Analyzing Shelley’s Ozymandias | Interactive Poetry Lesson for Grades 9-10 ELA

An absolute ruler, Ozymandias, ruled with a sneer and cold command. But what is left of his empire but rubble? That’s the backstory of an incredible rise and fall of an empire, but also a fantastic poetic piece that makes a perfect text-to-world connection. Spurred by competition with a friend in the Winter of 1817, the exemplary British Romantic poet Percy Bysshe wrote a fourteen-line sonnet in rough iambic pentameter. Read and analyze the famous poem. Use a guided reading activity and more!

Note: This resource is optimized for distance learning and is compatible with Easel and Google Workspace.

This resource includes the following features:
Learning Objective: Students will be able to utilize the literary devices of atmosphere and theme to analyze the traveler’s experience in Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias.”?

• 1 Notes for the Teacher
  • Provides a context for teaching the 1817 sonnet “Ozymandias.”
  • Includes a standards alignment chart for planning!
• 1 Lesson Plan and Pacing Calendar
  • Provides learning objectives
  • Provides useful frontloaded vocabulary
  • Provides the teacher’s script and best practices
  • Designed as a two-day lesson (90 minutes), plus extension activities
• 1 Google Form Assessment
  • Useful for an end-of-the-lesson assessment. Or, use it as a pre-assessment or as a backward planning tool.
• Display Artifacts for Chalk Talk Protocol
  • Ramses II Sculpture from the British Museum
  • 1817 Handwritten Draft of “Ozymandias” from the Bodleian Library
  • Photograph of the ruins of the tomb of Ramses from Thebes, Egypt
• Ozymandias: 1817 Text
  • Public Domain version of Shelley’s poem (originally published in the British periodical The Examiner.
• Introductory Text and 7 Guided Reading Version of “Ozymandias”
  • Engaging in-text questions to promote critical analysis of atmosphere and theme.
  • Includes vocabulary-in-context questions
  • Guided Reading Student Answer Sheet
• Question Bank for Recall and Reading Comprehension
  • 15 questions to use as a formative assessment.
  • Or, pull from the bank to make a quiz.
• Discussion Questions for Carousel Activity
  • 7 Discussion Questions
• 3-Box Note-taking sheet
  • Embed accountability into your lesson and require students to take notes using a three-step Cornell note-taking system.
• 2 Half-Sheet Exit Tickets
  • Easy-to-read 3-2-1 exit ticket
• 2 Frayer Model Template for Vocabulary
  • Useful for front-loading vocabulary and literary terms
• 1 Further Reading Guide
  • Follow the links to go even further.
• Answer Keys for Student-Facing Questions

Why Use Google Forms in a Classroom?
Google Forms and Easel allow teachers to collect information about students’ learning. For example, Google Forms are editable. You can fit these Google Forms assessments to your specific needs. You can modify, delete, or even edit questions. You can also change the points value of the evaluation. Students can use Easel on any device. Also, from a data-collection point of view, Google Forms and Easel give teachers a bird’s-eye view of student achievement — you can organize assessment results into amazing charts and graphs. You will then be able to identify what specifically students know and don’t know.
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