Teaching Poetry with Mentor Poems

Teaching Poetry Using Mentor Poems and Narrative Poems! RBC 

Mentor poems or anchor poems are poetic models that students and teachers use during a poetry writing lesson. Mentor poems can be used to teach all forms of poetic metre such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhythm that are used to help students identify musical patterns. Teaching poetry using mentor poems will model the final product and motivate reluctant students to write great poetry and launch great writers into the realm of Shakespeare!. 

Poetry is a form of literature that uses figurative, literative, aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language —such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre—to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning. Poetry uses devices such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhythm are used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. The use of symbolism, irony and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly, figures of speech such as metaphor, simile and metonymy create a resonance between otherwise disparate images—a layering of meanings, forming connections previously not perceived. Kindred forms of resonance may exist, between individual verses, in their patterns of rhyme or rhythm. wiki edited  

Teaching Poetry Using Mentor Poems and Narrative Poems! 

20 Poems and Activities That Meet the Common Core Standards and Cultivate a Passion for Poetry

Sample Poetry Lesson with Mentor Text

Ask your students if they can identify the Assonance, Alliteration, Allusion and Symbolism and more in Pushkin’s Powerful Pedagogic Poems fairy tale!

Reading Boot Camp 2.0 Poetry Lesson with Mentor Text Grade 4-6

CCSSR1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. Includes questions you can ask about any story.

Story Source: Sean Taylor, Kelby Jones and http://reading-sage.blogspot.com/

Pushkin’s Powerful Pedagogic Poems

Alexander Pushkin

1. Once upon a time in a metaphorical kingdom far far away, sat a poet in the darkness of his own mind. In the thick black darkness of the dreary north part of a mysterious castle, life seemingly got darker as the Kingdom’s head poet and bard, Pushkin dropped his head into his lap in despair. For two long days he had sat mired in a deep gloom trying to come up with a superlative collection of mentor poems to meet the King Zloy's request.

2. Pushkin’s hands were wet with cold sweat, tears streamed from his now swollen bloodshot eyes. His mind locked, frozen with fear, as a constant loop of silent screams permeated every thought. He knew that king Zloy would be utterly upset if he did not meet the deadline "death-line" that he was given to compose the four mentor poems.

3. The king’s request was an unusual one, but Pushkin was surprised that he wasn't able to get his creative juices flowing in order to fulfill the request. King Zloy was a man who loved to read poems and have them read to him; but he was no writer. Hence he employed the world’s best-known transcriber of poems, Pushkin, to be his personal scribe.

4. The eerie castle had an immense library full of mystical books, century’s old poetry collections, anthologies, almanacs, portfolios and text covering every aspect of human endeavour. Many of them were penned by Pushkin himself during the two centuries that he inhabited the kingdom, but this time writer’s block was preventing him from fathoming what to write. He was starting to question himself and was thinking that he would never write again, if he wasn't able to write the mentor poems and grant the king’s request, his goose was cooked. There was no reticence in the penitence which he harbored for the king's consequence.

5. King Zloy’s request two days ago, felt more like two years ago, a "simple" request was for Pushkin to write four mentor poems with the broad theme of happiness. He further asked that the four poems be called, Assonance, Alliteration, Allusion and Symbolism. The mighty king had also cautioned the wiry little poet to ensure that the combined theme of regret and forgiveness be the demonstrable moral.

6. Pushkin was so wary and worried that he fell asleep in his little wooden chair. When he woke up, he saw floating in front of him, four manuscripts with the titles of the poems written at the top of each. His emotions gushed with astonishment and delight all at once. He quickly grabbed Assonance, Alliteration, Allusion and Symbolism! As soon as he had them in his hand, the deep darkness which previously engulfed the north side of the castle immediately disappeared and was replaced with brilliant sunshine like he had never seen before. Chirping birds and an appearance of flowery freshness permeated the cool air which easily flowed through the castle.

7. Without hesitation, he ran to the king Zloy’s private chambers and presented him with the four manuscripts containing Assonance, Alliteration, Allusion and Symbolism. “I knew you could do it my boy; Now let’s get to reading and finding out what Assonance, Alliteration, Allusion and Symbolism are.”

8. As Pushkin started reading, he couldn't help but forgive himself for his negative thoughts earlier; There are only a few things that he ever regretted in his entire life and choosing to be a writer was never a regret.

Check for understanding?

What is a lesson people can learn from this story?

What is the main ideas in the text? What is the author’s perspective on poetry?

What does …. mean?

Rank the most important sentences

1.The author implies that Pushkin has (Paragraph 7)

A. never been in harms way
B. learned to be a magician
C. aided the king in learning about poetry
D. supported the kings endeavours
E. been a fool for worrying about the king's request

2.The author’s attitude towards writers is

A. disrespectful
B. neutral
C. supportive
D. negative
E. ambivalent

3. The word ‘fathoming’ (Paragraph 4) most nearly means

A. understanding

B. speaking
C. questioning
D. writing
E. completing

Writing Lesson

Highlight Keywords and Summarize the Story by Reading Aloud with a Partner. What is the moral, theme or lesson the writer wants you to understand from this story? What can you infer from Pushkin's Fairy Tale? Explain your opinion using text evidence why you infer (conclude) that.

Extensions

Have students create a play and act out what happened before, during or after the fairy tale with alternate endings. Create a plot board and have students organize the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and the resolution.

More Reading Comprehension Question Coming Soon!

NOTES

Assonance There was no reticence in the penitence which he harbored...consequence. (Third paragraph from the top.)

Alliteration Pushkin’s Powerful Pedagogic Poems (Title)

Allusion …the two centuries that he inhabited the…(Third paragraph from the top.)

Symbolism The floating poems (Third paragraph from the bottom.)

Pushkin is a Russian Poet.

Zloy is the Russian word for wicked.

Mentor Poem BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:

Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart's core.

Great Source of Mentor Poems from http://www.rainsnow.org/

POEMS BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
THE RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM 
A SAMPLER OF ENGLISH POETRY
SELECTED SONNETS BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
A WEE BIT OF SCOTLAND: POEMS AND LYRICS
A SAMPLER OF IRISH LYRICS
POEMS MY GRANDFATHER RECITED TO ME
LYRICS TO SOME FAMOUS FOLK SONGS: A SAMPLER
POEMS BY ROBERT FROST
POEMS BY WALT WHITMAN
POEMS BY EDGAR ALLAN POE AND LEWIS CARROLL