Poetry Madness: Elite 8, Game 4

Now that you have read through all of the poems and chosen a winner to advance to the Elite 8, the pressure has mounted. Read the winners of Game 6 and Game 8.

Choose your winner based on the following criteria:

• Which poem's meaning is more important to you?
• What personal connection can you make?
• Which poet's craft do you enjoy more? Be sure to give examples.
• Poet's craft can include: repetition, imagery, personification, rhyme, alliteration, couplets, onomatopoeia, simile/metaphor, etc

 Make sure your answer is detailed and explains the three bullet points.

Here is an example of proficient writing:

“Mother to Son” has a more important meaning to me because it is talking about a woman who was probably a slave telling her boy that life isn't going to be easy but to not give up.

My connection is with the poem “Casey at the Bat.” I have been on a softball team before and struck out when my team really needed a hit.  I can imagine how the fans and the player feel when the game is over, and they do not win.

I like “Mother to Son's” writer’s craft more because it rhymes better and the way it is written sounds like the mother is from the South .For example, she says, "I'se been a-climbin' on" and "turnin' corners." I also enjoyed that the poem is a metaphor comparing life to a flight of stairs that is hard to climb.  The poet's mother encourages him to never give up but keep trying even though life is hard. “Mother to Son” should win this game.

Poetry Madness: Elite 8, Game 3

Now that you have read through all of the poems and chosen a winner to advance to the Elite 8, the pressure has mounted. Read the winners of Game 6 and Game 8.

Choose your winner based on the following criteria:

• Which poem's meaning is more important to you?
• What personal connection can you make?
• Which poet's craft do you enjoy more? Be sure to give examples.
• Poet's craft can include: repetition, imagery, personification, rhyme, alliteration, couplets, onomatopoeia, simile/metaphor, etc

 Make sure your answer is detailed and explains the three bullet points.

Here is an example of proficient writing:

“Mother to Son” has a more important meaning to me because it is talking about a woman who was probably a slave telling her boy that life isn't going to be easy but to not give up.

My connection is with the poem “Casey at the Bat.” I have been on a softball team before and struck out when my team really needed a hit.  I can imagine how the fans and the player feel when the game is over, and they do not win.

I like “Mother to Son's” writer’s craft more because it rhymes better and the way it is written sounds like the mother is from the South .For example, she says, "I'se been a-climbin' on" and "turnin' corners." I also enjoyed that the poem is a metaphor comparing life to a flight of stairs that is hard to climb.  The poet's mother encourages him to never give up but keep trying even though life is hard. “Mother to Son” should win this game.

Poetry Madness: Elite 8, Game 2

Now that you have read through all of the poems and chosen a winner to advance to the Elite 8, the pressure has mounted. Read the winners of Game 2 and Game 4.

Choose your winner based on the following criteria:

• Which poem's meaning is more important to you?
• What personal connection can you make?
• Which poet's craft do you enjoy more? Be sure to give examples.
• Poet's craft can include: repetition, imagery, personification, rhyme, alliteration, couplets, onomatopoeia, simile/metaphor, etc

Make sure your answer is detailed and explains the three bullet points.

Here is an example of an advanced/proficient post:

“Mother to Son” has a more important meaning to me because it is talking about a woman who was probably a slave telling her boy that life isn't going to be easy but to not give up.

My connection is with the poem “Casey at the Bat.” I have been on a softball team before and struck out when my team really needed a hit.  I can imagine how the fans and the player feel when the game is over, and they do not win.

I like “Mother to Son's” writer’s craft more because it rhymes better and the way it is written sounds like the mother is from the South .For example, she says, "I'se been a-climbin' on" and "turnin' corners." I also enjoyed that the poem is a metaphor comparing life to a flight of stairs that is hard to climb.  The poet's mother encourages him to never give up but keep trying even though life is hard. “Mother to Son” should win this game.

Poetry Madness: Elite 8, Game 1

Now that you have read through all of the poems and chosen a winner to advance to the Elite 8, the pressure has mounted. 

Read the winners of Game 1 and Game 3.
Your comment must include three paragraphs about the following:

1. Which poem's meaning is more important to you? 
2. What personal connection can you make? 
3. Which poet's craft do you enjoy more? Be sure to give examples.

• Poet's craft can include the following:

• repetition, imagery, personification, rhyme, alliteration, couplets, onomatopoeia, simile, metaphor, etc.

Poetry Madness: Game 8

Read Game 8 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? (Use examples writer's craft to support your answer!)

Here is an example of proficient writing:

The first poem, called “Some One,” is about someone who came knocking on somebody else’s door, and when he went to answer it, no one was there. The emotion is mysterious because he will never know who was knocking on his door.


The second poem, called “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me,” is a good poem about a girl telling someone that she is not scared of anything. The emotion is is happy because she is never scared of anything.


I will choose ”Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” because it is very deep and also much better than “Some One.” It also has a very good rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme is AAB. It also has very good personification. The personification is “Dragons running and going wild.” I think “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” is a very good poem.

Poetry Madness: Game 7

Read Game 7 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?

Here is an example of a proficient blog post:
The poem,”Do You Carrot All For Me,” is about a person writing a love note and instead of saying do you care for me they said do you carrot for me.  The mood of this poem is silly and romantic. The meaning of this poem is a love poem can be as creative as you want it to be.

The next poem,”The Castle in the Fire,” by Mary Jane Carter, is about a dragon guarding the princess because she got captured, and then comes a knight saves the lovely princess. The mood of this poem is serious and romantic. The meaning of this poem is that the good guys always win. 

I choose ”The Castle in the Fire” because I like the story better. Also, I like the rhyme scheme, ABCB. Finally, there is imagery. For example, it says ,”The back log crashed in two.” That is why ”The Castle in the Fire” is a clear winner.