7TH GRADE POETRY UNIT Name ______
Part I: Class Presentation (25 points)
You will pick a poem, memorize it, and recite it to the class. You may pick from the following poems or you may pick a poem from the list on pages 8-11 of this handout:
Workbook Poems
“The Thirty Eight Year” by Lucille Clifton (page 147)
“A Picture on the Mantel” by James Lafayette Walker (page 149)
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost (page 153)
“Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson (page 154)
Textbook Poems
“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe [partner] (pages 579-580)
“Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll [partner] (page 606)
Poems in Handout (Handout pages 8-11)
“If You Forget Me” by Pablo Neruda [partner]
“Life Is Fine” by Langston Hughes
“Messy Room” by Shel Silverstein
“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou [partner]
“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost
“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas
“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden
“All the World's a Stage” by William Shakespeare [partner]
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou [partner]
"Native Americans" vs. "The Poets" by Kimberly Blaeser
Date of Presentation ______
Part II: Written Project (15 points)
You will word process the poetry unit notes and an original summary of the poem you recite to the class. You will complete the notes and the summary in the computer lab during class.
Notes
* Follow the example on page 2 of this handout. Anything that is bold, use Arial Black Bold 10 point. For everything else use Times New Roman 12 point.
* In capital letters, center the words POETRY UNIT NOTES at the top of the page.
* Underline each term.
* Put a space before and after each hyphen.
* Start the definitions with a capital letter.
* Change the bottom margin to .6” so it all fits on one page.
* You will lose one point for every five mistakes.
POETRY UNIT NOTES
Persona – Imaginary voice a poet uses when writing a poem (speaker).
Stanza – A formal division of lines in a poem. Stories have paragraphs, but poems have stanzas.
Refrain – Regularly repeated line or group of lines.
Rhyme – The repetition of sounds in words that are close together.
End rhyme – Rhymes at the end of lines.
Internal rhyme – Rhymes in a single line.
Rhyme scheme – A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem. The rhyme scheme of
the following poem is aabbc.
I like to skate, (a)
Dishes I hate. (a)
I often go to the park (b)
To hang out after dark. (b)
I don’t like it when the day ends. (c)
Rhythm – A musical quality produced by the repetition of sound patterns.
Paraphrase – Restate something in a person’s own words.
Symbol – Anything that stands for or represents something else.
Figurative language – Writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally.
Analogy – A comparison between two or more things that are similar in some ways but are
otherwise unalike.
Simile – A comparison that uses like or as to make a direct comparison between two
unlike ideas.
Metaphor – A comparison that describes something as if it were something else.
Hyperbole – Exaggeration for a purpose.
Personification – Giving human characteristics to nonhuman things.
Onomatopoeia – The use of words that imitate sounds.
Assonance – Repetition of the same vowel sound in different words.
Alliteration – Repetition of consonant sounds in words that are close together.
Summary
* If you have a partner, you both word process your own summary.
* Center the title of the poem. Use Arial Black Bold 10 point. For everything else use Times New Roman 12 point.
* The summary consists of two (double-spaced) paragraphs of at least five lines each.
* Write the first paragraph in third person and in the past tense. Begin your summary with the name of the poem and the poet.
* Do not summarize each line. Pretend someone asked you what your poem is about. What you would tell them is what you write.
* Quote (copy) at least one line from the poem somewhere in your summary. Do not use speech tags to introduce the quote.
* Write the second paragraph in first person and present tense. Write what you liked about the poem and/or why you chose that particular poem.
* Do not use the word “you” in either of the paragraphs.
* Put two spaces at the end of each sentence.
Example of how to begin
“Annabel Lee”
“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe is a poem about a man who lost his girlfriend. Because they “loved with a love that was more than love” he was heartbroken when she died.
Part III: Poems, Reflection, and Publication (45 points)
The main part of this project is having fun writing your own poems. You will word process six poems and a reflection of your poetry experience. You will then put the entire project into a report cover.
Poems
* Must be at least 12 lines long.
* A title and the type of poem must be centered at the top of each poem.
The Mall
(Picture Poem)
* Every fifth line must be numbered.
* None of the poems have to rhyme.
* May use clip art.
* May use any fonts you want as long as I can easily read them.
____ Autobio poem Write a poem about you. Follow the guidelines and example on
page 5 of this handout.
____ Picture poem Write an original poem about a picture that I give you. Use a glue
stick to glue the picture onto the final copy of your poem.
____ Future poem Write a poem about your own hopes for the future. Maybe
repeat a word like “when” or “someday” at the beginning of
each line. This isn’t a technology future poem; it is your future.
____ Gallagher poem In our writing lessons, you did two graphic organizers from Kelly Gallaher’s book Write Like This. One was for “My favorite mistake” and the other was for “Forgive my guilt.” Choose one of
those topics and write a poem about it.
____ Poem of choice Write an original poem about anything you want.
____ Poem of choice Write an original poem about anything you want.
Autobio Poem
Line 1: Your first name
Line 2: Four words that describe you
Line 3: Brother or sister of...
Line 4: Daughter or son of…
Line 5: Lover of ... (three ideas or people)
Line 6: Who feels ... (three ideas)
Line 7: Who needs ... (three ideas)
Line 8: Who gives ... (three ideas)
Line 9: Who fears ... (three ideas)
Line 10: Who would like to see ...
Line 11: Resident of … (where you live)
Line 12: Your last name
It’s Me
(Autobio Poem)
Scout
Tomboy, brave, intelligent, loving
Sister of Jem
Daughter of Atticus
5 Lover of justice, chewing gum, reading, and Alabama summers
Who feels outrage when her dad is maligned, happiness when school is over, and fright on a dark Halloween night.
Who needs her dad's acceptance, Jem's loyalty, and Dill's admiration
Who gives friendship easily, black eyes to cousins, and sassy words to Calpurnia
Who fears Boo's dark house, owls in the night, and giving her open palms to the teacher
10 Who would like to see all mockingbirds sing freely whether they are creatures of flight, shy neighbors, or kind handymen
Resident of Maycomb, Alabama
Finch
Reflection
* The reflection is a half page (double-spaced ) paper about your seventh grade poetry experience.
* Title it Reflection and use Arial Black bold 14 point font.
* Use Times New Roman 12 point font for everything else.
* Self evaluate yourself. Include thoughts about the presentation, written project (notes and summary), and poems.
* Don’t type what you think I want to read. Be honest.
Publication
* The project will be handed in at the end of the unit in a report cover with a colorful cover page and a table of contents. Everything is typed!
* The cover must have color (the junior high lab printer does not print in color), your name, and the date. You must also have a title in the form of a six word memoir about poetry. Anything else you want on it is your choice.
* The table of contents lists the items in your booklet. Do not put page numbers. Put them in the order of the following example. The first column is the assignment; the second column is the name of the poem. You may use any font and print size. You may double space it.
** There will also be a 15 point (matching) quiz on the unit notes sometime during the unit.
Table of Contents
Notes
Questions…………………………………………………………. “Mother to Son”
Summary…………………………………………………………..“Mother to Son”
Autobio Poem…………………………………………………….. I’m the Best
Picture Poem………………………………………………...... The Melting Snowman
Future Poem………………………………………………...... My Future
Galagher Poem…………………………………………………….The Big Game
Poem of Choice……………………………………………...... My Family
Poem of Choice…………………………………………………... The Best Poem Ever
Reflection
Unit Notes Quiz
POETRY PROJECT EVALUATION
CLASS PRESENTATION (25 points)
_____ memorization (15)
_____ volume (2)
_____ rate (2)
_____ mannerisms - “ands” and “ums” (2)
_____ eye contact (2)
_____ body movement (2)
WRITTEN PROJECT (15 points)
_____ Notes (6) _____ Summary (6) _____ Other (3)
POEMS, REFLECTION, and PUBLICATION (45 points)
_____ Autobio poem (5) _____ Poem of choice (5)
_____ Picture poem (5) _____ Poem of choice (5)
_____ Future poem (5) _____ Reflection (5)
_____ Gallagher poem (5) _____ Other (10)
POETRY QUIZ _____ (15) TOTAL _____ (100 POINTS)
7