High School Poetry Homework
Poetry on Cultural Identity | Poems on Cultural Heritage, Hybridity, & Identity
By Rigorous Resources for High School English
This 45-page EDITABLE unit focuses on poems about cultural identity! The unit on promises to elicit dynamic engagement from all students without compromising on intellectual rigor.
The thirteen poems are divided into two reading packets, with the first packet focusing cultural roots and affirming ancestors, and the second packet focusing on cultural hybridity. Each reading packet is followed by a classwork packet that contains a quiz on literary devices, discussion questions for some of the poems, quick writes, and a creative writing assignment. Finally, a third packet features an analytical writing assignment, sample student paper, and glossary of literary devices.
Here's a detailed account of what you'll find in this 45-page curriculum:
• Homework Packets with Poems: The two homework packets contain a total of 13 love poems by award-winning poets such as Elizabeth Acevedo, Maya Angelou, Sandra Cisneros, Lisa Parker, Nate Marshall, Clint Smith, and others. (15 pages)
• Literary Devices Glossary: A glossary with definitions and examples of the various types of figurative language, imagery, sound devices, and syntactic devices. Many teachers already have a glossary of literary devices, but I'm providing this in case you need one. (2 pages)
• Literary Devices Quizzes: Open each class with a quiz of 10 questions to assess whether students can accurately identify the literary devices found in poems from the packet: metaphor, personification, symbolism, imagery, alliteration, etc. Answer keys included. (4 pages).
• Discussion Questions: This unit features a list of discussion questions for three poems featured in the homework packets. The discussion questions will ensure that each class discussion is focused and productive. Every discussion question is grounded in concrete textual details and challenges students to arrive at lucid interpretive insights! The questions lend themselves to a range of different pedagogical uses: 1) to focus students’ thinking prior to beginning a discussion, 2) to prompt in-class writing, 3) to assign written reflections for homework, etc. Guaranteed to elicit student engagement and foster deep thinking! Answer keys included. (15 pages)
• Quick Writes: The quick writes give students an opportunity to capture and refine the best ideas generated in the discussion. Quick writes can also help reticent students to gather their thoughts so they'll feel ready and eager to contribute. (3 pages)
• Analytical Writing Assignment: Challenge students to take their interpretations one step further by writing an analytical paper on a poem of their choice. The assignment sheet contains detailed instructions for how to generate a formalist analysis of a poem (analyzing how the poem's formal features contribute to its meaning). This kind of formalist analysis is exactly what students are asked to generate on the AP Literature exam! Sample paper included. (3 pages)
This entire 45-page unit will come to you in two separate formats: Word *and* PDF. Because the Word doc is fully editable, you'll be able to customize the materials to suit the skill levels of your students — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access all of the materials as a PDF — which is easy to navigate and quick to print!
My store is called “Rigorous Resources” because all of the resources contain rigorous content that will motivate students to engage in thought-provoking and productive discussions. Thank you for choosing “Rigorous Resources”!!
Happy teaching!
Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.
Links to all of the poetry units in this collection:
Poetry Unit #1: Sensory Imagery in Poetry
Poetry Unit #2: Figurative Language in Poetry
Poetry Unit #3: Love Poems
Poetry Unit #4: Ethical Dilemmas in Poetry
Poetry Unit #5: Family Dynamics in Poetry