Introduction
Task
Students will go through each link to gain background knowledge regarding the World War I era to develop an understanding of Siegfried Sassoon's poem "Repression of War Experience." They will then form an analysis based on the poem's structure, rhetorical devices, and aesthetic impact to prepare for a Socratic Seminar. Students will be asked to form two responses and develop two questions about the poem once they have viewed and read through each resource.
Academic Standards:
RL 11-12.5: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
Process
Introduction to the WWI Era
View this CrashCourse video to get a sense of the time period and how the war impacted both soldiers and civilians.
If extra time allows, watch this video of WWI Veteran Harry Patch, who lived to 112, as he recounts his war experience.
Siegfried Sassoon: "Repression of War Experience"
Who was Siegfried Sassoon?
Sassoon was a decorated WWI soldier and poet. Many of his works provided a detailed insight of trench warfare and the after effects later known as "shell shock" or PTSD. For more detailed information, skim through this website.
Read "Repression of War Experience" aloud at least once on your own and include annotations.
If needed, here is an audiobook of the poem for a multi-sensory experience.
Resources: Annotations
Ms. Grangetto has provided a Poem Annotation To-Do list and a short Loom Video detailing expectations for each section of the poem. Students should be noting initial reactions, making personal connections, looking at rhetorical devices, and paying attention to the poem's overall structure.
Evaluation
After exploring through each resource develop two responses and two questions in regards to the poem which will be discussed in class during a Socratic Seminar.
Conclusion
By going through these resources, students will understand how war experiences have impacted literature and society as a whole. Great poets like Siegfried Sassoon have created works that impact generations of students for years to come. Through poetry, students can peer into the past to comprehend the emotion associated with the after-effects of war and analyze how the correlations of such events directly impacted today's society.
Credits
All website addresses are available throughout the process page.
Teacher Page
Created by Teacher Candidates Elise Grangetto and Jannice Sandoval
TESP 511
Fall 2 2020