Lesson Name: Book Spine Poetry
Subject: English Grade: 9
Adapted from a bulletin board display outside of a Grade 7-8 classroom at St. George School.
Rationale: This lesson provides students the opportunity to review poetic devices and writing methods, and implement some of them in an uncommon format of poetry.
Learning Outcomes:
1.1.3 Experiment with Language and Form
1.2.2 Explain Opinions: review and refine personal viewpoints through reflection, feedback, and self-assessment.
2.2.3 Appreciate the Artistry of Texts
4.1.1 Generate Ideas: Use a variety of techniques to generate and select ideas for oral, written, and visual texts.
Instructional Objectives:
To expose students to a different way to create poetry, and to have all students create a poem and explain their choices.
Prerequisite Concepts and Skills:
Understanding of poetic devices and familiarity with many types of poetry (taught in classes leading up to lesson, as well as previous years).
Materials and Resources:
Teacher:
stack of books as a poem
photo of book spine poem to project
projector
booked visit to school library
camera
class set of small name tags (to place beside finished poems when photographing)
Student:
notes from previous classes for review
paper
pen/pencil
optional: camera phone
Lesson Activities:
- Before class begins, set a stack of books on a desk or table at the front of the class, spines facing away from the students. Have a photograph of the book spines ready to show on a projector.
Provide an outline of the day (on the board and orally) 2 min.
- review poetic devices and terms with examples
- assignment details
- library
- return to class: work time
Review poetic devices and writing techniques from previous lessons 20 min.
- write terms on the board as students suggest them: rhyme, simile, metaphor, motif, found poetry, etc.
- ask students for examples
- examples can be from poems the class has read, their notes, or made up.
Present “Book Spine Poetry” assignment 15 min.
- Turn stack of books so spines are facing students and show photograph on projector screen. Explain image, then write assignment expectations in point form on the board.
- Students will create a poem using the words on the spines of books. Their poems will be a minimum of eight lines, or eight book spines, long. Maximum about 15.
- Students will stack the books, like the stack shown in class, and the teacher will take a photograph of each student’s Book Spine Poem.
- Then, students will return to class to write a 1-page explanation of their poem, answering questions like:
- Why did you chose certain books?
- What is the theme and/or message?
- What was it like to write a poem in this way?
- What are the benefits/limitations of Book Spine Poetry?
- Students should also either write down their poem on a piece of paper, or take a picture of it with their phones. If they take a picture, they must be able to READ what the book spines say.
- If two students want to use the same book in their poem, that is fine. You only need to have the book in your stack for as long as it takes to take a picture of it.
- DO NOT take apart your poem until the teacher has taken a picture of it. (These pictures will be printed and posted as part of a bulletin board display.)
- Tell students that they can be creative with this!
- Think about some of the poetic devices we have studied. Can all of them be used or only some in this type of poetry?
- Consider the colour of a book’s spine, stack books in a straight tower or offset important lines, etc.
- Use books to create a title for the poem as well. Separate the title with an object in between, or a book with the spine facing away.
Reminder of library etiquette:
- Whispering only
- Be respectful of the books and the organization of the library. Consider a book’s title carefully before removing it from the shelf.
- If using your phone to take a picture, make sure it is set to silent.
- After you are done, stack your books neatly on the librarian’s desk or a return cart, so that they can be returned to their proper place.
Review basic instructions:
8-15 lines or book spines (not including title)
Bring either your phone or a pen and paper to record your poem (for use when writing the explanation page)
Do not take your poem apart until the teacher has photographed it.
In the Library 20-25 min.
Circulate while students create their poems.
Remind students that they must be able to read the spine of the book (i.e. not all picture books will work, others?)
Students who finish early may help struggling students who would like some feedback, or read one of the books in their poem.
For the teacher, remember to place the name tag (listed in materials) beside a student’s poem before photographing it.
Return to Classroom 10-15 min.
Hand out assignment details sheet for the 1-page “Explanation”
Ask if there are any questions.
Tell students they will also receive some time next class to finish.
Circulate to answer individual questions and help students begin who are struggling.
UDL and DI:
The review at the beginning gets students thinking about poetry and the many forms it can take. The more creative students can generate their own examples, while others can identify examples from their notes, allowing easier participation in the discussion.
Writing the poetic terms and the key details of the assignment on the board provides students with a visual reminder of what they have learned, and what they will be expected to do.
The example Book Spine Poem shown to the class provides a manipulative the teacher can use to explain the assignment, while the enlarged image on the screen allows all students to see and read the poem. (Printed copies, or typed black-and-white copies could be distributed as well, especially for students with visual impairments.)
Students who have difficulty sitting still, such as those with ADHD, are encouraged to move around the library and select books.
Library etiquette encourages a quiet working environment that still allows students to interact and show each other their work.
Student interest is captured by allowing students to use books that interest them, allowing them to use their phones for an assignment, and the use of novelty in the form of an unconventional way to write poetry.
By using pre-existing words and phrases, in the form of book titles, students with learning disabilities, fine motor difficulties, or difficulty with creative writing, are able to create a product similar to their peers. Strong and gifted students in English can exercise creativity in their book choices, presentational methods, and in the explanatory component.
The highly visual element of the lesson also plays to the strengths of those who are deaf or have hearing impairments.
The “Explanation” encourages the development of self-awareness and the expression of opinions (i.e. Is this a good way to write poetry? How did it feel? Were you surprised, frustrated, etc.?). Additional support for students who struggle with writing may be provided by EAs, peers, or the teacher, who can re-word questions and help students recognize their own ideas as answers to the questions.
Also, for students with visual disabilities, while large-print books can sometimes be hard to find, especially in a small school library, the titles of books on their spines is often in a much larger font than the actual text. Students who are blind may use a list of book titles in Braille or that is read to them, or they may have a peer read the titles of books on the library shelves, and participate by choosing them and physically stacking the books while a peer reads the “poem” as they create it.
Organizational Strategies:
Book time in the library and go over the lesson with the librarian beforehand
Have name tags ready so that the student’s name is in the photograph with their poem
Book a school camera ahead of time, or bring your own
Writing the assignment steps on the board keeps the students and the teacher organized
Behavioural Management Strategies:
Remind disruptive students of library etiquette while circulating
Give students with ADHD or other attentional difficulties the option to work in one of the library study carrels or another quiet space
When students are finished, ask them if they would be willing to partner with someone to encourage them and give them feedback on their poem. Depending on students’ needs and personalities, assign buddies to students or present it as an option.
Use a quiet signal, like a raised hand or soft oral cue, to get students’ attention for further additional instructions or to signal the end of time in the library.
Assessment and Evaluation:
The “Explanation” portion of the assignment allows students to participate in self-assessment and reflect on their experiences during the lesson, and the product they have created.
The “Book Spine Poem” will be marked based on meeting the criteria (8-15 books, title) but the largest portion of a student’s mark will be based on the “Explanation.” A student’s reflections and justifications of their choices, rather than the aesthetic appeal of the poem, will be considered most important. Approximately 5 marks for the poem and 10 for the explanation.
Extensions:
The photographed poems will become a bulletin board display, and each student will write a short paragraph to display with their poem. These paragraphs will be generated from their completed “Explanations” and will be part of a lesson teaching how to read for information and summarize key points, leading into a study skills unit.
The Help
By: Jillian Rhodes
Simple genius
The best advice I ever got
An unsuitable job for a woman
The way it is
Unless
Dream big
Can't buy my love
I don't know how she does it
If I had my life to live over I would pick more daisies
How hard can it be?
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