Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Optional Preparation – Ground Rules For Classroom Discussion
20 minutes – Part A: What Does Poetry Mean To Those Who Write It?
30 minutes – Part B: Digging Deeper Into Poetry
30 minutes – Part C: Get It Off Your Chest – Write A Poem
10 minutes – Reflection

Part A: What Does Poetry Mean To Those Who Write It?

Step 1.

Begin the lesson by informing students that they will be considering the purpose of poetry, and how it can impact upon the people who write it. They will start by viewing a short clip that features Haley, a woman who has experienced homelessness since the age of 12. Invite students to focus on the role that poetry plays in Haley’s life OR Owen, who writes music about his life experiences.

Ask students to move so that they can see the screen and show the following clip from Life After The Oasis, a documentary that revisits characters and stories from the original 2008 documentary The Oasis. Before you begin watching, remind students that the clip they are about to see features real people courageously sharing their stories.

Haley's story (https://vimeo.com/347230350/89c438565d)

OR

Owen Music (https://vimeo.com/348328627/e0c9324c13)

Step 2.

Invite students to interpret the clip and it’s connection to poetry in a Snowball Discussion using the following prompt:

'What impact does poetry have on Haley's life? '

OR

'What impact does writing music have on Owen's life?'

Students should begin in pairs, responding to the discussion question below with a single partner. After each person has had a chance to share their ideas, ask the pair to join another pair, forming a group of four, so that pairs share their ideas with the pair they just joined. Next, groups of four join together to form groups of eight, and so on, until the whole class is joined up in one large discussion.

Part B: Digging Deeper Into Poetry

Step 1.

Inform students that in the next part of the lesson, they will have an opportunity to expand their understanding of poetry and the impact that poetry can have on a person’s life.

Begin by asking students to move so that they can see the screen and play the TEDed video: “What makes a poem...a poem?”

Note: The presentation of information in the video is quite rapid, so students may need to re-watch parts or all of the video.

Step 2.

Invite students to interpret the meaning of the video by engaging in the Think-Pair-Share visible thinking routine (there is space on the Student Worksheet for them to take notes). They should respond to this question:

"Poetry “... comment[s] on what it is to be human in a way that only humans can”. What does this mean to you?"

Think Pair Share
Think pair share is a collaborative learning strategy in which students work together to solve a problem or answer a question.
Think - students independently think about an issue or question and record their thoughts.
Pair - students work in pairs to discuss their ideas and record new thoughts.
Share - students share their thoughts with the whole group or with other pairs to reach consensus.

Step 3.

Build a deeper understanding of how poetry is constructed by informing students that most of the time, poets use ‘poetic devices’ to create meaning in their writing.

Invite students to read through the list of 'poetic devices' and their definitions provided on the Student Worksheet (also available as a factsheet here).

Step 4.

Invite students to apply their new understanding of 'poetic devices' by identifying one or more of the devices in the following spoken-word poem “Homelessness”, performed by Tye Martin.

“Homelessness”, performed by Tye Martin https://youtu.be/_9yrVvXUTqQ

Step 5.

Encourage students to interpret the poem by Tye Martin by responding in writing to the following prompts (they are provided on the Student Worksheet):

What poetic devices does Tye use to create meaning in her poem? How do they create and add to the poem’s meaning?
What is Tye Martin saying about homelessness in her poem?
Do you think that the way Tye Martin makes comments about homelessness in her poem is effective?
Is the way a comment is made in poetry perceived differently to other forms of communication (such as in a newspaper?) If so, why? If not, why not?

Part C: Get It Off Your Chest – Write A Poem

Step 1.

Inform students that in this part of the lesson, they have the opportunity to write their own poem about an issue that is important to them, in the same way that Haley OR Owen from Life After The Oasis, and Tye Martin did in her spoken-word poem “Homelessness”. The following instructions are provided for students on the Student Worksheet:

Writing a poem can give you ‘courage to say the unsayable’.

Write your own poem to share a personal experience, viewpoint or observation. Consider the following questions when planning your poem:

Choose a topic: What do you want to say? Do you want to make a comment about something in the way that Tye Martin did, or do you want to share something about yourself in the same way that Haley’s poems OR Owen's music shared something about her life?
Decide on the images that you want to create in your reader’s mind. What poetic devices could you use in your poem to create those images? Write down bits of simile, alliteration, or personification that come to mind.
Draft your poem by choosing your favourite ideas from your plan and putting them together using line breaks.

Writing poetry can feel a little daunting to start with ... remember that your poem doesn’t have to be perfect! A poem is a comment on humanness being made by a human. You can do it!

Click here to find some excellent tips for teaching poetry.

Step 2.

Allow time for students to think about, plan and draft a poem, circulating around the room to give encouragement and ideas to individual class members.

Step 3.

Invite student volunteers to share their poems with the class by either reading them out or giving them to the teacher to read out.

Reflection

Roll the Dice: Put a die at each desk and ask students to take turns to roll it, then briefly turn to the person next to them to answer the question based on the number rolled:

I want to remember …
Something I learned today ...
One word to sum up what I learned ...
Something I already knew ...
I’m still confused about …
An “aha” moment that I had today ...

Note: If you don’t have any dice, begin the reflection activity by asking students to pick a number between 1-6, then answer the question based on the number they chose.

Differentiated Learning

Extension – Read this article for further inspiration/encouragement about poetry.
AND/OR
Choose one or more poems from this website to gain further insights into the human experiences of people who are homeless.

Provisions for Learning Support – Provide a set of poem starters for students who feel challenged when beginning their poem. Use this website to choose one or more appropriate starters.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Life After The Oasis - Writing Poetry to Explore the Human Experience

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