Presentations – The Preparation
The major assessment of our poetry unit was a presentation.
Students were given a variety of tasks to prepare for this assignment. Here are the ones that were meant to prepare them for the presentation:
- Class reading of “Ballad of Birmingham” that focused on identifying three poetic techniques, an interpretation of the theme, and the identification of key quotes. We began with making a plan to read poetry strategically before we began to read.
- One class to form partners, choose poems from the poetry collection, and make strategies for reading those poems.
- One class of reader’s theater to push the idea of reading poetry creatively as a group.
- One class to create a point-form outline of analysis.
- Class reading of “Woman Work” that streamlined our reading process that began with “Ballad of Birmingham.”
- Homework Assignment: Finding Poetic Techniques in Popular Culture (the best was an analysis of the logo of a laxative)
- One class of Bob Ross notes on speaking skills.
- One class that required students to in pairs organized a speech that related to one of ten slides shown to them at the start of class.
- One class to link their outlines to slides.
- Presentations.
Almost every task in this unit was designed to maximize student success in the major assessment. So as long as the major assessment is directly related to our curriculum goals (and I think it is), then this may qualify as the most focused unit I’ve ever taught.
