Monday, February 22, 2016

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.  I left an example in the comment section.

37 comments:

  1. Here is an example:

    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. The first poem Mother, to son it tells you if your life is not a diamond to never give up

    On the second poem Dust of snow, it is a sad life turned into a happy life

    In my opinion I think that Mother to son wins because it tells you to never give up and not to think about your life as garbage to think about it like a diamond.

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  3. The Dust of Snow is talking about how he change his mood when he was down.
    Mother to Son is about a mom's relationship with her son.
    I choose Mother to Son because I feel like it has more meaning then Dust of Snow because its about the relationship with mother and son.

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  4. I liked the second poem, Dust of Snow because it rhymed and it had good details. Another reason why I liked Dust of snow is because I was really into it when I started reading it. Those are two reasons why liked Dust of Snow.

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  5. The first poem, Mother to Son, is about the mom's life being hard and not easy and careful in the world.

    The second poem, Dust of Snow, is about you always should be positive and look positive.

    I chose Dust of Snow, for the winner because I like how it is very positive about life and just too look at the brighter side of things when you are sad.

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  6. The meaning of the first poem Mother to Sun is to not back down and to keep trying.

    The meaning of the the second poem a Dust of Snow is falling and how he was knocked down.

    I choose Mother to Sun because, it is a lesson that everyone should know that lesson is to never stop trying. I think it was a good story and also a smart thing to say in a poem.

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  7. The first poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother telling her son life won't be easy, but you have to keep going.

    The second poem, Dust of Snow, is about some dust that fell on him, and made him realize that things could be worse.

    I chose Mother to Son, because I like how the mother just keeps going, and that it has a lesson at the end. You can't stop because life is not perfect.

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  8. Mother to Son is about a boy who is struggling and wants to give up so his mom tells him about all the struggles she had and how she never gave up.
    Dust of Snow is about how a crow came down from a tree and it gave the man a change of heart.
    I chose Dust of Snow as the winner because its short but it still has so much meaning.

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  9. The poem Dust of Snow is about the snow changing someone's mood and attitude. I enjoy the rhyme scheme and rhythm.
    The poem Mother to son is about life being hard and suddenly getting better and to not give up while climbing the steep stairs (or hard times) in life.
    My personal favorite was Mother to son it didn't have a rhythm or rhyme scheme, but it had a stanza. It was very deep and had a good meaning to it.

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  10. The first poem, Mother to son, is about mother talking to her son not to climb the stairs.
    poem two is about a dust of snow falling on a man off a tree.
    I like the first poem because it made more sense and it was about one thing the whole time. And it had more stanzas and I like longer stories.

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  11. The first poem,Dust of Snow, is about a girl/boy changed his mood because of a crow and a hemlock tree.

    The second poem,Mother to Son, is about how nobody's life is perfect.


    I chose, Mother to Son as the winner because I liked how it was longer, and it had a deeper meaning than Dust of Snow, it did not really rhyme but I liked it better.

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  12. Mother to Son is about a mother telling her son that she doesn't want her son to turn his back or sit on the steps of the stars because she said it was really hard to do. The second poem Dust of Snow, it has good ryming words.

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  13. The first poem, Mother to Son is about a mother who is saying she has not had the best life, but that doesn't mean that you should fall down.

    The second poem, Dust of Snow, is about snow dust falling off a tree on to someone and it made their day better.

    I chose Dust of Snow as the winner because I like the detail about the tree, I also like the rhyme pattern. Another thing I like was the way one little thing changed someone's day.

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  14. The first poem I read was, Mother to Son, It had repetition in it and the word they repeated was crystal stair. The meaning of the poem was life is not always easy.
    The second poem I read was ,Dust of Snow, It did not have repetition in it but it gave me an image of the poem. It was about little things can make you change into a better mood.
    Out of the two poems I think the winner was, Dust of Snow, It made me have an image in my head and the other one did not. But, Dust of Snow, gave me the meaning a lot easier. That is way I choose Dust of Snow.

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  15. The first poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother telling a son how hard life is for her, and that he should never give up.

    The second poem, Dust of Snow, is about someone's bad day getting turned around, and a small thing making them much happier.

    I choose Dust of Snow as the winner because I like the way something simple made someone so happy. I also enjoyed the way the poem had a rhyme scheme.

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  16. The first poem I read was Mother To Son it is about a mother telling a son how her life going up the stairs is not good. For example,the boards are coming up and giving her splinters.

    The second poem I read was A Dust Of Snow. For example a crow landed on a tree and when the crow landed it shook the tree and a dust of snow came down on a little boy and it changed his mood for the rest of the day.

    In my opinion I think a Mother To Son is better because a mother is being nice to the little child and saying I am warning you so you do not get splinters in your feet and trying to help and that is why I think Mother To Son is better

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  17. The first poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother telling her son how her life hasn't been great, and giving him advice.

    The second poem, Dust of Snow, is about how the poet changed when the "dust of snow from a hemlock tree" fell on him.

    I chose Mother to Son as the winner, because a mother is telling her son about her life, and giving him advice. I think that this poem is, in a way "mature", if you know what I mean. It isn't silly, or funny, but it is sad, and at the same time sweet, and it has a lot of meaning.

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  18. The first poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother who was a slave telling her son what it was like.

    The second poem, Dust of Snow, is about a good thing that happened to someone.

    I chose Mother to Son because I think it has more meaning, and describes a story. I also like how it was something that actually happened to the mom.

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  19. The first poem Dust of Snow is about how the snow gave the persons hart a change of mood.

    The second poem Mother to Son is about how the mother is telling the son that you should never look back and keep moving forward in life.

    I choose Mother to Son it does not have a rhythm or a rhyme scheme but it does have a stanza Mother to Son has a very good meaning.

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  20. Jon Campbell HollowayFebruary 22, 2016 at 1:33 PM

    The first poem is about a mother telling her son how life is going to be. She is telling him that life is rough.
    The second poem is about how snow can change your mod.
    I think Mother to Son is the better on because the other poem doesn't make sense.

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  21. the first poem Mother To Son was about life and don't go back and change.
    the second one Dust of Snow was about snow changing this guy's mood from sad to happy.
    I think Dust of Snow won because to me it is more meaningful.

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  22. The first poem I read, Mother and Son, was about a mom who told her son life may be hard, but you should keep on going and never give up.

    The second poem is called Dust of Snow. The narrator was having a bad day, but then a crow spilled snow on him. That made him feel a little better because you can always make something fun out of a bad day.

    I choose Dust of Snow for my favorite poem because it rhymed and because I could feel the narrator's feelings. When I broke my leg, it was a really hard time for me. I could not play sports, but I could get around school faster with my scooter. People at school were really nice to me, and that made me feel good. That's why I like Dust of Snow.

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  23. The 1st poem Mother to Son was about a mom telling her son that life isn't easy, and there are some hard times in life.

    The 2nd book Dust of Snow is about a crow that sprinkled snow from a hemlock tree, and how it made his day.

    I chose Mother to Son because it shows a whole lot of feeling, and it tells you how life is gonna be. That is why I chose Mother to Son

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  24. The first poem I read was Mother To Son. I think it is about a mom telling her son that life isn't always easy, but you should never give up.

    The second poem I read was Dust Of Snow. I think it is about a man having a hard day and a crow sprinkled snow on his head and it made his day happy

    I chose Dust Of Snow because I thought it was very detailed, and because of that I could easily tell what it was about

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  25. The first poem Mother to Son is about a Mother saying like It is OK not to be good at something. As long as you keep trying and replacing the good part with a crystal stair.

    The 2nd poem Dust of Snow is about a crow that got on a hemlock tree and snow came down and it made him so happy.

    I choose Mother to Son because it shows more compassion and it was very well detailed.

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  26. The first poem Dust of snow was about a crow spilled snow on from a hemlock tree,and it made his day.

    the second poem was Mother to Son was about how life is not always perfect and that you should try your best and good thing will happen. Also it is saying that you have a long way to go.


    I choose Mother to Son because it shows how they feel and it is a lot longer then the other poem.

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  27. The first poem, Mother to Son, was talking about how you should never give up and that good things will happen if you keep trying and you do your best in everything you do.

    The second poem, Dust of Snow, is about a crow who knocked snow off a Hemlock Tree and it landed on someone and it changed them and it made that person very happy and it made them feel warm hearted inside.

    I chose Mother to Son because it showed more detail, made me think about the story, and it told about the advice that the mom was giving to the son in little stanzas at a time!

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  28. the first poem, mother to son, was about how you need to keep going in life and never give up in life


    the second poem, dust of snow, was about how snow can change a heart

    I choose mother to son because it shows more detail of the book

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  29. The first poem, Mother to Son, is about how you should always be looking on thee bright side, and never give up because something good could end up happening.
    The second poem is about how a crow nocked snow of of a tree, so it fell on a person, and that made the person very warm on the inside even know she was cold on the outside.

    My favorite was Mother to Son because there was a little stanza at times, there
    was a lot of detail, and it was a cute story about how a mother was caring for her son.

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  30. The first poem, Mother to son, is about a mother whom is telling her son life is not easy for anyone and to never give up no matter what.

    The second poem, A Dust of Snow, in about a boy (narrator) whom is having a really bad day, and a crow sprinkles snow on him from the hemlock tree and made him feel better.

    My favorite poem was Mother to Son because I liked how the mother was telling the boy to always be positive and never give up. And to me that is really inspirational

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  31. In the first poem, Mother to Son, is telling you to never stop trying no matter what happens in your life.

    In the second poem, Dust of Snow, is telling you if you are cold on the outside doesn't mean you are cold in the inside.

    I choose Mother to Son as the winner because it has a better description. The message in Dust of Snow is a great message, but Mother to Son's message stands out to me more.

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  32. The first poem was Dust of Snow. It was about a man in the forest and a crow dropped snow on his head.

    The second poem was Mother to Son. It was about a mother telling her son to keep on trying.

    I chose Dust of Snow because I had a picture my the story in my head and felt like I was in the story.

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  33. The first poem, mother to son, is about a mother talking to her son about how life can be hard sometimes and how you need to never give up.

    The second, Dust of snow is about a crow who shakes snow on a boy who was having a hard day.

    I chose Mother to son, because it has a great lesson for life and uses great phases.

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  34. Mother to Son is about a mother telling her son that life is not always easy. She uses a staircase as a metaphor for life.

    Dust Off The Snow is about a man who had a change off heat.

    I liked Dust Off The Snow because it had a very good beat.

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  35. The first poem, Mother to Son, was about a mother telling her son to perservier through hard times in life.

    The second poem, Dust of Snow, was about a boy who is not having the best day in the world but a crow knocks snow on the boys head and that changes his mood.

    I liked Mother to Son better because it had more detail and it made me feel that I too should perservier through hard times just as the mother intended.

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  36. the second poem,Mother to Son was about keep going even when you feel like stopping trying.

    the first poem, Dust of Snow was about a crow shaking snow down on a boy and changing his mood.

    I chose Dust of Snow because I could feel like i was in the story with snow on me.

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  37. The first poem, Mother to Son, was about trying and never giving up.I liked this poem because I like the saying of keep trying and never giving up.

    The second poem, Dust of Snow, was about a boy/girl changing his/her mood because of snow and a crow.

    I chose Mother to Son because it was about never giving up.

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