Literature Curriculum Project Syllabi

Poetry Lesson Plan
Suggested Level for teaching students: Upper Level High School
Bushwick Community High School-New York

Lesson Plan using Ron Padgett’s class on writing poetry

OVERVIEW: Students have been discussing their own definitions of poetry and the different poetic forms they use and have heard of already. In this lesson, students will be introduced to the core text for this course and hear one way its editor, the poet Ron Padgett, distinguishes two different ways of writing a poem.

AIM: What are some ways of categorizing poems? What methods can we use to write a poem?

OBJECTIVE(s): Students will become more familiar with the epistle form and ways they can use it in their poetry.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:The Handbook of Poetic Forms. ed. Ron Padgett; Padgett class excerpt – See URL listed below 75P028 00:03:21-00:07:37.

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:

Do Now (5 minute period of writing in journal): Describe the way you plan a vacation or journey. What steps do you normally take before the trip begins? How do you act while on the trip? Do you research the place or places you will be going? Does your research affect the trip itself? How? Do you like to visit places you have already been or places you have never been before? How does the length of your trip affect your planning? Use recent trips, memorable trips, or dream future trips to give specific examples as you write.

Brief class discussion.

Introduce Ron Padgett and The Handbook of Poetic Forms.

Play Padgett class excerpt.

Click Here to Stream Audio
Click Here to Download

Discussion:

Do you agree/disagree with Padgett? Why?

In class writing. As a class make up a rule for writing a poem [e.g. four words per line, every other line starts with the word “tomato”, or every line is a question]. Write for ten minutes using the rule.

Share writing.

HOMEWORK/FOLLOW UP LESSONS:

Find three poetic forms from the book that you are interested in. Write one poem.

This syllabus is credited to Rachel McKeen
Bushwick Community High School, New York