Illinois New Teacher Collaborative

I preface the first clip with background information about Louder Than a Bomb and I inform the students that poetry isn't all boring and dry like they've come to believe. I then introduce the author of the clip and prompt the students to think about or jot down their initial reactions and observations to the poem/poet. After each clip, I ask the students about their observations. Without realizing it, the students are analyzing poetry. They comment on tone and tempo, even style and rhyme. This activity builds students' confidence in analyzing poetry. After they've identified several poetic elements without realizing it, the teacher can then introduce the terminology via example in the next lesson.