Billy Collins Education Guide
Billy Collins performs a poetry reading and speaking engagement for Tacoma high school students on April 22, 2016.
This Education Guide is offered as a supplement to that event.
Table of Contents
I. Background and How to Use This Guide Page 3
II. Poetry… Page 4
III. Activities: Grades 9-12 Page 5
IV. Additional Activities Page 7
V. Discussion Questions Page 8
VI. Acknowledgements Page 9
VII. Resources and References Page 10
Billy Collins Poetry - Education Guide 2 For more information contact [email protected] Billy Collins: A Background and How to Use This Guide
The guide is compiled to support the exploration and understanding of the work of Billy Collins and his live poetry reading. Through his years as the United States and New York State Poet Laureate and a distinguished college professor, Collins has written poetry to inspire readers to discover themselves and their surroundings in a remarkably accessible way. Use this guide to spark discussion and build thorough understanding as you unpack his writing and deepen the experience of seeing Collins share his poetry in person.
Why Poetry, and Why Billy Collins? Poetry offers both writer and reader a unique vehicle for exploring the human condition. Through verse, whether rhymed or open form, poets such as Billy Collins delve into themes in a way unlike any other medium. Collins’ personal style has a way of opening the reader’s eyes to new and often simpler ways of looking at the world around them, many times shedding humor on otherwise weighty topics. Unique to Collins’ style is the genuine care he exudes through his writing, directed at the reader. This warmth draws readers in, giving them the freedom and comfort in which to explore the sometimes difficult realm of self-understanding.
In his own words: “I have one reader in mind, someone who is in the room with me, and who I’m talking to, and I want to make sure I don’t talk too fast, or too glibly. Usually I try to create a hospitable tone at the beginning of a poem. Stepping from the title to the first lines is like stepping into a canoe. A lot of things can go wrong. I think my work has to do with a sense that we are attempting, all the time, to create a logical, rational path through the day. To the left and right there are an amazing set of distractions that we usually can’t afford to follow. But the poet is willing to stop anywhere.” - Billy Collins
Narrative sections written by Broadway Center for the Performing Arts ***
Billy Collins Poetry - Education Guide 3 For more information contact [email protected] Poetry…
Poetry, as defined by Merriam-Webster: n. writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm
Poetry, a closer look (from poetry.org) Poetry (ancient Greek: ποιεω (poieo) = I create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. It consists largely of oral or literary works in which language is used in a manner that is felt by its user and audience to differ from ordinary prose.
It may use condensed or compressed form to convey emotion or ideas to the reader's or listener's mind or ear; it may also use devices such as assonance and repetition to achieve musical or incantatory effects. Poems frequently rely for their effect on imagery, word association, and the musical qualities of the language used. The interactive layering of all these effects to generate meaning is what marks poetry.
***
Billy Collins Poetry - Education Guide 4 For more information contact [email protected] Activities: Grades 9-12
Activity #1: “Aristotle” This poem explores the linear nature of a life – beginning, middle, end – a dramatic story structure explored by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Collins uses vivid imagery and metaphor to illustrate the phases of a life.
Activity Resources: Poem Text on PoetryFoundation.org - http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176050
Lesson: Part One: Guide students in the reading and analysis of Billy Collins’ “Aristotle” (see link above). Prompting questions: What imagery does Collins use to show the beginning/middle/end phases? What poem format does Collins use – verse, prose, rhyme scheme? Of the images Collins presents, which ones do you relate to have personally experienced? What is the overall message you ascertain from this work? Part Two: Using the beginning, middle, and end stanza structure, guide students in constructing a poem in their own words exploring the images that represent phases of their own lives. Consider each phase, particularly the future, in abstract terms or as though it reflects the story they envision for themselves. Prompting questions: What images represent your “beginning?” What connections can you make between life phases and specific scenarios, similar to Billy Collins’ connections in “Aristotle?” If you could create a metaphor for your present day, what would it be? When you picture your future, what images do you imagine? What tone do you see your overall story having?
Extension: Facilitate the sharing of poems in small groups. Encourage students to note similarities and differences between their work and the work of peers. Guide them to pay special attention to the use of literary techniques such as imagery and metaphor.
Common Core Alignment: CCR R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. CCR R.5: Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. CCR W.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
Written by Broadway Center for the Performing Arts *** Billy Collins Poetry - Education Guide 5 For more information contact [email protected] Activity #2: Visual Poetry With inspiration from the work of media artists, this activity explores the use of visual art to deepen the impact of the written word.
Activity Resources: Billy Collins’ poems, animated - http://www.bcactionpoet.org/ PoetryFoundation.org poem collection - http://www.poetryfoundation.org/browse/
Lesson: Distribute a variety of poems for students to read (see source link above), and then ask them to pick their favorite of the options. Using any visual art materials available (paper, markers, crayons, pipe cleaners, tape, etc.) guide students in the creation of a piece of visual art to represent the themes or subject matter of the poem. While they are working, challenge students to identify specific choices they have made in their art and how it connects to the text.
Variation: Have students do their own research on PoetryFoundation.org or other sources and select their own favorite poem.
Extension: Instruct students to place their work around the room, and then conduct a “museum walk” for students to observe the work of others. Hold a discussion about what students saw, including comparing and contrasting the work of themselves and their peers.
State Arts Standard Alignment: Visual Art GLE: 2.1.1: Applies a creative process to visual arts. Demonstrates a creative process: Explores the elements of visual arts to create, experience, and discover multiple visual arts media. Uses ideas, skills, foundations, and techniques to create works of art. Presents works of visual art to others in the school and community. Common Core Alignment: CCR R.1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text
Written by Broadway Center for the Performing Arts *** Billy Collins Poetry - Education Guide 6 For more information contact [email protected] Additional Activities
World Poetry Day-March 21st (readwritethink.org): Lesson Plan Drawing inspiration from “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins, this lesson introduces students to poetry through the exploration and discussion of basic poem structure and the celebration of World Poetry Day, March 21st.
Discover Your Voice Through Poetry (PBSLearningMedia.org): Lesson Plan Through the poetry of Raphael Campo, this PBS lesson helps students develop their own skills as poets and deepen their appreciation for the work of others.
Exploring Contrasts in “The Lanyard” (PBSLearningMedia.org): Lesson Plan This lesson unpacks the poem “The Lanyard” by Billy Collins, using multimedia to aide in student understanding of the use of irony and analysis of imagery in poetic language.
***
Billy Collins Poetry - Education Guide 7 For more information contact [email protected] Discussion Questions
Pre-Show Discussion 1. What do you already know about poetry and spoken word? 2. What do you expect to see and hear at this performance? 3. Billy Collins writes and performs his own work. When have you performed or shared something you created? What emotions were or might be felt in that experience? How do you think it feels to share your personal work with a theater full of strangers?
Post-Show Discussion 1. What surprised you about seeing poetry performed live? 2. What themes were used in the work presented? 3. What poetic techniques or styles did you see and hear Collins use in his work? (Rhyme, imagery, beat, etc.) 4. How did the poems you saw today compare to other poems you have read or heard? 5. Which poems had a meaningful impact on you and why?
Written by Broadway Center for the Performing Arts
Billy Collins Poetry - Education Guide 8 For more information contact [email protected] *** Acknowledgements
Broadway Center for the Performing Arts presents Billy Collins, performing a poetry reading and speaking engagement for Tacoma high school students on April 22, 2016.
Front page image is from Billy Collins’ TED Talk, credit to the TED Talk YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddw1_3ZVjTE) Some activities were written by Broadway Center Education staff. Other activities and material credited as noted.
The Billy Collins Education Guide is available at the Broadway Center Education website at www.broadwaycenter.org under the education tab.
Billy Collins Poetry - Education Guide 9 For more information contact [email protected] Resources & References
WEB RESOURCES
PoetryFoundation.org http://www.poetryfoundation.org/
Billy Collins’ Poetry, Animated http://www.bcactionpoet.org/
TED Talks featuring Billy Collins http://www.ted.com/talks/billy_collins_everyday_moments_caught_in_time
Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest (also contains Teacher Resources) http://www.poetryoutloud.org/
Academy of American Poets – Teacher Resources https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/materials-teachers
Analysis of “Aristotle” by Prezi public user Katelyn Hom https://prezi.com/hjnqk5oy1d8d/aristotle-by-billy-collins/
Article - Written Poetry vs. Spoken Word http://www.powerpoetry.org/actions/5-tips-spoken-word
Essay – Poetry on the Web http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/182969
Billy Collins Poetry - Education Guide 10 For more information contact [email protected]