GED 2002 Teachers' Handbook of Lesson Plans

Activity Title - Deeper Meanings

Area/Skill – LA Reading and Writing	Cognitive Skill Level – Analysis and Application
Activity Title - Deeper Meanings Goal/Objective The students will be able to analyze parts of the poem and identify deeper meanings they may have. Lesson Outline Introduction Discuss Robert Frost. Point out that he lived from 1874-1963. Explain that he won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times and that he was known as the voice of New England. Activity Give the students a copy of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". Have them read it silently. Then have 2 or 3 volunteers read it aloud. Have them underline any references to his horse. Ask them if the horse might represent anything else. Ask them why this might be the "darkest evening of the year". Ask if anyone might have an idea what he means by "promises to keep" and "miles to go before I sleep". Debriefing/Evaluation Activity Have the students write a paragraph about what they think Frost might have been saying about life.	Materials/Texts/Realia/Handouts Copy of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" Paper and pencils Extension Activity Have the students try writing a short poem about some event in their life. Have volunteers read theirs to the class. ESE/ESOL Accommodation Divide the class into groups of two. Have the groups look at the poem and locate all the descriptive words (adjectives) in the poem.
Real - Life Connection Tell the students that we sometimes look back on our lives and evaluate where we've been and where we are going. Have them discuss times that they have looked back to their past but had to keep going.

Area/Skill – LA Reading and Writing

Cognitive Skill Level – Analysis and Application

Activity Title - Deeper Meanings

Introduction

Say: Robert Frost was a famous American poet who lived from 1874-1963. He won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times. He is known as the voice of New England. Sometimes poets write poems that have deeper meanings that we see on the surface. We are going to read Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". I want you to think about any deeper meanings that Frost might have intended as you read the poem.

Main Activity

Give the students a copy of the poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening".

Say: Read the poem silently.

Have 2 or 3 volunteers read the poem orally.

Ask: Do you think the horse in the poem could represent anything other than just a horse? Do you have any idea why this might have been the "darkest evening of the year"? What do you think the writer meant by "promises to keep"? What did the writer mean by saying he had "miles to go before I sleep"?

Closure/Conclusion

Say: Sometimes we do look back on our lives and evaluate what we have done but realize we must continue.

Discuss with the students times in their lives they have looked back but knew they must continue.

Follow-up Lessons/Activities

Have the students look for other poems that they feel have deeper meanings. Have them bring them in and share them with the rest of the class.

*** Handout # 1 "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" ***

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

WCJC - Bay City Adult Learning Center - Head Instructor - Mena S. Lunsford

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