Unit Title: “The Poetry of the Roaring Twenties”

Objective: At the end of the unit, students should be able to identify and analyze literary elements present in the poetry of the Roaring Twenties in the United States. Furthermore, students should be able to explain how the themes of the era were expressed through these poems.

Materials Needed: - Copies of Roaring Twenties poetry (for example, “The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot, “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams, or “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes) - Pencils/pens - Notebooks/note-taking materials - Whiteboard and markers

Lesson Plan:

Day One Introduce Unit: - Have students brainstorm what they know about the Roaring Twenties (mention key figures, events, cultural movements, etc.) - Discuss poetry of the period that they are likely to encounter while studying (i.e. literary modernism, Harlem Renaissance, etc.)

Day Two Reading and Analysis: - Have students read a selection of poetry from the Roaring Twenties (one example could be “The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot). - Use class discussion/whiteboard sessions to introduce some of the concepts from literary modernism and analyze the poem (i.e. use of irony, allusions, metaphor, etc.).

Day Three Reading and Analysis, cont’d.: - Using class discussion/whiteboard sessions, have students analyze the themes of the poem and how they are expressed in the language/literary techniques of the poem.

Day Four Further Analysis and Creative Writing: - Using student analysis and discussion, have students brainstorm how various themes from the poem can be applied to their own creative writing. - Invite students to write a poem/short story that incorporates themes and/or imagery from the poem to better explore the concept of the Roaring Twenties.

Days Five to Twelve - Continue repeating the reading and analysis process with more poems from the Roaring Twenties. - Encourage students to keep track of the common themes present in the poetry, as well as how they are expressed through the use of language, symbolism, and metaphor. - From this work, students will create a portfolio of their own poetry/creative writing that reflects the themes of the Roaring Twenties.

Day Thirteen Closing Discussion: - Have students examine their own portfolio of creative writing and how it reflects the themes of the Roaring Twenties. - Lead the class in a discussion about their work, as well as their overall experience studying the poetry from the period. - Discuss how the Roaring Twenties were an important period in U.S. literary history.