It is often more exciting for students to figure out what kind of sonnet they are reading and what the form is than the teacher telling them.Īs students dig into the form of the sonnet and determine how it fits the “recipe,” they will have to prove their answers by using text evidence. Depending on whether you are looking at an Italian (or Petrarchan) or English (Shakespearean) sonnet, provide students with a “recipe” for the form. Once students have an understanding of the subject of the sonnet, provide them the opportunity to look at the form of the sonnet. You can ask students to simply respond to the question: “What is this sonnet about?”ħ. Once students have paraphrased, you may want to have them complete a quick write or exit card that will provide you with a formative assessment. Formative assessment: checking for understanding. It can be helpful to create a list as a class, so all students can benefit.Ħ. You can either provide them with vocabulary words and definitions or they can check the meaning as they paraphrase. As they paraphrase, students will encounter vocabulary that they aren’t familiar with. Even if they aren’t sure of what a line means, they can take a guess.ĥ. If they are struggling with a line, they can put a question mark, but don’t allow them to use more than one or two question marks. Students will usually be able to paraphrase the majority of a poem. They can think of it as “translating” the line. Explain to students that paraphrasing means to rewrite a phrase in your own words. Now that your students have some preliminary understanding, they’re ready to start digging in. You may want students to record any of their classmates comments on their copy of the sonnet.Ĥ.
Give students a chance to just float ideas about the sonnet. What do they think? What do they like about the poem? What do they notice? There are no right and wrong answers here. No fair writing, “What does this mean?”ģ.
Encourage them to be specific with their questions. Then, ask them to jot down any notes, thoughts, or questions they have. Then, ask students to underline anything that pops out at them, any words or phrases they like, or anything that they notice. Or…you can show students this wonderful YouTube video: Start by just reading it! Provide a copy of the sonnet to each student and read it aloud while they follow along. (If you’re looking for more help teaching poetry, check out this post on “Strategies for Teaching Poetry.” It will help you every step of the way.) Steps to teaching a sonnetġ. Understanding poetry is not unlike solving a puzzle.
Don’t let your students off the hook too quickly. Analyzing a sonnet (or any poem) can be a real challenge. That’s why I asked!” And your response can be, “Let’s see if we can figure this out together.” Of course, then your student will say, “I don’t know. When students ask “What does this mean?” or “What’s the right answer?” turn the question back to them. If a student can support his or her analysis with evidence from the text, why can’t that analysis be correct? This is what turns so many students off from poetry - they think there is just one answer and the teacher has it. Prove it! What a great way to have students build and defend arguments. Poetry is flexible! There are many ways to interpret a poem. Literary critics are still debating meanings and symbols of works whose authors are long, long gone. If you were here to simply read and enjoy, I say "Welcome!" And take a look at some of the additional links on this web page below.Step away from the edge!! Think about the thousands of dissertations written about single poems. Don't forget that practice makes perfect, so write several poems, and then write some more. If you're looking for samples to help get you started on your own, I wish you well. All it takes it pen and paper - or maybe a blank computer screen and a willing keyboard. They were a lot of fun to write, which means that I will probably be writing more. In a addition to the poems on this page, there are more on the funny haiku page of this web site. But truly, the best way to understand this poetic form is to read as many examples as you can. (Thankfully, you don't have to rhyme, or it might be extremely difficult.) Once you get the hang of it, writing these poems can be a lot of fun. It can be a challenge communicating what you have in mind with the very specific parameters of the Haiku. Lift your wings and fly.īy Denise Rodgers Copyright©Denise Rodgers All rights reserved. They say you're older One year added to your age.