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Modern American Poetry Webquest
A GLIMPSE AT MODERN AMERICA THROUGH POETRY
**INTRODUCTION**
In their poetry, poets reflect their attitudes and beliefs about certain issues through the use of common literary elements found in poetry. With a better understanding of these elements, we learn to appreciate poetry more as the poems become rich vessels of meaning. As we study poetry more, we will find that it is a form of social communication revealing the social environment in which the poems are written and the poet’s views on society and culture.
Today, we will investigate how Modern American poets employ the structural elements of poetry to reflect their attitudes toward modern society and culture. By examining these literary elements deeper, we are better able to understand the poet’s message to us as the audience.
**TASK**
Home Teams have been grouped into cooperative learning groups based on diversity of talents and skills. Each Home Team has been assigned a Modern American poet (Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Gwendolyn Brooks, T.S. Eliot, or Edna St. Vincent Millay). Home Team members will compile a journal of 10 literary elements of poetry containing definitions and examples.
Each Home Team member will select one pair of literary elements to define and discuss in Expert Teams. Expert Teams are comprised of members studying the same pair of literary elements. Expert Team members are responsible for teaching their elements to their fellow Home Team members.
Home Teams will also study their poets and poems to learn how their Modern American poet views modern society and culture. Each Home Team will conduct an interview with the assigned poet and write an article discussing the poet’s views on American society and culture.
Home Teams will select at least two poems to study, analyze, and interpret for the whole class in an oral presentation. Presentations will explore the meaning of the poems and reveal literary elements. In addition, Home Teams will discuss how their poet views America and what major themes occur in the poet’s poetry to reflect his/her attitude toward American society.
**PROCESS**
Part One:
Each Home Team has been assigned a Modern American poet to research and whose poetry to explore. Home teams will compile a LITERARY ELEMENTS JOURNAL using the handout. The journal will contain definitions of common elements of poetry and examples from the team’s assigned Modern American poet.
Each team member will choose one pair of literary elements to define and explain to his/her home team. Home Team members will form Expert Teams based on their selected pair of literary elements. Expert Teams will meet to define and discuss their two literary elements of poetry and to find examples of their elements using the poetry of their respective Home Team poets. Expert Team will use online resources to define and illustrate examples of literary elements.
Expert Team members will then return to their Home Teams to teacher his/her elements to fellow Home Team members and to share with them examples illustrating the elements.
Part Two:
Since we want to learn more about how poets express their views of society and culture through their poetry, Home Teams will also examine the poetry of their Modern American poets to reveal any general themes or attitudes emphasized in the poems and try to gain a clearer realization of the poet’s messages to the audience.
Imagine your Home Team conducting an interview with your assigned Modern American poet. By analyzing, studying, and interpreting his/her poetry and researching the poet’s life and experiences, uncover the poet’s perspective on modern American society and culture and discover what he/she thinks about our modern American civilization.
~Use thought-provoking INTERVIEW QUESTIONS like those on the handout to generate ideas.~
Your Home Team will now write an article about the interview for publication in a national literary magazine. The article will discuss the poet’s thoughts and viewpoints revealed during the interview with your Home Team.
The article needs to address aspects of these questions:
1. What does the Modern American poet think about American society?
2. What topics/subjects does the poet discuss and present in the poetry?
3. How does the poet view American society and culture?
4. What are the main or important themes expressed in his/her poetry that reflect modern society?
Part Three:
Home Teams will then select at least two poems by their assigned Modern American poet to discuss, interpret, and introduce to the class in an oral presentation emphasizing the literary elements present in the poems. Teams will create an outline of their presentations and each member will be responsible for presenting material during the oral presentations. Material will be summarized on the group outline in proper format.
Home Teams will read their poems aloud for the class on the designated day, provide an interpretation of the poems, and draw attention to any literary elements of poetry present in their selected poems.
During presentation, Home Team will also share with whole class the poet’s perspective on society and culture in America and discuss how the poet reveals this perspective in his/her poetry.
**RESOURCES**
Use the LINKS below and others you may find on the Internet to assist you during this assignment.
**EVALUATION**
Overall evaluation will include an individual grade and a group grade. Please review rubrics for specific requirements:
Expert Team Member Teaching Assessment
Home Team assessment of each Expert Team member’s contributions to Literary Elements Journal and information shared with other group members (10 points)
Home Team Poetry Presentation
Assessment of each Home Team’s oral presentations for their individual poet’s poems including discussion of relevant literary elements, interpretations of meaning, and poet’s perspective on American society and culture (25 points)
Poet Interview Article
Assessment of each Home Team’s final article reviewing the poet’s attitudes and ideas about American society as revealed in his/her poetry (25 points)
Group Process
Home Team’s assessment of group work process and individual member’s contributions to collaborative process and final product (10 points)
Modern American Poetry
Langston Hughes
Carl Sandburg Web
Gwendolyn Brooks Page
T.S. Eliot on the Web
The Life and Poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay
Send E-Mail to: drjm8f@studentmail.umsl.edu
Copyright © 2003 D. Johnson. All Rights Reserved