Lesson Plan: Sonnet

So, because I am going to be a teacher one day, I figured I would go ahead and get started creating lesson plans for material in my Engl 292 class. This is a lesson plan aimed at teaching 13-14 year old kids about Shakespearean sonnets.

The lesson is broken into three sections: Form, Sound, and Content.

FORM:
-Hand out copies of Sonnet 18
-quote from A Wrinkle In Time p. 198
-Explain the rigid form of a sonnet, have kids mark their handouts with different colors marking each element:
rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
key terms to explain: Voulta (turn), Enjambment (line break),etc.

SOUND:
(most of these ideas were taken from a sonnet lesson plan at http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=365 )
-Hand out copies of "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carol. Have students read "Jabberwocky" with different voices (once arrogantly or in a robust manner and once in a soft whisper), and ask the to evaluate the effects the different voices have on the manner of the poem.
-Explain iamb by reading "Jabberwocky" with an emphasis on the sound "ta-DAH" of each line.
-Then have students do the same with Sonnet 18, reading each line with the same emphasis on the iamb.
-Have students count the syllables of various lines to explain pentameter.
-Have students read the sonnet in different voices as they did in the beginning with "Jabberwocky" to once again emphasize the importance of sound in Sonnets.
-Play this YouTube video of Alan Rickman (Snape, Snape, Severus Snape) reciting a Sonnet to emphasize the classic voice of sonnets.


Use this as segway to...

CONTENT:
-Go through Sonnet 18 line by line. Point out the images that come with each line (have a power point with representational images)
- Show another sonnet (Sonnet 71), break into groups and have each group draw pictures of the images (idea from my sister-in-law, Heather Baker). See which group is the most comparable to the teacher's slide show.
- OR: give each group a different sonnet and have them draw pictures. Then see if another group can accurately pick which sonnet goes with which set of pictures.
-Ask students: What are you talking about? Emphasize the role of Love as a theme in sonnets

HOMEWORK:
-Have students either record themselves reciting a sonnet, memorize a sonnet to perform for the class, or write a sonnet themselves.

I really like this lesson plan because it uses multiple sonnets and other literature. Also, it uses new media and addresses a wide variety of learning styles. There could be some issues with the image games, but I think it would be fun to try out.

What do you think? Do you think this lesson plan could work? Would this help you learn the function and form of a sonnet?

Isn't Alan Rickman's voice fantastic? :]