SYMPATHY BY CHARLES MACKAY - UNIT PLANS

A unit plan of 3 sessions on poetry comprehension – Sympathy by Charles Mackay.

After completing this unit students will be able to:

• Analyse the poem to make a critical appreciation (session 1).
• Identify the poetic devices and explain how they are used in the poem (session 2).
• Annotate the lines of the poem with reference to context (session 3).

This unit includes:

Lesson Preview:

• Poem and Summary (Scaffold Notes 1)
• Poet, Introduction, and Setting (Scaffold Notes 2)

SESSION 1: POETRY ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL APPRECIATION

Discussion:

• Poetry Forms (Scaffold Notes 3)
• Poetry Structures (Scaffold Notes 4)
• Poetry Analysis Guide (Scaffold Notes 5)
• Poetry Analysis Template (Scaffold Notes 6)

Collaborative Group Tasks:

• Pair-Share - Identification of Poetry Elements (Exercise 1)
• Ask-Write - Critical Appreciation of the Poem (Exercise 2)
• Write-Share – Diary Entry (Exercise 3)

Assessment - Poetry Analysis Rubrics (Scaffold Notes 7)
Differentiated Tasks - Planning to write a poems (Exercise 4)
Plenary – Selecting correct options (Exercise 5)

SESSION 2: POETIC DEVICES IN POETRY AND THEIR USAGE

Discussion:

• Comparison Devices (Scaffold Notes 8)
• Sound Devices (Scaffold Notes 9)
• Figures of Speech (Scaffold Notes 10)
• Poetic Devices Prompts (Scaffold Notes 11)

Collaborative Group Tasks:

• Pair-Share – Meaning of the expressions in poem (Exercise 6)
• Ask-Write - Identification of poetic devices (Exercise 7)
• Write-Share - Explanation of the Poetic devices as used in the poem (Exercise 8)

Assessment - Poetic Devices in Poetry Rubrics (Scaffold Notes 12)
Differentiated Tasks - Creating poems (Exercise 9)
Plenary – Comprehension questions (Exercise 10)

SESSION 3: POETRY ANNOTATION AND REFERENCE TO CONTEXT

Discussion:

• Annotation Guide (Scaffold Notes 13)
• Annotation Template and Prompt (Scaffold Notes 14)
• Explanation Prompts for Figures of Speech (Scaffold Notes 15)

Collaborative Group Tasks:

• Pair-Share - Summarizing the meaning (Exercise 11)
• Ask-Write - Identification of annotation elements (Exercise 12)
• Write-Advance - Annotating the lines of the poem (Exercise 13)

Assessment - Annotation Rubrics (Scaffold Notes 16)
Differentiated Tasks - Analyzing poems (Exercise 14)
Plenary - Online Quiz

Home Learning – Online Exercise
CCSS - Common Core Standards - ELA.LITERACY.RL.6-8.1-4
Skills - Social and Cognitive

Here are some possible uses for these in your classroom:

• To challenge early finishers
• For effective tutoring
• As ESL stations and sub tubs
• As holiday work and homework
• For small group collaborations
• For an end of unit assessments
• For reinforcement and enrichment