The Teaching ELA Podcast

Metaphor: The entire poem is a metaphor, with the caged bird representing those who have not freedom. Let’s take a look at the second and third stanzas:

“But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage / Can seldom see through his bars of rage / His wings are clipped and his feet are tied / So he opens his throat to sing. / The caged bird sings with a fearful trill / Of things unknown but longed for still / And his tune is heard on the distant hill for / The caged bird sings of freedom.”

Analysis: A caged bird is unable to enjoy the freedom of other birds due to its cage, clipped wings, and tied feet. African-Americans during Angelou’s time were restricted by unfair laws and societal oppression. Freedom is symbolized by the caged bird’s beautiful song. As long as the bird is in the cage, he will not reach his true potential. Although the context of the poem is important, one shouldn’t limit its application to one group of people or one period.

A caged bird could be any group of oppressed people. It could mean individuals. The cage could represent society, physical barriers, fear, addiction or any self-defeating behavior, with the bird’s song representing the true self that longs for something greater in life.

Takeaways

1. Teach Extended Metaphor
2. Teach Imagery
3. Great Companion Piece to “Sympathy”

Links

• Poetry Collections at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.com
• Figurative Language in Poetry Lesson Plan
• "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar Post
• "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou Post

Brief Analysis: “O Captain! My Captain!” is a lyric poem (a poem that attempts to express a strong feeling). Whitman uses the following poetic devices to express his grief at the death of Abraham Lincoln:

1. apostrophe – the poem’s speaker addresses a dead captain (Lincoln) in the style of an ode.
2. repetition – phrases such as “heart! heart! heart!” and the repeating of “fallen cold and dead” emphasize the poet’s grief.
3. word choice – even in the lines that describe the victory celebration, the use of doleful phrases cast a gloomy shadow.
4. extended metaphor – the poem is an extended metaphor with Lincoln as the captain and father, a term which deepens the reader’s sadness.

Links

• Poetry Collections at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.com
• Figurative Language in Poetry Lesson Plan
• Theme in Poetry Lesson Plan 
• Walt Whitman Page

1. “El Dorado” by Edgar Allan Poe – Poe provides a gold mine of sound devices in Eldorado. Instruct students to identify ‘o’ sounds in the poem and analyze their purpose. In addition, “Eldorado” serves as an excellent example of a poem with repetition.
2. “Anabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe – Poe’s deft use of repetition, assonance, consonance, repetition, and internal rhyme make “Anabel Lee” a classic love poem.
3. “The Eagle” by Lord Alfred Tennyson – the repetition of the hard k sound mirrors the harshness of the eagle’s habitat. The Eagle makes a great poem for poetry speed analysis.
4. “Travel” by Edna St. Vincent Millay – Millay uses assonance to replicate the mingled voices on a train. Instruct students to write a poem about an ordinary place that they enjoy–the school cafeteria, the halls during passing period, the school bus, for example. Require them to use assonance in addition to other appropriate sound devices.
5. “Beat! Beat! Drums” by Walt Whitman – I’ve never in my life used the phrase “Tour de Force.” It’s a cheesy, trite expression whose meaning is unclear. That being said, Walt Whitman’s “Beat! Beat! Drums!” is a Tour de Force: it’s got consonance; it’s got assonance; it’s got internal rhyme; it’s got alliteration. It captures the war pulse like no other piece of writing can.

Links

• Poetry Collections at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.com
• Sound Devices in Poetry Post
• Sound Devices in Poetry Lesson Plan

Let's revisit an early episode from my groundbreaking podcast debut.

In this episode of the Teaching ELA Podcast, I discuss the number one thing I learned about teaching writing during a pandemic. I thought I was just doing something that helped with online teaching, but when I got back to a physical classroom, I realized it was the best way to teach writing anywhere. And it's so simple!

Takeaways

1. Most administrators--especially those who've never been in a classroom--and 94% of parents have no idea what differentiated instruction is.
2. Differentiate instruction with Google Docs or other collaborative technologies.
3. Provide immediate feedback to your students whether you're in a physical or virtual classroom.

Links

• ELA Common Core Lesson Plans Website 
• Essay Types Lesson Plan Collection

Oops! I did it again. I compiled some quotes podcasts and published them as if it were a new podcast episode.

Ray Bradbury holds a special place in my heart. In addition to having written some of my favorite short stories and one of my favorite novels, he was the subject of my first ever internet lesson plan back in 2002. It involved a visit to RayBradbury.com and students looking up information and writing letters to the author. Now it seems like a silly thing to have gotten excited over, but it was over twenty years ago and who knew what the internet would become.

Actually, Ray Bradbury probably did.

Links

• Free Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htm
• Complete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/
• Ray Bradbury Resources

I put a couple of Bradbury's short stories together in case you missed the original back in February.

My daughter like's Bradbury and it's her birthday.

In this episode of the Teaching ELA Podcast, I discuss one of my favorite science fiction stories, “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury. I’ve got an emergency "Veldt" lesson plan you can get on the board right now involving setting and conflict. If you’re going to teach one thing from this story that will make everything else easier or no longer necessary, teach students to cite textual evidence to analyze theme. I discuss that along with the elements of science fiction, cause and effect, conflict, and a Methods of Persuasion Advertising Project.

1. Use a setting/conflict 2-column analysis chart if you need a lesson plan right now.
2. If you’re going to teach one thing from this story, go with theme. It will naturally lead to the elements of Science Fiction and help you teach cause and effect and methods of persuasion.
3. This story was written in the 1950s, long before virtual technology existed. 
4. Science Fiction isn't just for nerds!

Show Links

• Science Fiction Lesson Plans Collection (4 teacher ready lesson plans you can use right now)
• “The Veldt” Lesson Plans at elacommoncorelessonplans.com
• Analyzing Conflict in “The Veldt” handout (Different from the one we talked about)
• “The Veldt” text
• “The Veldt” movie

It's Bastille Day in France and it's hiking and swimming day in Spokane, Washington where I'm currently on vacation. Since I didn't feel like recording a new podcast episode, I thought I would celebrate Bastille Day with Mr. Maupassant and that zany Mademoiselle Loisel.

• Free Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htm
• Complete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/

In case you missed an episode or two, I'll be putting together some compilations. Today's quotes come from "The Most Dangerous Game," "To Build a Fire," and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner."

Links

• ELACOMMONCORELESSONPLANS.com
• Free Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htm
• Complete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/

Mark Twain once said, "Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It's like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won't fatten the dog." Despite this truth, that a lack of education often forces one to find alternative means to self-reliance, cash strapped states look to education cuts as the first remedy for budget deficits, not realizing that saving money on education in the short term costs them money in the long run. Education as a vehicle to self reliance shows itself especially during a national economic crisis--ironically, most common time for education cuts. According to CNN, the unemployment rate for college graduates is less than half of the rate for those with just a high school diploma. For those without a high school diploma, finding a job is nigh impossible. Make all the budget cuts you wish, governor, but make sure you use the money saved to build more prisons and welfare offices.

Links

• Free Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htm
• Mark Twain Quotes Blog Post
• Short Story Catalog at ELACOMMONCORELESSONPLANS.com
• Poetry Collections at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.com