Teacher Resources: A Few Strategies Explained

If there is one thing I have learned very quickly, it is that one should NEVER be afraid of taking advice from fellow teachers. If it is a strategy that works, it's something else that you can add to your Toolbox of Ideas. So here are a few strategies that I will be using throughout my unit that I have collected from a few trusted locations (all of the links for said trusted locations are posted on the right side of my blog).

1. Videos and Reading Questions:
This is a strategy I actually made up, but it is one I got a LOT of really good responses from using it. Poetry was originally intended to be read aloud, so what better way to teach students tone and mood than to hear it for themselves? While the video is playing (a link to the one I used is posted on the right side of the page) students will read and answer the questions on a handout I created (posted as a page above; answer key is under the page labeled "tone and mood handout teacher copy"; answers are in red). This strategy gives students an opportunity to experience poetry, and it also helps guide them in thinking about two similar and specific elements of it. This makes poetry less overwhelming since they are not trying to figure it all out at once. All they are responsible for is focusing on experiencing it and how it makes them feel.

2. Imagery Coloring Activity:
I really loved this activity, and my class seemed to really enjoy it as well. It's also very easy to implement and use with any poem. Find sections of imagery in the poem you will be studying (one for each group of students; I used six). Give each group of students a pack of crayons and a big piece of paper (I bought the cheap 8 packs of crayolas and they worked perfectly). Have each group draw the image that they think the poet is trying to convey and ask them to be thinking about how that image affects the poem. What is the poet trying to say with that image, and how does that affect tone and mood? Have the students present their drawings to the class and give their answers to these questions. Here is my expertly drawn picture as an example drawing:

Isn't it beautiful?

3. The Frayer Model:
I am a very, very bog fan of the Frayer Model. It's organized, it's visual, it's clear cut, and it's something different from writing out definitions on lined paper. Here is an example of the frayer model using the word "poem":

The students write the word they are using it for in the center. They then write a definition in the upper left hand corner, then write facts they learned about it from the lesson, then synonyms and antonyms to further their understanding. Antonyms can be hard for some words, so if they can't think of any, I tell them to draw a picture of the word instead. This model really helps students learn and understand vocabulary.

4.  Anticipation Guides:

I have posted what these look like on the pages section of my blog. The one I used is posted in a "Student Edition" version (blank) and a "Teacher Copy" version with the correct answers on the right side.

Anticipation guides are a great tool for any lesson in any level classroom. Students love to give their opinions on everything (who doesn't?), and this gives them a way to do that and really be a part of the lesson. Write down about five or ten questions pertaining to the lesson that day or a piece of writing you are about to read into the middle section of the anticipation guide. Before the lesson or before reading, have the students fill out the "before" column with an "a" or a "d" (Agree or Disagree). Discuss the answers as a class to get the kids thinking about the topic. After the lesson or after reading, have them do the same thing in the right-hand column, then have a class discussion to make sure everyone got the right answers. 

5. RAFT Writing

RAFT writing is something I have recently discovered, and I absolutely love it. I love anything that helps students stay organized, and this definitively works to help students visually see the point of writing. Here is what the letters stand for:

•  Role of the Writer: Who are you as the writer? A pilgrim? A soldier? The President?
• Audience: To whom are you writing? A political rally? A potential employer?
• Format: In what format are you writing? A letter? An advertisement? A speech?
• Topic: What are you writing about?

I made a handout to give each student with the directions and the above bullets explaining the activity (it's the page labeled "RAFT Activity"). Each student will write a few sentences from the poet's perspective after they have read and studied it. Here is what this might look like if we wrote one for T.S. Eliot:

R: I am T.S. Eliot, the poet behind The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

A: While I am honestly writing to anyone who is willing to make the attempt to get inside my head, I am really writing to Vivienne, a woman I would later call my wife. I am terribly self-conscious, you see, and I want to propose to her, but I don't think she will respond how I would like for her to. 

F: I am writing a poem.

T: I am writing about many things: women, myself, the universe, love, among others.

This is a great way to wrap up a piece of writing because it makes the students get inside the head of the writer. It can also be used as a study tool or a way to get into essay writing (have them write from their own perspective on a topic). 

6. Guided Reading

Guided Reading sometimes gets a bad rap for high school, but I think it's very effective and useful, especially when the students are reading complicated poetry for the first time. The main thing I like about this strategy is that it gives you the opportunity to let the more advanced students stretch themselves while you have the chance to be more hands on with the kids who need it. The way I adapt it for high schoolers is to chose a simple, short poem and show them how to read poetry as a class. Read the poem line by line and voice your thoughts aloud as you are deciphering the poem. Involve the class by asking them questions. Once they get the idea of how to read poetry, break the students up into groups (making sure to pair them by reading level so that you can more closely monitor the struggling readers) and let them try their hand at reading something more complicated. Have them write notes on the page with their interpretations. Monitor all groups and guide them in figuring out the poem. Then come together as a class and discuss what the students thought.