Poetry Fan Club

Learning About American Poets

 

 Activity Structure:

bulletIndividual Projects
bulletCooperative Group Projects
bulletClass Projects

 

Grade Level:

Seven through twelve

Duration:

One to two weeks

Content Areas:

Language Arts

Objectives:

bulletwrite in a variety of styles, including formal, factual, and persuasive
bulletuse effective research techniques
bulletengage in recreational reading

Connecticut State Standards:

Language Arts: Reading Standards 1 and 2; Writing Standards 1 and 2; Listening, Viewing, and Speaking Standards 1 and 3

Technology Standards

Fundamental Operations I, Applications II, Information Management/ Communications III

 

Resources:

Materials:

bulletBulletin board or wall space for posting advertisements on
bulletArt supplies
bulletInternet access
bulletMicrosoft FrontPage, a web editor

Internet Links:

 
bulletBusiness Letter Writing is a unit from the Mississippi State University Agriculture Department that includes both html and pdf examples of letters.
bulletOnline English Grammar
bulletDictionary.com
bulletThesaurus.com
bulletStrunk's Elements of Style
bulletBartlett's Quotations

CD-ROM Titles:

Books:

Videos:

Procedure:

1.Choose an author whom you have read and enjoyed. Research your author to find out details of his/her life:

bulletwhere and how he/she grew up
bullethis/her personal relationships
bullethis/her works
bullethow his/her work has generally been received
bulletany other area of his/her life which interests you

2.Develop an FAQ list about your author. What should be obvious to fans of this author? What pieces of trivia would fans enjoy knowing about this author? Remember, your FAQ list should include answers to what you believe may be the most common questions, curiosities, and confusions about your author.

3.Create a full-page advertisement for your fan club. Include:

bulleta catchy slogan
bulletthe goals of your club (what do you envision members discussing?)
bulleta few interesting facts about your author that might grab the attention of prospective members
bulletat least one graphic

4.Write a welcome letter to new subscribers. This should be in standard block form. Be sure to make your new club members feel welcome and prepared for participation in your club by:

bulletexpressing your appreciation for their choosing this club
bulletoutlining the goals of your club as described on your ad, perhaps in more detail
bulletexplaining why it is important to read your attached FAQ list for their information

5.Post your advertisement on the fan club bulletin board.

6.View the ads and choose other students' clubs. Write those clubs a standard business letter requesting a membership.

7.Send your new members the welcome letter and FAQ list for your fan club.

8.Read one work that your author wrote.

9.Write the first issue of the monthly newsletter. One article should be a factual summary of the work you read. Another article should be an essay on your opinion about how the author's life is reflected in the theme, plot, characters, dialogue, etc.. of the work. You could also consider how the time period or literary movement of the time is reflected in the work.

10.Send your newsletter to your members.

Additional Activities:

1. Read poems by well-known American poets.

Poets & Poems

bulletEdward Estlin Cummings, aka e.e. cummings
bulletRobert Frost
bulletCarl Sandburg
bulletAlice Walker
bulletWalt Whitman

2. Select your poet for your fan club/newsletter.

Research Your Poet:

bulletWomen and Literature contains brief biographies of women authors.
bulletPortrait Gallery of American Authors
bulletAuthor Webliography contains links to other pages about authors.
bulletThe Literary Menagerie contains still more links to pages about authors.
bulletYahoo! - Poetry:Poets

 3. Create your newsletter/fan club using available templates.

Newsletter Templates

bulletCreate a one page or multi-page newsletter. Use the newsletter templates to create your own newsletter.