Education Standards
Generic Planning Guide
"I Hear My School Singing" Model Poem Worksheet
"I Hear My School Singing" Planning Sheet
Lesson Reflection Worksheet
POWER Library
SICK by Shel Silverstein
I Hear ........
Overview
Students will learn and utilize list poems, understand and appreciate multiple perspectives while analyzing figures, memories and events in their educational community. They will also apply what they have learned to create a new product.
Lesson Objectives
Students will know / be able to.....
- Understand and appreciate multiple perspectives.
- Understand the meaning of a list poem.
- Analyze figures, memories, and events, in their educational community.
- Create list poems about their school and community.
- Apply what they have learned in creating a new product.
* This lesson plan has been adapted from the Walt Whitman as a Model Poet: "I Hear My School Singing" Lesson Plan from Read Write Think. The original plan was developed as part of a collaborative professional writing initiative sponsored by the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project (KMWP) at Kennedaw State University.
Warm Up / Introduction
Instructor Notes:
A list or catalog verse poem gets its name from the fact that most of the poem is made up of a long list of things. This list is in the middle of the poem with a few lines placed at the beginning and the end. These poems can rhyme but it is not needed to make them a list or catalog verse poem.
- Have students read the poem "SICK" by Shel Silverstein as an example of a list poem. Have the students discuss their thoughts about the poem.
- Brainstorm with your students some ideas that can be used for a list poem (i.e. list of Christmas gifts, groceries, laundry items, likes / dislikes, places, items that are green, things I did today). Place suggestions on the board or a large sheet of paper at the front of the room.
- As a group, create a list poem using one of the brainstorming ideas. You may need to prompt the students with questions like:
- How does it taste?
- What color?
- How does it feel?
- What is associated with it?
Additional Resources:
- If available, the book "The List Poem: A Guide to Teaching and Writing Catalog Verse" by Larry Fagin can be used for additional ideas on how to teach students about list poems.
Activity Directions:A list or catalog verse poem gets its name from the fact that most of the poem is made up of a long list of things. This list is in the middle of the poem with a few lines placed at the beginning and the end. These poems can rhyme but it is not needed to make them a list or catalog verse poem.
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Research / Explore Activity
Instructor Notes:
- Using the POWER Library resource LitFinder, students should read the following poems:
- I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman
- I Too by Langston Hughes
- Praise Song for the Day by Elizabeth Alexander (This resource can be used as an additional poem) - This poem is not in LitFinder - It is available on Poets.org
- As the students read the poems, they should answer the following questions:
- What jumps out at them?
- Who is "singing" in the poem?
- What does the poet mean by "singing"?
- What do you think the poem is about?
- What questions do you have about the poem?
- Using the "I Hear My School Singing" Planning Sheet and Model Poem Worksheet, compose a list poem about your school community.
Assessment:
- Assessment will be based on the completed planning and model poem worksheets.
Extended Activities:
- Have the students compare and contrast the two or three poems.
Activity Directions:
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Reinforcement / Creation Activity
Instructor Notes:
- As a group, students should create a list poem about their community. They should use the Generic Model Poem Worksheet and Generic Planning Worksheet to complete this activity.
- Once the students have the poem created, they should divide the verses so each student has a part. Remind the students that they will be creating a book and also need people to create a title page, an author page with their names, and other components.
- Students will be creative and draw an interpretation for their section of the poem. This interpretation will be used as a page in an ebook about the community.
- Once all interpretations are completed, they should be complied into an ebook which will be provided to the elementary school(s) to use with their students.
Extended Activity:
- If there is extra time or there is a large number of students, an ebook can also be created for the My School poem.
eBook Example:
- "I Hear America" - OER Children's Book Citation: Nash, Marc. ""I Hear America" - OER Children's Book". OER Commons. Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education, 19 Apr. 2019. Web. 12 Oct. 2020. <https://www.oercommons.org/authoring/53577-i-hear-america-oer-children-s-book>.
Activity Directions:
Sample Book:
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Reflection
Instructor Reflection:
Reflect on the lesson plan and document what worked for you, what did not work for you, and what would you change for the next time you use this lesson.
Directions:Using the Lesson Reflection Worksheet, reflect on the following questions:
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