is something that they know and have an interest in. This is how an interactive classroom is constructed; through the interests of the students. The interests of the student ties into the lessons with the summative assessment at the end. The rap song in the end allows the students to express themselves. They may rap about anything that they want to express or get out into the open. The classroom is a safe environment; one that cares about its students. This will allow for an interactive classroom. b. Every single student learns differently. Appropriate accommodations must be made for the students for optimal learning. The use of an interactive Prezi Presentation helps students who learn visually. This moving presentation is like a movie. It keeps the students interested and helps those who learn better visually. Any use of technology throughout the lesson segment is beneficial for the students because technology is a part of their everyday lives. Edmodo comes in because it is like a social network which students these days are always on. Students who do well when writing will benefit as well because there will be many writing portions. Throughout the lessons we take a moment to ask students if they understand what is being learned. Students are able to ask us questions about anything they do not understand or if they are truly struggling. During group activities they may ask for help. A safe environment is provided for these students so they feel comfortable asking for help.

c. There are many common errors that will occur from the students within the central focus. Students may have difficulty constructing meaning from the complex text which will then hinder them from interpreting it correctly. A lot of what is being done in this lesson segment is constructing meaning and interpreting poems. The way I will address these errors that the students might make is by having group discussions throughout each lesson to reinforce what is being learned and to also make sure that the students are not making errors. If the students are making errors throughout the group discussions then I will help guide them by using questions that will further their thinking. This will then prevent the students from making any error while creating a written product interpreting the complex text. 4. Supporting English-Language Arts Development through Language a. Interpret/Define Students will be asked to define several literary terms and explain how each term can be used in context. b. A key-learning task that provides students with opportunities to practice this interpretation of several literary terms is analyzing the poetry and constructing meaning through interpretation. Lesson Day: 1, Lesson Number: 1 Another key-learning task that provides students with opportunities to practice this interpretation of several literary terms is analyzing lyrics of the Katy Perry song to look for examples of how different literary terms are used in context. Lesson Day: 2, Lesson Number 2 c. Vocabulary: Interpretation/Define defining and explaining the meaning of how these terms are used in a working literary context. Students need to know and understand what it entails to perform a close reading of a text. If they first cannot close read a text, they will be unable to

depict which terms are being used in context. The index cards will be used as exit slips. On these exit slips the students will be required to write fives sentences that demonstrate their understanding of the term and its use. Discourse will be demonstrated within this segment through the composition of a literary terms rap. Students will use class discussion and a variety of collaborative learning techniques such as think-pair-share and grand conversation to exert their use of verbal communication. They will also do several reading, writing, and practice activities with literary terms to help them develop their own ideas for their literary rap. d. A Prezi Presentation will be used during the lesson provided with examples that will aid in the support of the lesson and students development of the concept being taught. Pictures will be used to generate class discussion on topics that adhere to the overall lesson. Poetry will be utilized to aid in the development of analyzing and close reading skills. Collaborative learning strategies will encourage students to exchange their ideas with peers through class discussion. The students already know about poetry. They are struggling with constructing meaning from the poems. What is new to the students is learning the steps to close reading a poem instead of just being handed a poem. The students are also learning about the elements that go into a poem. The students who have trouble reading will have the help of his/her groupmates to construct meaning. 5. Monitoring Student Learning a. The literary devices worksheet that is used in group work is a form of formal assessment that will demonstrate the students understanding of the several terms. The literary devices notes worksheet is a form of informal assessment that the students create in an effort to assist them in learning the terms, their meanings, and how they are incorporated into written works. The Song assignment will be another formal assessment and provide students with the opportunity to practice the skill of close reading and analyzing a piece of written work. It will also

determine whether or not the students are able to recognize examples of how literary terms are used in everyday life. Group and class discussion will be informal and allow the students to exchange their ideas and provoke higher order thinking amongst other students in the class. Students will be asked questions that provoke critical thinking in relation to the concept and encourage them to make connections to both the self and written works. b. The design of this learning segment addresses multiple intelligences and is designed to accommodate for English Language Learners. The incorporation of pictures allows for those who struggle with written language to comprehend the concept that is being taught. The incorporation of music into this segment will allow for all types of learning. The music aspect will assist auditory learners, and visual learners can make flashcards to create examples that use the literary terms in a sentence.