Analyze Structure, Language, and Theme: “On Bully Patrol,” Part II | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G7:M3:U3:L3

Analyze Structure, Language, and Theme: “On Bully Patrol,” Part II

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

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.

  • W.7.5, L.7.1a
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can analyze how the structure of "On Bully Patrol" contributes to its meaning. (RL.7.4, RL.7.5)
  • I can determine the meaning of figurative language in "On Bully Patrol." (RL.7.4) 
  • I can determine a theme and trace its development over the course of "On Bully Patrol." (RL.7.2) 

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 3 (W.7.5)
  • Work Time A: Analyze Poetry note-catchers (RL.7.2, RL.7.4, RL.7.5, L.7.5)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner - W.7.5 (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Read and Analyze Structure: "On Bully Patrol" - RL.7.5 (20 minutes)

B. Analyze Figurative Language: "On Bully Patrol" - RL.7.4 (10 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Analyze Theme and Connections - RL.7.2 (10 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Analyze "On Bully Patrol," Part II: In preparation for the end of unit assessment, students complete Homework: Analyze "On Bully Patrol," Part II to answer selected and constructed response questions about the second half of the poem.

B. Respond to Poetry: To deepen their understanding and connection to the poetry read today and in preparation for their performance task, students choose a new line from a Harlem Renaissance poem they have read in this module and use it to create a poem, illustration, dance, song, or a personal reflection paragraph.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • W.7.5 – Opening A: On an entrance ticket, students share their response to a Harlem Renaissance poem and receive feedback from a partner about how the work connects to the Harlem Renaissance.
  • RL.7.5 – Work Time A: Students read and discuss the second half of “On Bully Patrol,” focusing on how the structure of the poem develops its meaning.
  • RL.7.4 – Work Time B: Students analyze how figurative language supports the meaning of the poem “On Bully Patrol.” 
  • RL.7.2 – Closing and Assessment A: Students analyze how the poet develops a theme over the course of “On Bully Patrol” and connections to other works.
  • In this lesson, students focus on becoming effective learners by collaborating to read and answer questions as a class and in small groups.
  • 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.
  • In the excerpt of “On Bully Patrol” read in this lesson, the speaker demonstrates perseverance as she recounts the difficulty she experienced and how she overcame it while passing on advice to her daughters about how to do the same.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Release more responsibility more quickly to students as they comprehend the tasks or concepts. For example: 
    • Allow students to independently read and analyze the structure and figurative language in the second half of “On Bully Patrol.” These students can join the class to share their analysis at the end of each Work Time.
    • Challenge students to ask and answer their own text-dependent questions for homework. Being able to ask and answer one’s own questions about a text is another skill students will need for high school, college, and careers.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In previous lessons, students have focused on analyzing poems, stories, and works of art from the Harlem Renaissance. In this lesson, students continue to build on that knowledge by analyzing the second half of “On Bully Patrol,” which they began reading in the previous lesson.

Support All Students

  • Group together those students who may have difficulty understanding the poem, and offer more readings for comprehension, as well as support finding the gist or basic meaning of the words. ▲
  • Students may need additional support identifying and interpreting figurative language. Remind students of the work they did in the Units 1 and 2, interpreting language that was made to stand in for or convey another idea. Guide small groups or partners who are struggling to identify and analyze this language. ▲
  • The subject matter in this poem includes mention of bullying based on physical appearance, including skin color. Continue to monitor students to determine if issues surface from the content of this chapter that need to be discussed as a whole group, in smaller groups, or individually. To support students in processing this content, ask: “What habit of character did you use as you read and discussed this poem?” Students may need to draw on perseverance, empathy, and compassion as they read and discuss this content, being sensitive to their own and others’ reactions to the information presented.
  • Note that there are differentiated versions of the Analyze Poetry note-catcher used in Work Times A and B, and Homework: Analyze “On Bully Patrol,” Part II used in Homework in the separate Teacher's Guide for English Language Learners. Note that the blank differentiated note-catcher is provided in Lesson 2. ▲

Assessment Guidance

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

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will continue to analyze poetry that draws on the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance as they prepare for their mid-unit assessments.

In Advance

  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 3 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 follows a similar format to the previous lesson, including multiple whole class readings along with whole class and group analysis of the structure, figurative language, and themes in the second half of the poem "On Bully Patrol" by Nikki Grimes.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to analyze figurative language even with group support. In addition to the suggestions below, provide students with the following sentence frames for analyzing figurative language:
    • _____(A) is being compared to _____ (B). (e.g., Love is being compared to fire.)
    • Describe the concrete object: _____ (B) is ____, ____, ____. (e.g., Fire is hot, bright, and sometimes dangerous.)
    • This means that _____(A) is also ____, ____, ____. (e.g., This means that love is also hot, bright, and sometimes dangerous.)

Vocabulary

  • cerebrum (A)

Key

(A): Academic Vocabulary

(DS): Domain-Specific Vocabulary

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • 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; one per student; from Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Vocabulary log (one per student; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening A)
  • Analyze Poetry note-catcher (one per student; from Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Analyze Poetry note-catcher ▲ (from Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 2, Work Time A)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Analyze Poetry note-catcher (example for teacher reference) 
  • Harlem Renaissance Themes anchor chart (for teacher reference)
  • Homework: Analyze "On Bully Patrol," Part II (answers for teacher reference) (see Homework Resources)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 3 (one per student)
  • Analyze Poetry note-catcher (one per student)
  • Homework: Analyze "On Bully Patrol," Part II (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 - W.7.5 (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Students respond to questions on Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 3.
  • Once students have completed their entrance tickets, invite several volunteers to share their works and their partners to share their feedback. 
  • 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

  • Students may be reluctant to share their creative response to the poems in the previous lesson. Remind the class that sharing creative work can make people nervous and that they should practice empathy and respect, giving only positive feedback as directed by the prompts in the entrance ticket. Also, allow students to choose their own partners and to share as much of their piece as they feel comfortable. Finally, students may abstain from sharing their feedback orally as reading the feedback may be easier on students' nerves.

For Heavier Support

  • Students may be reluctant to share their creative response to the poems in the previous lesson. Remind the class that sharing creative work can make people nervous and that they should practice empathy and respect, giving only positive feedback as directed by the prompts in the entrance ticket. Also, allow students to choose their own partners and to share as much of their piece as they feel comfortable. Students may want to choose a partner who speaks the same home language and discuss their work in their home language. Finally, students may abstain from sharing their feedback orally as reading the feedback may be easier on students' nerves.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Read and Analyze Structure: “On Bully Patrol” – RL.7.5 (20 minutes)

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

“I can analyze how the structure of ‘On Bully Patrol’ contributes to its meaning.”

  • Inform students that today they will read and analyze the second half of the poem “On Bully Patrol” by Nikki Grimes. Ask students to retrieve their copies of One Last Word anchor texts and open to the poem “On Bully Patrol.” Explain that students will again read the poem several times through before analyzing it. Read aloud the whole poem, asking students to close their eyes and listen. Then read stanzas 7–12 aloud a second time, asking students to follow along. Finally, read stanzas 7–12 aloud chorally as a class.
  • Ask students to retrieve their Analyze Poetry note-catchers or Analyze Poetry note-catchers ▲ as necessary. The differentiated note-catcher supports students in writing about structure, figurative language, and themes with sentence starters. ▲ Allow a minute for students to review their note-catchers and share with a partner the overall gist of the first half of the poem. (A mother comforts her daughter after she is picked on at school.)
  • Read the whole poem of “On Bully Patrol” aloud as students follow along.
  • Use a total participation technique to determine the gist of each stanza with the class. Record the responses on the board:
    • Stanza 7: her husband works a lot, but finds time to spend with his daughters
    • Stanza 8: the mother tries to imagine her girls’ future, reminds them to follow their dreams
    • Stanza 9: the eldest daughter wants to date, her mother wants her to wait
    • Stanza 10: the mother was focused on education when she was her daughter’s age
    • Stanza 11: the mother teaches her daughters the value of hard work
    • Stanza 12: the mother reminds them they don’t have to listen to mean people and can choose their own paths
  • Invite students to note these responses on their Analyze Poetry note-catchers.
  • Ask students to form small groups to look more closely at how the stanzas are structured and how the poet uses figurative language to develop ideas within them. Follow the same routine as in the previous lesson, assigning each group a stanza to analyze and discuss, noting that students will analyze stanzas 11 and 12 for homework. 
  • Ask students to Think-Group-Share about their assigned stanzas, focusing first on the structure of the stanzas.

“What is the speaker thinking about or doing in this stanza? How does the stanza develop ideas from the line it borrows from ‘Hope’?”

      • Stanza 7: (The speaker is describing her family’s life and reminding her daughters to enjoy their father. It is connected to the line from “Hope,” because it urges the children to take time to enjoy their lives, as in the “mellowing shade.”)
      • Stanza 8: (The speaker is trying to imagine the future for her daughters, trying to imagine what they will be and do. She also mentions the advice she gives them. This is connected to the line from “Hope,” because that line urges the children to “rise with the hour for which you were made,” or to become who you are meant to be.)
      • Stanza 9: (The speaker is thinking about how her eldest daughter wants to date, but she wants her to be patient. It is connected to the line from “Hope,” because that line focuses on the “cycle of seasons,” or how time has different cycles.)
      • Stanza 10: (The speaker is thinking of her own childhood and comparing it to her daughter’s. The line from “Hope” reminds the reader that life and events play out in the “orb of an infinite plan.”)
  • After groups have shared, invite students to note these examples of how the poem is structured on their note-catchers. To support students who need more time or visuals to process, record responses on the board or a displayed copy of the Analyze Poetry note-catcher. Consult the Analyze Poetry note-catcher (example for teacher reference) as necessary.

For Lighter Support

  • In Work Time A and B, allow students to respond to the discussion and analysis prompts in the modality that best suits them. They may want to record their responses in writing or practice their oral responses with a partner before sharing them out. Allowing students to respond in multiple ways increases their confidence and success in analyzing the structure, language, and themes of poems.

For Heavier Support

  • In Work Time A and B, allow students to respond to the discussion and analysis prompts in the modality that best suits them. They may want to record their responses in writing or practice their oral responses with a partner before sharing them out. They may want to share their responses in their home language. Allowing students to respond in multiple ways increases their confidence and success in analyzing the structure, language, and themes of poems.
  • Finally, in Work Time A and B, encourage students to use the Analyze Poetry note-catcher ▲ that was distributed in Unit 3, Lesson 2. This resource includes sentence frames that support students in comprehension and writing about the structure, language, and themes in the poems.

B. Analyze Figurative Language: “On Bully Patrol” – RL.7.4 (10 minutes)

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

“I can determine the meaning of figurative language in ‘On Bully Patrol.’"

  • Ask students to remain in their groups and return to their stanzas to analyze the impact of figurative language in each of their stanzas. Post the following examples or direct students’ attention to them in the text. Ask students to discuss how these examples of figurative language develop an idea in their stanzas. As they do so, they can determine the meaning of unknown words using strategies such as context, word parts, and a dictionary. For the word cerebrum in stanza 10, encourage students to try replacing that word with one that would make sense in order to arrive at a definition of cerebrum (students may choose “brain” or “head”—congratulate students on the understanding and clarify that the cerebrum is specifically the part of the brain dedicated to higher-order thinking.)
  • Guide students to analyze the figurative language in their stanza by asking them to Think-Group-Share:

“What is being compared? How is the abstract idea like the concrete object? What does this simile or metaphor show about the speaker and her family?”

  • If necessary, model answering these questions with the following figurative language from stanza 11: “we / lay tomorrow, brick by brick, move / forward through wind and storm, from winter to / winter” (1–4). (Making a future is compared to laying brick; living is compared to walking through winter storms. Creating a good future is hard, careful work like making a brick wall. Living life can be hard and even painful as it is to walk through a winter storm. These metaphors show how creating a good future and even just living life requires hard, careful work and perseverance.) ▲
  • Responses will vary, but may include the following:
    • Stanza 7: “Count these times precious, girls” (59) (Time or memories are compared to something you can count. Memories are precious. This figurative language shows the mother’s advice to her daughters to fully enjoy their time with their father. It also reminds the reader that the speaker lost her own father.)
    • Stanza 8: “Your longings were / already carefully carved, your true purpose long ago made.” (69–70) (Longings are compared to sculpture; life’s purpose is compared to something created. What we want to be and our life’s purpose are like artwork because they are beautiful and take a long time to create. This figurative language suggests that her daughters have a purpose that they need to discover to live their truest lives.)
    • Stanza 9: “Hard to explain tidals to one who’s never gotten her feet wet, of / course.” (76–77) (Life experience is compared to swimming in the ocean. The daughter doesn’t understand the ebb and flow of life (tidals) because she is young and inexperienced (not gotten her feet wet). This figurative language shows that her daughter has a different sense of time because she is still inexperienced.)
    • Stanza 10: “The / whole of my cerebrum was an orb / stuffed with history, geometry, and the plays of / Shakespeare.” (81–84) (The speaker’s brain is compared to a ball that is filled with knowledge. Our brains are like containers of all that we know because our knowledge is stored in our brain. This figurative language illustrates how the speaker mostly thought about school and education when she was younger.)
  • Invite students to note these instances of figurative language on their note-catchers. To support students who need more time or visuals to process, record responses on the board or a displayed copy of the Analyze Poetry note-catcher. Consult the Analyze Poetry note-catcher (for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Remind students that they will answer questions about stanzas 11 and 12 and the poem overall for homework.
  • Ask students to Think-Pair-Share:

“What is a theme that is developed in this poem? How is the author developing it?” (A theme being developed is that difficulties don’t last forever, but it takes hard work to achieve your goals. The author develops it by structuring the poem using the words of “Hope,” by Georgia Douglas Johnson to connect the themes of the older poem to her poem. Grimes aligns each stanza to the ideas from each line from "Hope." Grimes also uses figurative language and descriptions of advice between mother and daughters and memories to develop this theme as well.)

  • Display the Harlem Renaissance Themes anchor chart. Add student responses for the theme in “On Bully Patrol” to the chart. Reference Harlem Renaissance Themes anchor chart (example for teacher reference) as needed.
  • Once students have finished reading and reflecting on the poem, ask students to Think-Pair-Share:

“What habits of character did you see in this poem? Who demonstrated them? What did they look/sound like?” (Responses will vary, but may include: The speaker of the poem demonstrates perseverance as she recounts the difficulty she experienced and how she overcame it, while passing on advice about how to do the same to her daughters.)

  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.

For Lighter Support

  • In Work Time A and B, allow students to respond to the discussion and analysis prompts in the modality that best suits them. They may want to record their responses in writing or practice their oral responses with a partner before sharing them out. Allowing students to respond in multiple ways increases their confidence and success in analyzing the structure, language, and themes of poems.

For Heavier Support

  • In Work Time A and B, allow students to respond to the discussion and analysis prompts in the modality that best suits them. They may want to record their responses in writing or practice their oral responses with a partner before sharing them out. They may want to share their responses in their home language. Allowing students to respond in multiple ways increases their confidence and success in analyzing the structure, language, and themes of poems.
  • Finally, in Work Time A and B, encourage students to use the Analyze Poetry note-catcher ▲ that was distributed in Unit 3, Lesson 2. This resource includes sentence frames that support students in comprehension and writing about the structure, language, and themes in the poems.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingLevels of Support

A. Analyze Theme and Connections – RL.7.2 (10 minutes)

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

“I can determine a theme and trace its development over the course of ‘On Bully Patrol.’”

  • Invite students to work in their groups to finish filling out their note-catchers, including the synthesis paragraphs and connections to other works. Remind students that they wrote many of these poetry theme paragraphs in Unit 1 of this module. As necessary, review the components of a poetry theme paragraph:
    • Introduce the poem.
    • State the theme.
    • Support the theme with specific references to structure and language.
    • Connect evidence back to the theme.
  • If students need further support, draw them together in a group and write the theme paragraph together. Ask them to discuss the connections before writing them. This collaboration and oral processing supports student writing and comprehension as well as speaking and listening skills. ▲
  • Invite students to reflect on the relevant learning target and habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

For Lighter Support

  • As necessary, allow students to work with a partner to discuss the language structures and vocabulary they will use in their theme paragraph. Oral rehearsal gives students confidence in writing as well as practice with speaking skills. 
  • At the end of the lesson, encourage students to take a few moments to reflect on their learning. Use the following questions to prompt reflection. Post the questions for visual learners. Explain that students do not have to respond to all the questions. They are examples to allow them to reflect on their learning. 
    • What have you learned about the Golden Shovel structure? How does it connect the new poem to the old poem? What have you learned about figurative language? Why do poets use it? What have you learned about themes in poems? How do poets develop them? What are some themes that black Americans develop today and in the Harlem Renaissance?
    • What new vocabulary or language structures did you learn in this lesson? 
  • Encourage students to share the most important or exciting thing they learned in this lesson. Reflecting on learning allows students to more firmly grasp abstract concepts and gives them confidence and ownership over their own learning.

For Heavier Support

  • To assist them in writing their theme paragraphs, encourage students to use the sentence frames on their Analyze Poetry note-catcher ▲ that was distributed in Unit 3, Lesson 2.
  • At the end of the lesson, encourage students to take a few moments to reflect on their learning. Use the following questions to prompt reflection. Post the questions and allow partner discussion time to support students in responding to one or more question. Explain that students do not have to respond to all the questions. They are examples to allow them to reflect on their learning. 
    • What have you learned about the Golden Shovel structure? How does it connect the new poem to the old poem? What have you learned about figurative language? Why do poets use it? What have you learned about themes in poems? How do poets develop them? What are some themes that black Americans develop today and in the Harlem Renaissance?
    • What new vocabulary or language structures did you learn in this lesson? 
  • Encourage students to share the most important or exciting thing they learned in this lesson. Reflecting on learning allows students to more firmly grasp abstract concepts and gives them confidence and ownership over their own learning.

Homework

HomeworkLevels of Support

A. Analyze "On Bully Patrol," Part II

  • In preparation for the end of unit assessment, students complete Homework: Analyze "On Bully Patrol," Part II to answer selected and constructed response questions about the second half of the poem.

B. Respond to Poetry

  • To deepen their understanding and connection to the poetry read today and in preparation for their performance task, students choose a new line from a Harlem Renaissance poem they have read in this module and use it to create a poem, illustration, dance, song, or a personal reflection paragraph.

For Lighter Support

  • Before students leave class, ask them to read the homework assignments and discuss them with a partner. Ensure that students understand the purpose of answering the selected and response questions is to prepare them to answer similar questions on their mid-unit assessment. Students may not need to spend time with a partner brainstorming vocabulary and language structures to write about the emerging theme of the poem. If students do not need the scaffold, remove it to promote independence and ensure success on the assessment.

For Heavier Support

  • Before students leave class, review the homework assignments and ensure that students understand that they will answer questions and create a poem, illustration, dance, song, or a personal reflection paragraph about the poems read in this lesson. Ensure that students understand that the purpose of answering the selected and response questions is to prepare them to answer similar questions on their mid-unit assessment. 

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