Poetry Playlist Project: A Poem for Every Day of the Week

Overview

Your task: Discover and examine poetry.

Of all of the “opening lessons” I’ve planned and taught in 10 years of teaching, the poetry roll-out never seems to go quite right. Students are often intimidated, bored to death, or deafened by their own assumptions (i.e., I’ll never get poetry. Poetry sucks. This stuff is too hard. I can’t think like that.). The longer I think about this problem, the more I wonder if we teachers shouldn’t just turn you loose on poetry and stay out of the way.

That’s exactly what this project is all about: discovering poetry on your own.

The product? A 7-poem “playlist” of poems that you discover on your own

Some questions to consider before you start searching and creating:

What scratches your itch? What would you like to find in poetry?

  • (The answer to these questions might be the same answers you’d give if somebody asked you about what kind of music you like.)

What style of poetry do you think you might like? Short rhyming poems?Poems with emotional depth? Ones that are long and narrative?

What topics might interest you? Nature? Love? Faith?

Remember:

YOU DON’T HAVE TO UNDERSATND EVERY WORD OF EVERY LINE!

Feeling, tone, and atmosphere can tell you a lot about a poem.

Have fun! Poetry doesn’t have to be serious. There is a lot of playful poetry out there.

Schedule

*All links posted to under the Poetry Project tab.

DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY
  1. Search the web to “discover” poetry.
  2. READ, READ, READ, READ, READ, READ, READ.
  3. Set up a Word document with links to poems that you like. If possible, you should list way more than seven.
Suggested web sites:






DAY 2 – THURSDAY
  1. Revisit the poems you found on Day 1.
  2. Begin to pare down your list from yesterday OR read more and add to your list.
  3. Decide what your product will be and how you will present your “playlist.”
Go for visually appealing work.
Some options are PowerPoint, Prezi, a free web site like the Weebly platform, blog, Publisher, or something from this list:
  1. Start crafting your poetry playlist

DAY 3 – FRIDAY
Work Day
  1. Create your poetry playlist.
  2. Review task sheet, requirements, and rubric to build and guide product.
  3. Give your project a title.
Ex. Seven Poems to Get You Through the School Week; Seven Poems to Read to Your Grandmother; Seven Poems Guaranteed to Make You Feel Feelings
DAY 4 – MONDAY
Work Day
  1. Finish project.
  2. Take care of finishing touches.
  3. Hilliard checks progress 

Requirements:

  1. 7 poems that you have discovered and you genuinely like
  • You need copy and paste all 10 poems in their entirety and list the names of the poets who penned them.
  1. A “product” to display your playlist
  • You should attempt to make your work as visually appealing as possible.
  • Some options are PowerPoint, Prezi, a free web site like the Weebly platform, blog, Publisher, or something from this list:
  1. A table of contents listing the 7 poems and their order
  • This should be thoughtful and intentional. (For example, when I’m making a mix-tape, I sometimes like to put a light-hearted song after an emotional whammy.)
  1. One image for each poem
  • The image must connect in content, theme, or tone
  1. Three sentences for each poem that explainwhy it’s a good poem and why you like it.
  • If you need help, use these sentence stems:
  • “This poem appeals to me because ______.”
  • “I like (name specific feature of poem – rhyme, sound, content, theme, imagery) because ______.
  • “This poem reminds me of/makes me think about ______because ______.”

PROJECT RUBRIC

Not Attempted (0) / Attempted (1-3) / Achieved (4-5)
Project includes 10 complete poems and their poets.
Project includes a table of contents listing the 10 poems and their order.
Playlist is thoughtful and visually attractive.
Project includes one image per poem that connects in theme, content, or tone.
Project includes a three-sentence explanation for each poem
Project is neat and attractive and shows evidence of time and effort.