The Memoir Medley: Where Prose meets Poetry

Transcription

1 The Memoir Medley: Where Common Core Standards Concept: Metaphor in The 5 th Inning Primary Subject Area: English Secondary Subject Areas: N/A Common Core Standards Addressed: Grades Craft & Structure o Analyze how an author s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g. the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or traffic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact. Comprehension and Collaboration o Evaluate a speaker s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used. Footer-Title Field (double-click to edit): Common Core Standards 1

2 The Memoir Medley: Where Lesson Plan Overview: Students will analyze the poetic nature of Miller s memoir while learning about the differences between poetry and prose Objectives: Students will be able to: Define and understand the difference between Poetry and Prose Articulate the ways in which literature can sometimes complicate these definitions Explain the reasoning behind an opinion or decision Materials: Copies of The 5th Inning A whiteboard or large pad of paper A large television or computer at the front of the classroom Copies of the worksheet Are Poetry and Prose Mutually Exclusive? Warm-Up Activity: Show the Youtube Video, Divine Love by E. Ethelbert Miller, (0:47, Ask students, what they thought of the video? Did they understand the references? Did that affect their comprehension of the poem? What did they think of the video production? How did the images affect their understanding of the poem? Then, ask the students how the poem was similar to The 5 th Inning. For example, the cultural references, the inclusion of other forms, themes, etc. Short Lecture & Partner Activities: Ask the class to turn to page 86 as an example. Read the page together, starting with the second paragraph until the end of the third. Ask them what parts of this passage remind them of a poem. They should be able to identify the alternative structure, imagery, etc. Ask students in what ways The 5 th Inning is similar to a poem in general. Did they find themselves thinking at any point during their reading that the book was like one long poem? Record the other aspects of Miller s writing that they found to be poetic at the front of the classroom. Ask if the students if they could characterize a poem. After you receive a resounding yes, ask them to do so. After about a minute of their description (without any teacher input) ask them to stop. Then, do the same with prose. After about a minute of their characterizations of prose, ask them to stop. Then, at the front of the classroom, provide the following definitions of each. Poetry: Writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm. Prose: A literary medium, distinguished from poetry especially by its greater irregularity and variety or rhythm and its closer correspondence to the patterns of everyday speech. Then, handout the worksheet entitled Are Poetry and Prose Mutually Exclusive? Read the first example out loud, then ask them to independently decided whether the example is poetry and prose. Then read the second. Afterwards, ask them to fill out the table using examples from The 5 th Inning. They should look for examples within the memoir in which they feel Miller is either being more poetic, or writing strictly in traditional prose. Explain to them that they should be searching for examples of both, but that if they cannot entirely fill out the table for one side, that is alright. After most of the students seem to be done with the table, split the class into groups of three. Have the Footer-Title Field (double-click to edit): Lesson Plan 2

3 The Memoir Medley: Where Lesson Plan groups discuss what they thought of the examples: poetry or prose? What made these examples difficult? Could they easily make a choice? Then, ask them to discuss The 5 th Inning, which side of the table was easier to fill out? Would they be able to make a choice between poetry and prose? When most of the students have ended their discussions, inform them that the first selection was a poem entitled A Red Stamp. by Gertrude Stein from Tender Buttons. Then, inform the class that the second example was a selection from the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison. Discussion Wrap-Up: Ask the class to turn to the last chapter of the book (Chapter 24, page 167). Assign the parts of Amy Winehouse, Buck O Neal and Miller to three different students. Read the chapter out loud. Then, have the class answer the questions that Miller poses She feels that I can do better what do you think? Every reader is an Umpire. Can you tell the difference between balls and strikes? After you have gotten 3-5 responses for each question, ask students why Miller chose to end his memoir this way. More specifically, what is he saying about the role of the reader and the role of the writer? What does Miller believe is the power of interpretation? Footer-Title Field (double-click to edit): Lesson Plan 3

4 Footer-Title Field (double-click to edit): Discussion & Comprehension Questions 4 Discussion & Comprehension Questions The Memoir Medley: Where In Chapter 11, what is Miller saying about storytelling? Why does Miller call himself a literary activist? How does Miller characterize his relationship with his wife? With his children? With his siblings? What do you make of the length of Miller s chapters? Besides baseball, what are the over-arching themes that connect the chapters of The 5 th Inning? Why does Miller constantly reference and quote athletes, artists, musicians and poets? What is the purpose of Chapter 8, the chapter entirely about baseball? Is it successful?

5 Footer-Title Field (double-click to edit): Key Vocabulary 5 Key Vocabulary The Memoir Medley: Where Word: Prose Definition: Noun. A literary medium, distinguished from poetry especially by its greater irregularity and variety or rhythm and its closer correspondence to the patterns of everyday speech. Verse Noun. A metrical composition, such as a poem or hymn. Free Verse Noun. Verse whose meter is irregular in some respect or whose rhythm is not metrical. Memoir Noun. A narrative composed from personal experience. Poetry Noun. Writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm.

6 Footer-Title Field (double-click to edit): Text References 6 Text References The Memoir Medley: Where (Page 86) The last few years I ve taught a number of workshops on how to write a memoir. How to get started and how to finish. I ve already written the ending of The 5 th Inning. I could stop and let you read it right now. (Page 85) These short chapter are the equivalents to balls and strikes. If I write too many of them you know I am having trouble trying to find the plate. That s how one s life can begin (or end). Several years of college and you still don t know what to do. Thirty years working in the same place and you still wonder- why? (Page 74) I read your memoir. I think it has a lot of powerful moments. I don t think it s ready to send to an agent yet. It s not clear to me what the structure is going to be, or where it is headed with the metaphor. I think you should just keep writing (Page 80) I have several old phone books and a large box filled with business cards obtained over the years. I have no idea who many of the people are. There are places in the phone books where I crossed out names and marked deceased. I have a desire to take a pen or marker to my own name. It would be like jumping to the Metro tracks at the Takoma station around 8 am. No one would be able to get to work on time. People would cuss loudly and gather on the platform. It would take 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive and remove my body. Folks coming up the escalator would inquire, What s going on? For maybe the first time in my life I might be able to let someone know.

7 Footer-Title Field (double-click to edit): Class Handout Title Field: Class Handout Name: Are Poetry and Prose Mutually Exclusive? 1. If lilies are lily white if they exhaust noise and distance and even dust, if they dusty will dirt a surface that has no extreme grace, if they do this and it is not necessary it is not at all necessary if they do this they need a catalogue. 2. A section from Beloved A novel by Toni Morrison Circle one: Poetry or Prose Beloved You are my sister You are my daughter You are my face; you are me I have found you again; you have come back to me You are my beloved You are mine You are mine You are mine Circle one: Poetry or Prose 3. The 5 th Inning by E. Ethelbert Miller Fill in the table below with examples from the memoir Resembles Poetry Resembles Prose Page # Why? Page # Why?

8 Footer-Title Field (double-click to edit): Class Handout Title Field: Class Handout Name: Writing Activities/Evaluations: Analytical: Ask students to make a clear stance on whether The 5 th Inning is more like poetry or prose. Then, ask them to write a 4-6 sentence response defending the opposite stance. They may their discussion in class, completed worksheet and/or the provided definitions of poetry and prose to help them with this exercise. Creative: Choose one of the chapters of The 5 th Inning and turn it into a poem. You may choose to use and rearrange direct sentences, phrases or words from the chapter or to use your own.

9 Footer-Title Field (double-click to edit): Supplementary Materials Chart Description of Resource Potential Educational Use Link to Resource Examples of Miller s poetry, Further compare and contrast both written and spoke prose and poetry "##$%&&'''())#")*+),#-.**),(/0-&$0)#,1&".$"0$("#-* "##$%&&'''($0)#2(0,3&4.)'-)5.6($"$&$,-789&:;;<=