What’s in a Poem?

Subject: World Languages

Lesson Length: 45 mins - 1 hour

Topic: Culture, Communication, Comparisons, Expression, Poetry, Language

Grade Level: 10, 11, 12, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Standards / Framework:

Brief Description: Students will interpret and analyze a poem written in the target language for cultural understanding.

Know Before You Start:

Students should be able to identify aspects of culture, including language conventions that may be used in poetry.
Students should know basic facts about different cultures, including cultures where the target language is spoken.
Students should have target language knowledge sufficient for interpreting an appropriate-level poem.

Hook:

Ask students:
- “How can we learn about a poet’s perspective through their poetry?”
- “What makes poetry a special kind of writing?”
- “What skills can we use to interpret a poem written in a different language?”

Activity:

As a class, have students share a poem that they know in English.
Have students analyze what that poem means and how its origins reflect a cultural background, e.g., “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” reflects curiosity and wonder.
Have students explore a poem in the target language.
Using the sample comic as a guide, have students create a comic that explains the meaning of the poem and its cultural relevance.

Closure:

Have students share their comics with the class or in small groups.
Have students explain why they chose the poem featured in their comic.
Discuss other things that can be learned about culture through poetry.
Emphasize that poetry often uses figurative language that allows us to get a different perspective.

Differentiation:

Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
Allow students to work in pairs or groups as needed.
Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.
Students may need assistance interpreting or analyzing a poem, especially if it uses figurative language.
Allow students to use digital dictionaries/translators as appropriate for your class policy.

Resources:

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