M3 L4

M3 L4

“Dreams” “Dreams” Audio “Hope is the thing with feathers—”

Co-Host Time

Lesson Questions

• Essential Question What is the power of language? 

• Focusing Question How and why does language inspire? 

• Content Framing Question Reveal: What does a deeper exploration of “Hope is the thing with feathers—” and “Dreams” reveal? 

• Craft Question Experiment: How do claims work?

Learning Goals

Compare “Hope is the thing with feathers—” to “Dreams,” analyzing language and structure. (RL.7.5, L.7.5.a)

✓ Complete Handout 4A, analyzing elements of the two poems using a graphic organizer.

Establish a claim about whether Dickinson or Hughes uses metaphor to inspire more effectively. (W.7.1.a)

✓ After comparing and contrasting the language of each poem, write a claim asserting that one of them uses metaphor to inspire more effectively than the other.  

“‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers—”

They use a metaphor, comparing the concept of hope to a bird.

To what else could you compare hope?

This lesson’s goal is to compare the language of “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers—” to the language of a poem by Langston Hughes and determine which uses metaphor more effectively to inspire.

What do you notice and wonder about what’s happening in this poem?

Open Ended

What is this poem about?

What poetry techniques does Hughes use?

What is the meaning of the word barren based on its context?

barren (n.)

Without vegetation or life; not able to produce or reproduce (empty/infertile)

We will watch a video in which they will hear Hughes recite the poem and see an image of him. In this version, he combines “Dreams” with another poem called “The Dream Keeper.” 

Think about how the video affects their understanding of “Dreams.”

Craft Question:

How do claims work?

Claim

claim is: a debatable statement that can be proven by evidence and reasoning.

Now that we have analyzed how each poem uses language to inspire, we will write a claim asserting that one of the poems more effectively uses metaphor to inspire than the other. 

Before determining a claim in argument writing, it is essential to start by considering the evidence from both sides.

How does Hughes’s delivery, his image, and the integration of the other poem affect your understanding of ‘Dreams’?

How “Dreams” uses language to inspire

Poll

Think about which poem more effectively uses metaphor and identify evidence that supports their claim

• "B"

• "Dreams"

✓ After comparing and contrasting the language of each poem, write a claim asserting that one of them uses metaphor to inspire more effectively than the other.  

Students independently write claims asserting that one of this lesson’s poems uses metaphor to inspire more effectively than the other.