Teacher's Guide:

Personal Timeline Poetry

an original poem about events in one's own lifespan, where words and sentences create emphasis and meaning

This lesson was created by Northern Nevada Writing Project Consultant Kim Cuevas.

This writing prompt inspired by

"We Didn't Start The Fire" by Billy Joel

Click here to do a Google search for the lyrics.

Teacher Instructions & Lesson Resources:

Pre-step…before sharing the song:  This lesson works best when you have had students do a bit of research before they actually begin. I have students do some quick internet research before we begin the in class writing portion and ask that they find one event for each year they have been alive. I like to make this assignment open, so I ask students to look for any events of national or world significance for their list. Mainly, I don’t want them coming back to class with a list of personal events (although this could certainly be an adaptation for young students). You can also tailor the list to your content area or the area/time period on which you would like students to focus.

Next you will need to introduce the trait of sentence fluency and spend some time discussing sentence fluency with students. I generally use the PowerPoint for my talking points on sentence fluency. I start by asking students to show me a fist to five indicating how much they know about the trait of sentence fluency, and usually, I discover that the majority of students have a bit left to learn. I use Vickie Spandel’s metaphor of sentence fluency and talk about it as the rhythm of the text and creating the musical quality of text. So when I talk to students about sentence fluency, I use a song as an example.

Step one…sharing the song and other inspiring media:  Distribute the graphic organizer titled “Sentence Fluency Four Square,” and get ready to play the video and song. The first time students hear and see the song, they will be focusing only on the trait of sentence fluency. You could just have students listen to “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” but the video which matches visual images with all of the events in the song is an excellent resource. Because 86% of students are visual or visual/kinesthetic learners, adding a visual component to classroom instruction if you are able is always good teaching practice. Have students look over the graphic organizer and make sure everyone knows what he or she will be listening for in the song. After you have shown the video or listened to the song, have students work together to complete the graphic organizer with examples from the song. I usually hand out the words to the song at this point so that students have access to the text as they are completing their graphic organizers. I like to play the song, without the video, in the background. After the students have had a chance to work, have them share their organizers with the whole class.

I then move to idea development as the next focus trait. Most students are familiar with idea development, but I tell them we will be thinking about it in a way that is a bit different. We talk about the fact that an idea development isn’t about the amount of detail, but how vivid the detail is, and we talk about how sometimes an entire idea can be stated in one word. We look at how that is represented in the song (i.e. “Woodstock” vs “terror on the airline” and “Malcom X” vs “JFK blown away, what else do I have to say?”) I have them refer to their own research lists for example that they brought have (9/11 vs Brittney Spears shaves her head.)

I talk a bit about lists because “We Didn’t Start the Fire” is really a list, but it is a finely-crafted list that is arranged to create a message. It is a chronological list, but it also rhymes and has a very specific rhythm. “These Are A Few of My Favorite Things” is another great example of song that is nothing more than a list, but again, a finely-crafted list.

Step two…introducing student models of writing:  Tell students, "In the student models, you will be focusing on the trait of idea development. Use an Idea Development Post-It Note to rank the writer. What has he or she done particularly well? Be ready to defend your position with examples from the text."

• Because this is a new lesson at WritingFix, we're looking for student samples for all grade levels for this prompt! 

Step three…thinking, talking, and pre-writing:  Now it is time to write, but first, students need a lot of ideas to choose from. I like to begin the writing with what I call a “Five Minute Free For All Brain Storming.” Before class, I have placed one poster for each year on the walls around the classroom and give each student a marker. This is where the research students did at home comes into play. I give students five minutes to circulate around the classroom and transfer the information from their personal lists to the posters. After the brainstorm, students can begin writing their poems using ideas from the brainstorm posters. I remind them to think about sentence fluency and idea development as they are writing their poems.

Students can include any type of reference in their poems. Remind them that Billy Joel's song contains a diverse collection of references--political, Hollywood, military, etc. The interactive button on the student instructions page might inpire student writers to add more breadth to their poem's references.

To promote deeper thinking about the trait of idea development as they write, you might have your students use this idea development drafting sheet, which requires them to think specifically about idea development qualities before, during, and after writing.

Step four (revising with specific trait language):   To promote response and revision to rough draft writing, attach WritingFix's Revision and Response Post-Its to your students' drafts.  Make sure the students rank their use of the trait-specific skills on the Post-Its, which means they'll only have one "1" and one "5."   Have them commit to ideas for revision based on their Post-It rankings.  For more ideas on WritingFix's Revision & Response Post-Its, click here.

• Sheet of 6 Sentence Fluency Post-It Notes
• Sheet of 6 Idea Development Post-It Notes

Step six (publishing for the portfolio):  The goal of most lessons posted at WritingFix is that students end up with a piece of writing they like, and that their writing was taken through all steps of the writing process. After revising, invite your students to come back to this piece once more during an upcoming writer's workshop block.  The writing started with this lesson might become even more polished for final placement in the portfolio, or the big ideas being written about here might transform into a completely different piece of writing. Most likely, your students will enjoy creating an illustration for this writing as they ready to place final drafts in their portfolios.

Interested in publishing student work on-line? You might earn a free classroom resource from the NNWP! We invite teachers to teach this lesson completely, then share up to three of their students' best revised and edited samples at our ning's Publish Student Writers group. Fifty teachers a year who do this will receive a complimentary copy of one of the Northern Nevada Writing Project's Print Guides.

To submit student samples for this page's lesson, click here. You won't be able to post unless you are a verified member of this site's Writing Lesson of the Month ning.

Learn more about Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" by clicking here.