Teacher Instructions & Lesson Resources:
Pre-step…before sharing the song: Have students do a quick write in which they divide their lives so far into stages. Obviously every day couldn’t be a separate stage but there have been enough turning points so far that it can’t be lumped into one big stage either. Their job is to think of turning points that were important enough to end one stage and begin another and describe how many stages they feel they have lived through. Then they should continue their list into the future until they have broken life up into what they feel is the appropriate list of stages.
Remind them that at each new stage they should write a sentence or two that explains what specific changes are happening that call for a transition of stages. Have them get into small groups and compare, and then do a whole class share where you record the average number of stages the class feels appropriately represent life.
 Step one…sharing the poem and the song: Next, they might be surprised to know that none other than William Shakespeare did the exact same activity and produced his results in the poem “The Seven Ages of Man,” taken from the play As You Like It. They will be excited to hear his list of ages and see how it compares to theirs in both number of ages, and characteristics that describe each age. So put the poem on the overhead and read aloud, pausing to discuss each stage with the class. Direct students to this graphic organizer and have them compare/contrast their list with Shakespeare’s.
After a thorough discussion, propose to the class that many experiences with those ages can also be broken down into stages. Ask the class to give examples. (physical changes, relationships of all kinds, trends, rebellious phases, music/clothes/hobbies, etc.) Tell them that for this lesson they will be modeling a poem based on Harry Chapin’s song "Cat’s in the Cradle," which shows how a father-son relationship evolves over four distinct stages.
Play the song on your classroom iPod and guide them through the second page of the graphic organizer. Ask them to explain the message or theme of the song and remind them of the focus trait which is idea development. Have them choose the words or phrases that most passionately and vividly convey the message and remind them of the support trait which is voice.
Step two…introducing student models of writing: In small groups, have your students read and respond to any or all of the student models that come with this lesson. The groups will certainly talk about the idea development, since it's the focus of the lesson, but y ou might prompt your students to talk about each model's voice as well.
- Because this is a new lesson at WritingFix, we're looking for student samples for all grade levels for this prompt! Help us get some, and we'll send you a free resource for your classroom! Contact us at publish@writingfix.com for details.
Step three…thinking, talking, and pre-writing: After exploring Shakespeare’s poem, Chapin’s song and student samples, students are ready to begin exploring ideas for their own poem. Guide students through the graphic organizer which has them look for important parts of their lives that can potentially be broken into stages and are important enough to write a poem about. Remind them that emotion and mood drives poetry so tap into some part of their life that is meaningful to them and they are passionate to write about.
The "interactive button” on the student instructions page is designed to give students ideas for events in their own lives that could be broken into "stages." If students are having trouble coming up with an idea, you might direct them to the button.
To promote deeper thinking about the trait of idea development as they compose, you might have your students use this idea development drafting sheet, which requires them to think specifically about idea development qualities before, during, and after writing.
|
