Curriculum Unit
Nancy Ventresca
Exploring Identity Through Poetry and Images
Title Author
KEY LEARNING, ENDURING UNDERSTANDING, ETC.
Students will understand that everyone has a unique story to tell and that our past experiences influence our identity today. As they try their hand at writing a variety of styles of poetry, they will also understand that writing is a process that includes planning, drafting and revising and that it is an excellent medium for self-expression.
They will understand that authors and artists often convey messages and themes that are not easily interpreted and that careful analysis of the partnered images can reveal clues for interpretation. Finally, students will understand that visual images are not just pictures, but include gestures, facial expressions, slogans, photography, and graffiti, that can evoke feelings and create personal connections through time and experiences.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S) for the UNIT
What is identity? How does my past and family influence how I feel about myself?
How can poetry and Ekphrasis help me express my feelings about myself and my place in the world?
How can I express the way that visual images and art can make me feel?
CONCEPT A CONCEPT B CONCEPT C
Poetry can be a written form of expressing feelings and responses to visual images, both real and imagined.
Poetry has many forms.
Our identity is complex: it can change and be influenced by experiences and culture.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS A ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS B ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS C
How can I express the way that visual images and art can make me feel?
How can poetry and Ekphrasis help me express my feelings about myself and my place in the world?
“How does my past and my family influence how I feel about myself?
VOCABULARY A VOCABULARY A VOCABULARY A
Ekphrasis, ballad, narrative, collaborative, expression, soliloquy, drama, connection
Identity, heritage, culture, ancestry, traditions
Figurative language, simile, metaphor, alliteration, rhyme, stanza, lyric, narrative, dramatic, acrostic, ballad, cinquain, concrete, erasure, blackout, haiku, pantoum
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/MATERIAL/TEXT/FILM/RESOURCES
Browning, Robert. "My Last Duchess by Robert Browning." Poetry Foundation. Accessed October 28, 2018. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43768/my-last-duchess
Creech, Sharon. Love That Dog. New York: HarperCollins, 2006.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Boston: Pearson, 2016.
Koch, Kenneth. Rose, Where Did You Get That Red? Teaching Great Poetry to Children. New York: Vintage Books, 1990.
Rowden, Justine. Paint Me a Poem: Poems Inspired by Masterpieces of Art. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press, 2005.