旧金山卡斯特罗

2012年11月27日

英格兰112 b

华纳博士

诗歌与死亡主题

     本杰明·富兰克林曾经说过：“生命中唯一确定的事情就是死亡和纳税。”税收可能不会成为一系列故事的主题，但死亡肯定会。Death is a universal theme because every person will at some point experience a death, whether it�s their own, a family member, friend, or pet. 死亡是许多人害怕经历的事情。

     诗歌也是许多人害怕体验的东西。在许多人的经历中，学习诗歌是枯燥乏味的。这通常是因为诗歌通常是作为一个整体来教授的，而不是作为小说的补充今天的年轻人的文学。这一单元讲的是诗歌和死亡的主题，应该有一本小说来赞美这两个方面。

     The center piece that I have chosen is two poems written by Emily Dickinson. 更具体地说，我们要教的诗歌包括因为 I could not stop for death 和我死的时候听到苍蝇嗡嗡叫。这些诗歌以及其他诗歌将给学生一个接触诗歌的机会。If the students are gradually exposed to poetry little by little, they will be more likely to like poetry. 通过在学年开始的早期介绍诗歌，帮助学生学习如何阅读和理解诗歌，它允许教师全年慢慢地介绍新诗，而不是作为一个单元。This would help students become more enthusiastic to learn and study poetry.

Launching the Unit:

Not required but as a recommendation, I would start off this unit around early October and into November. 这是因为死亡和万圣节通常是相互关联的。

1) Starting the unit off around Halloween will be able to expose the class to a Halloween poem. 网上有很多诗歌可供选择。我选了一首用户提交的诗，名叫《黑暗》，作者是M. Sullivan。This poem contains a lot of imagery and little metaphors, which allows students to see a poem without having to think about abstract meanings.

2) Next, I would introduce the theme of death by doing something similar to an SSW. 提示是：

A. Write about your experiences with death. 你对死亡有什么看法？你觉得应该庆祝一下吗？悲哀吗?

3) Next we would discuss the novel that we would be reading for the unit on death. 我选择了马特·德拉佩纳的《我们在这里》，因为这本书讲的是一个男孩的故事，他杀死了自己的兄弟，并在整本书中学会了如何面对死亡。Other suggestions for a novel for this unit would The Diary of Anne Frank or Ordinary People by Judith Guest. Both of these novels deal with either facing possible death or coping with a death of a loved one.

4)    Along with the novel, the students will be introduced to the center piece of the unit Emily Dickinson�s poems Because I could not stop for death and I heard a fly buzz when I died.

1. I heard a fly buzz when I died;

      The stillness round my form

Was like the stillness in the air

      Between the heaves of storm.

 

The eyes beside had wrung them dry,

      呼吸越来越急促

For that last onset, when the king

      Be witnessed in his power.

 

我留下了我的纪念品，签名离开

      我是我的哪一部分啊

可以赋值，然后呢

      There interposed a fly,

 

With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz,

      光和我;

And then the windows failed, and then

      I could not see to see.

 

2. Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
的马车停着，只有我们自己
和不朽。

我们慢慢地开着车，他不慌不忙，
和我已经收起了
我的劳动，我的闲暇，
For his civility.

We passed the school, where children strove
在 recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
我们经过了夕阳。

Or rather, he passed us;
的露珠颤抖着，寒气逼人，
只因我的衣袍飘逸，
我的披肩只有薄纱。

我们在一座房子前停了下来
隆起：地面的隆起；
的屋顶几乎看不见了，
飞檐不过是个土墩。

从那以后的几个世纪，然而每一个
感觉比白天还短
我先猜测了一下马头
是 toward eternity.

 

我选择这两首诗作为我单元的中心作品，因为艾米莉·狄金森对死亡很着迷。她在诗歌中运用了大量的意象和隐喻，包括将死亡拟人化为人类因为我不能因为死亡而停下来． To take the time with students to decipher the meanings in these poems, they will get a better understanding of how to read and understand a poem. Since I would take my time teaching each poem and not overexposing the students to poetry, it is quite possible that the students will slowly learn to develop an understanding and liking of poetry.

     To close out the unit, I would expose the students to other titles dealing with poetry that I have put into the �Extending the unit� section. To end the unit, I would have students write their own poem dealing with death. It could be free verse and made up if the students wish. 然后我会让学生在课堂上大声朗读。This is something similar to the 9/11 reader�s theatre we did in class.

扩展单元：

本单元可以包括更多的诗歌和小说：

一个。《安妮日记》

     ——日记的一个年轻的犹太女孩,面对被纳粹的可能性。

”

B。哈利波特J.K.罗琳系列

     -The series of books about a young wizard, who learns about the death of his parents, as well as facing many encounters with death itself.

C。我没有死 by Mary Fry

    -A poem about a person that has died and speaks to their mourner. 讲话者说，他们死后在风雪中继续生活在大自然中。

 

D。当死亡来临玛丽·奥利弗

    ——一首诗，写的是死亡来得如此之快，因此，充实地过好每一天。

E。普通人朱迪思·盖斯特

    一个关于一个叫康拉德的男孩的故事，他在一次划船事故中失去了他的兄弟。这个故事讲述了每个家庭成员如何面对死亡。

F。Death Poem通过Alysia哈里斯

    -一首关于死后爱情的诗。

 

工作引用

 

《艾米莉·狄金森：概述》艾米莉·狄金森：嗯Oerview． 城市大学，2009年2月。2012年11月26日。<http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/dickinson.html>.

 

Frank, Anne. 《安妮日记》。伦敦：潘，1993。打印。

 

Fry, Mary. "Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep." 诗人的预言家。N.p.，留言。网络。2012年11月25日。<http://www.poetseers.org/poem-of-the-day-archive/do-not-stand-at-my-grave-and-weep/>.

 

尼尔森，艾伦·佩斯。今天的年轻人的文学。第五章。波士顿：Pearson出版社，2013。打印。

 

Oliver, Mary. “当死亡来临。”诗人的预言家。N.p.，留言。网络。2012年11月25日。<http://www.poetseers.org/contemporary-poets/mary-oliver/mary-oliver-poems/when-death-comes/>.

Peña，马特·德拉。我们曾经在这里。纽约：Delacorte， 2009。打印。

 

Warner, Mary L. Adolescents in the Search for Meaning: Tapping the Powerful Resource of Story. Lanham， MD：稻草人，2006。打印。