1. Yay! Poems! And other fun business.

2. You like music, right?  Think about poems like music but without all the other noise going on.

3. Poetry  The words in a good poem create their own music.  Some rhythms can be fast and uplifting, while others may have sounds that are sad and somber.

4. Rhythm  the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables  We don’t speak in a monotone, flat voice, and when you read poetry, you shouldn’t sound like a robot either.  Stressed means the syllable gets a stronger beat than other syllables.  Poems may use rhythm with or without a rhyme scheme to create meanings and effects.  The way a poem rhythm and rhyme sounds can tell you something about its meaning.

5. Rhyme Scheme  Rhyme scheme refers to end rhyme and the pattern of the rhyme in the poem. End words that rhyme are given a letter and usually form a pattern  AABB  ABAB

6. Figurative Language  Figurative language is when the author plays with words to make unusual comparisons, connections, images, and ideas with words. Figurative language is not meant to be taken literally. There are several types of figurative language.  Similes, metaphors, personification, and hyperboles are examples of types of figurative language.

7. What is a hyperbole?  Remember, hyperbole (high-PER-bowl-ie) is an exaggeration that we do not take seriously.  I am so hungry I could eat a horse.  She is faster than a bullet.

8. How to read a poem…  Pay attention to the rhythm and rhyme.  Look for comparisons being made  Make a picture in your mind of what is being said.  Read it aloud!!!!  Understand the words  Pay attention to the title.

9. Types of poetry  “Odes” are poems that are dedicated to a something or someone.  “Narrative Poems” tells a story. Other poems may also use narratives as well.

10. Some vocabulary…  Muster (noun) – an assembled group  Tread (noun) – way of walking  Somber (adjective) – depressing, sad  Impetuous (adjective) – impulsive, eager  Tranquil (adjective) – calm  Peril (noun) - danger

11. Paul Revere’s Ride  By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

12. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow  1807 – 1882  Most popular American poet of his time.

13. American Revolution  This poem tells a story about the beginning of the American Revolution.  On April 18, 1775, the British troops went into Boston to arrest leaders (Sam Adams and John Hancock).  Paul Revere and his friend William Dawes went to warn them.  It was actually Samuel Prescott who sounded the alarm.  On the morning of April 19, 1775, the village was ready to face the British soldiers.  A shot was fired (no one knows which side fired) and the American Revolution began.

14. Go to Mrs. Running’s webpage  Go to the “Poetry” page  Click on the “Paul Revere’s Ride” assignment 1, 2, or 3 (See your teacher if you forgot which assignment to upload.)  Open the assignment in Pages.

15. Page 629 Before you read, complete the “before you read” section on your assignment. Follow the directions for the rest of the assignment as you read.