Poetry Activities for Ambiguity (w/ Thomas Hardy & 'The Walk')

Dive into the captivating world of ambiguity in literature with this comprehensive poetry analysis resource, featuring Thomas Hardy's evocative poem, "The Walk." This resource seamlessly combines guided annotation, literary analysis tasks (short answer and essay assignments), and an inventive poem-writing activity to provide an all-encompassing exploration of the concept of ambiguity.

This resource is flexible and easy to adapt, making it ideal for use as bell ringers, brief writing tasks, or substitute teacher plans. By breaking it down into individual components, it becomes readily versatile. Or, for a more immersive approach, combine all three activities to build a step-by-step poetry lesson that can span 1-2 weeks, allowing students to fully immerse themselves in the mysterious realm of ambiguity in literature.

To use this resource, simply begin with the poem analysis activity, a perfect way to start class. Following this, allot time for students to engage with the guided annotation task and respond to the analysis question that accompanies the lesson (an answer key is included!). Next, students can create their own poem, drawing inspiration from the previously analyzed poetic concept. Lastly, student comprehension of the poem and its concepts can be evaluated through a literary analysis essay. This assignment includes a prompt, writing tips, a peer review procedure, and a rubric aligned with the Common Core standards!

Your TeachSimple download includes:

• A POEM ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Give students the opportunity to read Thomas Hardy's "The Walk" (text included) and analyze the poem via an annotation activity and accompanying analysis questions (answer key included). Ideal for a bell ringer!

• A CREATIVE WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Provide students the opportunity to further develop their understanding of ambiguity with a creative poem writing assignment (tied to one Common Core Writing Standard). Ideal for sub plans!

• A LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY: This essay assignment builds on students' thematic understanding of ambiguity and Hardy's "The Walk." The assignment handout includes essay guidelines, analysis prompt, literary analysis writing tips, and a peer review checklist. The included rubric is tied to 4 Common Core ELA Standards and includes a link to an editable rubric that allows for grading customization and seamless integration into Google Classroom and many other Learning Management Systems (LMS's)

Although this resource can be fitted for any secondary Language Arts classroom, it has been carefully designed to work best in grades 9 through 12. The included rubric is subtly but specifically tied to Common Core ELA Standards for Language (1 and 2) and Writing (2 and 4). This resource is provided in print-ready, bookmarked, and adjustable PDF files and PowerPoint Show files.

This resource contains 5 pages and 1 Google Sheet.