Robert Frost - Gathering Leaves

Designed to accompany the Robert Frost poetry anthology for CIE AS English, but will be appropriate for any senior study of the poem ‘Gathering Leaves’.

The lesson first encourages students to recognise and understand how Frost has presented the act of labour in other poems they have studied previously, through a matching activity.
The main part of the lesson then encourages students to consider the action and purpose of gathering leaves. Students listen to the teacher reading the poem to identify the speaker and situation, and analyse structure closely to recognise the simple rhyme and rhythm, commenting on effect. Students then copy down key vocabulary that will be useful when analysing the poem, and then annotate the poem for technique, with comprehension questions supplied for each section.
As a plenary, students demonstrate their knowledge of the poem and the tone used by Frost within it by completing a targeted, scaffolded essay paragraph about how Frost has presented the act of labour in this poem. Lastly, students link in relevant contextual and critical information about Frost and his poetry.
Blank and annotated copies of the poem are also supplied.