Ryan+WA


 * Answering Questions in a very sloppy manner that sort of makes sense to only me:**

I. **Results** A. Primary goal: What do you want the students to understand more fully about "Song of Myself"? Frame this as a question. Why is this topic important to Whitman? How does this topic connect to other themes or concerns of the poem? How might this topic or question engage students' interest and/or experience? How does this topic or question related to broader issues in literature? How does it relate to broader cultural or social issues?

- What and how does Whitman speak to the theme/motif of mental illness, sickness, or health in the poem? - How does he address this through or by the much larger theme or problem of body and soul/mind? - Engage the students in topics relevant to current issues - how are the mentally ill treated today compared to during the 19th century? - Mental illness disguises itself in literature in characters and writers, something that slowly emerges. Literature is convincing and powerful and even the insane can seem rational

B. Secondary goals: what do you want students to understand about reading poetry? about how to write about poetry? about how to connect text and context? - Students don't have to come out of a poem understanding everything> one can hold onto a small part of a poem and run with that rather than having to swallow the whole thing.

II. **Evidence of learning**: How will students demonstrate that they are answering the question? What will your evidence of student learning look like? A types of writing/evidence: i. formal writing or project (summative) essay; curation; rhetorical; ii. informal writing (formative) - Open-ended discussion in small groups - blog post after discussion

B. How will this show you that they've learned? how will you evaluate its success or failure in relation to your goals? - Groups would discuss and answer a series of questions and do an at-home assignment where they come up with a new 'lingering' question regarding mental illness - evidence would be an interpretation of how mental illness is conveyed in the poem, an honest attempt by the student to think through the topic. Can they connect mental illness with the theme of body and soul in the poem?

III. **Design** A. what knowledge or skills will students need in order to produce their evidence of student learning? knowledge about the poem; cultural or historical knowledge; knowledge about Whitman? skills in reading? skills in analysis/making connections? skills in writing? - Approach this FIRST by talking about Whitman -1. Whitman and 2. 1855 New York crash course for students so they could have CONTEXT - Next, talk about mental illness- more context for students leads to better understanding - Need close reading skills, can navigate online discussions (ilearn, blogger, wiki) - online writing skills

B. what kind of activities will develop these knowledges and skills? what kinds of things will students need to do to acquire these knowledges and skills? reading; writing; finding; collaborating; - Practice makes perfect! Create and write blogs - Lecturing on context (Whitman's life and historical info) students would listen and take notes with some on the side research. - Discussion would be key, a facilitator with prompt to lead a fruitful discussion so students could think about key reading/connection questions - it would help them when they eventually do their blog assignments.

C. how will you structure these activities? do some have to come before others? which? why? are some more or less important than others? are some more or less formal than others? 1. Contextual background on 19th century and Whitman 2. Group discussion with facilitator-led prompt 3. individual writing assignment on blog