Creative Writing
LESSON PLAN FOR GRADES
6-8
(can also be adapted for 3rd - 5th grades)
Three
local Pennsylvania poets participated in this creative writing project with
three 8th grade classes at Indian Valley Middle School in Harleysville, PA,
in December, 2010: Joanne Leva, Cleveland Wall, and Elizabeth Rivers.
Guide: Rose, Where Did you Get that Red? by Kenneth Koch
Using Koch's innovative ideas, this lesson plan is based on reading good poetry
to children and suggesting an assignment based on those poems.
The poem chosen, “The Tyger” by William Blake, is presented in Koch’s book
with many helpful suggestions which are easy for the teacher to follow (pp.
5-6).
Day 1
5 minutes:
Introduce yourself. Briefly explain you’ll be meeting with the class for
three one-hour sessions; what will happen each session (read a poem and
write your own, revise and illustrate; read and celebrate.)
20 minutes
Hand out The Tyger (copied on a handout you’ve made) read it out
loud yourself, a volunteer the second time. Ask for questions. Briefly explain
new vocabulary, usage, (thee and thou), spelling (tyger); explain a bit
about Blake writing 200 years ago. Go over each verse. Use Koch’s ideas.
Explain what a blacksmith is, etc. You will return to the poem in class
2 so it’s not necessary to say everything about it now.
10 minutes
A second handout prepared by you should be given out with the assignment
written on it (for students to keep and refer to in the next weeks) and
student poems of your choice from Koch’s book as models. Explain the assignment.
This is: Write a poem that asks a mysterious, amazing animal or other interesting
object of your choice anything you want. You can do this because you speak
its secret language. The student poems you choose should include the author’s
name, of course, and grade. “Dog, where did you get that bark?” provided
the title to Koch’s book, “Giraffe! Giraffe! “ is an interesting choice,
(going from ”sticky” to “stick” means a little leap into another mind.”
Have volunteers read the poems and briefly discuss them. Which poems are
most interesting? Notice rhyme is NOT necessary. What repetitions are often
used to make word patterns?(questions, etc.)
20 minutes
Use this time for them to write their own poem. If they finish one they
can do another. Tell them to raise hands for help or have them come to you-
you can be seated at a desk to show you their work
Handouts should be saved for week 2!
Day 2
This hour, for revision and illustration, begins with
20 -30 minutes
the poet/ teacher explaining ways to revise and add to the poem written last
week. Various ideas might include:
reversing a beginning and end of a verse, easily done with the first verse
of ”The Tyger”
and asking the students which way works better, both opinions accepted
looking for interesting sounds, such as circling all the “r” letters in the
first verse to hear
the tyger roar, or hearing the blacksmith hammer on his anvil in verse 4.
What percussion
instrument would work? One poet brought in a different percussion instrument
for each
verse to play with each verse as it was read again!
metaphors: “when the stars threw down their spears/And water’d heaven with
their
tears”; see Koch’s take on this.
and asking the students to try reversals, add interesting sounds or other
sensory experiences to their poems (colors, shapes, touch, smell, etc,) fresh
ideas such as metaphors, similes, and words from other languages, especially
if these are ESL students.
Koch also suggests asking students to write more about a certain part of their
poem as part of the revision process. You may wish to prepare a handout with
examples of any or all of these ideas, using either student work or other
poems as models.
30 minutes:
revision and illustration If you can find examples of Blake’s own illustration
of “The Tyger” this is a natural addition.
Day 3
An hour for reading student work and celebrating. The poets may wish to read
one or two of their own poems or other poems they think appropriate. Children
‘s work can be read by the teacher if a child prefers. Snacks such as cider
and pretzels and picture taking help make this an occasion to remember. Inviting
parents and/or staff to hear the children’s work, or to share with other classes
if space permits, are good possibilitites. Please remind the children that
poetrywits would like to print their work on line.