This will be the first topic in our Poetry Workshop this year. By the end of this four-week course your students should have a good understanding and appreciation for classical ballads. They will be reading, copying, writing, and narrating.
They will learn how to draft, edit, and present their own ballads, as well as critique others.
- Week 1: Introduction to Ballads
- Week 2: Rhyme Scheme and Meters
- Week 3: Recitation and Literary Devices
- Week 4: Fine-Tuning
The idea is to go slowly through the writing process in order to come up with a polished ballad or two by the end. The Poetry Workshops are aimed at appreciation and mastery (there’s even a season on proper oral presentations). As a poet myself, this is one of the courses I am most excited about this year.
How We Will be Using it
There are classic ballads quoted throughout, as well as a section of full ballads at the end.
For the first four to six weeks we will be adding some classics to our morning read-alouds as well. Here are the titles I picked:
- Venus & Adonis by William Shakespeare
- Poems & Songs by Robert Burns,
- The Poems of John Keats
These will be cycled through. Each morning we will read a little bit from one or two. You don’t have to do it this way. The plans are complete enough without adding to it, but if you’d like to add these titles in, they fit well with the unit and are copyright-free downloads.
I planned on using this for my older two to team up on. If you have only one student, it may take a little more one-on-one with him depending on his level and interest.
We will see how it goes after the first four weeks. I may have them spend one-two weeks following to practice and create in a less bound format. Not sure if they’ll enjoy it enough for that yet, but either way, sonnets are up next!
Your Free Download
Download all four weeks (38 pages!):
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