Intro: How to Build an AP Poetry Unit That Works!
Many AP® Lit teachers aren’t sure how to help their students do better on the poetry portions of the MC and essay tests in May. Poetry is often the area where students seem to struggle most. Why are student scores often so low on the poetry parts of the exam when compared to other sections?
My four-week journey into Romanticism has been crafted, tweaked, and built towards two key goals: I want to both challenge and inspire my students. I want them to feel like they’ve been shown HOW to really understand a poem & like they CAN do it. So often, poetry is an afterthought in ELA classrooms. I make it a centerpiece. I have to! It’s AP® Lit!
As an AP® Literature teacher with a decade of experience, I’ve discovered that my first poetry unit, the Romantic poetry unit, can be the key to their success. It’s often a real turning point for students. Your first poetry unit should be the unit where the magic happens – where poetry transforms from an intimidating jumble of words into an enjoyable and deeply interesting landscape of ideas and emotions!
So, we dive deep into 11 iconic poems by Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, and Byron. At my school, they take American Lit in 11th grade, so I often focus on British or World Lit in AP. In this first poetry unit, I see each work as a gateway to understanding the Romantic movement’s core themes: nature, imagination, emotion, and the individual experience.
Secret One: Don’t Skip That Context Lesson!
The unit begins with a context-setting session, as with most of my units, whether I’m teaching English 11 or AP Lit. Students engage with a comprehensive background/context reading that bridges the gap between basic understanding and higher-level analysis. This foundation is crucial for appreciating the nuances in the poems we’ll explore. I find it sets the stage for students to be able to understand and make meaning out of the poems on their own or with some help & scaffolding. Pro tip: I always make my context readings start with a 1-page, simplified overview using tons of text-structure scaffolding (like headings, bullet lists, and bolded key words). This helps them gain a basis for understanding the more challenging, 4-5 page, context reading to come.
I use these non-fiction introductory readings to teach kids how to use text structure to see what’s important & how to take efficient and helpful notes. We really get into things like highlighting (and not overdoing it), annotations on the text/in the margins, and then boiling it all down as we transfer ideas over into our notes. When they’ve finished reading and annotating (with plenty of scaffolding from me), they get together with a small group to discuss what they thought was most important. Then I give them my own notes, called a “cheat sheet” & they see if they were on the right track in terms of what they found most important. (This cheat sheet becomes one part of a larger study guide they can use along the way & before the unit test!)
[If you want my entire unit–the whole folder with EVERYTHING, click here!]
Secret Two: Don’t Just Link Them to the Poems!
As we progress through each poem, I provide students with full texts including line numbers – an essential tool for close reading and discussion. It’s one of those little things you can do to help your future self (and the students)–just put those line numbers in there! For every poem! And then print them out! Students NEED to be able to interact with them in a present, active, and tactile way. They need to be able to WRITE on them, physically! Trust me, this is KEY!
Secret Three: Come Prepared with Reading Questions for Each Poem
As with most of my units, the heart of our study lies in our in-depth reading questions. For instance, “The Tyger” and “The Lamb” by William Blake are accompanied by thought-provoking questions that guide students through the poems’ key elements, like intricate symbolism and important imagery. And it’s the same for the other poems. Often, I will have the students fill out a TPCASTT or another “Poem Chart” to help them see how the poem’s parts add up to a meaning, point, or lesson. However, the MEAT of our study is always reading questions I’ve developed.
Why do it this way? Well, kids can and should be asked to ask their own questions about what we read, and that’s most easily done (I find) with dedicated discussion activities; however, they don’t know everything yet, and it’s really important that we scaffold understanding for them by guiding or directing their attention to the right things. This is why I always have them work through at least a few of my own questions before opening the floor to broader discussion and questioning!
Secret Four: Variety Matters
Find ways to “mix it up” when it comes to group work vs. individual work, different activities (like various discussion modalities and worksheets), and reading some poems together, some silently, and others as homework. When you look at your unit calendar, is it the same thing over and over again? Try to avoid that whenever possible.
Another way to add variety to what you’re doing is to incorporate various activities that’ll reinforce learning and help kids dig into literary terms. For example, mini lessons on diction, tone, and other literary elements are important throughout the year, but especially during poetry units. The TPCASTT method (Title, Paraphrase, Connotation, Attitude, Shifts, Title, Theme) helps students break down poems systematically, and I also like these charts I’ve made that serve a similar purpose. I like how graphic organizers can help students SEE all the key elements at once & then use that information to infer or build to a theme. (See some in action at the bottom of this post!)
Another consideration is the length of the works. I alternate between shorter works like Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty” and epic pieces such as Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” The latter also comes with a larger question set and bonus literary terms practice, challenging students to flex their analytical muscles & practice for the unit test.
Secret Five: Your Assessments Should Be Analysis & Lit Term Heavy
As we approach the unit’s end, students tackle unit assessments focusing on literary terms and analysis. I like always to have at least three versions of an exam to account for absent students and retakes. (In my classroom, they can always retake or revise ANY assignment or assessment, baring final exams, but that’s just due to time constraints at the end of a semester.)
The culmination of my poetry units, however, is not the test. For these units, we always end with a poetry explication essay, where students demonstrate their freshly honed skills by dissecting a poem of their choice from a list of options taken from the same movement we’ve been studying. (Here’s the rubric, which incorporates the “sophistication point” from the AP® exams!)
Kids honestly appreciate this opportunity to express their own interpretation of a poem, to dig deeper into a poem that truly interests them (that’s where it’s important to offer variety and choice), and to get feedback from me about what they’re doing well. I REALLY stress praise here & identifying areas where they are being insightful & awesome, as a rough first poetry analysis can set a negative tone for your year. Mark 1-2 areas of improvement, but then LEAN INTO PRAISE as much as you can with this one! (Here’s an example hosted here on the blog.)
[If you want my entire unit–the whole folder with EVERYTHING, click here!]
Conclusion
What makes this first poetry unit truly special to me is watching students change their attitudes about poetry & begin to see themselves as capable, intelligent, insightful readers of poetry. They start to be able to see important aspects of a text, confidently use literary terminology, and most importantly, develop a genuine appreciation for poetry. As we all know, it can’t just be about preparing for the AP® exam: we want our students to feel empowered and smart, and we want them to develop a love of and appreciation for poetry!
By the end of these four weeks, my students aren’t just analyzing poetry – they’re truly enjoying it as an art form & creating their own interpretations with confidence and enthusiasm!
Sample Poetry Charts
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