Research Essay Using Poetry
Created By:
Misty Boyle
Title/Role:
Social Studies Teacher
Organization/School Name:
St. Mark's High School
Location:
Delaware
Grade Level:
10 Type of Lesson:
Lesson in a unit Type of Schedule:
Flexible Collaboration Continuum:
Moderate Content Area:
Language Arts Content Topic:
American Poetry, Research, Writing Scenario:
The School Librarian (SL) meets with the American Literature Teacher (LT) to help design a project for special education sophomores in American Literature. The SL and LT create a list of American poets for the students to choose from. The final product of this collaboration is a three-paragraph essay with at least one citation from a book, one internet source, and one source from a database. Students are to locate and use appropriate resources within the school library collection. Students are also encouraged to use the database collection for more information and graphic element. The SL and LT will assist students with choosing an appropriate poem to read and evaluate. The SL will assist students with locating proper materials and databases. Overview:
Sophomores in American Literature will research a poet to write a three-paragraph research report. They will choose a poem to analyze as part of the writing process. The students will reflect on the poem and what they have learned about the time period in which it was written. The poem will be found in the library collection or in Poetry for Students collection. Final Product:
Students will produce a three-paragraph research essay. The final essay will contain three sources: one book source, one Internet source, and one database source. The students will also include one graphic representation of their poem.
Library Lesson:
The SL will give a short lesson on locating proper resources. The students will be reminded to check the Poetry for Students collection. The SL and LT will be circulating among the students to aid them in selecting a poem and resources to go with the poem. Estimated Lesson Time:
75 minutes Have you taught this lesson before:
Yes Strategies for differentiation:
This lesson was written for a small class with a number of special education students. The lesson could be expanded for some students into a longer essay with more sources.