Nathaniel Bowditch loved to learn new things. By examining poetry about the sea, stars, and navigation, students will learn to appreciate a new type of literature.

Goals:

1.Ý To familiarize students with a different type of literature.

2.Ý To develop speaking skills.

3.Ý To inspire individualism and creativity within students.

Resources/Materials:

1.Ý Copies of three or more poems for each student.

2.Ý Poems can be found in many sources such as literary texts, trade books, and the Internet.

Examples:
Abrams, M. H., ed. (1993). The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. 2 vols. New York: Norton.

Baym, Nina, ed. (1995). The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 4th ed. New York: Norton
.
McGowan, Martha, ed. (1989). Literature: Experience and Meaning. San Diego: Harcourt.

Suggested poems:

"Diving Under the Wreck"Ý by Adrienne Rich
"British Valor Displayed" by Francis Hopkinson
"When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" by Walt Whitman
"The Mermaidens' Vesper Hymn" by George Darby
"Stars" by Emily Bronte
"The Sea-Limits" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
"Star-Gazer" by Dylan Thomas
"The Star-Spangled Banner" by Francis Scott Key
Ý

3.Ý Art supplies including markers, construction paper, scissors, and glue.

4.Ý Handouts on the poetry terms.

Time:

The entire lesson will take approximately 3 1/2-5 hours. (Step 1 will take 45-60 minutes: Steps 2-5 will take 45-60 minutes; steps 6-8 will take 1-11/2 hours; step 9 will take 45-60 minutes allowing approximately 5-10 minutes for each student presentation; step 10 will take 15-20 minutes.)

Procedure:

1.Ý Introduce the poetry terms (metaphors, similes, personification, alliteration) to students. Students will accurately define each term on the handout.

2.Ý Hand out copies of three poems to each member of the class.

3.Ý Ask for volunteers to read the poems aloud.

4.Ý Discuss each poem's relationship to topics covered in coordinating lessons. Examples: sea, navigation, stars.

5.Ý Pick out and discuss the elements of poetry within each poem.

6.Ý Divide students into groups of four. As a group, they will choose one of the poems discussed in class to use in a choral speaking exercise.

7.Ý Student groups will decide how to present their poem to the rest of the class. Things to be considered:

Will they all speak at the same time?
Will their be individual speakers, or a combination of both?
Which syllables, words, or phrases need to be stressed?
Would sound effects add more to the presentation? What sounds?
Ý

8.Ý Student groups will also create pictures or murals that depict their interpretation of the poem.

9.Ý Students will perform their poems and present their art work to their classmates.

10. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of speaking as a group or individually.

Assessment:

1.Ý Students will develop their speaking skills. (Criteria for Success: Students will be graded on their choral speaking exercise. Specific criteria is left to the discretion of the teacher. Example: Students will be allowed 3 errors including miscues and pronunciation. Each student must speak 2 times during the presentation.)

2.Ý Students will create murals that represent the meaning of the poem. (Criteria for Success: Students must have at least 2 pictures that creatively depict the student's interpretation of the poem. Individual teachers also may use their discretion in this area.)

3.Ý Students will become more familiar with other types of literature. (Criteria for Success: Student will have accurately defined each 85% of the poetry terms from the class discussion.)

Curricular Strands & Major Concepts:

Language Arts - poetry, speaking

Art - coordinating collages and pictures with the poem

Possible Extensions:

1.Ý Write own poetry about the sea.

2.Ý Search for different poems about navigation and the sea.

Sailing into the 19th Century - developed by Angela Hamerlind, Renee Kust, & Kevin Feyen

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This page submitted by St. Norbert College Ocean Voyagers Program