Teaching students to analyze and appreciate complex poems such as terza rima sonnets is an entirely different feat from attempting to guide them to the creation of their own sonnets. However, the first task is entirely necessary to the second.  With this in mind, my students began their preparation for sonnet writing, by examining a number of Italian sonnets, Shakespearian sonnets and terza rima sonnets, including Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind," Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130" and Spenser's "Amoretti."  They learned the different rhyme schemes, developed a sense of iambic pentameter, and, most importantly, came to understand the importance of the volta.

Students spent a lot of time "marking up" poems - annotating them with rhyme schemes, noting key images, identifying poetic devices, and capturing their reactions and questions to each poet's words.

The class also worked in pairs and small groups to construct Italian sonnets.  One group created an octet presenting a question which was then answered by a different group in the form of a sestet.

Groups also crafted the three quatrains of a Shakespearian sonnet together, before separating to write a closing couplet independently.  Working together served two purposes: it helped make a daunting task more manageable, and it built upon the writing relationships established in the earlier peer conferencing groups.  These groups would ultimately work together to help one another edit their poetry portfolios at the end of the unit.