Description
This lesson was done over a 3-day period of about 15 minutes each day in my middle school ELA classroom.
It has 3 poems formatted into copies for the students:
"Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
"Caged Bird" by Alicia Keys
We read the poems in that order, one per day, and discussed the first day that Dubar's parents were former slaves. (See biographical information at http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/paul-laurence-dunbar . I printed a copy of this information so my students could read it silently prior to reading the poem together. The second day we read Angelou’s poem and talked a bit about her life and the things in her life about which she could have been writing. See biographical information at http://www.mayaangelou.com/biography/ . My students and I looked at this information online together after reading the poem, but before discussing. The third day we listened to Key’s poem/song and discussed her perspective. Listen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wipAza6kWw .
There’s much that can be done with these poems including writing a comparison essay and/or an analysis essay of two or three of them. Also, student could write about how one author’s perspective has influenced others.
It has 3 poems formatted into copies for the students:
"Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
"Caged Bird" by Alicia Keys
We read the poems in that order, one per day, and discussed the first day that Dubar's parents were former slaves. (See biographical information at http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/paul-laurence-dunbar . I printed a copy of this information so my students could read it silently prior to reading the poem together. The second day we read Angelou’s poem and talked a bit about her life and the things in her life about which she could have been writing. See biographical information at http://www.mayaangelou.com/biography/ . My students and I looked at this information online together after reading the poem, but before discussing. The third day we listened to Key’s poem/song and discussed her perspective. Listen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wipAza6kWw .
There’s much that can be done with these poems including writing a comparison essay and/or an analysis essay of two or three of them. Also, student could write about how one author’s perspective has influenced others.
Report this resource to TPT
Reported resources will be reviewed by our team. Report this resource to let us know if this resource violates TPT's content guidelines.
Highlights
Digital downloads
Grades
6th - 12th
Subjects
Standards
CCSSRL.7.5
CCSSRL.7.7
CCSSRL.8.5
Tags
Pages
4
Answer Key
Does not apply
Description
This lesson was done over a 3-day period of about 15 minutes each day in my middle school ELA classroom.
It has 3 poems formatted into copies for the students:
"Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
"Caged Bird" by Alicia Keys
We read the poems in that order, one per day, and discussed the first day that Dubar's parents were former slaves. (See biographical information at http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/paul-laurence-dunbar . I printed a copy of this information so my students could read it silently prior to reading the poem together. The second day we read Angelou’s poem and talked a bit about her life and the things in her life about which she could have been writing. See biographical information at http://www.mayaangelou.com/biography/ . My students and I looked at this information online together after reading the poem, but before discussing. The third day we listened to Key’s poem/song and discussed her perspective. Listen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wipAza6kWw .
There’s much that can be done with these poems including writing a comparison essay and/or an analysis essay of two or three of them. Also, student could write about how one author’s perspective has influenced others.
It has 3 poems formatted into copies for the students:
"Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
"Caged Bird" by Alicia Keys
We read the poems in that order, one per day, and discussed the first day that Dubar's parents were former slaves. (See biographical information at http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/paul-laurence-dunbar . I printed a copy of this information so my students could read it silently prior to reading the poem together. The second day we read Angelou’s poem and talked a bit about her life and the things in her life about which she could have been writing. See biographical information at http://www.mayaangelou.com/biography/ . My students and I looked at this information online together after reading the poem, but before discussing. The third day we listened to Key’s poem/song and discussed her perspective. Listen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wipAza6kWw .
There’s much that can be done with these poems including writing a comparison essay and/or an analysis essay of two or three of them. Also, student could write about how one author’s perspective has influenced others.
Report this resource to TPT
Reported resources will be reviewed by our team. Report this resource to let us know if this resource violates TPT's content guidelines.
Reviews
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Wonderful.
Thank you for your positive review, Carisa! I'm so glad you found this material helpful.
I was disappointed that this only had the three poems and a brief overview on the assignment covered. It would have been great to see the actual assignment that went along with it to show student thought, progression and linking of ideas, etc. Very disappointing.
I'm sorry you were disappointed with this assignment. It is exactly as stated and shown. The product description explains what I did with these three poems and gave links for the extra biographical information and YouTube link to listen to the third poem/song. There was not a written out assignment. I simply passed out the poems, read them aloud, and started a brief class discussion. This is how I began classes each day for an entire year.
Here's the information:
This lesson was done over a 3-day period of about 15 minutes each day in my middle school ELA classroom.
It has 3 poems formatted into copies for the students:
"Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
"Caged Bird" by Alicia Keys
We read the poems in that order, one per day, and discussed the first day that Dubar's parents were former slaves. (See biographical information at http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/paul-laurence-dunbar . I printed a copy of this information so my students could read it silently prior to reading the poem together. The second day we read Angelou’s poem and talked a bit about her life and the things in her life about which she could have been writing. See biographical information at http://www.mayaangelou.com/biography/ . My students and I looked at this information online together after reading the poem, but before discussing. The third day we listened to Key’s poem/song and discussed her perspective. Listen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wipAza6kWw.
Thank you for this!
I'm so glad it was useful!! Thanks for the positive review!
Horrible!!!
I’m sorry you are having trouble or are unhappy with this product. If you email me, or leave a question in the Q/A, I’ll be happy to help.
Hannah
hannah.turner@blountk12.org
Is there core alignment with this resource?
Thanks!
Yes! I'm about half-way through posting the CCSS alignment of all my products.
RL 8.5, RL 6.7, 7.7, L 6.6, 7.6, 8.6
Please let me know how you liked (and what your students thought of) this product!
Have a blessed day!
Hannah
Questions & Answers
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Standards
to see state-specific standards (only available in the US).
CCSSRL.7.5
Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning.
CCSSRL.7.7
Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film).
CCSSRL.8.5
Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.
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