PP that outlines our gradual release lesson: Renaissance Poetry Lesson
uncovering author’s meaning on SmartBoard:poetrymeaning
background PP: Renaissance
Although the Renaissance is marked as a time of renewed interest in learning, where humanists began to question humanity & society, my students don’t ever seem to share the same excitement of the time period.
We began with background on the historical period. We began with my PowerPoint, developed from the HRW Elements of Literature textbook, 6th course, which is linked to above. The students presented the background I didn’t cover in groups.
With some schema of the time period developed, it was time to tackle some of the famous poets – Sir Thomas Wyatt and Edmund Spenser. I decided to begin our study of poetry with a gradual release lesson. The PP that outlines this lesson is linked to above.
I first showed students how I uncover the poet’s meaning by putting the language in my own words. I used ee cummings’ poem “since feeling is first.” See the link poetrymeaning link above. Then we tried “Whoso List to Hunt” together. I thought through my process and thoughts aloud and students who volunteered contributed their thoughts and meaning. The next step was to have students collaborate on uncovering meaning, and we used “Sonnet 30″ by Edmund Spenser. We charted our steps to uncovering meaning with a visual and our own words on the SmartBoard. Finally, students were asked to try “Sonnet 75″ individually, writing the meaning for me in their notebooks and then contributing to the collective idea on the SmartBoard.
The use of gradual release when teaching the skill of uncovering meaning in poetry worked very well. Students were able to realize that not everybody is going to come up with the same interpretation, but if we are using the same process and can support our interpretation with poetry terms, then we are doing just fine. I hope my students feel more comfortable with reading poetry since we have done this together. Next week we tackle a few Shakespearean sonnets, and I will do a gradual release lesson on tone in poetry.
