1. Language Arts: Thursday, February 14, 2019
Handouts: * None
Homework: * Poem Project—Planning Sheet due tomorrow * Poem Project, poem and illustration, due Feb. 22, BOC
Assignments due: * None

2. Lesson Goal: Students will learn the distinctive features of limerick poetry.
Outcomes: Be able to . . .
Learn the distinctive features of limerick poetry.
Analyze students’ limericks to determine whether they meet the prescribed format.
Present limericks to the class.
Demonstrate their ability as a supportive, encouraging audience.

3. Starter #1 Last week we learned that a limerick is a humorous five-line poem that always follows this pattern:
* Three long lines that rhyme (lines 1, 2, and 5)
* Two short lines that rhyme (lines 3 and 4)
* It also follows a strict pattern of beats.
Here’s the formula
Rhythm or Beats Pattern Rhyme Scheme
Line 1: da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (3 DUMS) A
Line 2: da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (3 DUMS) A
Line 3: da DUM da da DUM (2 DUMS) B
Line 4: da DUM da da DUM (2 DUMS) B
Line 5: da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (3 DUMS) A

4. Starter #2 Then we analyzed your limerick by asking these questions:
1. Does it have five lines?
2. Are lines 1, 2, and 5 longer and about the same length?
3. Are lines 3 and 4 shorter and about the same length?
4. Is the rhyme scheme AABBA?
5. When you read it aloud, does it sound like it has the beats pattern that’s on the handout?
6. Is the limerick humorous?
7. Are all the words spelled correctly?
8. Does it have some punctuation?
9. Did the author include a rough draft?
10. Does the rough draft reveal that effort was put into this?
That is, is there evidence of editing and re-writing?
 We counted up all the “Yes” answers and wrote that number over /10.

5. Starter #3 Now it’s your turn to share your limerick with the class.
Remember that we as an audience are dependent upon you as a reader—if you read too fast or speak too softly, we can’t process or appreciate what you are sharing.
Eventually we would like to share your limericks online. How will we decide which limericks should be featured?
Here’s my suggestion: Take out a sheet of paper. Create a heading with your name, the date, and your class. You will use this sheet to evaluate all the limericks you hear. Let’s give each limerick ratings as follows:
P P P-
Rhythm Rhyme scheme Humorous Original Overall Rating Names