To assist students in seeing mathematical connections to literature/poetry
To encourage students to transfer classroom information to real life/
practical applications
Student Objectives:
To be able to see patterns in poetry (and/or music)
To reproduce a pattern or sequence from a sample and incorporate it
into an original product
To communicate ideas, thoughts or feelings through poetry
Teaching Strategies:
Discussion
Demonstration
Modeling
Individual Work
Prerequisite Information:
Students have been thoroughly introduced to the Fibonacci numbers.
This lesson should reinforce the sequence as well as emphasize its occurrence
across many disciplines.
Anticipatory Set:
Read a selection of poetry, a limerick, a sonnet. etc. to the class.
Ask student to listen and try to identify the number of beats in a line
or the pattern of rhyme. Tell them that there are many forms or styles
of writing poems and that most use some sort of pattern.
Materials:
Worksheet
Pencil/Paper
Procedure:
1. Hand out worksheet. Read over it with students.
2. Give other examples of limericks or Diamente if necessary.
3. Have students help as you model how to write one of each type of
poem.
4. Students should try writing their own poems.
5. If students finish, they may wish to share their work with the class.
(You may wish to proofread for content first.)
Assessment:
Finished product should exhibit given pattern.
Enrichment:
Students may do any of the following for extra credit or as an enrichment
activity:
1) Find Fibonacci numbers in other poetry styles: Ballads, cinquains,
Haiku, sonnets, etc. Describe the patterns you find. Or, create a poem
in one of these styles.
2) Poetry and music are closely related. Find the Fibonacci numbers
in a song. Write the lyrics and show where the numbers are in the words
or meter (beat) of the song.
3) Write a song of your own. Tell how the Fibonacci numbers are used
in it.
4) Describe how music (not lyrics-- but notes, time signatures, key,
scales, etc) uses Fibonacci numbers.
Language Arts 2.A.3a: Identify and analyze a variety of literary
techniques (e.g., figurative language, allusion, dialogue, description,
symbolixm, word choice, dialect) inclassic and contemporary literature
representing a variety of forms and media.
Language Arts 2.b.3a: Respond to literary material from personal,
creative and critical points of view.
Language Arts 5.C.3b: Prepare and orally present original work
(e.g., poems, monologues, reports, plays, stories) supported by research.