Analyzing War Poems with SMILE

Analyzing War Poems with SMILE

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to analyze war poems using the SMILE technique.

Introduce the learning objective and explain the importance of analyzing war poems. Provide an overview of the SMILE technique.

What do you already know about war poems?

What are War Poems?

War poems are poems that are written about war, its effects, and the emotions it evokes.

Define war poems and provide examples.

The SMILE Technique

SMILE stands for Structure, Meaning, Imagery, Language, and Effect.

Explain each element of the SMILE technique and its importance in analyzing war poems.

Structure

Structure refers to the way a poem is organized, including its rhyme scheme and stanza length.

Explain how to analyze a poem's structure and provide an example.

Meaning

Meaning refers to the message or theme of a poem.

Explain how to identify a poem's meaning and provide an example.

Imagery

Imagery refers to the use of sensory details to create a picture in the reader's mind.

Explain how to analyze a poem's imagery and provide an example.

Language

Language refers to the words and phrases used in a poem, including figurative language and sound devices.

Explain how to analyze a poem's language and provide an example.

Effect

Effect refers to the emotional response a poem elicits from the reader.

Explain how to analyze a poem's effect and provide an example.

Practice: Structure

Analyze the structure of the following war poem: 'In Flanders Fields' by John McCrae

Provide a copy of the poem for students to analyze the structure. Discuss the analysis as a group.

Practice: Meaning

Analyze the meaning of the following war poem: 'Dulce et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen

Provide a copy of the poem for students to analyze the meaning. Discuss the analysis as a group.

Practice: Imagery

Analyze the imagery of the following war poem: 'The Soldier' by Rupert Brooke

Provide a copy of the poem for students to analyze the imagery. Discuss the analysis as a group.

Practice: Language

Analyze the language of the following war poem: 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' by Wilfred Owen

Provide a copy of the poem for students to analyze the language. Discuss the analysis as a group.

Practice: Effect

Analyze the effect of the following war poem: 'The Drum' by John Scott

Provide a copy of the poem for students to analyze the effect. Discuss the analysis as a group.

Putting it All Together

Choose a war poem and analyze it using the SMILE technique.

Encourage students to apply the SMILE technique to a war poem of their choice and share their analysis with the class.

Wrap-Up

Congratulations! You have learned how to analyze war poems using the SMILE technique.

Review the learning objective and ask students to reflect on what they have learned in the lesson.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.