Poetry Homework Assignments 2008
Note: Dates are the date the homework is assigned. Unless otherwise noted, the assignment is due at the beginning of the next class.
May 6--reminders
- 2 identical chapbooks due by 8:00am Thursday
- last day for me to bind things is Wednesday (lab or right after school)
- Food sign-ups
- Takeena--tortilla chips and salsa (in the morning!)
- Emma--doughnuts
- Teresa--milk
- Carlo--cereal
- Pomerantz--coffee cake
- Chris--fruit
- Spencer--dance music??
- Brittany--cups
- Rachel--utensils
- Rebecca--OJ
Last day to turn in any late work for partial credit is tomorrow morning--no more, no more (I may cry)
April 15 --before your graduate
- Author Project (now late) needs to be turned in
- Revise poems to go in Chapbook--see handout you got in class for more information
- Portfolio #4 (we will work on in class) due May 2nd (no late portolios accepted--I'll need to grade them over the weekend to get them back to you for your Chapbook) This portfolio will have a total of 5 poems that you will choose from the various assignment folders in class--please let me know if there is something you want to do that you don't see a folder for. I'll make one special for you :-).
- Portfolio 4/Chapbook work days 4/17, 4/21, 4/23, 4/25, 4/28, 4/30--bring all materials with you to class (all poems, chapbook materials)
- Online Portfolio submission due 5/2 by end of class
- Chapbook Work Days (including proofing) 5/2, 5/6
- Chapbook (2 identical copies) due 5/8 at BEGINNING of CLASS--you will present your introduction, 2-3 poems, your about the author, and highlight features of your chapbook
It's all doable and you will be so proud when you are finished. We only have 9 more class periods. . . keep up the good work!
April 13
- Portfolio #3 (was due last class) and the Author Project are due! Make sure you turn those in ASAP!
- And don't forget your online submission for Portfolio #3 is due, as well!
Be working on these if you haven't turned them in yet!
April 11
- Portfolio #3 due! Make sure we have it!
- Continue working on your Author Project--it is due 4/15 (Tuesday!). *You will have the 60 min block on Tuesday to work on it.*
- Begin compiling your Chapbook!
April 9
- Portfolio #3 DUE Friday (4/11)! It includes:
- Anglo-Saxon Poem
- Repetition Poem (with blurb--see April 7th's HW)
- Sonnet (Italian OR English; not both!)
- Limerick
- Something Borrowed poem
- Keep working on your Author Project (it is due April 15--next Tuesday!)
April 7
- Revise your Something Borrowed Poem
- Revise all poems--particularly if you were having trouble hearing the rhythm of limericks. . .
- Work on Author project due 4/15
- Portfolio #3 due 4/11 (that's Friday, folks, and that's one class later than we originally said--take advantage)
- Write blurb about your repetition poem (due with your portfolio)--why did you choose to repeat the sounds that you chose? Think about the "Storm Windows" poem and how Nemerov used p's and b's and w's to recreate the sound of rain falling on glass.
April 3
- Draft your own Limerick
- Continue working on your Author Project!
March 28
- Final draft of sonnet poem
- Keep working on your Author Project (explications)!
March 24
March 12
- Make sure you have an Anglo-Saxon poem, a repetition poem DRAFTED.
- Work on your Author Project - explicate, explicate, explicate!
- Have a wonderful spring break!
March 10
- Draft a REPETITION poem.
- 10 lines
- 10 syllables per line
- Purposeful use of:
- Alliteration (first letter of multiple words is the same - e.g. "The wood will warp if wet.")
- Assonance (repetition of vowel sounds - e.g. "My lie will die.")
- Consonance (repetition of consonant sounds - e.g. "You're a pest who gives me no rest during my test.")
- Rhyme/slant rhyme (e.g. "love" and "glove" [perfect rhyme] or "traipse" and "traps" [slant rhyme])
- Don't forget about poem explications! Here are a few handy links:
- Remember: your goal is to show how the poet uses language to create the meaning of the poem. (i.e. WHAT the poet means and HOW the poet means!)
March 5
- Draft an Anglo-Saxon poem
March 3
February 29
- portfolio #2 due on Monday
- online portfolio submission #2 due on Friday (.mp3, jpg., .wmv, .doc)
February 27
- Revise poems!
- Mark up "Storm Window" and "My Daughters in New York" for repetition of sound (look for assonance, consonance, alliteration, rhyme, etc.)
February 25
- draft 2 poems from folder assignments (how things work, nature photos, field guides, eyewitness books, garden etymology)
- use your notes from class
- must be typed
- if you need more information, come in during lab or before or after school--materials cannot leave the classroom
February 21 (snow day)
February 19
- REVISIONS
(persona, 2 art poems)
- economy of language
- pick one poem and tighten by 30%
- use the poem that needs tightening the most
- titles
- 3 possible titles for each poem
- sensory details
- map senses of each poem
- keep tally chart
- revise based on which one more sensory details
February 13
- check out our portfolio website--read/listen/watch what your classmates have done--if you haven't given me your stuff, do it!
- Draft art poem #2--you can attack it in one of two ways
- use the same painting, but take on another strategy (6 ways to write about art)
- use a different painting, but take on another strategy (6 ways to write about art)
- Bring both art poems and persona poem to class next time--TYPED
- Bring author project book
- Have a nice LONG weekend!
February 11
- author project--need to pick a book-- bring it in--it was due last class! (see criteria below)
- Draft art poem #1--use one of the 6 ways that we talked about in class (see handout from class)
- e-mail me your poem (word document) to upload if you haven't given it to me already and any .jpg or movie files that go with it--it was due today
- if you have a picture of yourself you want me to put on our website, send it to me--I'll turn it into a 100 x 100 pixel image--please send as .jpg or .gif
- check to see the progress of our class portfolio as we get more submissions
February 7
- e-mail me your poem (word document) to upload if you haven't given it to me already and any .jpg or movie files that go with it--it was due today
- if you have a picture of yourself you want me to put on our website, send it to me--I'll turn it into a 100 x 100 pixel image--please send as .jpg or .gif
- check to see the progress of our class portfolio as we get more submissions
- find a book over the weekend of a poet you would like to study
- must be a single volume or collected works (that's like a box set of CDs)
- must NOT be an anthology (lot of poets) or a selected works (that's like a greatest hits CD)
- should be a relatively contemporary poet (let's say mid-20th century to 21st century poet)
- you should want to learn from this poet--you'll be spending a lot of time with him/her
Febuary 5
- DUE NEXT CLASS: Typed "Persona Poem"
- Pick a unique name out of the phone book.
- Using prewrites, develop a character based on the name:
- Come up with 10 questions about your character, and then answer them.
- Free write everything you "know" about this person--what are they like?
- Write a paragraph from the point of view of that character. Make sure it doesn't sound like you!
- Then start writing your poem!
- You can write in either 1st person ("I am _____") or 3rd person (_______ is a great guy). Or you could do a combination of both (I want to tell you about ________). The poem can either be ABOUT your character or told from the point of view OF your character. But make sure that you develop a strong, believable person
February 1 (Snow Day)
January 30
- Portfolio #1 due next class
- Make a cover sheet with assignments names and titles of your poems (see notes from 1/30/08)
- Write a reflection focusing on your star poem and your portfolio as a whole--make sure you use specific examples from your poem
- Read over rubric and make sure you choose the strongest poem based on the rubric, not based on which poem is your favorite
- Compile your poems into packets by poem--the brainstorm and pre-writing should be on bottom, the final draft should be on top--everything else should be in between (critiques and revisions) by date (oldest on bottom).
- choose a star poem (the best one in this portfolio) and physically mark a star on the final copy in the upper left hand corner AND mark a star on the cover sheet
- online portfolio project due 2/7 at the beginning of class--see menu for choices
- Extra Credit: Take the WordMasters test Feb 8 during lab or right after school--the questions are about a story, but many of the techniques in good prose writing also apply to poetry. You can study the words on the list from the WordMasters page so that you can do better on the test.
January 28
- revise poems--bring new drafts to class--look at feedback from your classmates
- pay specific attention to beginnings and endings--have three for each poem
- be thinking about which poem you want to be graded for your portfolio
- be thinking about online portfolio project--see menu for choices
- BRING ALL 4 POEMS TO THE NEXT CLASS--TYPED AND REVISED
- NOTE: first portfolio is due Friday February 1st
- Extra Credit: Take the WordMasters test Feb 8 during lab or right after school--the questions are about a story, but many of the techniques in good prose writing also apply to poetry. You can study the words on the list from the WordMasters page so that you can do better on the test.
January 24
- revise poems--bring new drafts to class--look at feedback from your classmates
- pay specific attention to titles--make sure your drafts show that you have 5 possible titles for each poem
- be thinking about which poem you want to be graded for your portfolio
- be thinking about online portfolio project--see menu for choices
- BRING ALL 4 POEMS TO THE NEXT CLASS--TYPED AND REVISED
- NOTE: first portfolio is due Friday February 1st
January 22
- revise poems--bring new drafts to class--look at feedback from your classmates
- draft and type "create a poem" using word bank #2--don't read the poem until after you finish
- be thinking about which poem you want to be graded for your portfolio
- be thinking about online portfolio project--see menu for choices
- NOTE: first portfolio is due Friday February 1st
January 17
- Why I Will Not Get Out of Bed
(see handout)
- brainstorm topics--there are 30 spaces, use them!
- draft poem--TYPED
- Revise both poems that you've written so far--remember what we talked about today--re VISION--not just editing
- Place Poem
- Underrated Pleasure Poem
- Bring all drafts next time typed out: I will check for points next class
- EVERYTHING SHOULD BE PRINTED OUT BEFORE YOU GET TO CLASS
January 15
- Revise poems (both Place and Underrated Pleasure)
- dominant impression
- add images to support d.i.
- cut what doesn't support it
- economy of language
- cut extaneous words
- use 1 word for 2 whenever you can
- line
- revise for meaning
- emphasis (important words, double meanings, see handout)
- effect--pauses, etc
- wholeness--the line should be able to stand by itself
- show, don't tell
- no telling your audience what to think
- avoid "to be" verbs (be is am are was were been being)
- employ active verbs (verbs that show action
January 11
- Underrated Pleasures--read the entire poem (all 5 of the 6 parts I gave you)
- respond to your favorite section using the prompts in step #1 on the handout
- brainstorm 20-30 of your own underrated pleasures--what do you like to do that most of the world does not (but they would if they understood how great it was)--follow step #2 on handout
- draft a poem (TYPED)
- focus on showing, not telling
- through vivid imagery, convince us that this underrated pleasure shouldn't be so underrated
- let us see this underrated pleasure in a new way
- Enrichment: want to read more by Marge Piercy? Check out the websites below
- print out parent consent form and have them sign it
- write down important due dates in planner--highlight them so you see them in advance!
January 9
- TYPE special place poem
- add figurative language (one simile or metaphor per sense)
- select details that enhance dominant impression
- add more details to fill in what is missing in order to create dominant impression
- get rid of all sense words "see" "hear" "smell" "touch" "taste"
- get rid of all words that TELL the emotion (for example: content, happy, sad, uneasy)--instead, use your details to SHOW your reader the dominant impression
- get journal for next class (doesn't have to be fancy--sprial notebook is fine)
- print out parent consent form and have them sign it
- write down important due dates in planner--highlight them so you see them in advance!
- EC opportunity: attend Poetry Out Loud finals at 6:30 in PNH theater
January 7--welcome back
- read all poems in "What is Poetry" handout
- take survey about poems: What is each poet saying about the art of poetry? by 9pm Tuesday Night
- write a response to ONE poem--see sheet on back of handout for ideas about how to respond to a poem
- get journal for next class (doesn't have to be fancy--sprial notebook is fine)
- print out parent consent form and have them sign it
- write down important due dates in planner--highlight them so you see them in advance!
- EC opportunity: attend Poetry Out Loud finals at 6:30 in PNH theater
Last Updated by Melissa Lynn Pomerantz
Monday, May 5, 2008 10:28 AM
