Letter poems deliver: Experimenting with line breaks in poetry writing

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 3

• Goal 2: The learner will apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
  • Objective 2.03: Read a variety of texts, including:
    • fiction (short stories, novels, fantasies, fairy tales, fables).
    • nonfiction (biographies, letters, articles, procedures and instructions, charts, maps).
    • poetry (proverbs, riddles, limericks, simple poems).
    • drama (skits, plays).
  • Objective 2.08: Listen actively by:
    • facing the speaker.
    • making eye contact.
    • asking questions to clarify the message.
    • asking questions to gain additional information and ideas.
• Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
  • Objective 3.01: Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by:
    • considering the differences among genres.
    • relating plot, setting, and characters to own experiences and ideas.
    • considering main character's point of view.
    • participating in creative interpretations.
    • making inferences and drawing conclusions about characters and events.
    • reflecting on learning, gaining new insights, and identifying areas for further study.
  • Objective 3.02: Identify and discuss similarities and differences in events, characters, concepts and ideas within and across selections and support them by referencing the text.
  • Objective 3.05: Compare and contrast printed and visual information (e.g., graphs, charts, maps).
• Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
  • Objective 4.04: Use planning strategies (with assistance) to generate topics and to organize ideas (e.g., drawing, mapping, discussing, listing).
  • Objective 4.07: Compose a variety of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama selections using self-selected topics and forms (e.g., poems, simple narratives, short reports, learning logs, letters, notes, directions, instructions).
  • Objective 4.08: Focus reflection and revision (with assistance) on target elements by:
    • clarifying ideas.
    • adding descriptive words and phrases.
    • sequencing events and ideas.
    • combining short, related sentences.
    • strengthening word choice.
  • Objective 4.09: Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., personal narrative, short report, friendly letter, directions and instructions).
  • Objective 4.10: Explore technology as a tool to create a written product.
• Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
  • Objective 5.01: Use correct capitalization (e.g., geographical place names, holidays, special events, titles) and punctuation (e.g., commas in greetings, dates, city and state; underlining book titles; periods after initials and abbreviated titles; apostrophes in contractions).
  • Objective 5.02: Use correct subject/verb agreement.
  • Objective 5.06: Proofread own writing for spelling and correct most misspellings independently with reference to resources (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, word walls).
  • Objective 5.07: Edit (with assistance) to use conventions of written language and format.
  • Objective 5.08: Create readable documents with legible handwriting (manuscript and cursive).

Grade 4

• Goal 2: The learner will apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
  • Objective 2.03: Read a variety of texts, including:
    • fiction (legends, novels, folklore, science fiction).
    • nonfiction (autobiographies, informational books, diaries, journals).
    • poetry (concrete, haiku).
    • drama (skits, plays).
• Goal 3: The learner will make connections with text through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
  • Objective 3.01: Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by:
    • analyzing the impact of authors' word choice and context.
    • examining the reasons for characters' actions.
    • identifying and examining characters' motives.
    • considering a situation or problem from different characters' points of view.
    • analyzing differences among genres.
    • making inferences and drawing conclusions about characters, events and themes.
• Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
  • Objective 4.05: Use planning strategies to generate topics and organize ideas (e.g., brainstorming, mapping, webbing, reading, discussion).
  • Objective 4.07: Compose fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using self-selected and assigned topics and forms (e.g., personal and imaginative narratives, research reports, diaries, journals, logs, rules, instructions).
  • Objective 4.09: Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., personal and imaginative narrative, research reports, learning logs, letters of request, letters of complaint).
  • Objective 4.10: Use technology as a tool to gather, organize, and present information.
• Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
  • Objective 5.01: Use correct capitalization (e.g., names of languages, nationalities, musical compositions) and punctuation (e.g., commas in a series, commas in direct address, commas and quotation marks in dialogue, apostrophes in possessives).
  • Objective 5.06: Proofread and correct most misspellings independently with reference to resources (e.g., dictionaries, thesauri, glossaries, computer spell-checks, and other classroom sources).
  • Objective 5.07: Use established criteria to edit for language conventions and format.
  • Objective 5.09: Create readable documents through legible handwriting and/or word processing.

Grade 5

• Goal 2: The learner will apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
  • Objective 2.03: Read a variety of texts, such as:
    • fiction (tall tales, myths).
    • nonfiction (books of true experience, newspaper and magazine articles, schedules).
    • poetry (narrative, lyric, and cinquains).
    • drama (plays and skits).
• Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
  • Objective 3.01: Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by:
    • analyzing word choice and content.
    • examining reasons for a character's actions, taking into account the situation and basic motivation of the character.
    • creating and presenting a product that effectively demonstrates a personal response to a selection or experience.
    • examining alternative perspectives.
    • evaluating the differences among genres.
    • examining relationships among characters.
    • making and evaluating inferences and conclusions about characters, events and themes.
• Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
  • Objective 4.05: Use a variety of preliminary strategies to plan and organize the writing and speaking task considering purpose, audience, and timeline.
  • Objective 4.07: Compose a variety of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using self-selected topic and format (e.g., poetry, research reports, news articles, letters to the editor, business letters).
  • Objective 4.08: Focus revision on target elements by:
    • improving word choice.
    • rearranging text for clarity.
    • creating simple and/or complex sentences for clarity or impact.
    • developing a lead, characters, or mood.
  • Objective 4.09: Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., clarification, essay, feature story, business letter).
  • Objective 4.10: Use technology as a tool to enhance and/or publish a product.
• Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
  • Objective 5.01: Consistently use correct capitalization (e.g., names of magazines, newspapers, organizations) and punctuation (e.g., colon to introduce a list, commas in apposition, commas used in compound sentences).
  • Objective 5.06: Proofread for accuracy of spelling using appropriate strategies to confirm spelling and to correct errors.
  • Objective 5.07: Edit final product for grammar, language conventions, and format.
  • Objective 5.08: Create readable documents through legible handwriting and word processing.