MS. GWYNNE’S POETRY ELECTIVE Appreciating, Analyzing and Writing Poetry

Appreciate Poetry… “ Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” ~Robert Frost Whose woods these are I think know. His house is in the village, though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by American Poet Robert Frost

Recognize the Value of Poetry… ““We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering- these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love - these are what we stay alive for.” ~Robin Williams in “Dead Poets Society”  Watch the clip from the film Dead Poets Society Watch the clip from the film Dead Poets Society

Introduce Yourself… On the large index card… 1) Write your name creatively and colorfully using markers, Colored pencils, crayons, etc. 2) Surround your name with 3 adjectives that describe YOU! They must all start with the letter of your first name!! **HINT** Use a thesaurus to help you come up with creative and unique adjectives. If you need help thinking of descriptive words that start with your letter, ask me and I’ll help you out! INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO THE CLASS!!! The card you make today will be part of the background art of the cover of your Creative Journal…

Brainstorm a Poem… 1. On the other index card, write a list of various words that you can associate with in some way. 2. Follow the categories below. Be sure to leave a BIG space between the words. Follow Ms. Gwynne’s example. People (5) Places (5) Colors (5) Emotions (5) Adjectives (10) Use a thesaurus to come up with creative and unique words!! You will be using these words later in a poem (of course)!

Put a Poem Together… 1) After compiling a list of unique, creative, and (hopefully) poetic words, cut out each individual word. 2) Start brainstorming ways to organize the words into the form of a poem (lines and stanzas). 3) Your poem can be any length, it doesn’t have to rhyme (but it can), and it MUST be reflective of you in some way. This should be easy—since all the words you brainstormed are words you can associate with 4) GOOD LUCK and HAVE FUN!! Create your own MAGNETIC POEM!!

Write & Recite 1. Once you organize your words into a poem that you are pleased with…glue down your poem on the index card. 2. Now your original poem is COMPLETE and YOU ARE A POET!! 3. Practice reciting your poem aloud to yourself and with a partner. 4. When you feel you are ready…come see me and recite the poem aloud for me to critique. Read with emotion and confidence. Finalizing your PoemReciting your Poem Aloud The way you a poem is recited (read aloud) is just as important as the way the poem is written!!

Journal 1) On page 1 of your journal, write down the 7 STEPS TO ANNOTATE A POEM from the board. 2) Choose your 3 favorite poems from the POETRY WORKSHOP packet. 3) Cut them out and glue them in on page 2 of your journal. Write a 2-3 sentence caption for each explaining what you found interesting about the poem. 4) Starting on page 3, glue in your own original poems. Put one poem per page in this order: a) Magnet poem b) Fingerprint poem Your own creations… This will be where you keep your original poems, as well as your journal entries and inspirational ideas for poems. Putting your journal together…