Using the Poem “Winter” and “Spring” by William Shakespeare

Topic: Literature Discussion: The Renaissance

Class Length:  49 minutes

Objectives:                                 

Literacy Objective: Students will be able to compare and contrast author’s use of direct and indirect characterization by participating in a literature discussion. (Reading Applications: 1.)

Students will also be able to distinguish parallel plot and subplot affects the action of this literary text. (Reading Applications: 3.)

Rationale:  clearly states the value of the lesson is in term of the students’ lives and curricular goals.  

Assessment:

1.      Students’ subject matter learning-should be able to ask relevant questions about the literature and it will promote collaborative/thought sharing moments.

2.  Students’ Self-Learning-will be encouraged to think for themselves, relate the study of the poems to their personal lives/experience/history, and the climate of small groups will encourage self-learning.

3.  Students’ Social Learning-students will be set off in groups of 5 for a mix of diversity of culture and viewpoints; they will create their own rules and assumptions of how to work together with discussion questions and formulate their answers, and will learn to work in cooperation while in group sessions.

Materials:

Book: Literature, Structure, Sound and Sense by Perrine

            Large index cards

            Colored Markers

Procedures:

Group size: Small group/ no more than 5 per group

Introduction:

1.      As a warm up during attendance, I will pass out my pre-assessment for students to answer the three questions asked. I will let them respond as we settle in to prepare to read (3-5 minutes).

2.      Announce that the piece that will be studied that day will cause them to think the seasons winter and spring in various facets.

3.      Before beginning to read, the set will be a question to reflect upon while the students alternate in reading the text.  “Shakespeare was having fun with these two poems, known as sonnets.  I want you to notice the pattern of the words he uses.  I would encourage you also to jot down short notes when you notice those connections for discussion later” (15 minutes).

4.      After class participation reading from the book, I’ll open a full class discussion with:

a.        What did you notice about the rhythm of the words he used?

5.      After a brief discussion, I will separate the students in groups of 5 by having them number off (8 minutes).

6.      The topic of discussion for the groups will be:  What is the surface meaning of these poems.  What is one of the deeper meanings of these poems?  What evidence of that is there in the text [open ended] (7 minutes)?

7.      Have the students discuss the questions and find evidence to support or refute referring to the text, using annotations as a point of reference.

8.      Have each student write their responses on the card that they as a member of their group agreed upon.  Creativeness with markers will be encouraged to draw what they imagine from the reading on one side of the card is encouraged and desirable along with written responses on the other (10 minutes).

Closure:  Conceptual

Have student reassemble and share insights from their group’s discussion and conclusions with the whole class.  Have students pass in index cards with their name and pre-assessment so that I can receive feedback from them as to their thoughts on the reading material (10 minutes).

Closure:  Procedural

Prepare the students by reminding them we will be reading aloud again tomorrow.  Announce that they need to be thinking their essays they will be writing at the end of this unit. (5 minutes).

Evaluation:

            The students will strengthen their verbal reading skills by the pronunciation of unfamiliar common language words.  Their small group brainstorming sessions will improve their interpersonal skills at problem solving by discussing the literature and coming up with joint conclusions to its interpretation.  Playing with markers gives them visual interaction as well as audible and written.  It gives them an opportunity to further engage themselves into the activity with an element of fun while discussing serious interpersonal issues about the nature of the piece.

My plan is to be able to determine by the students’ discussion of these two sonnets how well they understand the concepts of meter, their reading abilities and grasp of vocabulary while they are reading aloud in the classroom.

I will be able to assess the individual student’s ability for critical thinking with their individual responses during the whole class discussion about while working in their groups as they address their questions and the answers they come up with to the questions:

I will be able to assess the discussion group’s ability to work together to come up with a consensus to the questions:

 What is the surface meaning of these poems.  What is one of the deeper meanings of these poems?  What evidence of that is there in the text [open ended].

I will be able to assess how well each individual student grasped the concept of team work within the group by reading their response cards.  If they seem still unclear with the concept, we will re-address it before the full in class the next day.

In this single day’s lesson, I will have covered ODE standards:

Pg. 259.  Phonemic Awareness, Word Recognition and Fluency

1.                  Acquisition of Vocabulary: 1-6.

Pg. 260.  Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies.

                        Pg. 261.  1-3. Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies.

                        Pg 261.  Reading Applications of a Literary Text.

Pg. 266.  Communications-Oral and Visual.

Self Evaluation:  Clearly described procedure/questions you will ask yourself to analyze your teaching and implications of the lesson; questions for reflection go beyond self.

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