Writing with Conviction

This is lesson 14 of 18 in the unit "Poetry: Craft, Revise, Perform". Lesson Title: Writing with Conviction Lesson Description: Group/year level: Years 7–8. Timing: 0–4 listen for stance; 4–10 model read; 10–15 analyse repetition and audience; 15–24 draft; 24–28 deliver a section; 28–30 feedback. Teacher preparation: Prepare stance continuum and performance-poetry annotation sheet. Learning intention: We are learning to shape a performance poem through voice, repetition, contrast and direct address. Success criteria: I communicate a clear stance; I use a deliberate repeated phrase or structural pattern; I vary line length for emphasis; I address or position an audience; I select language that is forceful without becoming vague. Curriculum: Phase 3 Creating Texts—craft voice, rhetoric, rhythm and structure for audience; present and respond to texts. Model—original mentor text: “Not Just a Number / I am not just a number / on a roll, a chart, a screen. / I am the question I keep asking, / the sketch beneath the homework, / the friend who notices / when someone eats alone. / Count the steps I take toward courage. / Count the times I begin again. / Do not reduce me to a result— / I am still becoming.” Ask: “What is repeated and why?” “Where does the speaker move from resistance to possibility?” “Which line would you emphasise in performance?” Students choose a belief or issue, draft using a repeated anchor line and three developments, then perform eight lines to a partner. Support: anchor-line frames, rehearsal with teacher, private recording and paired drafting; extension: use refrain variation, rhetorical question or strategic silence. Assessment: partner identifies stance and evidence; teacher listens for structural control. Resources: model, stance continuum, annotation sheet, recording option.

Overview

Lesson 14 of 18 in Poetry: Craft, Revise, Perform. Students analyse how a performance poem communicates a strong stance, then draft and perform eight lines using voice, repetition, contrast and direct address.

Learning intentions

WALT shape a performance poem for a specific audience.
WALT use repetition, contrast, rhythm and direct address to communicate a belief.
WALT select forceful, precise language.
WALT perform poetry using voice, pace and emphasis.

Success criteria

I can communicate a clear stance about an issue or belief.
I can use a repeated phrase or structural pattern deliberately.
I can vary line length and delivery for emphasis.
I can position or address an audience using precise, forceful language.

Curriculum links

Phase 3 Creating Texts: craft voice, rhetoric, rhythm and structure for a purpose and audience.
Phase 3 Creating Texts: select and shape language to communicate ideas and viewpoints.
Phase 3 Oral Language: present ideas clearly and respond constructively to others’ texts.
NCEA-aligned skills: develop, revise and perform crafted written and spoken texts.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

0–4 minutes – Listen for stance. Open with the hook and listening prompt. Read the opening lines of the model poem aloud, or play a teacher recording. Students silently decide where the speaker sits on the displayed stance continuum: strongly disagree, unsure, or strongly agree. Invite two or three students to explain which words revealed the speaker’s position.
4–10 minutes – Model a performance read. Display and read the complete mentor text, “Not Just a Number”. Read it once naturally, then again with deliberate pauses, emphasis and changes in pace. Students follow on the performance-poetry annotation and drafting sheet and mark one line they would emphasise. Ask: “What is repeated and why?” and “Which line would you emphasise in performance?”
10–15 minutes – Analyse craft and audience. Use the model-poem analysis slides to identify the repeated “I am…” pattern, the repetition of “Count”, the contrast between “result” and “still becoming”, and the direct command “Do not reduce me”. Students annotate these features on the worksheet. Discuss: “Where does the speaker move from resistance to possibility?” and “Who is the speaker addressing or positioning?”
15–24 minutes – Draft eight lines. Students choose a belief or issue relevant to their lives, school or community, such as fairness, belonging, the environment, friendship or online pressure. On the worksheet, they write an anchor line and develop it three times with specific images or examples. Encourage one short line for impact, one longer line for detail, and a final line that leaves the audience thinking. Circulate, conferencing briefly with students about clarity and precision.
24–28 minutes – Rehearse and perform. Students practise their eight lines once, then deliver them to a partner. Partners listen for stance, repeated language, variation in line length and audience positioning. Students may use the rehearsal and performance prompts to guide voice, pace, pause and emphasis.
28–30 minutes – Give focused feedback. Partners give one specific strength and one next step using the sentence frames on the worksheet: “Your stance is clear when…” and “You could make the audience notice…”. Ask students to circle one revision they will make before the next lesson’s fuller performance.

Resources

the introduction, model analysis, rehearsal and plenary slide deck
the performance-poetry annotation and drafting sheet
Printed or projected mentor text: “Not Just a Number”
Whiteboard and pens
Stance continuum displayed across the room
Optional private recording device or classroom tablet
Student writing books or pencils

Assessment

Listen during partner performances for a clear stance, controlled structure, purposeful repetition and audience awareness.
Check annotations for identification of repetition, contrast, direct address and movement from resistance to possibility.
Collect or scan drafts, noting language precision, varied line length and one clear next step for revision.

Differentiation

Provide anchor-line frames such as “I am not just…”, “Count the times…”, or “Do not mistake me for…”. Offer a word bank of precise verbs and sensory nouns.
Allow paired drafting, rehearsal with the teacher, or a private recording instead of an immediate live performance. Read the model aloud more than once and display it in a clear, accessible font.
Support EAL learners with oral rehearsal before writing, visual examples of contrast, and permission to use a familiar home or community issue.
Extend confident writers by varying the refrain, adding a rhetorical question, using a strategic silence, or shifting deliberately between resistance and possibility.

Teaching Instructions