Tuesday, May 4- We did a quick review of poetry terms for the test tomorrow. 

Students wrote down the Essential/Guiding questions for our Inquiry Unit.Essential Question

Students were each given an anticipation guide to fill out:Inquiry Unit Anticipation.  We spent the remainder of the class discussing your answers.  This was fun!

Wednesday, May 5 Poetry Unit test.

Today we practiced how to analyse a poem.  I gave each student six poems to read over, and each student chose which one they wanted to write about.  We went over the handout Tips for poetry analysis. Students had the remainder of class to finish their analysis and hand it in.

Tuesday, April 27

Today I handed out a checklist, that students needed to complete:Anthology Checklist.  Each student was to create an action plan of how/when they were going to complete their project.  This checklist must be included in your completed project.  Students had the remainder of the class to work on their projects.

Wednesday, April 28

This was our regular silent reading day, but many students decided to continue work on their anthologies.

Thursday, April 29

Today was the last in-class day to work on your project.  5 bonus marks will be awarded to those who pass it i tomorrow.  If it’s not complete….DON”T RUSH IT!  It’s not due until Monday.

Don’t forget to post one of your poem to your class blog….check out some of the other classes as well.

Friday, April 30

Today students worked in groups.  Each group had to research a topic related to Shakespeare.  Groups had to create a “Top Ten” list of the most important info. They must feel the rest of the class should have this info in their notes.  Groups with present this info and notes to the class on Monday.

Today, we read and discussed the poem Because I could not stop for Death activity.  Students worked in small groups or individually to create a storyboard for a music video.  Students will present these on Wednesday to the class.

Tuesday, April 20

Students need to have all materials needed to continue working on their Anthology projects.

Wednesday, April 21

Groups finished up their Storyboards/music videos from Monday. Each group/individual described their storyboard or shared their ideas with the class. Students read silently when that was finished.

Thursday, April 22
Students worked on their Poetry Anthologies.

Friday, April 23

We discussed slam poetry or Spoken Word Art. We looked at some examples on youtube:  “We are More” by Shane Koyczan, “Knock Knock” by Daniel Beaty, and “On Girls Lending Pens” by Taylor Mali.

Then groups wrote their own slam pieces (8-10 lines) about their pet peeves and performed them at the end of class.

Today, Mr. P passed out the Poetry Anthology Project/Rubric and explained to students all of the details.Poetry Anthology and poetry anthology rubric.

There is opportunity for bonus marks, so make the most of this!

Tuesday, April 13

We looked at the poem The Buried Life poem[1], and why/how it has sparked a new movement.  The Buried Life was started by a group of four young Canadian men, and has developed into a television show on MTV.  We went to their website www.theburiedlife.com and looked at their list of 100 Things they want to do before they die list.  I showed the class my list, and then the students started their lists.

Wednesday, April 14

Students finished their lists and we shared some examples with the class.  We talked about how you usually write about things that you know or have experienced in the past.  So, next we made lists of some of the neat experiences we have had.  Students shared these in small groups, and then tried to find a common theme within the group.

Thursday, April 15

We reviewed Theme again.  This is very important because all students must choose a theme for their anthology.  Students were given the following handout:Poetry Analysis – Famous Dreams and Harlem and completed the activities. 

Friday, April 16th

Students began working on their Poetry anthologies.  Many students wrote their own poems according to their theme, or researched by combing through many different poetry books.

Easter Monday….no school

Tuesday, April 6

Parent – Teacher interviews….no school

Wednesday, April 7th

Today the class began to develop our skills of analysis.  First read the poem just to get a brief understanding.  Next, identify words you do not understand.  Use a dictionary to help.  Next identify lines or phrases that you like or think are unique or interesting.  Try to explain the theme or message of the poem and then try to figure out the mood or feeling of the poem. 

Writing an analysis:  When you write an analysis of a poem, always begin with the name of the poet and the title in your opening sentence.  Explain the message of the poem and the lines or words that helped you identify theme.  Explain the mood of the poem and identify words and phrases that support your opinion.  Finally, discuss your likes and dislikes of the poem.  You can include connections you made too.

Mr. P collected your analysis of Shall I compare and my mistress eyes – William Shakespeare at the end of class.

Thursday, April 8th

Found/Recycled  Poetry

Today students explored the Poetry in Focus books and picked out some of their favourite lines.  Then in small groups and or individually, students create a “new” poem.  Students shared their found or recycled poems with the class.

Friday, April 9th

Today, 1/2 of the class was spent on Free Write Poetry, and the other 1/2 was spent sharing students’ own work or their favs.

Reading Poetry

How to read a poem:

I.  Read the poem slowly.  Reading a poem slowly is the best way to ensure that the poem will be read clearly and understood by its listeners.  Learning to read a poem slowly will not just make the poem easier to hear; it will underscore the importance in poetry of each and every word.   A good way for a reader to set a an easy pace is to pause for a few seconds between the title and the poem’s first line.

II.  Read in a normal, relaxed tone of voice.  It is not necessary to give any of these poems a dramatic reading as if from a stage.  Let the words of the poem do the work.

III.  Obviously, poems come in lines, but pausing at the end of every line will create a choppy effect and interrupt the flow of the poem’s sense.  Readers should pause only where there is punctuation, just as you would when reading prose….but slower.

IV. Use a dictionary to look up unfamiliar words and hard-to- pronounce words.  To read with conviction, a reader needs to know at least the dictionary sense of every word.  Learning to read a poem out loud is a way of coming to a full understanding of that poem, perhaps a better way than writing a paper on the subject.

2.  In small groups, students searched for poems on-line, and or in  Poetry in Focus for a poem that they wanted to present to the class.

Tuesday, March 30

We carried on from the previous day.  Groups started to present their selected poems to the class.

Wednesday, March 31

Silent Reading-Own choice or Free Write poetry time.

Thursday, April 1st

Today I gave students a pre-test on poetry terms. Many of these terms should have been familiar to you, but some may also be new.  Students were allowed to look terms up in the dictionary. Poetry Terms pretest[1].  We discussed and corrected the test together.  This gave me a good indication of how much background knowledge students had.  Students may have to refer to these terms throughout the unit.

Friday, April 2nd Good Friday….no school

Introduction to Poetry:  What Forms Can Poetry Take?

1.  As a class, we brainstormed our ideas/prior knowledge about poetry. We talked about if we had negative or positive feelings when it came to poetry.  We concluded that almost everything can be poetic.

2.  We listened to The Spoken Revolution Track 3:  Billy Collins “Introduction to Poetry” a couple of times, and discussed it.  Billy Collins was a Poet Laureate for the US.  We discussed the role of the Poet Laureate.

3.  We read  Poetry Is the Art of Not Succeeding – Joe Salerno by Joe Salerno.  We discussed what we thought it meant and noted the textual features and some of the major literary devices. 

We discussed the title and why it wasn’t called “Poetry is the Art of Failing”?

Does  the conclusion have a dark tone, or could it be seen as revealing one of the great gifts of being a poet?

Tuesday, March 23rd

Real Poetry Doesn’t Say Anything

1. We began by reading How To Eat a Poem – Eve Marriam.  After rereading and discussing, we concluded that reading a poem is like eating something messy: a plum.  The reader brings the mess (background knowledge) to a poem.

2. We talked about Jim Morrison and his band, The Doors. We watched the video “Break on Through” and rocked out for a few:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogkoskneNII.

3. We read the statements that Jim Morrison made in an interview :Real Poetry Doesn’t Say Anything – Jim Morrison.  Students then responded to the questions that followed in the form of a Quick Write.

Wednesday, March 24th

1. I showed the class one of my favourite poems Funeral Blues, and I showed a clip from Four Weddings and a Funeral.  The poem is featured in this film.  I modelled why I liked this poem so much.

2.  Students picked songs that they really loved and had a good message in them.  We listened to the songs and read the lyrics for the read of the class.

Thursday, March 25

Introduction to Writing Poetry – Okay, ‘Borrowing’ Poetry

1.  The best place to start when learning to write poetry is to ‘steal’ (borrow) from the best, and build off of their foundation.  Hand out:Creative Writing – Skeleton Poetry.

2.  We talked about William Carlos Williams and the poetry style he’s best known for: Imagism.  We talked about the simplicity of diction, the everyday subject manner, and the direct and lighthearted flow of language.

3.  Students completed the activity in the handout.  We reviewed the terms noun, verb, adjective, and adverb.  Students chose their best poem and made a final draft to be passed in.

Friday, March 26

Surrealist Poetry

Surreal = the real manipulated or taken out of context to become beyond real, like dreams and fantasies.

1.  Assignment: Complete the following activity Creative Writing – Surrealist Poetry. Remember, these poems are intended to produce odd, unexpected, or even silly results.

On Friday, students worked on their arguments and some researched on the computers.  Students must do some research at home and be prepared to have information they can work with in class.  Students will be given alternate assignments if they are not working in the class time that is given.

Reminder:  I will have a progress check on Tuesday, Feb. 23rd.  You must show that you have been working on your draft.