Unit Plan
Topic: Poetry
Year Level: Year 10
Unit Summary: This unit of work will consist of developing the students analytical skills
in regards to exploring poetic texts that deal with the concept of love in a variety of ways.
Across this unit, students will look at 5 to 6 poems throughout class time before embarking
on the major assessment piece in which they will choose one from a selection of poetic texts
and produce an analytical response in the form of an essay.
Big Idea for the Unit: To through engagement with various texts develop students
critical analysis skills and recognise how poetic techniques are used to communicate
meaning and message.
Curriculum (ACARA Links): Year 9 and Year 11
Year 9 ACARA links to the unit (Prior Knowledge and Understanding)
Understand that authors innovate with text structures and language for specific purposes
and effects (ACELA1553)
Elaboration - experimenting with ways to present personal viewpoints through innovating
with texts.
Listen to spoken texts constructed for different purposes, for example to entertain and to
persuade, and analyse how language features of these texts position listeners to respond in
particular ways (ACELY1740)
Elaboration- understanding the role of intonation, pausing, combinations of clause and
rhythm in spoken language and of punctuation.
Year 10 Relevant links to ACARA- Knowledge and Understanding to be
developed over course of unit
Compare and evaluate how voice as a literary device can be used in a range of different
types of texts such as poetry to evoke particular emotional responses ACELT1643
Elaboration - creating extended written responses to literary texts, making reference to
varying points of view about the issues raised.
Year 11 SACE links to the unit (Knowledge and Understanding we are
Working Towards)
1. analyse relationships between purpose, audience, and context, and how these influence
texts and their meaning
2. identify ways in which ideas and perspectives are represented in texts
3. analyse how language and stylistic features and conventions are used to convey ideas
and perspectives in texts
In particular the sub-section responding to texts is relevant to this unit.
Length of Unit: 4 Weeks
Unit/Learning Outcomes:
1. Students will be able to apply a critical and analytical lens to various poetic texts
through which they are able to identify poetic techniques and interpret the
effect these techniques have on audience.
2. Students recognise the need for literary evidence when developing an analytical
response to a poetic text and are able to validate their perspective with
examples.
Essential Question: How do authors use various techniques to communicate message
and meaning to audience?
Unit Question: How do I approach analysing a poetic text?
Content Question: What are the relevant techniques used within poetry?
General Capabilities:
Literacy Numeracy Intercultural Understanding- Critical and Creative Thinking
Cross-Curriculum Priorities:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Culture (Through the in class analysis of
poetry written by Indigenous authors)
Assessment Timeline: Poetry Booklet Completed before of learning assessment is
given out.
Poetry Booklet (A Guideline to Deconstructing a Poetic Text) To be completed in class, first
week and signed by me when students have completed the full booklet.
Checking Understanding Second lesson, to be completed in class (15 minute timed
activity)
Analytical Response (Essay) Draft due Friday 15/917, Final Due Tuesday 12/9/17.
Texts to be used in Class:
Ring of Fire Johnny Cash
Sound of Silence Simon and Garfunkel
A Red, Red Rose- Robert Burns
Before Bed Johnathon Hill
A Farewell to False Love Sir Walter Ralegh
Where is the Love? Black Eyed Peas
Candle in the Wind Elton John
Love is a Sickness full of Woes Samuel Daniels
Love and Friendship Emily Bronte
Weekly Planner
Week and Key Content to be Covered Main Learning Objective
Question/s
First Week Key Points to Cover What should the students
have taken from the first
What is poetry? Define what poetry is as a week?
literary genre.
Why write poetry? What To have a solid
is its purpose? Explore why poetry is understanding of what
written, why has poetry is as a literary
What are the poetic humanity been driven to genre and how it is
techniques writers use? write and speak poetry. used/what purpose it
serves
Why is this prose? Why is Develop sound
this poetry? understanding of poetic To have a sound
techniques and understanding of the
What is love poetry? How conventions. poetic techniques
can it be defined? poets/writers use in order
Romeo and Juliet- to communicate message
Examples Work sheet or idea
Various Activities- Poetic
Techniques
Second Week Key Points to Cover What should the students
Identify when techniques have taken from this
Identifying techniques are being used. week?
within a text.
Discuss why the writer Love poetry is a broad
What impact do the made the literary choices spectrum and it is a
literary techniques have they did. What did the diverse genre within
on readers/listeners? linguistic and poetic poetic discourse. Love
Why use them? choices in the text poetry does not have to
accomplish? be strictly romantic or
even directed toward a
Ill bring in a variety of person.
poetic texts displaying
themes of love to Should be able to read a
establish love poetry as a poetic text and find the
diverse and expansive techniques within that
genre. text- identify them.
- Get students to Should begin to undergo
identify poetic the process of
techniques in the questioning the authors
texts that have choices- all the literary
been brought in. choices within a text are
Poetry stations- deliberate, there is
one text per purpose and intent. What
group. is the author trying to
- What was the make you feel?
poem about? How
did you know?
Was it the
techniques used,
the imagery etc?
Third Week Key Points to Cover What should the students
have taken from this
Run through the process Mentor Text- Sound of week?
of deconstructing a poem Silence
Read aloud- p2p Students should have
- Locating and Listen to audio- both seen and workshopped
identifying original and cover version strategies to approach
techniques Did the different versions deconstructing poetic
- How does the inspire different texts.
author use them? responses in you?
- What image, - Subject Students should be able
concept or theme matter/theme to question how and why
do these - Technique techniques are used by
techniques Structure writers.
communicate? Tone
Mood (Reader Students should be
What other factors are Response) reflective of how poetry
important when critically makes them feel and
analysing poetry/text? Language provokes thinking in
- Cultural context- Imagery readers.
What was Rhythm
happening in Rhyme Students should also
society at the time begin to think of the text
of the texts Context of the Text in a broader sense, what
production? When was it written? facilitated the creation of
- Possible lenses What was happening the text? (Historical
through which one when it was written? Context)
can read a poem-
feminist, Marxist, How could the climate of
etc. the time influenced the
text?
Audience always brings
their own experience to a Poems from previous
text, who you are affects week to be revisited and
how you receive the workshopped in class in
poem. small groups, students
discuss and note down
techniques- how they are
used, why they are used.
The possible intent
behind the text- what
was the writers
objective? Were they
effective in their writing?
How is love represented
in the text?
Fourth Week Key Points to Cover What should the students
have taken from this
Students choose their week?
poetic texts for the essay
why did they pick those To be able to confidently
texts? How are they love apply the analytical
poetry? What were your strategies learnt in the
initial impressions? After previous weeks.
looking closer did they
change? To understand the literary
choices of the author and
They apply the strategies that they serve a purpose.
learnt in earlier lessons to
their chosen texts. Each Interpretation is
group picks one out of all dependent not only on
the chosen texts and the content of the text
works through the but of the experiences of
process of analysing the the reader
it-techniques, etc.
6-8 poems (1 poem per lesson)
