Lesson 45: Literary Analysis and Original Poem: Write an Author’s Note

Have students keep their poem drafts out on their desks so they can refer to the image or symbol they chose to develop.

Think-Pair-Share

• Say: In the last lesson, we drafted poems built around one strong image or symbol and tested whether that image or symbol could adequately express feeling and meaning. Today, you are finishing another part of the performance task by writing the author’s note, where you will explain why you chose your image or symbol and what it accomplishes in your poem.

Say these Directions: Take a moment to review the following prompt and to think of your response. Then share your ideas with a partner.

• Ask: What is the difference between naming the image or symbol you used and explaining what it represents and why you used it?

  • Telling says what the image is, like “I used a red thread.” Explaining shows what it means and why I chose it, like “I used a red thread because it can show both family connection and pressure, which fits my poem’s theme of belonging.”

Connection to Today's Learning:

• Say: Now that you have explicitly answered the what and why questions, you are ready to learn what a strong explanation sounds like.

Language Study

Say these Directions: We are going to study what makes an author’s note sound thoughtful and precise. Then we are going to revise a few unclear example sentences so we can address similar issues in our own writing.

Display “Family Ties” on page 106 and read these lines:

Read these lines from “Family Ties” on page 106:

Target Line

"She believed I didn’t need to be split in two,

that I could be whole"

Display the model author’s note based on the line:

that I could be whole"

Read the author’s note based on the line:

“I chose the symbol of “Family Ties” because it shows how Amma’s love continues to affect Reha even after Amma is gone, which helped me show that I can still feel whole through connection to my family.”

• Ask: How do all three parts of the sentence work together to explain the writer’s thinking clearly?

  • The sentence first names the symbol, then explains why it matters, and finally shows what the symbol does in the poem. All parts work together to clearly explain the writer’s purpose.

Teach: Explaining Why and Fixing Sentence Confusion

• Say: When I write an author’s note, I have to do more than point at a device and name it. If I write “I used family ties as a symbol,” that only tells what I did, and the reader still does not know my reason. A stronger note explains why that image mattered and what it helped me show, so I add language like “because,” “which helped me,” or “this choice shows.”

• Say: I also want to watch my sentence order because if the opening phrase is hanging there without a clear subject, the sentence sounds confusing. For example: “After reading ‘Family Ties,’ the image of connection was chosen to show how love continues.” This leaves out who did the choosing. I would revise it to: “After reading ‘Family Ties,’ I chose the symbol of ‘family ties’ to show how Amma’s love continues even after she is gone. Now the sentence names the writer and clearly explains the reason.

• Say: One quick note: today we mostly need the noun effect to name what the craft choice accomplishes, not the verb affect.

Display the following draft examples:

Say these Directions: Review the following draft examples:

• Sentence A: After reading “Family Ties,” the image of connection was chosen to show love continuing.

• Sentence B: In my author’s note of Amma, I explain family.

• Ask: How would you revise Sentence A so the modifier is clear and the sentence shows who made the choice?

  • After reading “Family Ties,” I chose the symbol of family ties to show love continuing. This makes it clear who made the choice.

• Ask: How would you revise Sentence B so the word order is more logical?

  • In my author’s note, I explain how Amma represents family connection and lasting love. This makes the sentence clearer and more specific.

Connection to Today's Learning:

• Say: You have now practiced the sentence move you will need in your own author’s notes: name the craft choice, explain why it was chosen, and show what it does in the poem. You just revised one sentence, now you’ll use that same structure to build your full author’s note.

Part A: Explaining Your Craft Choices (W.7.4) (15 minutes)

Think-Pair-Write-Share

Say these Directions: Reread your poem and find the image or symbol that does the most work. Reread the final 2-3 lines of your poem and ask yourself:

• Does my ending reflect on the experience in the poem?

• Does the speaker realize, understand, or feel something differently by the end?

• Does the final image carry deeper meaning than it did earlier in the poem?

• If needed, revise your ending before drafting your author’s note. You may: add a realization, return to the image with a changed meaning, or deepen the emotional meaning of the final lines.

• Say: Before you begin drafting your author’s note, pause and reread the ending of your poem. Because this is a narrative poem, the ending should not only describe a final image — it should also reflect on the experience or feeling the speaker has moved through.

• Say: If your ending only repeats an image without reflection, revise inside the poem now. You might add a small turn where the speaker realizes something, a changed understanding, or a final image with a new understanding. The author’s note can explain your craft choices, but it does not replace reflection inside the poem itself. The poem’s ending must do that work first.

• Say: For example, if a poem ends with “The train card stayed in my pocket,” that describes an image, but it may not fully reflect on the experience. A stronger ending might be: “The train card stayed in my pocket, reminding me that I was still learning how to belong in more than one place.” The second version reflects on what the experience means for the speaker, not just what object appears at the end.

• Say: Turn to your partner and say three things in order: the image, what from the unit inspired it, and why you built the poem around it. Then use your rehearsal to draft a three-to-five-sentence author’s note in your journal or Student Edition that includes at least one sentence using because and which helped me show to clearly explain your craft choice. Practice saying your explanation aloud clearly and with emphasis so a listener can follow your thinking. This is the same way you will present your poem and author’s note.

• Say: Now that you have explicitly answered the what and why questions, you are ready to learn what a strong explanation sounds like.

• Ask: What example from this unit most influenced your choice of an image or symbol?

  • “Family Ties” influenced me because it shows how someone can still feel close to a person even after they are gone. That helped me choose my image of a letter because it represents a connection that continues as a permanent record.

• Ask: What does your image or symbol help show or express?

  • My image does more work because it keeps returning and changing meaning. The letter starts as something simple, but by the end it shows memory, love, and connection all together.

Teach: Modeling a Strong Author’s Note

• Say: I am going to check whether my note only describes the poem or actually explains my decisions.

• First, I name the image clearly so the reader knows what carries the poem.

• Next, I connect that image to something we studied in the unit because the note should show what inspired me as a writer.

• Then I explain why I chose that image and what it helps show. I also make sure my sentences are connected, so I use words like because, also, and by the end to show how my ideas fit together.

• If I hear myself only listing craft moves, I stop and ask, “What effect did that move have?” That question helps me turn a weak note into a thoughtful explanation.

• Say: Strong author’s notes explain what the image does, not just what it is. Make sure you explain why this specific image was the right choice—not just what inspired your poem.

Display the following writing model if needed for support and guidance:

In my poem, I chose a letter as my main image. I was thinking about how in “Family Ties,” reading the letter makes Amma feel present again. The letter helped me show how connection can continue even when someone is not physically there. I repeated the letter in different moments because I wanted it to feel ordinary at first, then more meaningful as the poem continues. I built the whole poem around that image because it shows memory and connection, which helps reveal how the speaker can still feel whole.

Part B: Revising for Clarity and Submission (W.7.3.d, W.7.3.e, W.7.4) (15 minutes)

Now that students have drafted the author’s note, they are ready to test whether both the poem and the note clearly show intentional craft choices and their effect. If time is limited, prioritize revision of the author’s note first (clarity of why and effect), then complete a lighter edit of the poem for precision and conventions. Aim for 8–10 minutes of peer feedback and 5–7 minutes of revision, prioritizing the author’s note before final poem edits.

Peer Review

Say these Directions: Trade your full draft with a partner. Use the Peer Feedback Form to leave one note about how the image or symbol works across the poem, one note about whether the author’s note explains how or why, and one edit suggestion for clearer wording or punctuation.

Focus your feedback first on the author’s note: Does it clearly explain why the image or symbol was chosen and what it does? As a listener, also identify one image, symbol, or line that stands out and explain why it is effective.

As you listen to your partner read, mark one image, symbol, or line that stands out and be ready to explain what it does and why it is effective.

• Ask: Does the poem’s image do real work, or does it only appear without carrying meaning?

  • The image does real work because the speaker comes back to the cracked phone screen in the beginning, middle, and end. Each time it shows a different feeling, so it is not just decoration.

• Ask: Where does the author’s note explain why, not just what?

  • The strongest why sentence is “I repeated the whistle because I wanted the poem to sound lonely even when people were nearby.” That sentence explains purpose, not just the craft move.

• Ask: Which sentence should be revised for syntax, punctuation, or precision?

  • The sentence “In my poem of the bracelet, I show family” should be revised. A clearer version is “In my poem, the bracelet shows family connection and pressure.”

Say these Directions: As you revise, make sure your image is developed with precise and sensory language and that your poem’s ending reflects on the narrated experience or deepens the meaning of that image or symbol. Remember that the reflection belongs inside the poem itself, not only in the author’s note. Use the checklist to revise your work:

• one image or symbol that carries meaning across the poem

• an author’s note that explains why using because and explains what it does using which

• at least one sentence revised for modifier placement or word order

• precise word choice and punctuation in the author’s note

  • My image carries meaning because it returns in the last line and changes from comfort to responsibility.

  • My note explains why when I say “I chose the train card” because it shows moving between places without settling.

  • I revised a dangling modifier by changing “After choosing the image, the ending changed” to “After choosing the image, I changed the ending.”

  • I replaced thing with object and fixed a run-on sentence by adding a period.

Teach: Modeling Feedback That Leads to Real Revision

• Say: When I read this sentence, “After choosing the lantern, the ending became stronger.” I can tell what the writer means, but the sentence is missing the person who chose the lantern, so the opening phrase is dangling.

• I would revise it to, “After choosing the lantern image, I rewrote the ending so the poem would feel warmer and more hopeful.” That revision fixes the grammar problem, and it also makes the writer’s purpose clearer.

• Now I am looking at the poem itself to see whether the lantern appears in an important place, not just once.

• Say: Good revision asks two questions at the same time: Is the sentence clear, and does it explain what the image does, not just what it is? Good revision asks both questions at the same time.

Scoring Rubric

The Performance Task Rubric is located on the second page of the Performance Task Handout

Quick Write

Say these Directions: The performance task is not finished when the poem is written. A strong submission also shows that you can explain your choices as a writer and polish your language so readers can follow your meaning. This final reflection helps you name the exact places where your poem and the author’s note are working together. Before you begin, look back at your author’s note and find the sentence where you explain your image using because or which. If you’d like, use the optional sentence starter:

Optional Sentence Starter:

One line from my poem analysis that matters is ___, and it connects to my author’s-note sentence ___ because ___.

• Ask: Name one specific line from your poem analysis and one specific sentence from your author’s note. Explain how those two parts work together to show the meaning you want readers to notice, and make sure your explanation clearly shows why and what the image does.

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• In my poem analysis, I wrote, “I read the letter out loud, and it feels like she is still here.” In my author’s note, I wrote, “I chose the letter because it shows how connection continues even after loss, which helps show that the speaker can still feel whole.” These two parts work together because the poem line shows the feeling through the image, and the note explains why I built the poem around that idea.

Instruct students to complete the following tasks in their Journal:

• Write four to five sentences about one craft move from your poem or author’s note that you would want to use again in future writing.

• Name the line or sentence and explain why it worked.