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ENGLISH:
Poetry
GRADE LEVEL:
Grades 9, 10
TEKS:
OBJECTIVE:
The student will
analyze the tree as a symbol, sharing ideas in class discussion.
The student will
use art as the basis for a creative writing assignment in poetry or
will represent a selected poem with an original student drawing.
MATERIALS:
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DISCUSSION:
- In Frenchy's
Tree, why is the tree shaped the way it is? Why is this art appropriate
for the Texas Panhandle?
- Define symbol.
Why is the oak often connected to the idea of America? Can you name
some of the state trees? Why were some trees chosen as symbols for
a particular state?
- How do trees
appear in art? Why do artists use them as focal points in a work or
as key components of background? How does an artist depict trees in
various works or mediums?
- How do trees
function in literature? Can you give examples?
- Identify lines
in poems which refer to trees. What types of images are developed?
What does the tree contribute to the tone, mood, or theme of a poem?
- What are haiku
and tanka? How do trees relate to these poems?
VOCABULARY TERMS:
Haiku, Tanka, Symbol,
Theme
PROCEDURE:
- Show students
the selected piece of art, then other artwork that incorporates trees.
Discuss the mediums, cultural background, possible symbolism. Bring
in the concept of tree as an archetype or universal idea (the Garden
of Eden and Buddha's tree of knowledge, for instance).
- Explore the
variation of shapes, leaves, sizes, colors. Bring in the idea of four
seasons and the cycle of human life. You might even have students
sketch a tree in its four seasons, from bare limbs in winter to limbs
laden with fruit for the autumn harvest.
- Present some
information on haiku and tanka; connect to the bonsai tree of the
Japanese culture. Tanka is a five-line syllable poem with lines 1
and 3 containing 5 syllables and lines 2, 4, 5 containing 7 syllables.
Common themes in these types of poetry are nature (seasons) and the
passage of time. Japanese poetry also often combines poetry and art
on folding screens.
- Explore the idea
of the tree in literature or movies -- the hanging tree in westerns,
the tree on the island in Lord of the Flies. the legend of Frenchy's
Tree in the Texas Panhandle, the tree in the Garden of Eden, the tree
in Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale," the forest of trees in "Young
Goodman Brown," the tree in Swiss Family Robinson, and so on. Then
read selected poetry and discuss the importance of the tree in a given
poem.
ASSIGNMENT:
- Write and illustrate
an original haiku, tanka, or other form of poem which incorporates
something about a tree.
- Draw a tree to
illustrate the lines in one of the poems discussed in class, or a
poem selected by the student and approved by the teacher.
Optional or extension:
Research haiku on the internet, sharing information in a short oral
presentation.
Optional group activity:
Create a folding screen which incorporates a tree and its branches with
lines of poetry spread over the screen.
EVALUATION:
Original poem may
be evaluated according to images, word choice, form.
Art may be evaluated
using criteria of neatness, connection to poem, amount of detail.
Oral presentation
may be evaluated on criteria of documentation, amount or information,
actual presentation
RESOURCES:
Poetry Possibilities:
Robert Frost,
"Birches"
H.D., "Pear Tree"
D. H. Lawrence, "When the Ripe Fruit Falls"
Thomas Gray, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"
William Blake, "The Poison Tree"
Basho, "Haiku for the Four Seasons" or other haiku
John Keats, "To Autumn"
Gary Soto, "The Space"
Art Possibilities:
Dangerfield,
Mysterious Night
Thomas Maron, Grand Canyon with Rainbow
Nevins, The Dream Tree
Kazimir Severinovich, Apple Trees in Blossom
Art in the Amarillo
Art Museum Collection:
Robert Dash,
Casual
Robert Dash, The Sweeper [acrylic painting with lots of golds,
greens, browns that might tie to autumn]
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