English lesson plan · 12th grade (Year 13 in England) · 30 minutes
Metre: iambs, trochees, anapests, dactyls and pentameter
Reading Comprehension
CCSS RL.11-12.5CCSS RL.11-12.4England: A-level English Literature (poetry)England: AP LiteratureEngland: GCSE English Literature (poetry)
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Metre: iambs, trochees, anapests, dactyls and pentameter.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Poetic structure: enjambment, caesura, volta, refrain…; Working out a rhyme scheme (ABAB, AABB, ABCB…)
Leads to: the next skill in this area.
Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 4 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Poetic structure: enjambment, caesura, volta, refrain…; Working out a rhyme scheme (ABAB, AABB, ABCB…)). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which poetic term matches this description? A group of lines forming a unit in a poem, like a paragraph in prose. (volta / refrain / end-stopped line / stanza) → stanzaPrompt: Think about where the pause or change happens: across lines, mid-line, at line ends, at a turning point, or repeated.
- What is the rhyme scheme of this stanza? The city wakes at nine With traffic in a line The pigeons claim the square And sunlight warms the air (AABB / ABAB / ABCB / ABBA) → AABBPrompt: Label the first line's end sound A. Give a new letter to each new end sound.
- Which poetic technique is shown? (/ marks a line break) Every line in the stanza ends with a full stop, so each thought finishes exactly where its line does. (refrain / end-stopped line / volta / enjambment) → end-stopped linePrompt: Look at the punctuation and the / marks. Does the sentence run over the line break, or stop?
Hook · 3 min
- Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
- Share the objective: Metre: iambs, trochees, anapests, dactyls and pentameter. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 7 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Which metrical term matches this description? A foot with one stressed then two unstressed syllables: DUM-da-da.
- Step 1: Metre is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables; a foot is one unit of that pattern.
- Step 2: dactyl: A foot with one stressed then two unstressed syllables: DUM-da-da.
- Step 3: So the answer is: dactyl
- Answer: dactyl
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 6 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Which metrical term matches this description? A foot with one unstressed then one stressed syllable: da-DUM. (iambic pentameter / spondee / iamb / dactyl) → iambPrompt: Say 'da' for unstressed and 'DUM' for stressed syllables.
- Which metrical term matches this stress pattern? (Capitals show stressed syllables.) un-der-STAND, in-ter-RUPT, dis-ap-PEAR (anapest / trochee / spondee / iamb) → anapestPrompt: Clap each word: which syllables are louder?
You do: independent practice · 7 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 3 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Which metrical term matches this description? A foot with one stressed then two unstressed syllables: DUM-da-da. (anapest / dactyl / iamb / trochee) → dactylPrompt: Say 'da' for unstressed and 'DUM' for stressed syllables.
- Which metrical term matches this stress pattern? (Capitals show stressed syllables.) GAR-den, TI-ger, HAP-py (dactyl / trochee / iamb / anapest) → trocheePrompt: Clap each word: which syllables are louder?
Watch out for
- Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
- Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Poetic structure: enjambment, caesura, volta, refrain….
- Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-12.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder