Grade Eight Poetry Unit

Creating a Personal Poetry AnthologyDue date - May 24

  1. Immerse yourself in poetry. Read poetry books, search online, and listen to music. Be willing to go out of your comfort zone particularly when you’re listening to music; try genres that you’re not familiar with e.g. country, vocal jazz, negro spirituals, folk/blues, music from the 40’s or 50’s, (ask your grandparents what they listened to when they were teenagers). Listen to Leonard Cohens songs, maybe you can identify with one or more of them. NO PROFANITY, PLEASE! Remember those songs, lullabies, or poems (little ditties) that your parents used to sing or tell you when you were just little, you may want to include those.
  2. When you come across a poem or a song that you make a connection with, write it down (keep either a notebook or a file on your computer). Find 15 - 25 (quality is more important than quantity) songs and poems that resonate with you; it could be the words or the meaning behind the words.
  3. Look up Winnipeg Slam poetry. Include 1 Slam poem.
  4. For at least 10 of the songs/poems list examples of 3 poetic devices used by the poet/song writer. Write a brief paragraph (approximately 50 words) explaining the theme and or purpose of the poem/song and what in particular you made a personal connection with.
  5. Compose one poem yourself.
  6. Illustrate some of your favorites, again quality is more important that quantity. Some illustrations may be computer generated but some may be done the old-fashioned way by hand, using crayons, water colour paints, and markers, whatever.
  7. Arrange your selections in a booklet form (some pages may be computer generated, some may be neatly hand written. You may want to try calligraphy – variety is the spice of life), along with a cover you’ve illustrated.
  8. Remember this is your project. The more personal you make your anthology, the more meaning it will have for you. Hopefully it will be something you will want to keep (for posterity), adding to it as you grow and your life experiences change.

Evaluation Rubric

5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Songs and poems demonstrate a variety of genres
3 poetic devices are identified for 10 songs/
poems
The theme/
meaning is explained for 10 poems/
songs
Poem composed by student is included
1 Slam Poem is included
The cover/
illustrations demonstrate effort and care
Self-EvaluationI used my class time productively / /5 / /5 / /5 / /5 / /5 / /5 / /5 / /5 / /5 / /5