Poetry Activities for Symbolism (w/ Walt Whitman & 'A Noiseless...')

This comprehensive poetry resource harnesses the evocative power of Walt Whitman's "A Noiseless Patient Spider" to delve into the profound literary concept of symbolism. Through expertly guided annotation, literary analysis (via short answer and essay assignments), and a stimulating creative poem-writing activity, this versatile resource offers a captivating exploration of symbolism in poetry.

This resource can be effortlessly segmented into individual components, making it perfect for implementation as bell ringers, short writing assignments, and substitute plans. Alternatively, educators have the flexibility to seamlessly combine all three included activities, crafting a scaffolded poetry lesson spanning 1-2 weeks, devoted to the insightful use of symbolism in literature.

Teaching this resource is simple! Start by presenting and discussing the poem with the poem analysis activity, which makes an excellent bell ringer. Then, give students time to complete the guided annotation activity and answer the analysis question that accompany the lesson (answer key included!). Next, students have the opportunity to write their own poem using the poetic concept analyzed earlier. Finally, you can assess students understanding of the poem and its poetic concepts with a literary analysis essay. That essay assignment comes with a prompt, writing tips, peer review, and Common Core-aligned rubric!

Your TeachSimple download includes:

• A POEM ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Give students the opportunity to read Walt Whitman's "A Noiseless Patient Spider” (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 symbolism 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' understanding of symbolism and Whitman's "A Noiseless Patient Spider.” 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

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.