Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Poetry Madness: Let the Games Begin!

During March, the best college basketball teams compete for the National Title. In order to be the best, each team must state their case by playing the best, scoring the most, and ultimately advancing to the next round.

To create a sense of poetry madness in our room and celebrate poetry, we will read a 2 poems each evening and advance a class winner the following day. However, like the basketball tournament, we must use specific criteria to judge a poem: meaning, poet's craft (rhyme, line breaks, punctuation, simile/metaphor, word choice, repetition), ability to visualize, and your personal connection.

 Each night you will answer the following 3 questions about the poems you have read.

1. What is the meaning of the first poem? (Summarize in one sentence)
2. What is the meaning of the second poem? (Summarize in one sentence)
3. Based on the criteria, which poem did you choose and WHY? ***Please tell me everything you think, but use your best writing.

You will complete Game 1 in class.  Please read Game 1 (Dust of Snow and Mother to Son), choose your favorite, and leave your comment below.  You will see I left an example in the comment section.

42 comments:

  1. This is an example post.

    The first poem, I Too, is about race and how the poet is accepted over time and is a part of America.

    The second poem, Sun Song, is about a song for African-Americans to sing about the song to bring them hope.

    I chose I, Too as the winner because I like the deeper meaning of change and how the poet uses each stanza to tell the story. I also like how Hughes changes one word in the first and last line to show acceptance.

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  2. Reese Estelle SalinasMarch 24, 2015 at 9:32 AM

    The first poem Mother to son was about, not falling down a building character.

    The second poem Dust of Snow was about, about nature and the wild life and how beautiful the world of snow is.


    I choose Dust of Snow, I loved how it rhymes and it caught my attention.

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  3. Mother to son tells about a mom and a son going threw tuff times. Dust if snow is peacful and loving. i think the winner is mother to son because it tells lots of detail

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  4. The first poem, Dust of Snow, is about how a guy got snow on him and change d his life forever.

    The second poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother telling her son to not look back on the past. It is also about the mother telling the boy that life is not going to go well for us because we are African-American.

    I chose Mother to Son as the winner because I like the way the mother says that guidance even though sometimes people like to look back on the past. I also liked how Hughes wrote it like southern people talk.

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  5. The first poem, Mother to Son is about a mother and her son and the son is going to run away from the slave owner, because they are slaves. The second poem, Dust of Snow was about a scare crow who got a dust of snow on it, and liked it alot. I choose,Dust of Snow because it was short and meaningful, for example it had alot of nice words like:heart and saved.

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  6. The first poem, Mother to Son is about how a mother and son are going through poverty, but keep perservering.

    The second poem, Dust of Snow is about a bit of snow that fell on a boy and he was angry and it made him happy.

    I chose Mother to Son as the winner because I like how the poet shows how hard it is to go through poverty. But no matter how hard poverty is they just keep perservering. For example, the first two lines say: Well, son, I'll tell you Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. The last two lines say, I'se still climbing And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

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  7. The first poem, Mother to son, is about a boys mom is telling him life is never easy.

    The second poem, Dust of snow, is about how a crow changed his mood.

    I chose, Dust of snow, because it was peaceful and it rhymed.

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  8. The first poem, Dust of snow, is about how snow brighten his day.

    The second poem, Mother to Son, is about how the mother's life is horrible.

    I chose Dust of Snow because it is a change of spirit. As you know he was unhappy at the beginning then wen the crow made the snow foll of the tree on the sad little boy witch made him happy.

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  9. I think mother to son shows a lot of detail because it says " Life for me ain't a crystale star" and that was showing they are poor. Dust of snow is a lovely story because it is about a boy who was sad. I think the winner is mother to sun it is a lovely story of love.

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  10. The first poem Dust of Snow, is about a person who is mad because a crow got snow on him.
    The second poem Mother to Son, is about a mother telling her son that life is hard.
    I chose Mother to Son because the mother describes life like it's a staircase.

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  11. Mother to Son is about a mother telling her son to never turn back.
    Dust of Snow is about a man that had rued the day then a dust of snow fell on him and it changed his mood and his day.
    I think the winner is mother to son because it is inspiring for example, it said 'boy dont turn back, dont set down on the steps.

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  12. Dust of snow is about a glob of snow falls on a boy.

    Mother to son is about a son and a mother and the son brakes a

    I liked Dust of snow better because I like how it was short.In my opinion short poems are better.

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  13. The first poem, Mother to son, is about a mother telling her to keep going on his journey even when times get hard.
    The second poem, Dust of snow, is about a boy who is in a bad mood and snow falls on him and changes his mood.
    I like mother to son best because it tells me to keep goingwhen times are hard. Also each stanze makes me feel stronger ,because each stanze is more powerful.

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  14. The first poem, Dust of Snow, is about a guy who i sin a really bad mood,and when a dust of snow falls on him, it changes mood to a good mood.

    The second poem, Mother to Son, is about a Mother who is telling her Son to toughen up to be as tough as her when she went through hard things, like he is now.

    I chose Mother to Son because I liked the Mother's mood and emotions to the Son. I also liked how mentioned her past to her Son with passion. Langston did a great job with his poem, Mother to Son.

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  15. The first poem ( Dust Of Snow) is about when a man was outside and a crow came by and shook some of a hemlock tree on the man.
    The second poem (Mother To Son) is about a dad slave telling his son that his life is pretty bad.
    The poem I chose for the winner is Dust Of Snow because it had a happy ending. Some things I noticed about the story is that it was rhyming the whole time.

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  16. The first poem I read was, Mother to son, it is about the mother has had hard times in her job and life and is telling her son even when you have hard times keep going and never give up.

    The second poem I read was Dust of snow, it is about a person who was rude till a crow shook snow on to her.

    I choose, Mother to son because it is very meaningful. Also how you can see the love the mother has for the so and the persevrerance the mother has.

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  17. The first poem Mother to son, is about the mother telling the son that her life was not perfect she had some trouble.

    In the second poem Dust Of Snow the main idea was that when the crow shook the dust of snow on him it changed his mood and saved his day.

    My favorite poem was Dust of Snow because I liked how it rhymed in the first verse.

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  18. I think mother to son is about a slave telling his kid their are places out there wear life is better.
    I think dust of snow is about a boy playing in the snow.
    I choose dust of snow because it had rhyming words

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  19. The first one,I too I thought that it was meaningful and had spirit. The second one,I thought it had a flow to it and was smooth. The one I like the most is I too because I thought that it was a meaningful story and it said a lot in a few words.

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  21. The first poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother who has had a hard past, but has fought through it.

    The second poem, Dust of Snow is very relaxing.

    My favorite poem is Mother to Son because I feel like it means that in life, things don't go your way every time, so you just have to fight through it.

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  22. My favorite poem was Dust Of Snow by: Robert Frost. I enjoyed Dust Of Snow because it reminded me of when I was little and we had snow. We had a big tree in our back yard, snow would stay on top of it. I went under the tree and snow flakes fell on me, at that moment I realized how fortunate I was to be were I am. Another reosan I like Dust Of Snow is because I can't relate to Mother To Son as well as well as Dust Of Snow.

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  23. The first poem, Mother to Son, Is a wonderful poem that sends the message that everyone has trouble in life but you just have to hold on.

    In the second poem, Dust of Snow, I think that it tells a story of such a creature could save him from the pain that life brings upon us.

    I think that Dust of Snow should win. I think this because even though the poem was short it still told a story that was full of emotion. The story also had lots of flow and was a pleasure to read.

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  24. Dust of Snow is about how he is having a bad day. Mother to Son is about how you should never give up. I like Mother to Son the best because i connected to it.

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  25. The first poem, (dust of snow) was about A bit of snow falling off a crow's back and landing on Robert's back, it awakened Robert, and saved him from having a hard day.

    The second poem, (mother to son) is about a mother telling her son that her life isn't as easy as it seems.
    The winner through those two poems (that I chose) was Dust of snow, because it was short and sweet, without anything added, it was just, I don't know, I just loved it!

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  26. The first poem, Mother To Son, is about a mom telling a son that life ahead is not going to be easy.

    The second poem, Dust Of Snow, is about a person standing under a Hemlock tree when a crow shook down on him some snow from the tree and it changed the way he felt and saved a bad day.

    My favorite was Mother To Son because I liked how it described the moment of a mom telling her son about life and how to handle bad situations. I also liked how it used country, southern words, so I can infer that the setting was in the southern country and a long time ago.

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  27. In the first poem, Mother to Son. The mother tells the son not to give up before his life even got started.

    In the second poem, Dust of Snow. It was telling the reader that he was having a bad day and then the day ended with a happy ending.

    Mother to Son, was my choice because it told a story that was about how the mother was looking out for her child. She did not want her son to not go for his dreams or believe in himself, because he was struggling on one little thing. The other thing that I like this poem is because the author gave detail and used fancy lingo.

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  28. I think dust of the snow is about a boy who has snow fall on his head and is makes his day better.I think Mother to son is about his mom telling him what life she had and was trying to make her sons better. I think mother to son should move on because it had a lot of meaning to it.

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  29. I think poem one, Mother to son's meaning was to never give up even when life gets tough.
    I think poem two, Dust of snow's meaning is if your mad or sad just a little bit of sweetness can change your attatude and your day.
    I chose Mother to son to win because even when it feels like giving up is the best way to go you have to stay strong no matter what.

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  30. The first poem I read was dust of snow it was about a crow that shook a dust of snow on a kid or adult and it change that person from rude to happy

    The second poem I read was mother to son I think it was about a mother telling her son not to back down and to stay storng no matter what happens .

    I think the winner should be mother to son it made me think for a long time what the mother was telling the son then I thought about it more and in my mnd I liked what it was saying. I also liked how they reused the sentence in the second line again in the last line.

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  31. Mother to son is about a mom telling her son that she has not had a good life.

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  32. The first poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother telling her son how hard life is.

    The second poem, Dust of Snow, is about a boy who feels rotten until snow falls on him.

    My favorite poem is Mother to Son because of the meaning it gives. The meaning is life is hard, but to never give up.

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  33. The first poem I read was Dust of Snow. The meaning of the story was about a little girl who was sad and a flake of snow that dropped made her happy.

    The second poem I read was Mother to Son. It is about a moms life that has not been going well. She told her son never to turn his back on anything.

    The book I chose to win was Mother to Son. I think it inspired me more because it told you how to never turn you back away no matter what. She told something that could held this little boy when he gets older.

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  34. The first poem was Mother to Son. It is about a mom who is telling her son that she hasn't had a good life.

    The second poem is Dust of Snow. It is about a boy who was having a bad day until he got covered in snow.

    Mother to Son should win because it tells you your life is not going to be perfect. It also had repetition.

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  35. In the first poem, Mother to Son. The mother tells the son not to give up before his life even got started.

    In the second poem, Dust of Snow. It was telling the reader that he was having a bad day and then the day ended with a happy ending.

    Mother to Son, was my choice because it told a story that was about how the mother was looking out for her child. She did not want her son to not go for his dreams or believe in himself, because he was struggling on one little thing. The other thing that I like this poem is because the author gave detail and used fancy lingo.

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  36. The first poem, Roger the Dog, is a poem about a dog that is lazy and only uses his energy for cleaning out his food bowl. I enjoy this poem because it uses rhyme scheme.

    The second poem I read was The Falling Star. I think that this poem it is about more than just a falling star but life in general. For example life is too quick and life is to lovely too be bought or sold.

    I think that The Falling Star should win because it has a bigger meaning to me. It truly touches my heart to read.

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  37. The first poem The Falling Star, was a touching poem about a girl who saw a shooting star. The girl in the poem made a wish on the star she described it as to lovely to be bought or sold. the second poem Roger the Dog, was a story abut a very sleepy dog. The dog was sound asleep by the fire. And the owner was describing how he loved to play all day and roll around in the grass. I think my favorite poem was Roger the Dog, because it was a funny story about a sleepy dog and his owner.

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  38. The first poem, Roger the Dog, is about a dog named Roger who is as lazy as can be, the owners try everything to get him to play, but all he does is sleep all day, the only energy that he seems to have is the energy he needs to eat his dinner and to make sure he is not leaving any of it behind.

    The second poem, The Falling Star is about a little girl who sees a shooting star one night, she thinks that it is a wonderful sight and makes a wish on it, then just like that the star is gone forever.

    I think that The Falling Star is the winner, because it has a lot of passion in it and it brings out the true meaning of what it is like to witness a shooting star. I also enjoyed how the poem made it sound like a strip of starlight so breathtaking it was to amazing to behold and how it described how once you wish on it, it disappears to quickly.

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  39. The first poem Roger The Dog was about this dog that was lazy and loved to sleep. Roger would not get out of bed and the owner said he only wakes up to scratch his fleas.This first story also is a riming story that has a lot of funny rimes in it.

    On the second poem The Falling Star was about a shooting star. And a person was saying how the star was to fast to be able to make a fish and it is to fast to hold. And this story rimed.

    My favorite story was Roger The Dog because I thought the story rimes went really good together. And I really thought that the rimes were really funny. My favorite rime was probley He hogs the fire,he bakes his head as if it were a loaf of bread.

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  40. The eagle is about a eagle flying over the lands and over the seas.

    The second poem, Casey At Bat it is about a girl named Casey who is up at bat and strikes out.

    I think the winner is The Eagle I like the lines The wrinkled see beneath him crawls. I liked it because the sea beneath crawls is a good way to put it.

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  41. The first poem, Casey at Bat, there was a girl named Casey and she always hit the baseball, but one day Casey got struck out because she got three strikes! I love how in the poem Casey at Bat it doesn't always have a happy ending.

    The second poem, The Eagle, there is an eagle that is soaring through the sky and all of a sudden he gets poached. I love this story because it is inspiring in its own way!

    My favorite poem is,The Eagle, I love this poem because it is very detailed and good. It had all sorts of writers craft in it like... Alliteration these are them, c and l. There was also a simile in it here is the sentence, He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls. That is what makes the poem better than Casey at bat.

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  42. The first poem If is about never take any thing for granted and do it to much.

    The second poem is about how you cant see the wind is about how noone can see the wind.

    I think the winner is Who Has Seen The Wind I think it is the winner because it grabs me in when it says But when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is passing by.

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