Exploring Imagery Deeply

---

Unit Title: Exploring Identity Through Poetry

Lesson: 5 of 30

Duration: 75 minutes

Year Level: Year 7

Class Size: 30 students

Subject: English

Curriculum Alignment:

Australian Curriculum – English (Level 7):

• Literacy:
  • ACELY1723: Use interaction skills when discussing and presenting ideas and information, selecting body language and voice qualities to add interest and meaning.
  • ACELY1721: Identify and discuss main ideas and concepts in spoken texts.
• Language:
  • ACELA1525: Understand how the use of imagery and other language features can evoke emotional responses, create images and reinforce meaning.
• Literature:
  • ACELT1621: Identify the ways language features, images and vocabulary are used to represent different ideas and issues in texts.

---

Lesson Title: Exploring Imagery in Poetry

Lesson Description:

Students will deepen their understanding of how imagery evokes emotion and conveys theme in poetry. They will explore use of sensory detail in selected poems, participate in group discussions, and craft their own poem using vivid imagery to represent a personal aspect of identity.

---

Learning Intentions:

By the end of this lesson, students will:

• Understand what imagery is and how it functions in poetry.
• Identify examples of imagery in poetic texts.
• Analyse how imagery contributes to theme and emotional impact.
• Experiment with sensory language to create imagery in their own writing.

---

Success Criteria:

Students can:
✔ Define imagery and explain its purpose.
✔ Find and annotate examples of imagery in a poem.
✔ Discuss how imagery affects mood and meaning.
✔ Apply imagery effectively in a creative poem.

---

Resources:

• Printed copies of two short Australian poems (see Mini Anthology below)
• Highlighters (1 per student)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Student workbooks or exercise books
• Sticky notes
• “Sensory Language Bank” handout (prepared prior) with lists of sensory words grouped by sense
• Exit ticket slips (pre-cut, small paper)

---

Mini Anthology (Selections for Today):

Two short poems by Australian poets:

1. "Core of My City" by Maxine Beneba Clarke (urban imagery, identity)
2. "Mulga Bill’s Bicycle" (extract) by A.B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson (visual and kinaesthetic imagery)

---

Lesson Sequence

1. A Warm Welcome (10 mins)

Objective: Activate prior knowledge, reinforce classroom rapport and norms.

• Welcome students with a smile and check-in question: "If your mood today was a colour, what colour would it be?" (Quick whip around – 1 word only)
• Recap previous lesson's content: Discuss briefly how poets use figurative language to express identity. Ask: "What are some techniques we learnt last time?"
• Introduce today’s focus: “Today we’re zooming in on imagery—language that helps us see, hear, feel, taste, or smell what the poet is describing. We’re going to explore how imagery helps poets show, not tell, and how it connects to themes like identity.”

---

2. Explicit Imagery Instruction (10 mins)

Objective: Build understanding of imagery through direct teaching and modelling.

• Write IMAGERY = language that appeals to the five senses on the board. Add: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell.
• Show 3 short example lines (on board or projector) and annotate them together:
  1. The wind howled through empty streets (auditory)
  2. Her hands were dry like cracked clay (tactile and visual)
  3. Fresh eucalyptus filled the air after the rain (olfactory)
• Ask students: What do you notice? What mood do these lines create?

Engagement Tip: Invite one student to act as the “Imagery Identifier”—they point to each sense as it’s used. Rotate this role weekly.

---

3. Guided Poetry Analysis (15 mins)

Objective: Identify and discuss imagery in real poems.

• Distribute printed copies of "Core of My City" (ideal for multicultural, modern context and urban setting relevant to student lives).
• Read aloud once as a class (teacher models tone and emphasis).
• Second reading: students read silently and highlight any words or phrases that create strong “pictures” or sensations.
• Share in pairs: Which line stood out as most vivid? Why?
• Class debrief: Build list on board of imagery types found—label sense beside each example.

---

4. Visualisation Activity (10 mins)

Objective: Deepen engagement with sensory language and encourage interpretive thinking.

• Read selected stanza from "Mulga Bill’s Bicycle" (extract includes strong visual/kinaesthetic imagery).
• Ask students to close their eyes as it’s read aloud.
• Prompt: What did you see? What did you feel? Were there any tastes or sounds that came to mind?
• Students write 3 descriptive sentences in their workbooks starting with
  • I saw…
  • I felt…
  • I heard…

Optional extension: Turn this into a quick pair-share where each student reads their three sensory lines aloud.

---

5. Poetry Creation Task (20 mins)

Objective: Create original poem using sensory language to express identity.

• Introduce task: “You will now write your own short free-verse poem (8–12 lines) using strong imagery to express something unique about your identity. This could be your home, culture, favourite place, a food memory, a feeling—anything that’s you.”
• Hand out “Sensory Language Bank” to provide vocabulary support.
• Students work individually. Teacher roves, providing feedback and encouragement.
• Emphasise use of at least 3 different senses in their poem.

---

6. Gallery Walk and Review (5 mins)

Objective: Encourage peer sharing and celebrate creativity.

• Students place their poems on desks. Half the class walks around and reads; the other half stays with their poem. After 3 minutes, swap roles.
• Ask each student to leave a sticky note with a star (positive comment) and a lightbulb (a question or suggestion about their use of imagery).

---

7. Reflect and Exit (5 mins)

Objective: Reflect on learning and reinforce takeaways.

• Distribute exit slips. Prompt:
  • One line of imagery I’m proud of is…
  • Today I learnt that imagery can…
• Collect on the way out. Use for formative assessment.

---

Differentiation:

• Support: Provide sentence starters and visuals for EAL/D students or struggling writers. Peer pairing during annotation phase.
• Extension: Challenge advanced writers to use metaphor within imagery or shift tone mid-way through their poem.

---

Assessment Opportunities

• Informal formative assessment via:
  • Student contributions during class discussion
  • Highlighted annotations during guided analysis
  • Teacher observations during writing time
  • Final poem and exit slip analysis

---

Teacher Reflection Prompts (Post-Lesson)

• Which senses were students most comfortable using in their writing?
• Did students connect imagery to personal identity well?
• Whose poem demonstrates a particularly strong voice or vivid use of imagery? How can I showcase their work?

---

Wow Factor Tip
Consider combining visual arts for a future lesson—have students illustrate one image from their poem using watercolour or pastel and mount alongside their writing for a poetry gallery.

---

Next Lesson Preview

Lesson 6: Identity Through Symbolism
Students will examine how poets use symbols—objects, colours, animals—to represent emotions, values, and identity.