Poetry Madness: Game 5!

Read Game 5 poems. Answer each question below. Remember to explain WHY you chose the winner based on poet's craft (rhyme, line breaks, punctuation, simile/metaphor, word choice, repetition) AND your personal connection to the meaning. Don't forget to write with M.I.N.T.S.!

Your post needs to include the following:
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. 

Here is an example of proficient writing:
“Who Has seen The Wind” is about how you can not see wind, but nature shows you when there is wind by the trees moving and the leaves falling. I think everybody can tell when there is wind if they pay attention to nature. I noticed that it was first person.

The second poem I read was “If.” It is about a dad telling his kid that if he follows these rules he will be a great man. I feel like this is also a lesson to tell readers to be the best man they can by doing the right thing. I noticed that it was first person.

I pick “Who Has Seen The Wind” as the winner because it used personification. For example, one sentence was, “But when trees bow down their heads”. Another reason why is because it used alliteration. For example, one sentence was, “Neither you nor I”. My third reason why is because it used repetition. For example, every four lines it used who at the beginning of the sentence. I hope that “Who Has Seen The Wind” wins!

Poetry Madness: Game 4

Read Game 4 poems, "If" and "Who Has Seen the Wind." Answer each question below. Remember to explain WHY you chose the winner based on poet's craft (rhyme, line breaks, punctuation, simile/metaphor, word choice, repetition) AND your personal connection to the meaning. Don't forget to write with M.I.N.T.S.!

Your post needs to include the following:
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. 

Here is an example of proficient writing:

"The Eagle" is a poem about an eagle flying over the sea and close to the sun. Then, he is watching the mountain and swoops down like a lightning bolt to catch his prey. 

The second poem, "Casey at Bat," is about a boy whose baseball team is losing, but there are two people on base. Casey gets two strikes, and the crowd is very upset. Finally, Casey strikes out, and the crowd is outraged. 

For the winner, I chose "The Eagle". I chose it because it had a deeper meaning and understanding for me. I also liked the rhyme scheme of AAABBB. Also, the author used a simile comparing the eagle to a thunderbolt, "He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls." This poem is the winner.

Poetry Madness: Game 3!

Read Game 3 poems, "The Eagle" and "Casey at Bat." Answer each question below. Remember to explain WHY you chose the winner based on poet's craft (rhyme, line breaks, punctuation, simile/metaphor, word choice, repetition) AND your personal connection to the meaning. Don't forget to write with M.I.N.T.S.!

Your post needs to include the following:
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. 

Here is an example of proficient writing:

The first poem, “Roger the Dog,” is about a dog that will not do anything all day. The only time he will put effort into anything is when he really wants to eat. I think this poem was written to entertain readers with a silly story about a lazy dog.

The second poem, “The Falling Star”, is about a girl who saw a falling star. She loved the star because it was so beautiful. You could never contain its beauty in any form unless you saw it yourself. It's one of a kind beauty reminds me that everyone is different, and they are beautiful in their own way.

I pick “The Falling Star” as the winner because of its beautiful message and the choice of wordage. I love the words and rhymes she used in this poem. I love when she said, “ Too lovely to be bought or sold” because that reminds me of a song called “Millionaire.” The song is about love and how can not be bought or sold. "The Falling Star" is definitely the winner!

Poetry Madness: Game 2!

Read Game 2 poems, "Roger the Dog" and "The Falling Star." Answer each question below. Remember to explain WHY you chose the winner based on poet's craft (rhyme, line breaks, punctuation, simile/metaphor, word choice, repetition) AND your personal connection to the meaning. Don't forget to write with M.I.N.T.S.!

Your post needs to include the following:
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. 

Here is an example of proficient writing:
The first poem, "Dust of Snow," is about a boy who is having a bad day until a crow lands on the tree above him, shakes the dust of snow on him, and gives his heart a change of mood.

The second poem, "Mother to Son," is about a mother and a son. The mother had a rough life which she compared to a set of stairs that she had a rough time climbing.She told her son to not give up and keep moving forward when life gets hard.

I choose "Mother to Son" as the winner because it touched my heart and showed me that no matter if something is hard you should always move forward.Also, the author repeated lines to emphasize the message. It is a great story because it teaches you to persevere.That is why I chose Mother to Son.

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 two poems each day 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.

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-two sentences)
2. What is the meaning of the second poem? (Summarize in one-two sentences)
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.

Here is an example of an advanced/proficient 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 sun to bring them hope.

I choose "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 (“sing” to “am”) in the first and last line to show acceptance.

Hearts of Service Day

Dear students,

I had a wonderful time volunteering with you at Gigi's Playhouse. I learned a lot about myself as well as the importance of giving back to the community. Volunteering takes more than showing up for a few hours. It takes preparation, planning, action, and, now, reflecting. I want you to reflect about your time spent at Gigi's Playhouse. Please answer the following questions:

1. How is service an act of love?
2. How did we serve others today?
3. What was unique about the population of people we served?
4. What were you thinking about as you were serving? Was it easy? Hard?
5. How can we show empathy to people that may be different than us?

Please make sure you answer each question  before you publish your comment. Double check your comment for punctuation/spelling mistakes. Your comment must be at least 5 sentences.

Be sure to include to edit your post for:

• complete sentences

• correct spelling
• capitalization (M.I.N.T.S.)
• end punctuation 
• topic and closing sentence

I cannot wait to hear about your day.