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TRANSLATION

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MEGGIE MONAHAN

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INSTRUCTIONAL

NOTE

Feel free to modify, add, or select specific questions from this bellringer to best fit your instructional goals and available time. Adjust as needed to align with your lesson focus or classroom pacing.

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Also, some of the materials in these bellringers contain sensitive subject matter and/or language. Please preview the resources beforehand and make any alterations as needed.

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BELLRINGER FOCUS: DICTION

  • Read “Translation” by Meggie Monahan.
    • Go to http://bit.ly/3G9inRr to access the poem.
  • Answer the following question(s):
    • Choose two definitions in the poem that shift the meaning of familiar words into something poetic or surreal. How do these new meanings change your emotional response to the words?
    • Look at how the poem redefines abstract words like “time,” “love,” or “happiness.” What effect does this redefinition have on the piece?
    • How does the poet’s diction in redefining familiar words help reveal the meaning of the work as a whole? How do they all work together to create meaning?

CREATIVE WRITING EXTENSIONS

  • Choose an abstract word like hope, fear, or memory and write your own definition for it.
  • Create a short list of ordinary words and redefine them based on your experiences.
  • Write a paragraph that uses one of your redefined words in a sentence, as if it has always meant that.