Poetry Mini-Arc Day 2 — Drafting Your Poem + Beginning Public-Speaking Rehearsal

Teacher reads a child's poem from prior year aloud. Children listen for figurative move.

• Read poem
• Affirm figurative-move identification
• Bridge: 'Today you make YOUR move.'

Today you do two things: DRAFT YOUR POEM with intentional figurative move, AND begin public-speaking rehearsal. POEM DRAFT: from MG-16, choose ONE figurative move (simile, metaphor, personification, or hyperbole). Choose ONE topic — a memory, a place, a person, a feeling. Include at least one sensory image. Decide line breaks. Name your tone. Watch teacher draft a sample poem: TOPIC: 'a quiet kitchen morning.' FIGURATIVE MOVE: PERSONIFICATION (the kettle is given a human action). TONE: tender. SENSORY IMAGES: sound (whistle), smell (toast). LINE BREAKS: at moments of pause. DRAFT: 'The kettle / whispers steam / into the still morning. / Toast browns / patiently — / the kitchen, awake at last, / begins its quiet work.' Notice: PERSONIFICATION (kettle whispers, toast is patient, kitchen begins work, kitchen 'awake'). SENSORY IMAGES (whistle = sound; toast = smell+sight). LINE BREAKS for pause. TONE: tender (matches word choice — 'quiet', 'patiently', 'still'). 7 lines. PUBLIC-SPEAKING REHEARSAL (MG-17): begin rehearsing your literary essay summary for the Showcase. 4 elements. VOICE — clear, audible, varies in volume. PACE — slow enough to follow (~140 wpm; pause before key phrases). EYE CONTACT — look up; sweep audience; hold briefly at key sentences. VISUAL AID — chart, quote, or evidence panel that supports the words. Today: pair up; one rehearses while partner times + notes. Aim for 3-5 minute summary.

• Notice: ONE figurative move (personification) carried throughout. ONE tone (tender). Don't try to do everything.

  model See narrative.

  prompt Teacher drafts sample poem with intentional moves annotated.

• Name the figurative move you'll use in your poem.
• What is pace in public speaking?
• Why does a poem benefit from ONE figurative move rather than several?

M-5-S-WR-19-A Chart

11x17 chart: sample 7-line 'quiet kitchen morning' poem with annotations showing PERSONIFICATION (orange highlight), SENSORY IMAGES (yellow highlight for whistle, brown highlight for toast), LINE BREAKS (red marks), TONE (tender in green). Print-ready, dyslexic-friendly font.

MG-16 Chart

Poetry-craft anchor: 4-element card for the poetry mini-arc. ELEMENT 1 (blue) — FIGURATIVE MOVE: 'Choose ONE — simile, metaphor, personification, or hyperbole — and use it intentionally.' ELEMENT 2 (yellow) — SENSORY IMAGE: 'Include at least ONE image that uses sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste.' ELEMENT 3 (orange) — LINE BREAK: 'Decide where each line ends. Line breaks create pause and emphasis.' ELEMENT 4 (green) — TONE: 'Choose your tone (tender, playful, somber, urgent). Word choice should match.' Worked example using Hughes's 'Mother to Son' annotated for all 4 elements (staircase metaphor; sensory tacks/splinters; line breaks at moments of pause; tone is tender + urgent maternal). Print-ready 11x17.

• Draft YOUR poem. Choose 1 figurative move + 1+ sensory image + line breaks + 1 named tone. 6-15 lines.

  scaffold MG-16; figurative-move card; sensory-image word bank
• Rehearse YOUR literary-essay summary for the Showcase. 3-5 minutes. Partner times + notes 1 voice strength + 1 pace suggestion + 1 eye-contact note + 1 visual-aid idea.

  scaffold MG-17; rehearsal mirror; timer; rehearsal-notes sheet
• Switch roles. Rehearse and listen.

  scaffold MG-17; rehearsal mirror; timer

M-5-S-SPK-19-B Chart Physical / non-image

Reproduction of MG-17 at 11x17: 4-element card with rehearsal-notes template alongside showing 4 rows (voice strength / pace suggestion / eye-contact note / visual-aid idea). Print-ready, dyslexic-friendly font.

MG-17 Chart

Public-speaking anchor: 4-element card. ELEMENT 1 (blue) — VOICE: 'Clear, audible, varies in volume for emphasis. Project to the back of the room.' ELEMENT 2 (yellow) — PACE: 'Slow enough for listeners to follow. Aim for ~140 words per minute. Pause before key phrases.' ELEMENT 3 (orange) — EYE CONTACT: 'Look up from the paper. Sweep the audience. Hold eye contact briefly at each key sentence.' ELEMENT 4 (green) — VISUAL AID: 'A chart, quote, or evidence panel that supports — not replaces — the words.' Below: 'PRESENTING is not READING. Practice three times before showcase day.' Print-ready 11x17.

• Show YOUR poem draft (6-15 lines).
• Show rehearsal notes (4 elements assessed).
• Move status-tile to REHEARSE.

• Star your strongest line in the poem.
• Predict: tomorrow we polish the poem and finalize rehearsal.

• At home tonight, read your poem aloud 3 times. Note 1 line to polish. Bring.