Zoila M. Brown
My intention is to use this unit during the entire academic year. I must note that unlike many elementary and some other middle schools, at present Betsy Ross' does not have block schedules for academic subjects. Class periods are forty-two minutes long, so the teachers must be skillful with pacing to make the development of the lesson culminate effectively within the single period. With the limitation of time and several aspects of the language arts to be covered, I will not be able to execute poetry lessons for the sustained length of time teachers working with block schedules would have. Nevertheless, in order for students to appreciate and enjoy poems, I will read poems aloud at least twice each week. I plan to use three successive days each month for formal poetry lessons.
Besides the introductory lesson, this unit has four main components. The first part gives the foundation for teaching some important elements of poetry. Building on that, the second part deals with two important language devices, namely, similes and metaphors. The core section is specifically related to reading comprehension in light of the objectives of the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT). The final section presents poetry workshops highlighting "poems on pictures, places, and people". I am presenting a month by month strategic plan.