Life Doesnt Frighten Me!

Poetry Starters
Recommended Time: 1 Workshop
Objective
Students will create a piece of writing about a personal fear.
Materials:
Journals and Pencils
Literary Moment :Life Doesnt Frighten Me by Maya Angelou
Read the poem out loud, making sure to emphasize the rhythm
and rhyme. Feel free to act out parts of the poem as well.
While you read, students should listen for different things that the
poet isnt scared of. They can write them down if they need to.
Writing Time
Think, Pair, Share
Ask students to recall some of the things that the poet wasnt
scared of and have a volunteer write them on the board.
Give the students one minute to write down things that they are
scared of.
Then, give them one minute to share their ideas with a neighbor.
Allow pairs to volunteer their answers and create a list of fears on
the board.
Modeling
Explain that the team will be writing about how these things dont
frighten them at all.
Be sure to share some of your own fears. Choose 1 or 2 and model
out loud how you might start a poem based on that example. Start
by creating a list of at least 3 reasons why your fear(s) really arent
that scary.
You can quickly turn these into a poem by introducing your fear in
the first line or two. Then listing reasons they are not scary in the
middle of the poem. A good way to close stanzas or the poem is
to borrow the line, ______ doesnt frighten me at all. Your poem
does not have to rhyme and you do not have to use this format.
(See example on second page)
Guided Practice
Ask the students to choose a word from the board or their
notebooks and write for five minutes about why they arent scared

of it. Give them the option to start with a list of reasons or a

collection of words and phrases.
After five minutes, have a few volunteers share reasons why their
fears arent that scary. Answer any questions that have come up.
Independent Work
Give students approximately 10 minutes to organize their list into a
poem. Remember, a list can be a poem, so rearranging the order
in a way that makes sense is an easy way for students who are
stuck to get started.
As they write, rotate through the classroom giving feedback,
encouragement and helping students who might be stumped.
Authors Chair
Now is the time for students to present! You can help create a safe,
encouraging environment by reading a poem yourself, and always
giving the students the option to pass.
After a student presents, have the other students provide positive
feedback: an image or rhyme they liked, something that surprised
them, made them feel scared, etc.
You may want to write down golden words or phrases on your
Word Wall of Fame.
Remind students of any upcoming events or projects for the week.
Encourage students who felt successful with this to consider reading
their poem at a game day, practicing beforehand to be the best
they can be! Your team may want to nominate a poem they liked
to share at the game day.
Modeling example (A poem from you is even better!)
Fears: Bugs, rats, spiders.
Poem: Hey bugs, youre fat and juicy,
But I can squish you with my feet.
Bugs, you dont frighten me at all!
Rats, youre fast and dirty,
But you eat trash and meat,
Rats, you dont frighten me at al!
Spiders can try to bite me,
But not if I see them first!
Spiders, you dont frighten me at all!
But of all these gross animals,
My big brother is the worst!
Big brother, you do frighten me a little!

Rhythm and Rhyme in Poetry

Elements of Poetry
Developed by Michelle Shedro, America SCORES
Recommended Time: 2 Workshops
Objective
In this lesson students will identify how the rhythmic and rhyming aspects of
poetry contribute to the overall presentation and meaning of a poem. They will
also write unique poems of ten lines with five pairs exhibiting end rhyming.
Materials
x Journals and pencils
x Overhead projector (recommended)
x Transparency with the Literary Moment
Literary Moment
/LIH 'RHVQW )ULJKWHQ 0H E\ 0D\D $QJHORX  1RWH  7KLV SRHP KDV EHHQ
SXEOLVKHGDVDEHDXWLIXOFKLOGUHQVERRNLOOXVWUDWHGE\-HDQ0LFKHO%DVTXLDW
Journaling/Oral Reflection
%HIRUH WKH OHVVRQ UHDG /LIH 'RHVQW )ULJKWHQ 0H E\ 0D\D $QJHORX DORXG WR
\RXUVHOIRQFHRUWZLFH<RXOOQRWLFHDVXEWOHUK\WKPWKDWJXLGHVWKHSRHP\HW
GRHVQW PDNH LW VRXQG VLOO\ RU FDXVH LW WR ORVH LWV PHDQLQJ  3RHPV WKDWH[KLELW
rhythm and rhyme can be very silly and funny (kids definitely gravitate toward
these), but they can also convey deeper, more powerful messages.
Read the poem aloud to the class. You may want to display it on an overhead
projector as you read. Ask the students what the poet is trying to convey
through the poem. Initiate a discussion about scary things and bravery. Ask
them to share situations in which they have been frightened but tried not to
show it. Ask whether or not students think that hiding their true feelings helps
them feel braver in scary situations. Do they think the poet is really not afraid of
anything or is she simply trying to sound braver than she really is?
Students can do some quick journaling about their thoughts on bravery and
fear.
Lesson
1. Read the Maya Angelou poem again, and ask the students to take note of
rhyming patterns. Read the poem one stanza at a time, noting the rhyming
words that appear. If the poem is on a transparency, underline the rhyming
words using matching colors to emphasize patterns. Tell students that two
lines that rhyme together are called a couplet and that a refrain is a line that
repeats throughout the poem to add emphasis.

America SCORES Power of Poetry Stanza 2

91