Lesson Plan: The Time-Traveling Poet - Using Tenses in Free Verse

Materials Needed:

• A notebook or blank paper
• A pen or pencil
• Highlighters in three different colors (e.g., yellow, pink, blue)
• The attached "Poetry Tense Mission" worksheet
• (Optional) Access to a poetry website like Poets.org for further exploration

---

Lesson Information

• Subject: Creative Writing & English Language Arts
• Student: Sarah
• Focus: Understanding and applying verb tenses to create specific effects in free verse poetry.
• Estimated Time: 60 minutes

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, Sarah will be able to:

1. Identify the primary verb tense (past, present, future) used in a free verse poem.
2. Explain how different tenses create different moods or effects (e.g., reflection, immediacy, anticipation).
3. Write an original free verse poem that intentionally uses a single tense to achieve a specific effect.

---

Lesson Procedure

Part 1: The Warm-Up - Tense as a Feeling (10 minutes)

Let's start by thinking about time. I'm going to say three sentences. After each one, I want you to tell me the first feeling or image that pops into your head.

1. "Yesterday, the sun warmed the sidewalk." (This is Past Tense. It often feels like a memory, a story, or something reflective.)
2. "Right now, the sun warms the sidewalk." (This is Present Tense. It feels immediate, like it's happening right now. It puts the reader directly in the moment.)
3. "Tomorrow, the sun will warm the sidewalk." (This is Future Tense. It can feel hopeful, full of anticipation, or even uncertain.)

Discussion: See how changing just one word—the verb—completely changes the feeling? Poets do this on purpose! They choose a tense to act like a time machine, taking the reader exactly where they want them to go. Today, you are going to be the pilot of that time machine.

Part 2: Guided Practice - Analyzing a Poem (15 minutes)

Let's look at a famous short poem by William Carlos Williams. I'll read it aloud, and then we'll read it together and hunt for verbs.

The Red Wheelbarrow

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

Activity:

1. Let's find the verbs. There's only one main one: "depends".
2. What tense is "depends"? It's present tense.
3. Why do you think the poet chose the present tense? What effect does it have?
   • It makes the scene feel very still and immediate, like we are standing there looking at the wheelbarrow with him.
   • It feels like a photograph, capturing a single, important moment in time.
   • If he had written "so much depended," it would sound like a memory or a story about the past. By using "depends," he makes it timeless and urgent.

Part 3: Independent Work - The Poetry Tense Mission (25 minutes)

Now it's your turn to be both a tense detective and a time-traveling poet! Here is your mission worksheet. Take your time with it. The goal isn't to write a long poem, but to write one where you've thought carefully about your choice of tense and the feeling it creates.

Part 4: Share and Reflect (10 minutes)

When you're finished, I would love for you to share the poem you wrote. After you read it, tell me about your choice:

• Which tense did you choose?
• Why did you choose it? What feeling were you hoping to create for your reader?

This is the most important part! Explaining your creative choice shows that you're thinking like a real writer.

Extension Activity (Optional)

Find a favorite song and look up the lyrics. Using your three highlighters, mark the verbs in the past, present, and future tenses. Do the songwriters switch tenses? If so, why do you think they made that choice at that specific moment in the song?

---

Worksheet: Poetry Tense Mission

Instructions: Complete both parts of the mission below.

Part 1: The Tense Detective

Read the short poem below. Using a highlighter, mark all the verbs. Then, answer the questions that follow.

Things
by Lisel Mueller

What happened is, we grew lonely
living among the things,
so we gave them names, sang them songs,
told them stories.
We taught them the names of the stars.
The things were not fools;
they listened and remembered everything.

1. List at least 5 verbs you found in the poem:
   ____________________________________________________________________


2. What is the main tense used in this poem? (Circle one)
   Past        Present        Future


3. Detective's Notes: How does using this tense make the poem feel? Does it feel like a memory, a myth, a scientific report, or something else? Explain your answer in 1-2 sentences.
   ____________________________________________________________________
   ____________________________________________________________________

---

Part 2: The Time-Traveling Poet

Your turn! Choose one of the prompts below. Write a short free verse poem (5-10 lines is perfect) about it. Before you start, you must decide if you will write it entirely in the PAST, PRESENT, or FUTURE tense.

Prompts (Choose One):

• The feeling of jumping into a cool swimming pool.
• A description of your pet sleeping.
• A plan for the perfect Saturday.
• The moment you first learned to ride a bike.

My Chosen Tense: (Circle One)        PAST        PRESENT        FUTURE

My Poem:

Poet's Log: Why did you choose this tense for your poem? What mood or feeling did you want to create?

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________