Handouts:

Lesson Plan 2

Grade 8

Topic:  Writing Styles of the Renaissance

Subjects:  English, History, Writing, Comprehension Skills

Type of Lesson:  Introductory, Reinforcement

 

Purpose:

1.      To familiarize students with literature from the Renaissance.

2.      To categorize style(s) of writing from the Renaissance.

3.      To understand literary terms of the Renaissance.

4.      To enhance student's writing skills.

 

Lesson Objectives:

1.      Given examples on transparencies, students will be able to characterize a poem with 100% accuracy.  (Cognitive Knowledge)

2.      After a brief discussion, students will be able to explain with 100% accuracy, concepts about theme, concept, symbolism and rhyme scheme, providing one example of each. (Cognitive Comprehension)

3.      On a sheet of composition paper, students will be able to write a poem of no less than seven lines, providing 100% accuracy of all characteristics discussed in class.  (Cognitive Synthesis)

 

Materials:

            Pen

            Notebook

            Poetry from various Renaissance authors (overheads)

            Journals

 

Lesson Introduction:

            The teacher will ask the class what they know about poems.  They will discuss poems they have read and how they can be written and used in many forms (i.e., storybooks, personal reflection, songs, plays).  The students will learn the elements that a poem entails and the different means of expression.

 

Lesson Development:

1.      The teacher will have several selected poems from writers of the Renaissance.

2.      The teacher and class will discuss sentence structure, content, rhyme scheme and the use of the theme.

a.       the pattern used to distribute the lines (rhyme scheme)

b.      how the poem is distributed throughout the lines (structure)

c.       what the author is saying, topic of poem (theme)

3.      The teacher will discuss with the class the different means of expression in

poetry and what they enjoy writing about.  Emphasis will be shown through modern music lyric writing and composition.

 

4.      The teacher will provide the class with modern examples of poetry, including

American and international authors.  The class will identify concepts used in examples: 

a.       A Student at his Book--anonymous (abab)

b.      Spring's Welcome--John Lyly (aabbaabbaabbb)

c.       My True Love Hath My Heart--Sir Philip Sidney (ababa-ababc)

d.      Sonnet 57--William Shakespeare (ababcc)

5.  The teacher will give students time to brainstorm ideas for writing in one of these styles, and instruct students to write a poem based on one of their choice.  They will use appropriate structure throughout the lines.

6.  Students are encouraged to write about a topic that they enjoy.  They will be graded on following directions and the use of poetic verse and other components.

 

Lesson Closure:

1.      What is a poem?

2.      Can students name three writers from the Renaissance that have been introduced in this lesson?

3.      What is rhyme scheme, and give two examples.

4.      Name and pick out the elements that have been learned about poetry in one of the examples used in class and the student's writing sample.

 

Assessment/Evaluation:

1.      Did students raise questions, discuss or share answers in poem discussion?

2.      Can students create or describe examples of the different concepts of poetry?

 

Follow-up:

1.  Have students publish an in-class magazine that highlights each student's work, focusing on dialect, style and theme from that time period.

2.  Encourage students to bring in poetry from current authors of their choice to be compared and read aloud.

 

Adaptations for students with special needs:

1.      Large print dittos will be available for the visually impaired.

2.      Hearing impaired students will have an aide available, interpreter or pre-recorded reading on poetry  (to be done by the teacher or aide).

      3.  An ADHD student will work at the front of the room for special assistance with the teacher and will have a student mentor working alongside to facilitate cooperative learning.

 

NJ Core Standards:

3.1-All students will speak for a variety of real purposes and audiences.

3.2-All students will listen actively in a variety of situations to information from a variety

of sources.

3.3-All students write in a clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.

3.4-All students will read various materials and texts with comprehension and critical

analysis.

6.5-All students will acquire historical understanding of varying cultures throughout the history of New Jersey, the United States, and the world.

 

Bibliography:

 

Armstrong, Spencer.  (1960).  101 of the World's Greatest Books.  New York: 

Greystone Press.

 

Atchity, Kenneth J. (Editor) & McKenna, Rosemary (Editor).  (1996)).  The Renaissance Reader.  New York:  Harpercollins.

 

Emerson, Kathy Lynn.  (1996).  The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Renaissance England.  New York:  Writer's Digest Books.

           

Fadiman, Clifton.  (1960).  The Lifetime Reading Plan.  Cleveland, Ohio:  The World Publishing Company.

 

May, Nadia (Narrator) & Pater, Walter.  (1995).  The Renaissance.  New York:

Blackstone Audio Books.

 

Smith, Pamela H.  (1994). The Business of Alchemy : Science and Culture in the

Holy Roman Empire.  Princeton, NJ:  Princeton University Press.

 

Stephens, John.  (1990).  The Italian Renaissance : The Origins of Intellectual and

Artistic Change Before the Reformation.  London, England: Longman Group United Kingdom.

 

Thompson, Bard.  (1996). Humanists and Reformers : A History of the Renaissance

and Reformation.  New York: Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Company.

 

Weber, Eugen.  (1995).  The Western Tradition:  From the Ancient World to Louis XIV.  Lexington, MA:  D. C. Heath and Company