Poetry (2020)

Lesson 4
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ELA

Unit 9

6th Grade

Lesson 4 of 17

Objective


Identify and interpret the literal meaning of personification in a poem.

Explain how personification affects the mood in a poem. 

Explain how the visual and aural depiction of the poem enchances or detracts from the meaning.

Readings and Materials


  • Poem: “The Walrus and the Carpenter” by Lewis Carroll 

  • Video: “The Walrus And The Carpenter” (From Alice and Wonderland) 

  • Poem: “Rocking” by Gabriela Mistral 

  • Poem: “The Drought” by Gary Soto 

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Target Task


Question 1

What is personification?

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Sample Response

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Question 2

In the poem “Drought,” which verse below represents an example of personification? 

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Sample Response

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Why does Soto use personification in his poem? Choose two.

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Question 3

How does the personification add to the mood in “Drought”? Explain in three to five sentences using at least one example from the text. 

Key Questions


Read “The Walrus and the Carpenter” by Lewis Carroll.

  • What is being personified in stanza 1? What words make you think that? 
  • What is the poet literally trying to convey about the sun? 
  • What is being personified in stanza 2? Which words make you think that?
  • What is the poet literally trying to convey about the moon? 
  • Pick another example of personification from the poem and explain what the poet is trying to convey. Use details from the text to support your answer. 
  • How does the personification in the first two stanzas set a fantastical and nonsensical mood for the poem?

Watch the video “The Walrus and the Carpenter.” 

  • Does the visual and aural aspect of the film enhance or detract from the mood in the poem? 

Read “Rocking” by Gabriela Mistral. 

  • Pick an example of personification in the poem and explain what the poet is trying to convey. Use details from the text to support your answer.
  • Why does the poet use personification here? What is the impact of personification on the reader?
  • How does the personification affect the mood in the poem?

Vocabulary


personification
mood

Notes


This lesson connects with an essential question.

Common Core Standards


  • RL.6.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
  • RL.6.7 — Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they "see" and "hear" when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.

Next

Identify and analyze the metaphors, similes, and personification in a poem. 

Interpret the poem "The Dawn's Awake" beyond its literal meaning in the context of the Harlem Renaissance.

Explain how the visual and aural depiction of the poem enhances or detracts from the meaning.

Lesson 5
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