CLOSE Reading of Poetry

Day 1

Poetry Analysis Rules�GLUE ON RIGHT!�

• Number the lines of the poem
• Read poem looking for words you don’t know (underline and look up in the dictionary)
• Read again looking for figurative language (underline and label)
• Write the theme of the piece underneath the poem citing lines that support your theme (read again if necessary to figure this one out)

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List—ON THE LEFT!

• Make a list of 15-20 things that change—big things or little things. The change can be a quick change—your friend suddenly isn’t your friend—or a gradual change—a change of season.

Organize your list into categories; use a different box for each category

Change

• What do people do to avoid change?
• For example, some people exercise to stay healthy, some take vitamins and supplements.
• Others choose to have cosmetic surgery in order to remain young looking.

Change

• Do these practices stop change? Slow it down?
• Can you think of things that groups—families, teams, nations—do to avoid change?

Nothing Gold Can Stay

• What do you think this title means?
• Doesn’t gold stay forever?
• How can it be that gold cannot/does not stay the same?

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Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

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Hyperbole!

ALLITERATION?

Symbol and Theme

• GOLD:
• A SYMBOL: means rebirth and new life; both equally precious, therefore, ‘gold.’
• THEME:
• Life changes quickly!

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Write About It (Choose One)

• Write about something you thought would never change but did, in fact, change. Was it a change for the better? Or did it make you feel sad, angry, betrayed?
• If you live in a part of the country that experiences a change of seasons, write a short personal narrative that shows the change you like the most or the least and why. If there is NOT significant seasonal changes, write about your reasons for liking/disliking that. If you wish to experience a significant change of seasons, write why.
• Make a list of things you wish would never change. Explain why.
• THEN: Write a poem, 6 lines or more, any style, about something ‘gold’ in YOUR life. Be APPROPRIATE.

Small and sweet, always sitting upon my feet,

Little grey girl, loudly screaming at the door.

From the first time you snuggled in my arms,

I knew we were meant to be,

Mother and daughter; my little ball of fur.

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For every day I greet the dawn,

For you, time passes seven times as fast.

Our days and lives are rapidly rushing by,

Vanishing like clouds across the turquoise sky.

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My little piece of gold,

Whose love for me is impossible to hold.

You are my world; loved more than myself,

Your age brings tears to my eyes,

My aging schnauzer; my little ball of fur.

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In this section,

• For our first skill, we will be learning how to accurately quote from a text when we are trying to explain what the text says explicitly.
• We will also be using text quotations when drawing inferences from the text. 

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A Poison Tree�William Blake�

• I was angry with my friend:
• I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
• I was angry with my foe:
• I told it not, my wrath did grow.�
• And I watered it in fears,
• Night and morning with my tears;
• And I sunned it with smiles,
• And with soft deceitful wiles.

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A Poison Tree�William Blake�

• And it grew both day and night,
• Till it bore an apple bright.
• And my foe beheld it shine.
• And he knew that it was mine,�
• And into my garden stole
• When the night had veiled the pole;
• In the morning glad I see
• My foe outstretched beneath the tree. 

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A Poison Tree�William Blake�

• I was angry with my friend:
• I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
• I was angry with my foe:
• I told it not, my wrath did grow.�
• And I watered it in fears,
• Night and morning with my tears;
• And I sunned it with smiles,
• And with soft deceitful wiles.

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D

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A Poison Tree�William Blake�

• And it grew both day and night,
• Till it bore an apple bright.
• And my foe beheld it shine.
• And he knew that it was mine,�
• And into my garden stole
• When the night had veiled the pole;
• In the morning glad I see
• My foe outstretched beneath the tree. 

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Answer the following questions about TONE in Your ISN.�

• How does the narrator feel toward his foe? What words does the narrator use that convey his feelings?
• What attitude does the narrator have toward his foe and to his plan?

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"Speak Up" poses an interesting question:

• What makes someone an American?
• Is it something you can see?
• Is it about where you were born?
• Is it about where your ancestors came from?
• Is it about what you can contribute to your country?

Speak Up

You’re Korean, aren’t you?

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Why don’t you speak Korean?

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Say something in Korean.

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Yes.

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Just don’t, I guess.

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I don’t speak it.

I can’t.

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Speak Up

C’mon. Say something.

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Say some other stuff.

Sounds funny.

Sounds strange.

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Halmoni. Grandmother.

Haraboji. Grandfather.

Imo. Aunt.

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Hey, let’s listen to you for a change.

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Speak Up

Listen to me?

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But I’m American,

Can’t you see?

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But I was born here.

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Say some foreign words.

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Your family came from somewhere else.

Sometime.

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So was I.

American

American

Confused?

Arrogant

Offended

Me: Mrs. Lesniewicz

Flagstaff, AZ

My Mother:

Sandy, New Mexico

My Father:

Dwayne, New Mexico

Grannie:

Ann, Arkansas

Grandpa:

Leon, Arkansas

Grandma:

Eula Geraldine, Oklahoma

Grandpa:

Joseph Benjamin (JB), Texas

G.Gma:

Luella, Oklahoma

G.Gpa:

Wiley, Arkansas

G.Gma:

Mary, Texas

G.Gpa:

Joseph, Texas

G.Gma:

Corrie, Arkansas

G.Gpa:

Jeff, Arkansas

G.Gma:

Allie, Arkansas

G.Gpa:

Deward, Arkansas

Choose ONE:

• Write about a time when you were insensitive to someone who was “different.” How was that person “different” in your eyes? Or perhaps it was a time when you witnessed such treatment. Or was there a time when you were on the receiving end of insensitivity because you were “different”? Consider why you were perceived as “different” in that situation.
• What should the United States’ immigration policy be? Let everyone in (we are, after all, “the melting pot”)? Send all the “foreigners” back to where they came from so they stop taking American jobs? Make a decision and explain your reasoning.
• Does speaker two want to be invisible in a way? Have you ever wanted to be invisible? Why? Write about that time and how you coped with the situation.

• Write about a time when you were insensitive to someone who was “different.” How was that person “different” in your eyes? Or perhaps it was a time when you witnessed such treatment. Or was there a time when you were on the receiving end of insensitivity because you were “different”? Consider why you were perceived as “different” in that situation.
• I was perceived as “different” because I skipped grades in school, and other kids made fun of me for being little. The kids my own age, who had been my peers, no longer talked to me because I didn’t hang out with them anymore and had no classes with them. When I reached 5^th grade, my front teeth stuck out funny, and everyone called me names. Daily, I would come home crying because there wasn’t anyone to stick up for me. I hated school, did not want to go, and it was a constant heartache for my mom.
• Even later, after braces, I never was a part of just one group, but rather fit in multiple. This worked well, until high school. In my high school, you were either a part of the ‘it’ crowd, or you were a target for them. I was a target. It was a really rough time, my brother moved out and disappeared for several years, my parents were at a loss, and I was left feeling alone and depressed. It led to many personal issues for myself; bulimia, low self-esteem, wanting to drop out, looking for love in all the wrong places. It wasn’t until ONE teacher took an active interest in my life and well-being, that I started to find myself again and be ok with what I found. There are still many days and times where I worry, about acceptance, about standing out in a crowd in the wrong way, and only because I have consistently stayed positive, have I not fallen into the habits I had previously formed.

ANALYZING THEMES IN POETRY

Create a Chart and Fill it in…

• Who are two people (people you know, fictional characters, people from the news) who have courage?
• Why do you think these people are courageous?
• What qualities do these people show?

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Courage…

• What is courage?
• Must it be physical?
• What do you know of the KKK?

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Friends in the Klan�by Marilyn Nelson�1923�

Black veterans of WWI experienced

such discrimination in veterans' hospitals

that the Veterans' Administration, to save face, 

opened Tuskegee, a brand-new hospital

for Negroes only. Under white control. 

(White nurses, who were legally excused

from touching blacks, stood holding their elbows

and ordering colored maids around, white shoes

tapping impatiently.)

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The Professor joined�the protest. When the first black doctor arrived

to jubilation, the KKK uncoiled

its length and hissed. If you want to stay alive

be away Tuesday. Unsigned. But a familiar hand. 

The professor stayed. And he prayed for his friend in the Klan.

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Friends in the Klan�by Marilyn Nelson�1923�

• Black veterans of WWI experienced
• such discrimination in veterans' hospitals
• that the Veterans' Administration, to save face, 
• opened Tuskegee, a brand-new hospital
• for Negroes only. Under white control. 
• (White nurses, who were legally excused
• from touching blacks, stood holding their elbows
• and ordering colored maids around, white shoes
• tapping impatiently.)

Friends in the Klan�by Marilyn Nelson�1923�

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• The Professor joined
• the protest. When the first black doctor arrived
• to jubilation, the KKK uncoiled
• its length and hissed. If you want to stay alive
• be away Tuesday. Unsigned. But a familiar hand. 
• The professor stayed. And he prayed for his friend in the Klan.

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The author ends the poem with the following lines: 

"When the first black doctor arrived �to jubilation, the KKK uncoiled�its length and hissed. If you want to stay alive�be away Tuesday. Unsigned. But a familiar hand. �The professor stayed. And he prayed for his friend in the Klan.“

• These lines reveal a different reaction to the discrimination described in the poem than what would normally be expected.
• Why do you suppose the professor stayed?
• Why would he pray for his "friend in the Klan"? 

A closer look…

…Carver’s life was in danger not only because of his skin color, but also because of his dedication to his professional life and those of other African Americans. The poem “Friends in the Klan: 1923” (81) brings to light for young readers the extremely segregated world in which Carver was living, using poetic devices like the caesura in the fifth line where a veterans’ hospital was opened “for Negroes only. Under white control.” The hard stop in the middle of the line emphasizes the enforced separation of the races.

Cormier, Emily. "Project MUSE - "Genius, Scientist, Saint": Carver as Hagiography." Project MUSE. John Hopkins University Press, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

A closer look…

In the same poem, Carver defies an anonymously written note that reads, “If you want to stay alive, be away Tuesday,” in order to support the right of fellow professionals at Tuskegee to pursue their careers. Instead of being “away Tuesday,” Nelson writes, “The Professor stayed. And he prayed for his friend in the Klan.” The internal rhyme found in both lines (“away Tuesday” and “stayed . . . prayed”) calls attention to how Carver transforms the Klan’s directive into an opportunity for him to pray for his friend. Although not a martyr for Christianity, Carver is willing to risk martyrdom for his beliefs.

Cormier, Emily. "Project MUSE - "Genius, Scientist, Saint": Carver as Hagiography." Project MUSE. John Hopkins University Press, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

Write about the following:�

• If you were going to write to George Washington Carver or to his friend in the Klan, what would you say?
• Make a list of questions you would ask each person. (10 pts.)
• Or write one of them a letter. (25 pts.)

December 15, 2015

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Dear Friend in the KKK,

First, let me say, although we do not agree with your ideas, thoughts, and actions, I can see how you might consider yourself to be ‘courageous.’ Unfortunately, I feel that in order to have courage, you must be faced with doing the right actions, and you sir, are doing anything except the correct activities.

What makes your beliefs more important than those of everyone else? How is it that we are all humans, yet you consider people of different skin pigmentation, to be beneath the basic rights of humanity? Do we not have it written in the Constitution that “…all men are created equal…”? I know I view this with an ethnocentric point of view, looking at the past and your actions as wrong because in the future, we know better, but in any world, on any continent, in any city, or home, people are just that. People. No matter how their looks, dialects, languages, beliefs may differ from our own; they are indeed, still humans.

Everyone deserves the right to be treated with respect and kindness when in need of medical care, help with understanding and making sense of the world around them! You may have joined the KKK for protection from the corrupt law enforcement and judges, neighbors, and town councils, however, if you remember nothing else from this letter, I hope you remember these words of advice: “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends” from J.K. Rowling.

Take a chance. Be the change. Stop being a follower, and find the leader within yourself to do the right thing!

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Regards,

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Mrs. Lesniewicz

Write a short, descriptive paragraph:

• About something you have either kept that you should have discarded or something you discarded you wish you had kept? Describe the object. (Think five senses).
• What was your attachment to it?
• How did you finally come to make your decision about it?

Write a short, descriptive paragraph

When I was younger, I always sucked my thumb, and it drove my father crazy! For over a year, when I was four, my dad took me to the mall and walked by the toy store every single day. Each day, we stood in front of the toy store window, and he told me he’d buy me the Strawberry Kisses Strawberry Shortcake doll, if only I’d stop sucking my thumb. With her ruby red hair, pink freckled cheeks, sweet like pursed lips that when her tummy was squeezed blew strawberry smelling air ‘kisses,’ and of course, her little outfit.

Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, until I finally gave in, or so my dad thought! He bought me the doll, and, I stopped sucking my thumb in front of him! But to this day, I still have my doll, she still smells faintly of fake strawberries and brings back vivid memories of a childhood filled with laughter and fun!

Complete the following Time Capsule chart.

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Magazines

Show celebrities, fashions, advertisements, products

Camera/Phone

Show how technology changes

Letter

Describing life as I know it and predictions for the future

iPod

Filled with current popular music and favorite songs

TV Guide and a newspaper

Demonstrate movies, TV shows, and current events

Junkyards

by Julian Lee Rayford

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You take any junkyard

and you will see it filled with

symbols of progress

remarkable things discarded

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What civilization when ahead on

all its onward-impelling implements

are given over to the junkyards

to rust

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The supreme implement, the wheel

is conspicuous in the junkyards

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The axles and the levers

the cogs and the flywheels

all the parts of dynamos

all the parts of motors

fall the parts of rusting.

Junkyards

by Julian Lee Rayford

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• You take any junkyard
• and you will see it filled with
• symbols of progress
• remarkable things discarded

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• What civilization when ahead on
• all its onward-impelling implements
• are given over to the junkyards
• to rust

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• The supreme implement, the wheel
• is conspicuous in the junkyards

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• The axles and the levers
• the cogs and the flywheels
• all the parts of dynamos
• all the parts of motors
• fall the parts of rusting.

In this section,

• We will determine the theme of a story, drama, or poem from the details in the text,
• including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic.
• We'll also be summarizing texts. 

When It Is Snowing�by Siv Cedering�

When it is snowing

the blue jay

is the only piece of 

sky

in my backyard

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When It Is Snowing�by Siv Cedering�

• When it is snowing
• the blue jay
• is the only piece of 
• sky
• in my backyard

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Poppies �by Roy Scheele�

 The light in them stands as clear as water

drawn from a well

When the breeze moves across them they totter.

You half expect them to spill. 

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Poppies �by Roy Scheele�

• The light in them stands as clear as water
• drawn from a well
• When the breeze moves across them they totter.
• You half expect them to spill. 

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Write a FREE VERSE poem of at least EIGHT lines about NATURE

Tugboat at Daybreak�by Lillian Morrison�

The necklace of the bridge 

is already dimmed for morning

but a tug in a tiara

glides slowly up the river, 

a jewel of the dawn,

still festooned in light. 

The river seems to slumber

quiet in its bed,

as silently the tugboat, 

a ghostlike apparition, 

moves twinkling up the river

and disappears from sight. 

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Tugboat at Daybreak�by Lillian Morrison�

• The necklace of the bridge 
• is already dimmed for morning
• but a tug in a tiara
• glides slowly up the river, 
• a jewel of the dawn,
• still festooned in light. 

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• The river seems to slumber
• quiet in its bed,
• as silently the tugboat, 
• a ghostlike apparition, 
• moves twinkling up the river
• and disappears from sight. 

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Each stanza of Tugboat at Daybreak is similar to a haiku, in that it focuses on a very limited scene, with a limited about of action.

• Can you think if a couple of scenes that you can describe in rich details like the ones Lillian Morrison uses?
• Take your time. Stop to pay attention. As you observe, take notes, don't forget to bring your other senses in the mix. Of course you will be looking, but that shouldn't stop you from listening or touching as well.

Spring Storm�  by Jim Wayne Miller�

He comes gusting out of the house, 

the screen door a thunderclap behind him. 

He moves like a black cloud

over the lawn and---stops.

A hand in his mind grabs

a purple crayon of anger

and messes the clean sky.

He sits on the steps, his eye drawing

a mustache on the face in the tree. 

As his weather clears, 

his rage dripping away, 

wisecracks and wonderment

spring up like dandelions. 

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Spring Storm�  by Jim Wayne Miller�

• He comes gusting out of the house, 
• the screen door a thunderclap behind him. 

• He moves like a black cloud
• over the lawn and---stops.

• A hand in his mind grabs
• a purple crayon of anger
• and messes the clean sky.

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• He sits on the steps, his eye drawing
• a mustache on the face in the tree. 

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• As his weather clears, 
• his rage dripping away, 

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• wisecracks and wonderment
• spring up like dandelions.  

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Jot down the various stages of the story in Spring Storm, including the climax of the story and the falling action at the end of the poem. 

Write About It

• What do you think happened in the home before the boy stormed out the door?
• Write a dialogue between him and another character or two in the house.
• What did they argue about?
• Who said what to whom leading up to his angry exit?
• Create the other characters as well as the things they said to one another.
• Your dialogue will look like a play. Don't forget to add stage directions, so your actors will know what to do in addition to what to say. �

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�The Wreck of the Hesperus

BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

• It was the schooner Hesperus,
•       That sailed the wintry sea;
• And the skipper had taken his little daughter,
•       To bear him company.

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• Blue were her eyes as the fairy-flax,
•       Her cheeks like the dawn of day,
• And her bosom white as the hawthorn buds,
•       That open in the month of May.

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• The skipper he stood beside the helm,
•       His pipe was in his mouth,
• And he watched how the veering flaw did blow
•       The smoke now West, now South.
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• Then up and spake an old Sailor,
•       Had sailed to the Spanish Main,
• "I pray thee, put into yonder port,
•       For I fear a hurricane.