Poetry Out Loud: Evidence of Understanding

One of the criteria for your Poetry Out Loud performance is evidence of understanding. In order to prepare to show you understand the poem, do some research.

First, research any words that are unfamiliar and/or any allusions that might be in the poem. If there are no words that you don't know, this poem is probably too easy for you! But if you still love it and want to recite it, choose a word that is more complex and explore the complexity of the word's connotation and meaning. Write about the words and allusions you researched and how they add to your understanding of the poem.

Second, research your poet and find a reading/performance of your poem on the Internet. Using Wikipedia is okay for this assignment as the goal here is just to find out some information about your poet rather than to do an in-depth research project. Find out about your poet's life: what else did/does he/she do besides write poetry? What kind of education did he/she have? What is his/her family life like? Answer these questions and remark on why you think he/she would've written the poem that you are working on for Poetry Out Loud. How does this add to your understanding of your poem?

Finally, watch someone else read/perform the poem. You can usually find a reading on YouTube or another website. Write about which words/lines were given emphasis and what you think the tone of the speaker's voice conveyed about the poem. If you can't find a reading of your poem, watch a performance of another poem on poetryoutloud.org and write about how the student performing shows the meaning of his/her poem through the performance.

Write three paragraphs for this post. The first paragraph is about the words and allusions that add to the meaning and enhance your understanding. The second paragraph is about how understanding some part of the poet's life helps you understand the poem and the third paragraph is about how watching a performance helps you think about how you can perform your poem in a way that portrays your understanding of its meaning to your audience.

Due Monday, December 19.

TKAM: Great Ideas

This week we've done a ton of discussion in class, including a Socratic Seminar and Jenga. What are some of the best ideas you've heard in class? How did hearing someone else's ideas this week push your thinking or help you think of new ideas about setting, character development, symbolism or theme?

Write two paragraphs for this post. The first paragraph should describe an idea that someone else said that you thought was thought-provoking. Be as specific as you can about what was said and what it made you think.

For the next paragraph, write about how your thinking about the novel has developed this week as a result of discussion. What are your new thoughts about setting, character development, symbolism and/or theme? Be sure to write a full, developed paragraph for this in which you use evidence from the book and clearly explain your thinking.

Due Monday, December 12.

To Kill a Mockingbird: Introduction to Author's Craft

As we read To Kill a Mockingbird we will be focusing our discussion on analysis of author's craft. The back of the book tells us that his is one of the "best loved novels of all time." What did Harper Lee do to achieve this superlative? Use what you know about elements of literature (see the glossary given in class on Tuesday for a list of the elements) to analyze what you notice Lee does well in the novel so far.

For this post, write your first paragraph about what you like about the book at this point. If you've read the novel before or if you're reading ahead, try to limit your response in this paragraph to the first seven chapters of the novel. Use evidence from the novel to specifically describe something you like about the first seven chapters of the book. Be sure to tell why you like this part! You may want to connect it to something from your own life.

For your second paragraph, discuss author's craft for the part of the novel you described in the previous paragarph. How has Lee created the effect of enjoyment in you? Consider the items in the elements of literature glossary to frame your response. Again, use evidence from the novel to support your ideas about author's craft.

Due Monday, December 5.