Dear Parents, The following work will be sent home with your child and needs to be completed. We am sending this form so that you will have an overview of the work that is coming in order for you to help your child to manage his/her time as it will be work that is due above and beyond what is normally done in school. The blizzard bags are designed to make up our snow days. If you questions have any, please contact your child s teacher. Ms. Berndt, Mrs. Couser and Mrs. Graetz Blizzard Bag #1 Work sent home March 9 th and due March 20 th Directions o Read the information about poetry and answer the questions related to it. o Reread the poems Choices and The Choice and fill in the Comparison Worksheet #1 following the directions on that sheet. Blizzard Bag #2 Work sent home March 23 th and due April 10 th Directions o o Reread the poetry information Read the poems A Dream Deferred and Dreams by Langston Hughes and follow the directions while completing the Comparison Worksheet #2 Blizzard Bag #3 Work sent home April 13 th and due April 24 th Directions o o Reread the poetry information Write a poem about spring on the attached paper following the direction on the Writing a poem worksheet ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please return this portion to school immediately. I have read the Blizzard Bag information and understand that my child will be receiving this work that needs to be completed and returned on the above dates. Parent signature date
Poetry, according to many people, is a pure form of art. Language fuses with sound, creating images in the reader s mind. As the most compact form of literature, poetry packs all kinds of ideas, feelings and sounds into a few carefully chosen words. These support the theme or message of the poem. Despite differences in style, most poems contain the key elements listed below. They also have a speaker, or voice through which the poem is told. Key elements of poetry include form, sound, imagery, and figurative language. Form The way a poem looks-or its arrangement on the page- is its form. Poets deliberately choose the form they wish their poems to take and may even space the words and letters in a poem to create a special arrangement. Poetry is written in lines, which may or may not be sentences. Sometimes the lines are combined into groups called stanzas. The number of line in a poem s stanzas can be the same or can vary. While some poems have a formal structure, others are written in a more conversational style. This type is called free verse. Look at the following examples and label the lines, stanzas and whether they are formal or free verse structure. CHOICES The Choice If i can't do what i want to do then my job is to not do what i don't want to do It's not the same thing but it's the best i can do If i can't have what i want... then my job is to want what i've got and be satisfied that at least there is something more to want Since i can't go where i need to go... then i must... go where the signs point through always understanding parallel movement isn't lateral He'd have given me rolling lands, Houses of marble, and billowing farms, Pearls, to trickle between my hands, Smoldering rubies, to circle my arms. You- you'd only a lilting song, Only a melody, happy and high, You were sudden and swift and strong- Never a thought for another had I. He'd have given me laces rare, Dresses that glimmered with frosty sheen, Shining ribbons to wrap my hair, Horses to draw me, as fine as a queen. You- you'd only to whistle low, Gayly I followed wherever you led. I took you, and I let him go- Somebody ought to examine my head! Dorothy Parker When i can't express what i really feel i practice feeling what i can express and none of it is equal I know but that's why mankind alone among the animals learns to cry Written by Nikki Giovanni
Sound The sound of a poem reinforces its meaning. The following are some techniques that poets use to achieve different sounds effects, as illustrated in the poem The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the ends of word such as shell and well. Internal rhyme is the use of rhyming words within a line. End rhyme is the use of rhymes at the ends of lines. Notice the end rhyme in the stanza below: shell/fell/well/hell Rhyme Storm d at the shot and shell, While horse and hero fell, They that had fought so well Came thro the jaws of Death Back from the mouth of Hell. A poem s rhythm is sometimes called its beat. The rhythm is the pattern of sounds created by stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. Stressed syllables are those words parts that are read with more emphasis. Unstressed syllables are those word parts that are read with less emphasis. In some poems, the pattern of sound is repeated. This is the meter of the poem. Read these lines aloud to hear their rhythmic pattern. RHYTHM AND REPETITION Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns! he said; Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. Repetition is the repeating of sounds, words, phrases, or lines in a poem. Repetition helps the poet to emphasize an idea or convey a certain feeling. In the excerpt above, the 1st two lines of the first stanza, into the valley of Death/Rode the six hundred are repeated at the end of the second stanza to emphasize the danger for the soldiers and to emphasize the number of soldiers before they started their attack. Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. Listen to the repetition of sounds in then no one knows your name. Onomatopoeia is the use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning, like buzz, pop, and click. Imagery and Figurative Language Imagery refers to words and phrases that appeal to the five senses. Poets use imagery to create a picture in the reader s mind or to remind the reader of a familiar sensation. In Pat Mora s Mi Madre,
the reader can see and feel the sensations of rain and sun in the line She sprinkles raindrops in my face on a sunny day. Figurative language conveys a meaning beyond the ordinary, literal meaning. When a poet describes an animal or object as if it were human or had human qualities, that is personification, one type of figurative language. In Mi Madre, Pat Mora describes the desert as her mother-a living woman who can feed, comfort, and heal her child. Another type of figurative language is a simile, a comparison that uses the word like or as. His hair is like dry hay is an example of a simile. A comparison that does not use the word like or as is metaphor. In Pat Mora s line, She strokes my skin with her warm breath, the desert wind is compared to breath. Speaker The speaker of a poem is the voice that the reader hears relating the ideas or story of the y poem. The speaker is not necessarily the poet, although sometimes poets do write as themselves and speak directly to the reader. Reading Poetry Remember poetry is the blending of sounds and sense. The musicality, rhythm, form, imagery, and feeling of a poem along with the poem s message create an overall effect on the reader. Read and practice these strategies to help you get the most from the poems you read. 1. Preview the poem by checking the Title and name of the poet Structure and overall shape of the poem on the page; including lines and stanzas Any rhymes and where they occur Any words or names that are repeated or that stand out The first and last several lines Read the poem aloud it enables you to made sense of a poem if you hear how it sounds. 2. The first read is for enjoyment; remember that poetry is about feelings. Does it express any feelings that you have experienced? 3. On the second reading, study the structure of a poem. What kind of poem is it? Does it have a rhyme scheme? How many stanzas are in it? Examine the images, organization, and sounds. Think about how they add to the poem s message 4. On the third reading, read for meaning. Look for clues that help you understand what the poem is saying. Think about the choice of words. Try to figure out the poem s theme. Ask: What s the point of this poem? What message is the poet trying to send or help me understand? 5. On the fourth read, search for details that reveal something about the identity of the poem s speaker. Look for clues that will help you make inferences, logical guesses based on the evidence about the speaker s experience, attitudes, and personality. As you reread your understanding will grow.
Questions about the reading on poetry 1. Maxwell Bodenheim, a poet said Poetry is [an] attempt to paint the color of the wind. You will need to use your inference skills; what do you think this means? 2. What supports the theme of a poem? 3. Name four key pieces of a poem. 4. Name 2 forms of poems. 5. How is the form of a poem important? 6. Finish this analogy with a poetic words; sentence is to paragraph as line is to 7. Is the speaker of a poem always the poet? Explain. 8. Why does a poet use repetition? 9. For what reason is the sound of a poem important? 10. Give two reasons why is imagery important in poetry?
Poetry Comparison #1 Chart the poetic devices of each poem and then compare the two. Choices by Nikki Giovanni (See the sheet above) Poetic device speaker Similar Place a check if the two poems are similar and explain how The Choice by Dorothy Parker (See the sheet above) meaning form sound Audience intended for theme figurative language-list type and ex. (metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia, etc.)
Blizzard Bag #2 Poetry Comparison #2 Chart the poetic devices of each poem and then compare the two. Be sure to look over the poetry information from the 1 st Blizzard bag. A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes Poetic device speaker Similar Place a check if the two poems are similar and explain how Dreams by Langston Hughes meaning form sound Audience intended for theme figurative language-list type and ex. (metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia, etc.) Brainstorm 20 words related to spring below (these will be used for the next blizzard bag)
Blizzard Bag #2 A Dream Deferred What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over Like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it sags like a heavy load. Or does it just explode? Langston Hughes Dreams Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow. Langston Hughes
Blizzard Bag #3 2015 Create Your Own Poem As you write your original poem about something related to SPRING, the following rubric should be followed. title and name 20 lines 2 examples of figurative language highlight and list the types: and descriptive language (adjectives) stays on topic spelling/punctuation correct poem written neatly or typed on the paper attached creative