Lesson Plan Format s1

Reading to Learn: TP-Castt strategy for interpreting

Poetry

Author(s) of lesson: AP Vertical Teams, Lori Vanden Berghe (adaptation)

Subject: English Language Arts

Topic or Unit of Study: Interpreting Poetry

Grade level: 11

Lesson Duration: two class periods for introduction of strategy, then on-going

The goal of this lesson is for students to be able to analyze selected poetry through the TP-CASTT (Title, Paraphrase, Connotation, Attitude, Shifts, Title, Theme) method. I will use the Think-Along reading strategy to introduce students to this formula for analyzing poetry.

Objectives:

1.**** Students will be able to analyze a selected piece of poetry through the TP-CASTT method

2. Students will be able critique poetic elements of author’s attitude, shifts, and themes in writing.

Related TEKS:

1. ****11. (3) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Poetry. Students understand, make inferences and

draw conclusions about the structure and elements of poetry and provide evidence from text to support

their understanding. Students are expected to analyze the effects of diction and imagery (e.g., controlling

images, figurative language, understatement, overstatement, irony, paradox) in poetry.

2. 11.24 Listening and Speaking/Listening. Students will use comprehension skills to listen attentively to

others in formal and informal settings.

Ruby Willey-Rendon Adapted from the TxBESS Activity Profile and Eby, Herrell, and Hicks (2001) and Dr. Pat Watson 1/14/2008 Assessment/Rubrics:

Final TP-CASTT of Angelou poem will be discussed and collected for final assessment. This formula will be utilized the rest of the year for poetry analysis and critical literary writing.

Reflective Procedures:

1. Preassessment: In small groups I will provide students with the poem, “Mean Streets” for a quick

interpretation and discussion to assess how they analyze a poem prior to instruction.

2. Motivation:

“We will be examining Beat Poetry of the 50s and Protest Poetry of the 60s, but first I’d like to show you a

fool proof formula for figuring out what a poem is all about and the elements an author uses to make

meaning.”

3. Statement of Purpose:

The purpose is of this lesson is to introduce students to a formula for interpreting and comprehending poetry.

4. Teacher Modeling or Demonstration: I will introduce the formula by providing questions to ask

through the TP-CASTT Think-Along.

 Title: Take a look at the title before you even read the poem. What could it mean? Sometimes, the

title is very straightforward – that tells you a great deal about what to expect from the poem. Often,

the title is somewhat cryptic in nature. That should tell you something about what to expect, too.

 Paraphrase: What is the literal meaning of the poem? It’s difficult to get the figurative meaning of

the poem if you can’t figure out the literal meaning.

 Connotation: Here’s the meat of the analysis. What is the implied meaning, and how does the poet

convey this meaning? (Hint: It does NOT simply mean “negative” or “positive” connotation.) What

kind of literary things are going on in the poem? Think in terms of diction (word choice), syntax

Ruby Willey-Rendon Adapted from the TxBESS Activity Profile and Eby, Herrell, and Hicks (2001) and Dr. Pat Watson 1/14/2008 (sentence structure), imagery, symbolism, etc. Any literary device used in the poem fits under the

connotation category.

 Attitude: What is the tone of the poem? If you have trouble determining tone, start by deciding

whether the tone is positive or negative, and then become more precise from there.

 Shift: There is a shift of some sort in nearly every poem written. It might be a shift in tone, in

subject matter, in meaning, in rhyme scheme – anything. Look for the shift, and then decide why the

poet has a shift in that particular place.

 Title: Take another look at the title. What does it mean to you now that you’ve analyzed the poem?

Theme: In a sentence, what is the theme? In other words, what statement about life is the poet

making? Be careful: theme is difficult to nail down, and all too often students put down the subject

matter instead of the theme

Ruby Willey-Rendon Adapted from the TxBESS Activity Profile and Eby, Herrell, and Hicks (2001) and Dr. Pat Watson 1/14/2008 5. Guided Practice: I will model the Think Along as illustrated below.

Ruby Willey-Rendon Adapted from the TxBESS Activity Profile and Eby, Herrell, and Hicks (2001) and Dr. Pat Watson 1/14/2008 Ruby Willey-Rendon Adapted from the TxBESS Activity Profile and Eby, Herrell, and Hicks (2001) and Dr. Pat Watson 1/14/2008 6. Check for Understanding:

Students will first listen to slam poet, Derrick Brown’s “Come Alive” and discuss with a partner as many

poetic elements they heard and what they think the meaning of the poem is. One person from each pair

will respond for the whole group.

Students will be provided with a copy of “Come Alive”. I will call students to the front of the class to

assist me with the process of taking the poem through the TP-CASTT formula using the document

reader.

7. Independent Practice:

Students will be provided a copy of the poem, “Still I Rise”, by Maya Angelou to implement the use of

the TP-CASST formula. They will circle connotative words, paraphrase, note tone and shifts, decode

meaning, and write a theme sentence in the margin as I modeled previously for them. At the end of the

class period, I will play the audio version of Ms. Angelou reciting her poem.

8. Closure: We will discuss the usefulness of this formula, touch on the themes of the pieces, and

mention how a poem changes meaning when heard aloud.

9. Differentiated instruction:

Student who cannot read on grade level: simpler poems will be modeled in small group and individually.

Peer Partners, and text to speech applications such as http://www.readplease.com will be used for ELLs.

Materials and resources:

1. Instructional materials and resources:

2. TP-CASTT Method: The AP Vertical Teams Guide for English p94

3. How to TP-CASTT A Poem: http://www.phuhs.org/downloads/PoetryPacket.pdf (and also in

the AP Vertical Teams Guide for English)

Ruby Willey-Rendon Adapted from the TxBESS Activity Profile and Eby, Herrell, and Hicks (2001) and Dr. Pat Watson 1/14/2008 4. Derrick Brown, “Come Alive.“ Born in the Year of the Butterfly, pp 38-40.

http://tinyurl.com/23e4qsv

5. Maya Angelou, “Still I Rise” http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/still-i-rise/

6. Maya Angelou, “Still I Rise” audio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik4bnjUCTbE

7. “Mean Streets” by Anthony “K-Swift” Scott’s rap

8. Student materials:

Pen and Paper

Copies of poems

Citation of source:

Ehlinger & Pritchard, Think- Along Strategy. 1994

TP-CASTT Method: The AP Vertical Teams Guide for English p94

Ruby Willey-Rendon Adapted from the TxBESS Activity Profile and Eby, Herrell, and Hicks (2001) and Dr. Pat Watson 1/14/2008