sonnet+lesson

Lesson 3: Week 7, days 4 and 5

A. Purpose a. To help students recognize the differences between modern and ancient language

B. Objective a. Student will be able to paraphrase a poem into modern terms without losing the original meaning.

C. Process/Procedure for Students a. Receive new copy of Shakespeare's Sonnet 116. b. Class discussion about the differences between language used in Shakespeare's time and language used now. c. Break into pairs to paraphrase the poem together, not worrying about structure. d. After the poem is paraphrased into modern terms, individually edit the phrasing to follow sonnet structure. e. Share poem aloud with class. f. Turn in poem. g. Receive poem later to place in portfolio.

D. Process/Procedure for Teacher a. Before 1. Prepare handout of Sonnet 116. b. During 1. Give out handout. Acknowledge that now that meaning has been discussed they will be looking exclusively at language. 2. Lead discussion about the differences between Shakespearean language and modern language: syntax, vocabulary, connotation. Scaffold student thinking so that it is not all overt instruction. Ask questions to get students thinking of differences themselves. 3. Break students into pairs. Have them paraphrase poem into modern terms. Challenge them to think of new ways of saying the same thing and make phrases their own. Encourage creativity. Tell them to ignore the structure for the time being. Circle room to offer help if needed. 4. Tell students that once they have paraphrased the whole poem in pairs, they will break off individually to edit the poem to fit the sonnet structure. Assure that iambic pentameter is not necessary but the rhyme scheme is. Circle the room to offer assistance if needed. 5. Encourage students to read their new poems aloud. c. Closing 1. Collect poems, with drafts, grading on creativity and structural rules followed. 2. Hand back poems later with instructions to be placed in portfolios.

E. Materials a. handout of poem

F. Assessment a. Drafts will be graded based on attempt at original language and to make sure that it was a group effort. b. Final poems will be graded based on sonnet structure and creativity.

G. Modification Accommodations a. Opening discussion of language differences will be open to other language connections and be obvious in the differences so that struggling students will be able to identify them in their pairs. b. Pairings will group struggling and not struggling students to help the other. c. Focus of grading on final poems will be on structure and creativity, not on grammar or spelling which should encourage struggling students to work hard on those elements.

H. Rationale The point of this assignment is to show students how language changes over time and that reading a passage also requires an analysis if language. The class discussion on what differences they noticed will help get the pairs started thinking on how they would paraphrase the poem. Using the same poem they saw the day before will make the material familiar to them and split up the search for meaning and the battle with the text. Because they will already have an idea of what the poem is about they will have that to fall back on when paraphrasing, instead of trying to discern meaning and language at the same time. Having them work in pairs on an activity that they have never done before will help them feed off of each other's ideas and help them see every word instead of perhaps only looking at sections or phrases. Pairing them up will also make the task of re-writing the poem less daunting. Individually editing the poem helps them make it their own as well as making grading easier. Grading will be based on how well they recreated the meaning of the original poem, how well the managed to return to sonnet form, and how good their paraphrasing was.

I. Standards This lesson plan covers the following Sunshine State Standards: LA.910.1.6.2: The student will listen to, read, and discuss familiar and conceptually challenging text. This lesson will use the same poem as the day before which is a familiar and conceptually challenging text. LA.910.1.7.3: The student will determine the main idea or essential message in grade-level or higher texts through inferring, paraphrasing, summarizing, and identifying relevant details. This lesson focuses on the paraphrasing of a text to convey the meaning in the student's modern terms. LA.910.2.1.3: The student will explain how meaning is enhanced through various features of poetry, including sound (e.g., rhythm, repetition, alliteration, consonance, assonance), structure (e.g., meter, rhyme scheme), and graphic elements (e.g., line length, punctuation, word position). When the students edit their paraphrased form of the poem to return to the structure of a sonnet, they will be demonstrating how meaning is enhanced by that structure. LA.910.2.1.9: The student will identify, analyze, and compare the differences in English language patterns and vocabulary choices of contemporary and historical texts. The class discussion at the beginning of the period will help students identify the differences in Shakespearean speech and modern speech, as well as their paired paraphrasing activity. LA.910.3.2.3: The student will draft writing by analyzing language techniques of professional authors (e.g., figurative language, denotation, connotation) to establish a personal style, demonstrating a command of language with confidence of expression. The students will be using the poem as a template for their own interpretation of the material as well as analyzing the techniques used during the paraphrasing.

Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove O no! it is an ever-fixed mark 5 That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come: 10 Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.