4/30/14
In Class:
Journal-- Imagine you could write your own eulogy. What would you want people to remember about you? What would you like them to say?
eulogy: a speech, reading, or other memory shared at a memorial service or funeral.
Shared out students' requested Poem-a-Weeks: "The Highway Man" and "Breathless."
In groups of 5-6, students workshopped their potential Poetry Jam pieces using the student-formulated rules and guiding questions (right).
Lesson in Performance Technique: Inflection
Varied inflection keeps your audience engaged, excited, and empathetic.
Identified and discussed Upward, Downward, Level, and Circumflex inflection using NO SWEAT Public Speaking notes.
Exit ticket: Graph 'upward inflection.'
Homework:
Tend your seeds! Poetry Jam is in a week and a half.
4/28/14
In Class:
Journal-- Write a haiku about an important person or place in your life.
haiku: a traditional, form-based Japanese poem.
* three lines; 5/7/5 syllable-count
* reference to nature or the seasons
* kiru ('cutting') -- thought, style, punctuation, or tone shift at the end of line 2.
Ex: You are my sunshine
Grass clippings and warm days, but
Winter is coming.
Screened and discussed "Flatland" by Sam Cook, particularly focusing on the use of voice and body language to create tone and mood.
Mini-Lesson on Performance Techniques:
The following techniques are clear and powerful ways to alter the mood and engage the audience.
crescendo (<): a gradual increase in volume for performance effect.
*increased importance, urgency, anger, excitement, passion
decrescendo (>): a gradual decrease in volume for performance effect.
*increased seriousness, reflection, worry, sadness
pace: the speed/rate with which a poet delivers material.
*varied pace allows for greater expression of tone and greater audience engagement
Practice in Performance Technique:
In pairs, students chose one poem from a random anthology, and then practiced reading that poem with various tones based on Plutchik's wheel, focusing particularly on volume, pace, and other delivery techniques.
Exit ticket: Define 'crescendo.'
Homework:
Identify at least two poems (or 'seeds') that you are considering for Poetry Jam. [Writers' Workshop next class.]
4/21/14
In Class:
Journal-- Write a poem using at least six of the following words:
* rain * serene * kangaroo * unequaled
* lies * rage * territory * heal * lighthouse
* defenestrate * vendetta * couch * litter * summit
Important Housekeeping Notes:
- Due to ACT testing on Wednesday, this class will not be meeting again until 4/28.
- Journals (7 total) are due tomorrow by 2:30 at the latest.
Instructor checked for Poem-a-Week #3.
Continued lesson on Response Poetry:
- Screened and discussed "the mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks and "the father" by Shane Abrams.
- Read "Dear Gertrude" by Shane Abrams and listened to "Dear Kanye" by Ben Sollee. These are imagined responses to celebrities/public figures.
Lesson in Performance Techniques:
Reviewed distinctions between tone and mood, particularly as they pertain to performance poetry.
Reviewed Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions to practice varied emotional qualities.
Exit ticket: Describe the difference between tone and mood.
Homework:
Write a response poem ("Dear _____________") to a public figure of your choice.
Poem-a-Week #3 due on Monday, 4/28.
Turn in journals.
Prepare at least one poem for Writers' Workshop next week.
4/16/14
In Class:
Journal-- Read "The Thinker of Tender Thoughts" by Shel Silverstein. Using this as a jumping-off point, free-write.
Mini-lesson on Diction:
Good word choice is fresh, but direct—interesting, but still communicative. It's a balance between figurative and literal.
diction: the choice and use of words and phrases in a piece of writing or speech
Terms discussed: cliché, idiom, denotation, connotation
As a class, we discussed poetry as a conversation: you are not writing in isolation, but building upon a long history of writers, ideas, and experiences. Each piece you read, write, speak, or listen to is part of a larger, cultural context.
Circular, collaborative writing exercise.
Read examples of response poetry: "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" by Christopher Marlowe and the responses "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" by Sir Walter Raleigh and "Love Under the Republicans (or Democrats)" by Ogden Nash.
Exit ticket: Define 'theme.'
Homework:
Read & listen to "the mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks and "the father" by Shane Abrams.
Poem-a-Week #3 due on Monday.
Tend your seeds!
4/14/14
In Class:
Journal--
Write an expository poem on one of the following:
- How to break a heart
- How to fail a class
- How to skip school
- How to win a fight
Shared out several students' Poem-a-Week choices.
Using student-generated responses, we established a code-of-conduct for Writers’ Workshop:
Then, using student-generated responses, we identified guiding questions for Writers’ Workshop:
With fish-bowl modeling group, the instructor and several students demonstrated Writers’ Workshop practice using “Barefoot” by Shane Abrams.
In groups of 5, students workshopped their poetry from the last several weeks using the methods and ideas we developed as a class; each student shared at least one poem.
Students free-wrote on selected prompts (jumping-off points) for 60 seconds on each slide.
Exit ticket: Define 'metaphor.'
Homework:
Continue tending your seeds!
Find Poem-a-Week #3 for Monday.
4/9/14
In Class:
Journal-- Reflect on the following quote: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that
we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that
most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?" - Marianne Williamson
Screened "Say Yes" by Andrea Gibson.
Defined and discussed the literary traits of tone and mood:
tone: the emotional quality with which an author approaches a text.
mood: the emotional quality which the reader perceives in a text.
If an author is able to properly convey tone, the reader typically experiences an aligned mood: the audience empathizes with the author. Sometimes, though, tone and mood are deliberately mismatched:
- "Hey Ya" by OutKast utilizes sorrowful lyrics with an upbeat tone; Obadiah Parker's cover demonstrates a more direct correlation of tone & mood.
- "True Facts About the Tarsier" demonstrates a deliberation misalignment of tone & mood for the sake of irony/humor.
Explored expository poetry--poetry that explains a process or idea--using "Nine Steps for Getting Over Someone" by Shane Abrams and "How to Be Alone" by Andrea Dorfman. Independently, students wrote their own expository poems on a topic of their choice, especially conscious of the particular tone & mood incorporation.
Exit ticket: Name one place you can find inspiration.
Homework:
Poem-a-Week #2 due Monday.
In preparation for Writers' Workshop next week, come up with: 2 ground rules for the workshop environment and 2 guiding questions for generating feedback in the workshop environment.
Tend your seeds!
4/7/14
In Class:
Journal-- Using the photo you brought to class, practice your imagery techniques: put yourself ‘in’ the picture, and describe all five senses.
Screened and discussed two slam poems, "Talk Ugly" by Joseph LMS Green and "I Want to Buy a Sloth with You" by Mo Lawrence.
Writing Exercise: Borrowing Seeds as Inspiration
"Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they
take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least
something different." - T.S. Eliot
1) Identify one line in your Poem-a-Week that resonates with you particularly.
2) Then, choose one line in someone else’s Poem-a-Week that resonates with you.
3) Using the line from your poem as the first line and the line from a friend’s poem as the last, write your own piece:
-> First line: a line from your Poem-a-Week
[Fill in this part with your own words, ideas, and connections.]
-> Last line: a line from a friend's Poem-a-Week
Defined and discussed theme and conceit (see Poetic Devices worksheet).
theme: the implicit, abstract meaning or message of a work of art or literature. (In the sloth poem, this might be the desire to share love for a common cause.)
conceit: an extended, often implicit, metaphor used to support a theme. (Consider the sloth itself.)
Writing Exercise: Conceit
Each student wrote an emotion and an article of clothing on separate post-its. Then, students swapped post-its so that each person had a random emotion and article of clothing. Using the technique of conceit, each student wrote a poem that conveyed the emotion using the article of clothing. For example, shoes and grief:
The black leather seemed to constrict my arches like shackles
As I staggered through the procession.
That overwhelming stench of shoe-polish
Assailed my nostrils with a heavy anguish.
Black veils swept through the gathering.
The eulogy is devoid of meaning:
I bear the weight of her confession,
And my shoes groan beneath its pressure.
Exit ticket: Define 'theme.'
Homework:
Develop and polish one of the two pieces you wrote in class today to share out on Wednesday.
Poem-a-Week #2 due Monday.
3/31/14
In Class:
Instructor performed "For the Girl Who Reads Slam Poetry."
As a class, reviewed syllabus and class expectations.
Distributed and discussed the use of the poetry journal:
“…[J]ot it all down. Use your notebook as a kind of seedbed. Once you’ve learned to recognize the seeds, you’ll probably have more than you can use. With a little tending—sketching, adding, changing, seeing what moves you—some will sprout. Some will grow. Some will even make it to the harvest. How do you choose among them all? That’s simple. Eventually, one idea, properly tended, becomes irresistible and fills the mind.” - Steven Koch
What could be a seed?
Conversations Drawings Songs Words
Interactions Movies Phrases
Read and discussed "How Planting a Seed Can Change Your Life" by Brianne Burrowes.
As a class, planted literal seeds to grow throughout the term. These plants will remind us that we can never know what to expect, that our craft tends tending and attention, that not every seed will bloom perfectly, and that poetry takes time to cultivate.
Exit ticket: Complete the following sentence--"If I do one thing to be successful this block, it will be..."
Homework:
Complete Syllabus Agreement and Goals by Wednesday.
Decorate your poetry journal by next Monday.
4/2/14
In Class:
Turn in: Last page of syllabus.
Journal-- Write a letter to a significant person in your life expressing something you cannot/have not been able to say to him or her.
As Gabe watered our seeds, we discussed inspiration in writing. We debunked the concept of the muse: “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” - Jack London
Screened Sherman Alexie interview on storytelling, inspiration, and hard work as a writer. (12:59 - 16:03)
Discussed the 99% idea: “I write one page of masterpiece to ninety one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket.” - Ernest Hemingway. The more you write, the greater your 1% will be. Give yourself permission to write bad poetry, because that's your only chance of stumbling upon something beautiful.
Introduced two new ongoing assignments:
- Poem-a-Week: Every Monday, please bring a poem (any poem) that strikes you. You can consider song lyrics as well.
- Poetic Devices: This worksheet will help you organize the terms and techniques we cover in class. Please hold on to it carefully, as it will be included in your final portfolio.
Direct Instruction on Metaphor, Simile, and Imagery
metaphor: a comparison of two seemingly unlikely things.
ex.: My mom is a rock.
simile: a type of metaphor using the words 'like' or 'as.'
ex.: My mom is as sturdy as a rock.
Discussed the purpose and benefit of using metaphorical language.
Listened to "A Girl, a Boy, and a Graveyard" by Jeremy Messersmith, and then noted all use of metaphor and simile. Keep in mind, not all metaphors are explicit, and interpretation varies based on the reader (e.g., concrete sky.) imagery: language which appeals to the five senses.
Note that good imagery often makes use of metaphor & simile.
Imagery writing exercise: using the following sensory stimulants, students wrote for 60 seconds on each of their senses.
- Sight: http://500px.com/photo/65635147?from=popular
- Sound: http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/rainNoiseGenerator.php
- Touch: mesh cloth
- Taste: Hershey’s kisses
- Scent: fragrance-heavy hand sanitizer
Then, students tended one of these seeds for the remaining five minutes of class.
Exit ticket: Define 'metaphor.'
Homework:
Poem-a-Week #1 due Monday.
Decorate journal by Monday.
Bring a photo of particular sentimental value to class on Monday.
