Poem In Your Pocket Day-April 18

National Poem in Your Pocket Day 

http://www.poets.org/academy-american-poets/programs/national-poem-your-pocket-day 

About PIYP Day 
http://www.nyc.gov/html/poem/html/about/about.shtml

Poem in Your Pocket Day

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/poem-in-your-pocket-day/ 

Participate in Poem in Your Pocket Day!

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/participate-poem-your-pocket-20720.html 

Such a difficult choice-which poem? "The Raven"? "The Road Not Taken"? "Hope Is A Thing With Feathers"? I'm torn between a poem previously in my pocket-"The Rainy Day" by Longfellow- and tucking e e cummings' "anyone lived in a pretty how town"  back there. Hey, since there is no rule about only one poem in one pocket, maybe I'll put on my cargo pants and live it up!

What Does Poetry Do?

Poetry brings us immediately to the top of Bloom's Taxonomy of higher level thinking, triggering the growth of synapses in our brains as we struggle for personal meaning in the verse. Poetry satisfies our daily emotional nutritional requirements for serendipity, musical language, inspiration, mental challenge, comfort, schmaltz, and frequently, humor. Poetry is packaged in mystery, mathematical meter, and personal validation--equity in our own interpretations.

National Poetry Month: Poem #7

  “Hope” is the thing with feathers - (314)

By Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

This is such a precious metaphor. Thank you, Emily.

Emily Dickinson 1830–1886

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/emily-dickinson

National Poetry Month: Whoa, Dude!

Would be a 'whoa, dude!' experience

That's awesome! Not exactly what Wordsworth said, but almost. This is a very famous poem with lots of mixed metaphors, but still great for this time of year with all the tulips and daffodils popping up.

The serendipity (happy surprise) expressed in this poem is like the opposite of PTSD--the memory of the experience brings refreshing joy and satisfying peace, as experiences in nature often do.

  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Wandered_Lonely_as_a_Cloud
The theme of feeling a part of nature and having joy in reflecting back on a beautiful experience is worth reading this poem with kids. Plus, they will meet 'I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud'  many times in English literature class. I do like the daffodils dancing spritely. Personification does it for me every time.

in Just
by e e cumming

http://www.poetry-archive.com/c/in_just.html
Springtime is an excellent time for teaching poetry because it seems poets get very inspired during this season. e. e. cummings even made up new words for spring--mudluscious (You can hear your galoshes go schluppp as you try to extract them out of the newly melted snow/mud. Like hot fudge being pulled out of a sundae. That's mudluscious.) And everyone knows what puddlewonderful is; none of us resist splashing in a puddle. Of course, we in SoCal can't fully appreciate the ecstacy that the folks Back East experience having a puddle to splash after everything freezes for half the year--but we sort of empathize.

That's not eddieandbill or bettyandisbel. Maybe its bettyandeddie or isbelandbill; or bettyandbill or isbelandeddie.

 Kids also love music. So it is no surprise that Spring from Vivaldi would really tickle them with the marvelous sounds of a  spring day--that they can identify on their walk to and from school. The music even sounds like flowers burst-blooming in the sun.

Spring by Vivaldi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRxofEmo3HA
Performed by the Budapest Strings.

National Poetry Month: Poem #3

Photo by Shane, Wargave, England

 Summer Song

Wanderer moon
smiling a
faintly ironical smile
at this
brilliant, dew-moistened
summer morning,–
a detached
sleepily indifferent
smile, a
wanderer’s smile,–
if I should
buy a shirt
your color and
put on a necktie
sky-blue
where would they carry me?

- William Carlos Williams

National Poetry Month: Poem #2

The Fall of Icarus by Bruehgal

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus

William Carlos Williams 

According to Brueghel
when Icarus fell
it was spring 

a farmer was ploughing
his field
the whole pageantry 

of the year was
awake tingling
with itself 

sweating in the sun
that melted
the wings' wax 

unsignificantly
off the coast
there was 

a splash quite unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning 

 William Carlos Williams

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Carlos_Williams

Icarus

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icarus

Jim Henson's The Storyteller Daedalus and Icarus

 http://www.tv.com/shows/jim-hensons-the-storyteller/daedalus-and-icarus-1598028/

  

Don't Like Poetry? Betcha Do

...don't forget all those Valentine's rhymes!

 You say you don't like poetry--I doubt that. We just have to establish what we mean by poetry.

Yes, you enjoyed a movie that is all poetry.

That come-on line is nothing but poetry.

Romeo + Juliet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_%2B_Juliet 

 

The Cat in the Hat--even my name is poetry.

 

You can't say you never liked Dr. Seuss--what's that--you forgot it was poetry? 

The Cat in the Hat

http://www.seussville.com/books/book_detail.php?isbn=9780394800011 

     

Betting you have quoted poetry, though maybe not all at once.

Tis better to have loved and lost/Than never to have loved at all  Tennyson To err is human; to forgive, divine  Alexander Pope  A thing of beauty is a joy forever  Keats And miles to go before I sleep  Robert Frost Hope springs eternal in the human breast  Alexander Pope To be or not to be: that is the question Shakespeare I know why the caged bird sings Maya Angelou O Romeo, Romeo; wherefore art thou Romeo Shakespeare...there's no joy in Mudville, the mighty Casey has struck out. Thayer

You probably chuckled at the Limerick about the girl from Venus, but I won't print that since this is a family edublog. But this poem  might make you smile, especially noting the poet.

The marriage of poor Kim Kardashian
Was krushed like a kar in a krashian.
Her Kris kried, "Not fair!
Why kan't I keep my share?" 
But Kardashian fell klean outa fashian.
—Salman Rushdie 

Maybe you didn't realize you were accessing poetry during spiritual moments. The Psalms are poems, like the most quoted Psalm 23.

Lena Moore Psalm 23 Quilt ca. 1930 Collection of Janet M. Green "Talking Quilts" American Folk Art Museum

Remember when you were in ninth grade and you kind of liked that wild story with the Greek guy and all the monsters like the Cyclops and the crazy-haired Medusa? 

That was poetry, thanks to Homer, not Simpson. The Odyssey by Homer.

Cyclops AKA Claymation

Achilles AKA Brad Pitt.

 And don't forget Achilles, not the heel. The Illiad (and the story of Troy) was a poem, too.

 Speaking of Homer Simpson, here is my last evidentiary item. You enjoyed "The Raven: the Simpson's Version." I know you did. Though they did a really Poe job of it. (Ha, English teacher joke.)

The Raven: The Simpsons Version

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=251203 

Poetry...you like poetry. Told ya so.

The Raven:The Simpsons Version [117,615 views] 

the

The Raven:The Simpsons Version[117,615 views]

 

What Happens To A Dream Deferred?

Harlem

By Langston Hughes

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 just sags

      like a heavy load.

      Or does it explode?

God's Grandeur

Happy Valentine's Day with up so floating many bells down

 [anyone lived in a pretty how town] 

BY E. E. CUMMINGS

anyone lived in a pretty how town

(with up so floating many bells down)

spring summer autumn winter

he sang his didn’t he danced his did.

Women and men(both little and small)

cared for anyone not at all

they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same

sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few

and down they forgot as up they grew

autumn winter spring summer)

that noone loved him more by more

when by now and tree by leaf

she laughed his joy she cried his grief

bird by snow and stir by still

anyone’s any was all to her

someones married their everyones

laughed their cryings and did their dance

(sleep wake hope and then)they

said their nevers they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon

(and only the snow can begin to explain

how children are apt to forget to remember

with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess

(and noone stooped to kiss his face)

busy folk buried them side by side

little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep

and more by more they dream their sleep

noone and anyone earth by april

wish by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men(both dong and ding)

summer autumn winter spring

reaped their sowing and went their came

sun moon stars 

Journaling 10/25/18

The morns are meeker than they were - (32)

BY EMILY DICKINSON

The morns are meeker than they were - 

The nuts are getting brown -

The berry’s cheek is plumper -

The rose is out of town. 

The maple wears a gayer scarf -

The field a scarlet gown -

Lest I sh'd be old-fashioned 

I’ll put a trinket on. 

Research Conversation: Edgar Allan Poe

We are starting our journey to a research paper with what I like to call a 'Research Conversation.'
Students take notes on documentaries, use the classroom Chromebooks for directed research on the topic, and use collaborative groups to compare notes and sources to create their own take on the subject-in this case Edgar Allan Poe. Since Poe was a writer, the information will include summaries of his work we discussed in class, including "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Cask of Amontillado'" and, of course, "The Raven." 

Here is a sample outline for an informal paper on a famous person created from 'Research Conversations.' 

• Introduction
• Early Life
• Difficulties
• Decisions
• Accomplishments
• Writer's assessment of the famous person's life

The Poetry Foundation

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/

Journaling 10/16/18

Emily Dickinson

This Week in MzT's Classroom: Creative Writing, Grammar, and Poe 10/8-10/12/18

All grades

Monday--Professional Development, no school for students

Tuesday Review essays

Discuss outside reading groups

Discuss vocabulary.com, spelling, grammar upcoming

Documentaries on Poe, notation, summaries

HW review nouns

Wednesday The Raven packet; video

Varieties of poems, students write poems for Poet-tree

Diagramming sentences--nouns and subject of a sentence
Review Outside Reading Lists

Thursday The Tell-Tale Heart packet; video
Creative writing--poems for Poet-Tree
Diagramming sentences--verbs and predicates of a sentence
Discuss Outside Reading
HW Poe packets

Friday The Cask of Amontillado packet; video
Creative writing--poems for the Poet-Tree

The Victorians--Starting with Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe - Full Episode

https://www.biography.com/video/edgar-allan-poe-full-episode-2104513528

The Raven and Other Poe Info
https://mztsclass.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-raven.html

The Cask of Amontillado

https://mztsclass.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-cask-of-amontillado.html

The Tell-Tale Heart

https://mztsclass.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-tell-tale-heart.html

The Beautiful Yet Dark Mind Of Edgar Allan Poe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6IiusT-Seo 

Edgar Allan Poe Biography

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLZ76Lnw8Lg

WHO WAS EDGAR ALLAN POE?

https://www.poemuseum.org/who-was-edgar-allan-poe

This Week in MzT's Classroom 10/1/18-10/5/18

This week classes are finishing presentations of alternative reading reports. How fun this is!

Our study of poetry will continue--Grades 12 and 11 will develop a Literary Analysis Essay. The students may choose between  "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, and "The Rainy Day," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Grades 8, 9, and 10 will write Compare/Contrast essays on those two poems. Quite a good challenge! Grade 7 will develop a graphic organizer comparing the two poems.

Monday 
Grades 10 and 11
               Metaphors
               
The art of the metaphor - Jane Hirshfield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0edKgL9EgM

HW Summarize notes from the Elements of Poetry.

Grades 12, 9, 8, 7
Finish Alternative Reading Projects.

HW Summarize notes from the Elements of Poetry.

Tuesday
Grades 10 and 11
Alternative Book Reports
HW Develop Outline for Essay

Grade 12, 9, 8, 7
Review elements of poetry. Discuss metaphor
The art of the metaphor - Jane Hirshfield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0edKgL9EgM

Develop graphic organization for Compare and Contrast Essay of Frost and Longfellow.

HW fill in graphic organizer.

Wednesday
Grades 11 and 10
Alternative Book Reports
Discussion of Metaphor

Grade 12, 9, 8, 7
Discussion of Metaphor
Development of a Graphic Organizer

Thursday
Grades 12, 11,
Collaborative Teams discuss Rough Drafts for Literary Analysis Essay on choice between  Frost and Longfellow.

HW Write Rough draft for Literary Analysis Essay.

Grades 10, 9, 8,and 7.

Collaborative Teams discuss Rough Drafts for Compare/Contrast Essay of Frost and Longfellow.

HW Grades 10, 9, and 8 Write Rough Draft for Compare/Contrast Essay of Frost and Longfellow.
HW Grade 7 has a choice to fill in a Graphic Organizer or a Rough Draft for an Essay.

Friday
Grades 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7
Grades 12 and 11 will write a Literary Analysis Essay on their choice between the poems of Frost and Longfellow.
Grades 10, 9, 8 will write a Compare/Contrast Essay on the two poems.
Grade 7 will have a choice of filling a Graphic organizer or writing a Compare/Contrast Essay.

This Week in MzT's Classroom 9/24-9/28 2018

Monday

Grades 12-7 Study of Poetry
Outside Reading Check
Introduction to Poetry

Poetry Terminology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX_ZUw5rcKU

Notation: Elements of Poetry
Seniors: Intro. to Beowulf
HW: Learn Elements of Poetry

Tuesday
Grades 12-7
Journaling
Study of Poetry

POETRY TERMS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnPU8AOuQ_A

Quiz: Elements of Poetry
Outside Reading Check
Introduction to Poetry
Notation: Figurative Language
HW Grade 11 Survey of English Lit :
Packet
Olaudah Equiano
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15399/15399-h/15399-h.htm
HW: Learn Elements of Figurative Language

Wednesday
Grades 12-7 Study of Poetry

Quiz: Figurative Language
Outside Reading Check
Poetry
Robert Frost
The Road Not Taken

Thursday
Grades 12-7 Journaling
Study of Poetry
Poetry
Longfellow
The Rainy Day
HW Compare 'The Road Not Taken' to 'The
The Rainy Day
Compare and Contrast Rough Draft

Friday
Grades 12-7 Study of Poetry
Poetry
Grades 7, 8, 9 10
Write Compare and Contrast Essay with collaboration
Grades

Grades 11 and 12
Write Literary Analysis Essay with collaboration
Edutopia Rubric Literary Analysis
https://backend.edutopia.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/stw/edutopia-stw-yesprep-rubric-literary-analysis.pdf