ALEX Classroom Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) 27 :

27. Read prose, poetry, and dramas, identifying the literary devices used by the author to convey meaning.

Examples: personification, imagery, alliteration, onomatopoeia, symbolism, metaphor, simile

[ELA2021] (4) -2 :

R5. Identify and explain literary devices in prose and poetry.

[ELA2021] (4) 25 :

25. Explain how the form of a poem contributes to its meaning.

[ELA2021] (4) 26 :

26. Analyze how rhythm and rhyme in poetry contribute to meaning.

[ELA2021] (5) -2 :

R5. Identify and explain literary devices in prose and poetry.

This unit introduces poetry forms and craft elements while students explore poetry about everyday topics or themes. Students begin by discussing their varying definitions of poetry, brainstorming all the different types of poems they know, and briefly discussing elements of poetry. In each subsequent session, students are introduced to one form of poetry. This lesson uses concrete/shape, haiku, cinquain, two-voice, and free-form poetry, but the lesson can be easily adapted for any poetic form. Students read examples, define the form, and find additional examples in poetry books. They create their own poetry collection by adding examples, definitions, and their own poems to a writer's notebook. In the final session, students go back through the poems they have collected, looking for examples of the five elements of poetry.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) -3 :

R3. Expand background knowledge and build vocabulary through discussion, reading, and writing.

[ELA2021] (3) 11 :

11. Read and reread grade-appropriate poetry, practicing phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression.

[ELA2021] (4) 5 :

5. Demonstrate fluency when reading grade-level text and when responding through writing or speaking.

[ELA2021] (4) 25 :

25. Explain how the form of a poem contributes to its meaning.

[ELA2021] (4) 26 :

26. Analyze how rhythm and rhyme in poetry contribute to meaning.

[ELA2021] (5) 5 :

5. Demonstrate fluency when independently reading, writing, and speaking in response to grade-level literary and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts.

[ELA2021] (5) 6 :

6. Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, automaticity, appropriate prosody or expression, purpose, and understanding, self-correcting and rereading as necessary.

This lesson is a great way to teach both scientific and English content to a class, although the teacher can easily choose another book and subject area. In this lesson, students listen to poems in the book Science Verse by Jon Scieszka. Students then create diamante, acrostic, or theme poems with illustrations. To help increase fluency, students read their poems to the class. Finally, students create original poems using facts they have learned in the current science curriculum.