Analyze Structure, Language, and Theme: “Calling Dreams” | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G7:M3:U1:L8

Analyze Structure, Language, and Theme: “Calling Dreams”

In this Lesson

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RL.7.2, RL.7.4, RL.7.5, L.7.5c

Supporting Standards: These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • RL.7.1
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can analyze how the structure of "Calling Dreams" contributes to its meaning. (RL.7.4, RL.7.5)
  • I can determine the meaning of figurative language in "Calling Dreams." (RL.7.4, L.7.5)
  • I can identify a theme and explain how it is developed over the course of "Calling Dreams." (RL.7.2)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 8
  • Work Times A and B: Analyze Poetry: "Calling Dreams" note-catcher (RL.7.2, RL.7.4, RL.7.5, L.7.5)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Read and Analyze Structure: "Calling Dreams" - RL.7.5 (20 minutes)

B. Read and Analyze Language: "Calling Dreams" - RL.7.4, L.7.5c (10 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Determine and Explain Theme - RL.7.2 (10 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Synthesis Questions: "Calling Dreams": In preparation for the end of unit assessment, students complete Homework: Synthesis Questions: "Calling Dreams." Students also read Georgia Douglas Johnson's short biography in their anchor texts and answer synthesis questions.

B. Independent Research Reading: Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Next, they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • RL.7.5 – Work Time A: Students engage in a whole class discussion about the poem “Calling Dreams” by Georgia Douglas Johnson, focusing first on how the poet structures the poem to create meaning.
  • RL.7.4 – Work Time B: Students work as a class to analyze the figurative language of “Calling Dreams.” 
  • L.7.5c – Work Time B: Students continue their discussion of “Calling Dreams,” examining how figurative language and especially connotation contribute to the meaning of the text and develops a theme.
  • RL.7.2 – Closing and Assessment A: Students determine and explain a theme in the poem and trace its development through structure and language.
  • In this lesson, students focus on becoming effective learners by collaborating with their peers to analyze poetry.
  • The Think-Pair-Share protocol is used in this lesson. Protocols are an important feature of our curriculum because they are one of the best ways to engage students in discussion, inquiry, critical thinking, and sophisticated communication. A protocol consists of agreed-upon, detailed guidelines for reading, recording, discussing, or reporting that ensure equal participation and accountability in learning.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • An optional Mini Language Dive, intended for use after students read and analyze “Calling Dreams” in Work Time B, is available in the Teacher’s Guide for English Language Learners. ▲
  • Release more responsibility more quickly to students as they comprehend the tasks or concepts. For example: 
    • Allow students to create their own note-catcher, as this is a skill they will need for high school, college, and even in careers. Challenge students to read the learning targets and then determine how they would take notes about how poems develop meaning (themes) through figurative language and structure.
    • Allow those students who are identifying the gists of the couplets and other elements quickly the opportunity to identify figurative language in the text and share out examples during Work Time B. 
    • Encourage those students who show greater facility with poetry analysis to expand their in-class paragraphs and share with the class any other examples of elements that develop the theme that they identified. 

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In previous lessons, students have focused on analyzing poetry together as a class. In this lesson, students continue that work in groups or partnerships to continue to develop their skills and increase their independence in preparation for the end of unit assessment.

Support All Students

  • In this lesson, students will be guided in a whole class discussion and will have the poem read aloud for them. Group those students who may have difficulty understanding the text and offer more readings for comprehension, as well as support for finding the gist or basic meaning of the words. ▲

Assessment Guidance

  • Review students’ Analyze Poetry note-catchers to ensure students understand how the author structures the text and uses figurative language to develop themes.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will continue to analyze poetry, reading “Hope” by Georgia Douglas Johnson and discussing elements of structure, figurative language, and theme with partners and in small groups.

In Advance

  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 8 at each student's workspace.
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout previous modules to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 7.I.A.1, 7.I.B.5, 7.I.B.6, 7.I.B.8, 7.I.C.10, 7.I.C.12, and 7.II.A.1.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson provides teacher-led and peer-collaborative analysis of the structure, language, and themes in the poem "Calling Dreams" by Georgia Douglas Johnson. While analyzing poetry may be challenging, the teacher and peer support throughout the lesson will help ELLs successfully participate in the analysis. In this lesson, students are gradually released by writing their theme paragraphs in pairs.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to understand the poem despite the supports provided in the lesson or suggested below. Remind students that all readers struggle to understand poetry. It is like a puzzle that needs solving. Recommend students read and reread the poem. Then they can use the in-class vocabulary supports to comprehend each line. Finally, they can discuss their understanding of the poem in their home language.

Vocabulary

  • contraband, countermand, impede (A)
  • connotation, rhyming couplets (DS)

Key

(A): Academic Vocabulary

(DS): Domain-Specific Vocabulary

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Techniques anchor chart (one for display; from Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time B)
  • Domain-specific word wall (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time B)
  • Academic word wall (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time A)
  • Harlem Renaissance Themes anchor chart (one for display; from Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 3, Closing and Assessment A) 
  • One Last Word by Nikki Grimes (text; from Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Vocabulary log (from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening A)
  • Independent reading journal (one per student; begun in Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 6, Work Time B)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Analyze Poetry: "Calling Dreams" note-catcher (example for teacher reference)
  • Techniques anchor chart (example for teacher reference) 
  • Harlem Renaissance Themes anchor chart (example for teacher reference)
  • Homework: Synthesis Questions: "Calling Dreams" (answers for teacher reference) (see Homework Resources)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 8 (one per student)
  • Analyze Poetry: "Calling Dreams" note-catcher (one per student and one for display)
  • Homework: Synthesis Questions: "Calling Dreams" (one per student; see Homework Resources)

Assessment

Each unit in the 6-8 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningLevels of Support

A. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Students respond to questions on Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 8.
  • Once students have completed their entrance tickets and shared their responses with a partner, volunteers can share their ideas with the class.
  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as with the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as in previous lessons.

For Lighter Support

  • Encourage students to grapple with Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 8 before joining with a partner to share and modify or add to their responses. Grappling will allow students to push themselves and also show them what they still need to learn or understand about answers selected response questions.

For Heavier Support

  • Encourage students to discuss their responses in pairs before writing them. Also, display the Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart to guide student discussion. Also as necessary, provide students with sentence stems to respond to Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 8:
    • To answer the questions, I . . . 
    • This helped me . . . 
    • I found __ most challenging because . . . 
  • Sentence frames decrease anxiety and increase comprehension and confidence.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Read and Analyze Structure: "Calling Dreams" - RL.7.5 (20 minutes)

  • Review appropriate learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can analyze how the structure of 'Calling Dreams' contributes to its meaning."

  • Ask students to retrieve their copies of the anchor text One Last Word and open to the poem on page 31, "Calling Dreams" by Georgia Douglas Johnson. Explain that students will read the poem several times through before analyzing it. Read the poem aloud, asking students to close their eyes and listen. Read the poem aloud a second time, asking students to follow along. Finally, read the poem aloud chorally as a class.
  • Display and distribute the Analyze Poetry: "Calling Dreams" note-catcher. Tell students that just as they did when analyzing "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" in the previous lesson, they will pay close attention to the structure and figurative language that poets use to create meaning. Review the parts of the note-catcher as necessary.
  • Read aloud the poem "Calling Dreams" again, asking students to read along chorally. Invite students to Turn and Talk to a partner about their first impressions of the poem, including the gist, what they notice, and what they wonder. 
  • Ask students to Think-Pair-Share:

"What is the subject of the poem? What does the speaker in this poem want?" (The speaker in the poem wants the right to try to make her dreams come true.)

  • Ask students to Think-Pair-Share about what else they notice about how the poem is written. 

"Is there anything notable about how the lines are arranged or how the lines relate to each other?" (The poem rhymes, two lines at a time. It is also broken into two groups of lines of four.)

  • Ask students to Turn and Talk to discuss what they already know about the ways poets structure their poems, including any terms for rhyming lines or lines that are grouped together.
  • Remind students of their discussion of stanzas in the previous lesson. Confirm for students that the two rhyming lines together are called couplets, and the four lines grouped together are called a stanza. Display the Techniques anchor chart and add rhyming couplets (structure) and connotations (structure) to the chart. See the Techniques anchor chart (example for teacher reference) for an example. Also, record rhyming couplets and connotations on the domain-specific word wall and encourage students to record the words in their vocabulary logs.
  • Explain to students that they will examine this poem through the lens of its couplets. First they will work as a class to find the gist of each rhyming couplet in the poem. Explain to students that determining how much text to use for deciding the gist can depend on how long the poem is, how it is organized, and the clues we get from punctuation about where the ideas begin and end.
  • Point out to students that even though the first two lines do not rhyme in this poem, they will still analyze them as a pair.
  • In the "Gist" section of their note-catchers, ask students to jot down "1st couplet, 2nd couplet, 3rd couplet, 4th couplet," with dashes after each one to write down the gists of each couplet.
  • Reread the first two lines of the poem aloud, asking students to Turn and Talk to explain the gist of the lines and why these are the only unrhymed lines in the poem. (The speaker is saying that she wants the right to make her dreams come true, and the poet wanted to emphasize this point.)
  • Ask students to write this gist down in the Gist section of their note-catcher. Model doing so on the displayed version of the note-catcher.
  • Before reading aloud the next couplet, provide the definitions for the words contraband (an illegal and usually dangerous item), countermand (to contradict or cancel an order) and impede (get in the way of). Record these words on the academic word wall, and ask students to record them in their vocabulary logs.
  • Ask for a student volunteer to share the gist of these lines. (The dangerous things fate does won't be able to contradict or stop her desire to realize her dreams.)
  • Have students work in pairs to identify the gist of the third and fourth couplets. Review them as a class, recording them on the note-catcher. (3rd couplet: Her heart has been beating on the ground; 4th couplet: She is awakening and walking into the morning.)
  • Ask students to review the gists they've identified for each couplet and shift their attention to the "Structure" section of their note-catchers. Tell students that now that they've identified the "what" of the poem (rhyming couplets and what they mean) they will now focus on the "why," as in, how does this structure add to the meaning of the text.
  • Refer students back to the final couplet of the poem:

"And now at length I rise! I wake! 
And stride into the morning break!"

  • Ask students to Turn and Talk with a partner about how these lines are connected:

"What is the effect of having the two lines rhyme?" (The two lines together start and complete an action that the speaker does. She proclaims that she rises and wakes, and then she walks out into the morning. The rhymes help to connect the lines together to show that they are related.) 

  • Point out to students that each of the couplets has a similar relationship; together, they complete a thought or describe an action. The rhymes signal to the reader that the two lines are related, as does the use of exclamation points. Ask students to discuss how the lines in each couplet are related and how the couplets build on each other. Guide students in adding this analysis to the "Form and Structure" section of their note-catchers. See the Analyze Poetry: "Calling Dreams" note-catcher (for teacher reference).
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.

For Lighter Support

  • In Work Time A and B, students may need additional time to understand the poetry terms. After introducing each term, allow a moment for students to Turn and Talk with a partner to explain the term in their own words and give additional examples from “Calling Dreams” or another poem. This oral processing confirms student comprehension and improves speaking and listening skills. 
  • Also in Work Time A and B, as necessary, encourage students to work with their classmates who need heavier support to act out the poem. For example, students could make poses or actions which demonstrate demanding; walking with unimpeded steps; lying with their heart on the ground; and rising, stretching, and walking with confidence. Both partners can work together to determine poses or actions and then they can take turns reading the poem and acting it out.

For Heavier Support

  • In Work Time A and B, students may struggle with the meaning of the poem itself and the new vocabulary about poetry. To encourage comprehension of the poem, allow several minutes before analysis for students to highlight key words (such as unfamiliar vocabulary and also familiar words—possibly using different colors for known and unknown words). Students can also illustrate the poem in the margins or on sticky notes. Encourage students to act out the poem to confirm and cement comprehension. Students could make poses or actions that demonstrate demanding; walking with unimpeded steps; lying with their heart on the ground; and rising, stretching, and walking with confidence. This activity could be conducted as a class or in multilevel pairs so that students work together to determine poses or actions and then take turns reading the poem and acting it out.
  • Also in Work Time A and B, to encourage comprehension of poetry terms, display the Techniques anchor chart at the beginning of the work time and record each term as it is introduced. Also, record examples from “Calling Dreams” on the anchor chart to support student comprehension.
  • Finally in Work Time A and B, encourage students to use a blank copy of the Analyze Poetry note-catcher ▲ from Lesson 7, which is a generic note-catcher that students can use throughout this unit. This resource supports student writing and comprehension with sentence frames.

B. Read and Analyze Language: "Calling Dreams" - RL.7.4, L.7.5c (10 minutes)

  • Review appropriate learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can determine the meaning of figurative language in 'Calling Dreams.'"

  • Inform students that now they will look more closely at the figurative language and how it is developing a theme in the text. First, ask students if they can identify an emerging theme in the text so far. (The importance of following dreams; determination can help people overcome obstacles.) 
  • Confirm for students that they are developing an understanding of the meaning of the poem and are ready to look more closely to see how that language adds to the meaning of the text and helps develop a theme.
  • Ask students to focus on the words contraband and countermand and their definitions. Tell students that when analyzing a text it isn't only the dictionary definitions that are important for meaning, but also the connotation of the words. Remind students of their work with connotation in Module 1, and ask volunteers to define the term (a secondary meaning or implication of a word or expression, in addition to its primary meaning; the feeling created by a word). 
  • Ask students to Think-Pair-Share:

"What connotation do these words convey? Is it positive or negative, safe or dangerous? How does this connotation affect the idea of 'fate' that the speaker is describing?" (The words have a connotation of darkness or danger, and this makes fate seem like a dark or harsh force.)

  • Explain to students that poets use connotation to "flavor" their poems, to add extra meaning to the ideas they are developing. 
  • If necessary, to confirm understanding of connotations, give students more common examples to show how words with similar meanings can create different feelings. For example, as students to consider the difference between telling someone that they are acting "grown-up," versus acting "old." Which one has a positive connotation? Which one has a negative connotation?
  • Add connotations (figurative language) to the Techniques anchor chart.
  • Direct students to the phrases "heart against the ground" and "beat the dusty years around." 
  • Ask students to Think-Pair-Share:

"What are these phrases telling us about the condition of the speaker? Is it a negative or positive position? What words help to show us that meaning?" (The speaker is in a negative position. The words "against the ground" show that she is being held down, perhaps, and "dusty years" have a connotation of being unpleasant or old.)

  • Ask students to focus on the phrases: "I wake" and "stride into the morning break" and Think-Pair-Share: 

"What change do you see here? What are these phrases saying about her journey? What associations do we have with morning? With break?" (These phrases mean that she is overcoming her difficulty. She is getting up and walking into a new day. We often think of "morning" as being positive, and this is a positive change.)

  • Tell students that they will have the opportunity to further examine the figurative language in the poem for homework. For now, ask students to Turn and Talk with a partner about the way these examples of figurative language develop the theme they've noticed in the text. Ask for volunteers to share their responses, and model adding them to the note-catcher. (The speaker describes how the different parts of fate hold her down and how the world goes against her, but she also uses language to talk about how she will rise and achieve her dreams.)
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.

For Lighter Support

  • In Work Time A and B, students may need additional time to understand the poetry terms. After introducing each term, allow a moment for students to Turn and Talk with a partner to explain the term in their own words and give additional examples from “Calling Dreams” or another poem. This oral processing confirms student comprehension and improves speaking and listening skills. 
  • Also in Work Time A and B, as necessary, encourage students to work with their classmates who need heavier support to act out the poem. For example, students could make poses or actions which demonstrate demanding; walking with unimpeded steps; lying with their heart on the ground; and rising, stretching, and walking with confidence. Both partners can work together to determine poses or actions and then they can take turns reading the poem and acting it out.
  • After students read and analyze “Calling Dreams” in Work Time B, invite students to participate in a Mini Language Dive in small groups to analyze the structure, function, and impact of phrases and clauses in a sentence from the poem (RL.7.4, RL.7.5, L.7.1a). This Mini Language Dive also gives students the opportunity to explore the poet’s use of figurative language (L.7.5).
  • As an extension to the Mini Language Dive of Work Time B, and to help students correctly punctuate sentences with multiple phrases and clauses, invite students who need lighter support to analyze the function of the three commas in the Mini Language Dive sentence. Students can either independently identify the function or role of each comma; alternatively, they can be presented with a short list of comma usage rules, and then connect the rules to the commas of the sentence. For example:
    • Use a comma to separate items in a list. [answer: comma 3]
    • Use a comma after a dependent clause that begins a sentence.
    • Use a comma after an introductory adverb. [answer: commas 1 and 2]
    • Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction that links two independent clauses.

For Heavier Support

  • In Work Time A and B, students may struggle with the meaning of the poem itself and the new vocabulary about poetry. To encourage comprehension of the poem, allow several minutes before analysis for students to highlight key words (such as unfamiliar vocabulary and also familiar words—possibly using different colors for known and unknown words). Students can also illustrate the poem in the margins or on sticky notes. Encourage students to act out the poem to confirm and cement comprehension. Students could make poses or actions that demonstrate demanding; walking with unimpeded steps; lying with their heart on the ground; and rising, stretching, and walking with confidence. This activity could be conducted as a class or in multilevel pairs so that students work together to determine poses or actions and then take turns reading the poem and acting it out.
  • Also in Work Time A and B, to encourage comprehension of poetry terms, display the Techniques anchor chart at the beginning of the work time and record each term as it is introduced. Also, record examples from “Calling Dreams” on the anchor chart to support student comprehension.
  • Finally in Work Time A and B, encourage students to use a blank copy of the Analyze Poetry note-catcher ▲ from Lesson 7, which is a generic note-catcher that students can use throughout this unit. This resource supports student writing and comprehension with sentence frames.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingLevels of Support
  • A. Determine and Explain a Theme - RL.7.2 (10 minutes)

Review the appropriate learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can identify a theme and explain its development over the course of 'Calling Dreams.'"

  • Explain to students that they will work together as a class to discuss the questions at the bottom of their Analyze Poetry: "Calling Dreams" note-catcher, to analyze how the theme is developed and any connections they identify with other works in the unit.
  • Ask students to Think-Pair-Share:

"Based on your analysis, what is a theme of this poem?" (Everyone has the right to follow their dreams, and with determination you can overcome obstacles to reaching your dream.) 

"How does the structure of the poem and the way the couplets are related to each other help develop the theme?" (The couplets show the author's thoughts, desires, and actions as she moves from demanding her dreams to realizing them. She begins by stating her desire, then describes her difficulties, and finally states that she is going out to achieve her dreams. This develops the theme of the importance of following dreams as it shows how the author could find great meaning in her quest.)

"How does the author's use of figurative language develop the theme?" (The author uses figurative language to describe the "dusty years" that the speaker was down on the "ground." This shows the difficulty she faces. The author uses figurative language such as "stride into the morning break" to show that the speaker is rising into a new day and a new hope for achieving her dreams.) 

  • Invite students to record these ideas on their Analyze Poetry: "Calling Dreams" note-catcher. Record student responses on the Harlem Renaissance Themes anchor chart. Refer to the Harlem Renaissance Themes anchor chart (example for teacher reference) as needed.
  • Remind students of their work in the previous lesson writing a paragraph together as a class about how a poet develops a theme in the text.
  • Ask students to work with partners to write a paragraph in the Theme section in their Analyze Poetry: "Calling Dreams" note-catchers. Circulate and support students by reminding them that their paragraphs should include an explanation of what the poem is about, a statement of the theme, and their interpretation of the poem supported by specific references to the structure and language in the text.
  • After a few minutes, draw students' attention to the final section of the note-catcher: "Making Connections." Tell students that this is an opportunity to make connections between this poem, "Calling Dreams," and the other works they've read and looked at in this unit. Invite students to retrieve material related to Shuffle Along, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," The Harp, and "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" and to work independently on drawing connections between one or more of those works and this poem. After a few minutes, ask for student volunteers to share their responses.
  • Invite students to reflect on the learning target and habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

For Lighter Support

  • Challenge students to grapple with writing the theme paragraph independently. Then they can join with a partner to share and revise their responses. Grappling will allow students to push themselves and also show them what they still need to learn or understand about writing these theme paragraphs.

For Heavier Support

  • Encourage students to orally rehearse their theme paragraph, using the sentence frames provided in the Analyze Poetry note-catcher ▲ from Lesson 7. Then partners can work together to write the paragraph. Finally, post examples of strong paragraphs and review them so that students can modify or add to their paragraphs. Avoid writing the paragraph as a group because students need to be able to move toward independence for the end of unit assessment.

Homework

Homework

A. Synthesis Questions: "Calling Dreams" 

  • In preparation for the end of unit assessment, students complete Homework: Synthesis Questions: "Calling Dreams." Students also read Georgia Douglas Johnson's short biography in their anchor texts and answer synthesis questions.

B. Independent Research Reading 

  • Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Next, they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

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