Practical Poetry Program: "Sleepless Night" (Single PDF Lesson Plan)
"Sleepless Night" explores the relationship between Power and Consciousness in terms of life, death, and choice.
"Sleepless Night" is an excellent first poem for students to explore. It is short, simple, rhymes, and contains relatively low-level vocabulary. In addition, the simple narrative about a spider that escapes with its life is not at all intimidating for students inexperienced with poetry. Perspective, point-of-view, power, consciousness, and choice are just a few of the possible subjects of discussion with students.
All of our lesson plans feature a unique three step process focusing on text elements, visual elements, and audio commentary, along with group discussions and written reflection essays designed to support high school ELA programs and curriculum through a practical, flexible, and unique natural growth process of teaching poetry.
"Sleepless Night" by Frank Elkins ©2016
it would be...
To put him out
of my misery.
But exhausted and tired I started to sway –
And allowed the spider to scurry away:
And in that state of mind did stray...
Was God too tired –
to kill me today?
