World Poetry - Unit of Work for KS3

I have used this World Poetry unit with a Year 8 class and it took around 8 weeks to complete. This would also work well with a Year 9 class.

I used the following 6 poems, around which I based the unit:

‘Autumn Night’ by Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam)
‘Nightfall in the City of Hyderabad’ by Sarojini Naidu (India)
‘Saguaros’ by Javier Zamora (El Savador / USA)
‘Frames’ by Tammy Lai-Ming Ho (China)
‘The Sea Eats the Land at Home’ by Kofi Awoonor (Ghana)
‘Not My Business’ by Niyi Osundare (Nigeria)

List of resources: One PPT that includes ALL of the lessons for the unit; a Word Doc and PDF of the collection of poems (which can be printed as a booklet for students); a Word Doc worksheet on the poem ‘Saguaros’.

The unit begins with an introductory (or re-introductory) lesson to poetry.
Then there is a lesson on each of the poems.
Each lesson has some focus upon close literary analysis. Tasks that aim to develop students’ knowledge of literary devices and their effects are included.
The final assessment allows students to write about any of the six poems.

I really enjoyed creating and teaching this unit of work and I think that my students enjoyed the poems and their range of subject matter.