You know what I could never seem to find as a teacher: a poetry analysis project. It’s April. And we as ELA teachers are gearing up for our poetry units. But my students are so over the literary analysis essay. And, if they have to write one more analysis paragraph, they might revolt. So, I knew it was time to change it up. But when I went looking for a strong poetry project most of what I found was poetry writing projects. Not poetry analysis projects. That’s why I decided to create my own project that allowed my students to showcase their analysis. And, add some glitter and glue to help my creative students. That’s why I created the Poetry Sketch Note project. Keep reading below to see how you can set up this poem project in your classroom.
Looking for the cheat sheet version of this poetry analysis project? Check out my Poem Project resource. In this print or digital resource, students create a poem project sketch note to demonstrate their understanding of a poem. Starting with a poetry project planning guide, students have the chance to map out all essential elements for this poetry analysis. Students will then build a poetry one pager that includes graphics and evidence from their poem. And the best part is that I include exemplar poetry project examples and a rubric for easy grading. Now that you have your Poem Project ready to go, keep reading to see how to set it up in your classroom.
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Poetry Analysis How To
T SWIFT Poem Analysis
Before we can break out the arts and crafts, we need to make sure that our students know how to analyze a poem. And students learn so much better when you have an acronym to help them remember. That’s why I teach the T SWIFT method. Adapted from the SWIFT method, this analysis system has students look at the Tone, Structure, Word Choice, Imagery, Figurative Language, and Theme of every poem they analyze. I even created Taylor Swift themed graphic organizers to go with the lessons. If you want to check them out, you can click HERE.
If you want to learn more about how I teach the T SWIFT poetry analysis method, check out my How to Teach Taylor Swift as Poetry for High School Students blog post.
Easiest Poems to Analyze
What good is having a method for poetry analysis if you don’t have the right poems to analyze? If you are looking for high school-friendly poems to analyze, then I’ve got you covered. Here are six poems that are perfect for building your students’ skills and confidence. The best part, each poem fits one of my T SWIFT poetry analysis sections.
Tone: “I’d wish you disappear” by watts-the-deal
Structure: “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas
Word Choice: “Plants” by Olive Senior
Imagery: “Charge of the Light Brigade” by Lord Alfred Tennyson
Figurative Language: “If” by Rudyard Kipling
Theme: “So Much Happiness” by Naomi Shihab Nye
If you want to learn more about how I teach each of these poems, check out my Easy Poems to Teach How to Write an Analysis on a Poem blog post.
Poetry Analysis Project Steps
Step #1: Choose Easy Poems to Analyze
The first step in this poem project is to allow your students to choose their own poems. But as you know, if you give no guidance, students will have no idea where to start and will spend an entire class period searching for poems. I recommend giving your students guidelines.
Poem Guidelines:
- Must be at least 20 lines long
- Must be on a high school reading level
- Must be school-appropriate
- Cannot be a song
I recommend that my students head over to The Poetry Foundation or Poets.org to get started. In both places, they can search by topic to help them find something that they are interested in. Once, they think they have found a poem that they enjoy, I suggest students read the poem through once before picking it. If they can quickly identify the speaker and the situation, the poem could be a good fit. I also remind them that they will be completing T SWIFT analysis on their poem. So, if they can already identify some parts of that analysis, they are in good shape.
Step #2: Complete T SWIFT Poetry Analysis
After spending days practicing poetry analysis, students should be confident when it comes to their poems. Provide at least one full class period for students to do a thorough analysis of their poems. If you have a system in place such as the T SWIFT poem analysis, students should have no trouble. Because my students have analyzed six poems already using this method, they know exactly where to start. If you want to see how I teach the T SWIFT Poetry Analysis method, check out my blog post How to Teach Taylor Swift as Poetry for High School Students.
If you really love this method, you can snag my T SWIFT Poetry Analysis handouts. You will have everything you need for your students to complete their analysis. In the entire project process, this is the most important step. So, make sure that your students have enough time and understand what they are looking for in the poem.
Step #3: Introduce the Poem Project
Now that students have done all the prep work, they are ready to start the poetry analysis project. For this project will be creating a Poetry Sketch Note. In case you aren’t sure, a sketch note is a visual representation of ideas or concepts meant to showcase learning and understanding. The reason I love this project is that poetry focuses so heavily on figurative language and imagery which makes it ideal for creativity. Check out what I include in my poetry analysis project.
Poetry Project Requirements:
- Title of Poem and Author
- Theme Statement
- Symbolic Image of Theme
- Three Poetic Elements with Cited Examples (Think Tone, Structure, Word Choice, Imagery, and Figurative Language)
- Three Powerful Lines with Cited Examples
- Three Images From Poem
- 5 Star Review
These guidelines allow for artistic flair with the images as well as analysis of the poetic elements and theme. By including all these requirements, I will have a clear picture of the student’s understanding of the poem. Plus, they are using most of the T SWIFT poem analysis that they just did in the last step. The best part is that from these requirements, students will show me their understanding and I won’t even have to have read the poem. Those are the best kind of projects!
If you want the requirements for this project ready to go, check out my Poem Project resource which has everything that you need.
Step #4: Map Out the Poetry Project
An important step in the creative process is planning. So many of my students want to just jump in and start drawing the images. However, I take time to make my students plan out their projects. Students tend to skip steps if they aren’t forced to slow down. I always recommend a planning guide to help students understand the requirements and consider what they want to include. A good planning guide should have enough prompts to make sure all the most important parts are included. Make sure not to include every piece of the project in the planning guide. If you do, then your students have basically already completed the project. And, they will be annoyed to have to do it again.
If you want a detailed planning guide that aligns with my poetry analysis project, check out my Poem Project resource which has one included.
Step #5: Create the Poetry One Pager
My favorite part is when the students create their poetry sketch note or as some like to call it a poetry one pager. Remind students that the focus is on the visuals so they should really work on the images first. Then they can build in the key information around the images. I give my students full creative range for this project. They can make it 3D, and add any colors, stickers, ink, etc. that they think add to their project. I encourage my students that the color choices and aesthetics should make the tone of the poem.
I always give students the chance to create this project digitally if they would like. Canva is a wonderland of creativity and students can have a lot of fun. This works great for students who have no artistic ability (myself included) or don’t want to take the time to handwrite and draw their ideas. I still have my students print their projects when they are finished so they can be added to our poetry project gallery.
If you want to see some of my awesome student examples to show your students, check out my Poem Project resource. I include the very best examples to help you and your students visualize what the poetry analysis project should look like.
More Poem Project Ideas
Easy Poems to Teach How to Write an Analysis
How to Teach Taylor Swift as Poetry for High School Students
Taylor Swift Lesson Plan: How to Use Taylor Swift Songs as Poetry
And there you have it! In just five easy steps you can have your students create a beautiful poetry analysis project that will stand out. Say goodbye to essay writing in April. And allow that creativity to flow! Your students will thank you. If you want to make your life even easier, don’t forget to check out my Poem Project. Everything you need to get started with your poem project is included.
If you found this blog post to be really helpful and you want to see more like it, go check out the rest of my blog posts at www.theteacherrewrite.com. And on Instagram @theteacherrewrite. I focus on all the ELA resources, tips, and tricks that you need to make your life easier. Without having to rewrite your curriculum Let me do all the hard work for you! I hope to see you over there! And as always, remember to think smart, not hard. So steal my poetry analysis project and let’s get started.
Ready to take your literary analysis writer’s workshop to the next level?
Teaching how to write a literary analysis essay can be tough. If you want to simplify the writing process for your students while making sure you don’t forget any steps, then this toolkit is made for you!
Click HERE to learn more!