Title – Writing Lesson – Poetry

By – Carolyn Currins

Primary Subject – Language Arts

Grade Level – 5th Grade

Learning Standards:

IL-3 Write to communicate for a variety of purposes

IL-3.B.2a Generate and organize ideas using a variety of planning strategies

Learning Objective:

To help students understand how to generate ideas for writing poetry and to have students practice writing poetry using the start of another poem.

Materials:

• Copies of Shel Silverstein’s “Sick”
  
• White Board
  
• Pencil
  
• Paper

Procedures:

• TTW (the teacher will) let the students know that they are going to be hearing a poem titled “Sick” by Shel Silverstein that they must listen to carefully.
  
• TTW let the students know that they will later be required to write their own poems using this poem as a guideline.
  
• TTW ask the students if anyone has heard this poem before or if anyone has ever heard of Shel Silverstein.
  
• TLW participate by responding to the questions.
  
• TTW begin reading the poem “Sick” by Shel Silverstein.
  
• TTW show the students that every two lines of the poem are considered a couplet, meaning that they have the same pattern and rhyme.
  
• TTW ask the students to point out two lines that make a couplet in this poem.
  
• TLW (the learner will) respond with sections of the poem that are couplets.
  
• TTW tell the students that they are going to write their own couplets that could be inserted into this poem.
  
• TTW will start the students off with one line and ask the students to add a second line that will make it a couplet.
  
• TTW first ask the students to come up with words that rhyme with the last word in the first line, this will help them generate the second line.
  
• TTW tell the students that they will be creating their own couplets that must follow the same pattern as “Sick”.
  
• TTW ask the students to come up with other excuses besides those used in the poem as to why Peggy Ann McKay cannot go to school today.
  
• TLW name various sicknesses, problems, etc that might prevent her from going to school.
  
• TTW write the ideas on the board.
  
• TTW ask the students to use the ideas on the board or generate new ones and write a couplet that could be inserted into the poem.
  
• TTW will model using a couple examples:
  • The barber cut off all my hair.
    
  • I think my hair is falling out.
    
  • I would rather stay home and pout.
    
  • I don’t have anything to wear.
• TTW show the students how to combine lines that rhyme and follow Shel Silverstein’s pattern:
  • The barber cut off all my hair.
    
    I don’t have anything to wear.
    
  • I think my hair is falling out.
    
    I would rather stay home and pout.
• TLW will have a few minutes to create his/her own couplet.
  
• TTW ask the students to write another couplet that would follow the first one he/she wrote.
  
• TTW read the first main lines of the poem “Sick” (“I cannot go to school today.” Said little Peggy Ann McKay.) and have the students read their lines in order around the classroom. After the last student has finished reading their couplet, TTW read the last few lines of the poem (“What’s that? What’s that you say? You say today is — Saturday? G’bye, I’m going out to play!”)
  
• TTW repeat the reading aloud of the class poem if it will help the poem flow better.
  
• TTW ask the students to write their own poem for homework using the first two lines and last three lines of Shel Silverstein’s poem “Sick”. TLW insert 3 original couplets in between the first two lines of “Sick” and the last three lines of “Sick”.

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