Objectives:

1. To enable the students to see how poetry illuminates the human condition, thus encouraging them to reflect upon their own lives.
2. To expose the students to modern American poetry.
3. To encourage the students' own creativity.

Class level:
yod/ yod aleph five point classes (suitably adapted, it could work well in a four-pt. class, I think)

Lesson 1:

1. Lead-in discussion. I ask the students how many of them engage in artistic activities, such as painting, sculpture, dance, etc.? Then, how many of them engage in creative writing? What do they get out of it? The pupils quickly point out how these activities enable them to express their emotions, pain and joy, etc. I then point out ("Since you've mentioned intense emotions...") the universality of human feelings and their effect on our lives.
2. Brief introduction to Robert Frost. I unfold a map of the U.S., (the extent of my progressive audio-visual techniques!) and have them guess where "New England" is, why it's called such, etc. I write Robert Frost's name and dates on the board, mention that he was a New England poet who used the seasons and nature in his poetry.
3. I write the poem on the board. I've found that the flow of the poem on the board and the students' copying from the board has an effect which is absent from handing out a photocopied version. There's something about its terseness and compactness which lends itself to surprises as the students copy it down into their notebooks.
4. I read the poem twice. Then, write new vocabulary on the board.
5. I draw three circular "suns" on the board, labelled "fire," "ice" and "world." I have the pupils list (and then tell) all the emotions they can think of that are "fiery" emotions. They come out with---desire, jealousy, anger, rage, greed, burning ambition , etc. I label each "ray " of the "sun" with those words. I have them do the same with "icy" emotions---indifference, hate, rejection, abandonment, loneliness, emptiness, etc. Then, I ask them , "What kinds of 'worlds' are there?" They usually say...the physical world, the Earth, the world between nations. I usually add, "The world of relationships....the world inside the individual," and so on. Then I ask them the key question, "What do you think the writer wants to express about intense human emotions?" They come out with "destruction ," how human beings can destroy worlds through the power of emotions, and so on.
6. At this point, there are pupils who usually ask, "Is this a poem? What's so poetic about it?," which leads to the discussion about the tone and style of the poem; the powerful contrast between the explosive content of the poem and its dry, objective, almost scientific style.
7. Homework: to draw a picture or write a poem connected with what you feel about the theme "fire and ice." (SOME STUDENT POEMS CAN BE SEEN IN THE "STUDENT WRITING"LINK).
8. The next day---hearing the poems, looking at the amazing artwork (which is hung up in the classroom), and having the students explain their work.
9. Computer room activity---taken practically chapter and verse from Adele Raemer's marvelous internet activity here on ETNI based on "The Road Not Taken." However, I redid the worksheet, since the Encyclopedia Britannica site is not longer available.