The Poetry Test

Today we took our final test on the poetry unit.

Enjoy the vacation and have a happy holiday!

Magnetic Poetry

Today we reviewed for the test a bit and then spent the rest of the day on a bit of fun with poetry.

Poetry Exam Tomorrow. Make Flashcards!

More Poetry

Today we had a few more presentations and then took some notes on the Shakespearean sonnet. HW: Write at least the first four lines of your own sonnet.

Two Days in One

Thursday:
Today we began poetry presentations. Nice job to all those who were prepared on the first day! We spent the rest of the day finishing the copy change poem assignment and sharing poems.

Friday:
Today students worked on an introductory sonnet assignment (available here). These will be collected Monday along with the copy change poems.

Papers Back (Yes, Finally)

We started the day by discussing the Of Mice and Men essay's, especially grading and revision possibilities. After that I collected "The Still I Rise" work and students began copy change poems using either "Theme for English B" or "Still I Rise" as models.

Poetry presentations begin tomorrow.

"Still I Rise" Continued

Today we finished up our analysis of "Still I Rise" with an analytical paragraph (which we color-coded to show the balance of example and commentary). We also made sure that the words personification, simile, repetition, rhyme scheme, and half-rhyme appear in students' poetry notes.

"Still I Rise"

Today we annotated Maya Angelou's poem (step 1 of the poetry analysis) , "Still I Rise" and began the paraphrase (step 2). We also drew presentation days. Presentations begin THIS Thursday.

HW Finish poetry analysis steps 2 through 5 for "Still I Rise."

More Poetry

Today we went over the poetry analysis homework on Hughes' "Theme for English B" and spent part of the period writing an analytical paragraph about the poem. The last fifteen minutes of the period was spent discussing the individual poetry project (handout here).

HW Finish paragraphs if necessary, and students may want to start looking for their poem for the poetry project.

Theme for English B

Today we had a look at Langston Hughes' poem "Theme for English B." After I collected the warm-ups and the homework from last night, we spent the rest of the period annotating (#1 below) the poem and discussing it. Students should complete steps 2-5 below for homework.
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1. Annotate the poem. On a copy of the poem itself, mark features that stand out (rhyme, stanzas, type of poem, alliteration, consonance, enjambment, syllables, metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, etc.), note difficult words or lines, indicate questions or comments, etc.
2. Paraphrase the poem in simple, everyday sentences. Look up words if needed.
3. Summarize the poem in a sentence or two.
4. Explain the tone of the poem in a sentence or two. Use our list of tone words if they help.
5. Explain the theme of the poem in a sentence or two.

"We Real Cool": Part 2

Today we continued our look at Brooks' "We Real Cool," paraphrasing the poem, summarizing the poem, and identifying its theme and tone. Students began analytical paragraphs about the poem in class.

HW Finish the paragraph started in class. Four to five sentences minimum.

Poetry: A Review/ Introduction

Today we started our three-week poetry unit with a look at Brooks' poem "We Real Cool." We began with an initial annotation and added some poetry terms (end rhyme, internal rhyme, alliteration, consonance, point of view [POV], metaphor) to our notes.

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We Real Cool

THE POOL PLAYERS.

SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.

We real cool. We

Left school. We

Lurk late. We

Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We

Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We

Die soon.