Lesson Plan Iambic Pentameter

Lesson Plan – Iambic Pentameter Stephanie Hill

To be introduced along with the sonnet form

Do Now: Yesterday I said the lines of a sonnet were written with a certain rhythm called “Iambic Pentameter” Taking what you know about words that start with Penta (Think Math Class) and Meter, what do you think I was talking about?

Opening: One of the greatest things about a Shakespearean Sonnet, like we started talking about yesterday, is the incredible rhythm within the lines. Yesterday I called it the “Iambic Pentameter” and you guys gave me a confused look, so today we’re going to go over that so you know what I’m talking about and one of the things that makes a sonnet so special.

Lesson: (show notes on the board as this lesson is given)

Iam: a pattern of “unstressed, stressed” syllables repeating every two syllables Penta: repeating 5 times Meter: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line

Ex. But/ soft/ what/ light/ through/ yon/der/ win/dow/ break

A good way to remember this is to practice it repeating the syllables “I AM”

(we practice saying “I AM” 5 times while pointing at a visual chart)

“I AM I AM I AM I AM I AM”

Another way to help you get this rhythm is to get it in your body – just the way we would get a music rhythm in our bodies by dancing to know it better. So, I need volunteers to come up here with me and pretend to be a pirate with a wooden leg.

Volunteers come up to the front. We go over the phrase “Í am a pirate with a wooden leg” and then say it as we drag one leg along the floor.

Now, when we scan a line, we do that by marking through the syllables with the diagonal lines, and then marking the unstressed and stressed syllables with these marks (show a visual of the appropriate way to mark.

“So/ oft/ have/ I/ in/voked/ thee/ for/ my/ Muse”

Now, just to make sure you understand this process of scanning a line, lets take a look at this poem I will hand out a poem. This time we’ll scan it before we read it – that way, our scan will help us know how to read it most effectively, and with the stress on the appropriate words. We scan the first 4 lines together, then the students do the rest of the poem on their own. After we scan, we will read the poem at least twice out loud. As an exit slip, the students will write their own line in iambic pentameter. For homework they will write a sonnet in iambic pentameter.