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"the oak is left / That grew beside their door; and the remains / Of the unfinished Sheepfold may be seen / Beside the boisterous brook of Greenhead Ghyll."
Romantics 7 - Building a Sheepfold Together - Wordsworth's "Michael" Group Work: Given the subject and theme of this lesson's poem - it is more than fitting that the students do this as a Group Work. For more than a few students, this will be the most moving piece that we read all year, and it was a rare year that a student didn't come up to me after class to talk about this simple touching story of an elderly couple who have a son late in life - and discover, too late, that the most precious think they had - was not their farm, not their sheep pastures - but, instead was that very son. The students will work together in groups and both past works from much earlier (especially pastoral poems) as well as more recent Romantic texts will come to bear as they put it all together, and share their honest reactions to the this verse which teeters between poetry and short story.
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
Quiz
Quiz
There is a quiz - and I frequently count if for 150 or 200 points as the reading is a little longer than usual.
The Group Work
The Group Work
Please see my page on Group Work for more on the how and why. As to the actual questions - well the handout (found below) is the best place for that information, but I will give a brief summary of the questions below. The instructions also inform that students that they should be at question #4 by 15 minutes into the lesson (I'll be playing an audio recording for that question). I have - in addition to the poem "Michael" handout included below the handout with my notes on it - from which these questions emerge.
Here is a brief summary of the questions - please see the actual handout for much more.
VERY IMPORTANT: Because this poem touches so many students - the first question simply has the student share (and record briefly) their favorite passages from the poem (mine is when Michael rocks his infant son).
What exactly - using all they've learned in this unit - makes this poem "Romantic"
How does Wordsworth draw the reader into the story of Michael and his wife?
(a & b). Here they will listen to a recording of a South African playwrite, Athol Fugard, talking about his play - and the students will connect what he says about memories, looking back, and appreciating what we have to the poem, "Michael".
Next - the students will compare this poem to other pastoral verse that we've studied in this class (a few are included on the back of the Group Work handout to refresh their memories.
Now they compare the poem to Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" - which we've listened to and talked about before.
Next - I love this question so much because it came from a student comment - they must examine what a student once said about this poem "It isn't fun to finish something by yourself - that you started with someone you love."
Wordsworth's "Michael" Group Work
Wordsworth's "Michael" Group Work
This two-page handout has both the Group Work questions and on the back a little background on Athol Fugard whose audio excerpt is used for question #4. It also contains two pastoral poems that are referenced in the questions - "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and "Elegy in a Country Churchyard".
Wordsworth's "Michael" Text of the Poem (and notes)
Wordsworth's "Michael" Text of the Poem (and notes)
Wordsworth's "Michael" the poem handout Docx PDF
Wordsworth's "Michael" the poem handout Docx PDF
The text of the poem - two columns to a page and complete with line numbers to help the students find textual evidence. This should be given the day before this lesson - and the students should read it on their own.
These versons (old & new) contain my notes showing how I approached the poem - and it also reveals how my Group Works come to be. The older version is missing the last page :(
Most Recent Quiz
Most Recent Quiz
If you don't quiz on the reading - the students (the vast majority) will not do the reading. It is so easy (seductive really) to believe that they would - easier for the teacher; easier for the students. But they won't - and without having done the reading - everything else is nonsense.
Michaelplaywright_athol_fugard_looks_back.mp3South African Playwright: Athol Fugard - Audio
South African Playwright: Athol Fugard - Audio
(for question 4) - This audio, taken from NPR, is a short segment on South African playwright, Athol Fugard, talking about his 2014 play, "The Shadow of the Hummingbird". It's a two-character play: The grandfather, Oupa, and the young grandson who adores him, Boba. The grandfather has led an overly intellectual life, with a passion for listing and categorizing birds he's spotted - the audio (start at 4m 50s) picks up with him talking about a diary entry that led to the play.
Remote Enhancements
Remote Enhancements
Group Work works great remotely - or it can be done solo or as an offline assignment.
Above all, Coleridge's poem is about what it means to live vicariously. The poet (or persona) has injured his foot and he can't his friends as they take an extended hike through some of the most beautiful countryside that he knows. And boy does he know that countryside. Rather than being sad or depressed that he is stuck (under a lime tree) while they venture forth - he imagines (and writes) every single thing that they see and every single joy and touch of awe that they experience. And while, the lesson works well as a Group Work - with students sharing similar experiences of having to be home while their friends did something - those two years during the Pandemic, when we collectively looked back at students experiencing things in person - together - while we tried to vicariously join them - gave us an unparralled insite into this poem.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
Thoughts on the Lesson
This poem is a great one to cite when talking about how Great Literature written hundreds of years ago - in a far away land - by people very different than us - can still speak to us, so strongly today. Many of my students would comment after reading this - that they didn't know poems could tell stories like this, and that there was so much that hasn't, over the years and the geography, changed.
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