As I grew older

Lesson plan – As I grew older

 Lesson objectives 

Students will be able to connect real events to the poem. 

Students will be able to write using similes and metaphors.

Students will be able to distinguish the different tones in the poem.

The students will be able to define the themes of the poem.

Introduction 

Brainstorming – pre-reading

•  Introducing the poet: The teacher projects the poet’s picture and asks students, do you know this man?  
•   Short introduction about the poet; James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri.

• A video about George Floyd.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lirHz93qJ50 

• Watch the video and make a connection between both the video and the title of the poem.  

After watching the video:

• what did you feel while watching the video? What do you think about it?
• Now please look at these pictures, What do these pictures have in common?    Then try to predict what is the poem will talk about and write your answers in this Padelt link. ( only a few sentences).
• https://padlet.com/tasneem558/2j7yi281r68t3uwg

As I Grew Older

It was a long time ago.
I have almost forgotten my dream.
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a sun—
My dream.
And then the wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose until it touched the sky—
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun!

The body 

Reading the poem: I will read the poem, please,  while  I’m reading the poem focus  and watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQmpJqERxk0

After that, the teacher asks a few students to read out loud.

• Post-reading: What are the words that you didn’t know their meaning? 

• Forgotten Bright Rose Shadow Thick Break-through

  Shatter Smash Whirling Lie down

   

Analysis and Interpretation

The teacher starts to explain the poem according to the tones of the poet: 

• The tone/mood of the poem, ‘As I Grew Older’, keeps changing as the poem progresses: What is the theme behind each tone? 
• Lines 1-6: naïve, optimistic, innocent (bright like a sun –My dream). 
• Lines 7-16: depressing, angry, (wall, between me and my dream. Dimming, hiding, the light of my dream).
• Lines 17-23: pessimistic, depressing, angry (shadow, No longer the light of my dream, thick wall).
• Lines 24-33: hopeful (the lines express the hope that the speaker can achieve his dream).

Similes and metaphors

• Watching a short video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qwUEztyKGE
• Now after watching the video and explaining, finish this quick exercise: Copy these sentences into your notebook. At the end of the sentence, write in brackets whether the sentence is an example of a metaphor or simile: Eg : The clouds were fluffy like cotton wool: Simile

•  As slippery as an eel. ____
• Arnie was a man-mountain._____
• He was a lion in battle._______
• She is as pretty as a picture. _____
• The striker was a goal machine.
• The torch-lit up the room as if the sun had risen early._____
• The moon was a misty shadow._____
• My friend has a face like a bag of spanners._____

Questions  & Tasks

https://quizlet.com/34965729/as-i-grew-older-questions-and-answers-flash-cards/

Writing task:  

Two options : 

• My dream: Using simile and metaphor, write about your dream when you grow up and the obstacles that you might face. 

• Write a message to the author, feel free to express your feelings to the author about his poem.

Conclusion

• If someone ( not me ) asked you, what have you learned today, what will you answer? 
• Summarize your answers in one poster with your drawings that express the situation.
• In the end, the students hang the poster in the class. 

Assessment

https://forms.gle/ToDZNZAVv9EnveqRA