How to Analyze a Poem Using SWIMTAG
The Purpose of this site is to help you use a specific tool to help you read poetry. This site provides some famous poems, the artwork that is commonly associated with the poems, and the resource called SWIMTAG (click on the SWIMTAG tab at the top of this page for more information on this resource). These resources are here as examples of what you might read in class or in your free time, and these resources are used across many classrooms, meaning they are proven to help students recognize themes and styles used in poetry.
Trying to decipher a poets's work is nearly impossible on the first read. You may think you have a poem figured out after a quick skim, but the meaning behind the words is too deep and hard to come up with on the spot. Using a technique that has been developed specifically for students to use when reading poetry, you will better understand what to look for when reading a poem. Please note that this technique will not help you read and fully understand a poem after the first read, this is a technique that can be used in many steps over many reads of the poem.
The Standard this website is based off of is determined by the International Society of Technology in Education; specifically this website will help "design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments." When it comes to using technology in the classroom, teachers must not only become masters in the technology being used, but they have to bring the students all to the same level. Often there is not enough time in the classroom to introduce certain topics, so the teacher can use technology to teach the students while outside of the classroom. As a result, this website can be edited and added to from anywhere as well as be accessed anywhere.
Trying to decipher a poets's work is nearly impossible on the first read. You may think you have a poem figured out after a quick skim, but the meaning behind the words is too deep and hard to come up with on the spot. Using a technique that has been developed specifically for students to use when reading poetry, you will better understand what to look for when reading a poem. Please note that this technique will not help you read and fully understand a poem after the first read, this is a technique that can be used in many steps over many reads of the poem.
The Standard this website is based off of is determined by the International Society of Technology in Education; specifically this website will help "design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments." When it comes to using technology in the classroom, teachers must not only become masters in the technology being used, but they have to bring the students all to the same level. Often there is not enough time in the classroom to introduce certain topics, so the teacher can use technology to teach the students while outside of the classroom. As a result, this website can be edited and added to from anywhere as well as be accessed anywhere.
The Learning objectives of this website are very similar to the ones discussed in class. After using this website you will be able to read a poem multiple times to get a basic understanding of its meaning. You will be able to use SWIMTAG to think about the poem more in depth and finally you will be able to analyze a poem after a couple readings and some time using the SWIMTAG sheet. After a working on a couple poems you will be able to analyze them without the help of the SWIMTAG document; the sheet will slowly become more clear and more memorable.