September 18, 2018

Objective:  I can use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences and setting portrayed (W.11-12.3.D).
Agenda:  

• Entry Task:  Chat with a friend about your favorite place in the whole wide world--places in books count too!  
  
• Follow along to "Knoxville, TN" by Nikki Giovanni as it is read through the first time
  
  • On the second reading, write down some Big Idea words that come to mind
    
  • Have students write a theme statement about the poem following this template, From the moment “Knoxville, Tennessee” opens with “I always like summer/best” until it closes with “sleep,” Nikki Giovanni portrays the ________ we can find in our favorite place with lines like, ____________________ revealing that __________________________________.
    

(Teacher Note: Completed theme statement--From the moment “Knoxville, Tennessee” opens with “I always like summer/best” until it closes with “sleep,” Nikki Giovanni portrays the joy we can find in our favorite place with lines like, “and go to the mountains with/your grandmother” revealing that joy really does come from life’s little things and have the biggest impact on who we become.)

• Follow the directions in the handout to write your own Favorite Place Poem.
  
  • If you would like and you have a shared favorite place, you can do this with a partner; alternatively, you can do it on your own, so instead, write 30 lines, and then narrow it down to your favorite 24--play with the word order and think about why it matters.
    
• Exit Task:  Each of you should have the final 24-line poem in your anthology.  Share with another pair if time.