Foundations of the Sonnet: Iambic Pentameter starts from a basic question:
Do you pronounce the word invent as "IN-vent" or "in-VENT"?
It builds from there with nearly 50 exercises designed to get high-school and advanced middle-school students thinking about stress, intonation, and rhythm. No prior experience with sonnets or poetry is presumed.
This is a free download for non-profit, classroom use only. To obtain an answer key, teachers must write to us from their official school E-mail accounts. We will take common-sense steps to verify your identity before we send answer keys. These answer keys are coded to each teacher. (The existence of SparkNotes has not escaped our notice.)
Possibly the best idea we've ever had, sonnet puzzles allow students to experiment with the structure and rules of a traditional Shakespearean sonnet without the added stress of writing a sonnet (that comes later).
Each puzzle set will take about 10 minutes of prep time before class. Each puzzle set will occupy a group of 3-5 students. Teachers will need a decent laser or ink-jet printer, pastel office paper or cardstock (cardstock recommended), and a pair of scissors. All necessary instructions are on the PDF. Sonnet puzzles offer students an unforgettably fun classroom activity that helps them apply their worksheet exercises to a canonical work of English literature. You are seriously missing out if you pass these up!
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