Sappho: Poems and Fragments Lesson Plan

The Breakup Song

Kind of Activity:

Collaborative Writing

Objective:

Students will explore how Sappho's poems about lost love are similar to contemporary "breakup songs."

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.4,

Structure:

The common theme of this day's poems is the dissolution of romantic relationships, or in today's parlance, "breakups." Begin the activity by asking the students how they would describe the breakups in these poems. Guide discussion with the following questions:

1. What are the circumstances of the two breakups?

2. How does the speaker/Atthis feel about the...