Robert Frost - There Are Roughly Zones

Designed to accompany the Robert Frost poetry anthology for CIE AS English, but will be appropriate for any senior study of the poem ‘There Are Roughly Zones’.
The lesson begins with a consideration of typical habitats for specific plants, giving some background information regarding climate zones and hardiness scales. Students consider why someone might plant something in a place where it doesn’t typically grow well.
The main part of the lesson then encourages students to respond to the main metaphor of the poem. Students listen to the teacher reading the poem to identify the speaker and situation, and complete comprehension questions to guide their analysis. The lesson progresses by suggesting key vocabulary that students copy down, and students then annotate the poem for technique as a whole class, considering the effect of structure and metaphor after this.
As a plenary, students write a scaffolded paragraph responding to the metaphor of the poem. Lastly, students consider the crux of this poem - why humans can’t, won’t or don’t stay within known limits and boundaries, and whether they should - and apply the relevant contextual and critical information about Frost and his poetry that they have learned previously.
Blank and annotated copies of the poem are also supplied.