COURSE NAME: Poetry Studies

SCHOOL DISTRICT: Fort Plain

INSTRUCTOR: R. Sayles

HALF YEAR

COURSE PREREQUISITES: Juniors and seniors who have an interest in the poetic form and a desire to study
and write poetry.

BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION/OUTLINE:
Objective: This course will highlight both the reading and writing aspects of poetry. Through this course,
students will strengthen their own writing, allowing for both creative writing and writing within poetic
structures. Additionally, we will study published work and produce pieces that will meet expectations for
published work. This course will appeal to students that enjoy expressing themselves with the written word.

Requirements:
Students will write every week, using journals.
Students will be expected to share some writing pieces with partners and some writing pieces with the class.
Students will study one poet and share research information with the class.
Students will read poetry that transcends all categories: from classic to modern, from male to female, from a
wide range of ethnic writers, from younger writers to older writers.

Assessment:
Students will be graded on the completion of writing responses in the journal.
Students will be graded on a Poetry Portfolio.
Students will be graded on Poetry Research.

One (but not the only) goal of this course is to give students the opportunity to share what they have
learned with others, including others outside the classroom.
Idea #1: The class can produce a collection of student poetry to be kept at the library for others'
enjoyment.
Idea #2: The class could meet with younger students, either at the middle school level or Harry Hoag School,
to share strategies for writing and their finished pieces of work.

By the end of the course, students should have a wide exposure to several poetic writing techniques, a wide
exposure to published poets, the opportunity to explore their own writing with a level of greater confidence
and mastery.
The format of the class structure will resemble a writing workshop, which means students are consistently
writing, revising, collaborating with other writers, reading, speaking, and listening. This course will strengthen
language/communication skills that we expect out of college and career bound students.

1/20/06