Understading Poetry by breaking down Stanzas

Understanding poetry can be tough for students. Understanding older poetry can be very difficult. The vocabulary tends to be antiquated and the examples no longer relevant to the lives students lead.

It doesn't need to be though!

Following is my four step method for helping students understand poetry, though you could also use it for other types of literature.

The examples used here are from Edward Fitzgerald's translation of "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam." You can find the worksheets I use with my class as well as detailed reactions available on Teachers Pay Teachers (or by clicking the product cover to the right.

On the other hand you can create your own. Just adapt the following to best suit the literature the needs of your students.

Step 1
Go over the first stanza in the poem. Read it out loud and highlight any words you need to look up. Look up the words and decide the definition that best fits Write that down, so you'll remember it later Now that you know all the words draw the best literal interpretation of the poem that you can. Stick figures are great!  Now that you have the literal meaning,

Step 2

Show you really understand your literal meaning by drawing out a representation of your text. Stick figures and labels are fine for the less artistically challenged. If there's a lot going on, break into into a four grid and draw it out like a comic strip.

This really helps the artistic students shine, and the less artistic still get a chance to really cement their  understanding. Plus, when this is done in groups the discussions are GREAT. Students give input to one another on making things bigger, or brighter, etc.

Step 3
Now that we've got literal in the bag, see if students can identify the big idea and theme of the story. Have students take a step back and see what the stanza is trying to tell them. In one or two sentences they write what they think the meaning is. To really drive it in, they also title their individual quatrain.

Step 4

An example using Canva and PhotosforClass

This is the fun part! Students create their own stanza embracing the meaning of the original work. They can practice mimicking the rhyme scheme of the Rubiayat and modernize the stanza.

No Tech: This can be done on paper, cardstock or anything really! Then you can post them around the classroom and see if students can identify the poem as an adaptation of the correct stanza.

Low Tech: Have students create their stanza on Paint,  PowerPoint, or online, consider using Canva. If they are cell phones and tablets they can use free apps like Canva or Phonto. If they get pictures online I STRONGLY encourage photosforclass.com. I am a big digital citizenship nerd, and this gives them pictures that are legal to use AND already cited. Students can print these and again post them around the room to other students to guess.

A not-student-made version that modernizes a stanza

High Tech: Have students create their images online (use the sites suggested in low-tech). Then post these online! I like having students use a Haiku discussion board for this. Students will need an html of their picture. They can get this if they use Canva, or they can upload it to TinyPic or PostImage. Students (in groups) can analyze the modern interpretations and try to guess which stanza it is based off of.

I usually follow this activity up with some traditional comprehension questions that students breeze through! Once they have analyzed a stanza and seen how other students modernize the other stanzas, it really makes understanding easier.

Want more to do with The Rubaiyat? One topic I really like delving into is the fact that in his time Khayyam was best known for his science not his art. Do students think art helps scientists be better? Here's a nonfiction text with multiple choice questions and a writing prompt.

Students tend to hold a bias that artists can't be scientifically smart and scientists can't be creatively skilled, so it is fun to really dive into this discussion with them and have them apply it to Khayyam's works.

Interactive Texts - Actively Learn

There's this idea that learning starts and stops at my door

My boyfriend is moving into his own house and I got him this awesome rug. He commented that with the rug "it felt like home." It was a silly comment, but I get it. I often feel like when my students cross the rug into my classroom they "feel like learning." But then, when they leave the classroom, they feel like the learning stops, and I don't want that.

For example, my students tend to be low readers. I like to read in class because we can annotate together. I can ask questions at pivotal points to be sure students understand (before moving on). I like to take polls to see what students think will happen next. I like to explain background if there's an allusion or other reference my students won't understand. If I just assign them reading on their own... they don't get that full experience, and often won't bother reading at all.

So when possible, we try to read in class. Here's the problem, I can't do it. There just isn't enough time. As much as I would love to do all of the reading in class, that would mean all activities would turn into homework, and I don't like that idea either.

On a similar note, since my school has gone 1:1 a lot of my reading has gone online. We still have books but we also have e-books, articles, etc. Sometimes we read directly from the website in question; other times they are moved into a different site...maybe a school LMS, or a discussion board.

There are quite a few options out there. Today's blog talks about ActivelyLearn.

ActivelyLearn

This is a site with an assortment of already created texts. Some of these texts are just the texts (A Christmas Carol) whereas others have assignments build in (The Gift of the Magi). The ones with assignments include multiple choice questions, polls, helpful annotations and short answer questions. All questions are  aligned with Common Core standards.

Like so many education websites out there this is a free site with free articles, but you can pay for some texts and other premium services they offer.

Most of the texts I've been interested in have been free, but the ones that charge cost per student for a period of time. For example, Sarah Plain and Tall is $0.99 per student for 3 months.

In addition to texts that are already set up for you, a free account lets you import up to 3 internet articles, PDFs, or Google Documents each month. I like using Google Documents. If you use a pdf you can only ask questions at the end of each page instead of throughout.

Once you've uploaded or selected a text you can edit the questions and annotations or add your own.

When students read the text, it is like I am there with them! They can see my annotations (or watch videos I've annotated with more information). Plus, they can add their own annotations and comment on the annotations others have left! It is like having a conversation without being in the same room.

In fact, I can pop in and respond as well. This especially works well over the break when they have assignments I can pop in and check on throughout a period of time. I love that the text becomes a discussion board they can look at later when rereading.

It also helps build a culture of students helping students and really learning from one another (instead of just looking for the answers from me).

When they get to a question or poll they have to answer before they can move on. This is great! Recently I was at a conference that mentioned one of the best things to do to help students read at a level that is higher than what they are used to is to chunk the text.  Having them stop to answer questions does just that!

Once they've answered they can see if they got it right or wrong, and how other people in the class answered. We all know immediate feedback is key. Plus, this way they can be better prepared to continue reading.

Short answer questions don't get graded until the teacher goes through and grades them as incomplete, basic, proficient, or excellent. However, they can see the answers other students gave after they have given their own. They can also comment on the answers other students left (or just "like" them to show support).

OK, regardless of the annotations and the help from friends you're stuck. You don't understand a word. There's help!

Students just click on the unknown word. They can hear the word, see a definition or have it translated into Spanish (more languages soon!).

If those steps don't help, or they are still stuck they can click, "I don't understand!" and it alerts the teachers.

To review

Pros for students

• Like I've discussed this is great for lower readers because it chunks the text
• Students can check their understanding as they go
• Great for the culture of the classroom (students helping students)
• Unknown words are easily looked up   

 Cons: 

• This does require the Internet. Students won't be able to read if they can't connect.
• Some teachers / parents / students have issues with screen time and this can add to it

Pros for Teachers

• Read with the students even if you aren't there
• Automatic grading (except for short answers)
• Built in gradebook that labels each assignment and an overall grade.

 Cons: 

• None really... I love it! 
• There is an adjustment period, for some students who are used to all reading being done in class. However, I think that's great for student accountability.

Have you ever used ActivelyLearn? Any questions I can answer, or suggestions? Blog posts to come on GoFormative, Cirriculet, and more options!
Disclosure: I received the rug exchange for review from Giveaway Service website. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. Reference ID: e9e0e7a5b3b1