English II Honors - Poetry Notebooks

Objective:
The poetry notebook is designed to encourage student appreciation of the form of poetry. Students will find poetry examples by other authors that they can connect to and enjoy, and then examine the poetry more closely to gain a greater understanding of each work. They will then be able to analyze those poems and connections, both verbally and through analytical written assessments.

In addition, students will try many forms of poetry. From first draft to completion, students will reinforce the steps required to craft a piece of art from words.

Finally, students will organize their poetry and the poetry they connect with in a personal, illustrated anthology.

Procedure:

Poetic Techniques
Students will include the definitions for at least 15 of the poetic techniques covered in class in their notebooks.

Favorite Poems
Students will research 5 poems to which they connect (and hopefully enjoy) on the internet or in the library. After finding 5 poems, students will complete the following for EACH poem:

1. Read the poem looking for poetic techniques and ideas as discussed in the poetry technique lessons or in the poetry reading checklist.
2. Type the poem EXACTLY as it is found in the book.
3. Using MLA style citations (see examples below), document where each poem was found on the bottom of the page.

a. Poem from an anthology
, . “Title of the Poem.” Title of the Book. First and last name of the editor, ed.
City of Publication: Publishing Company, year of publication. page number.
Fleishman, Paul. “The Passenger Pigeon.” The Place My Words are Looking For. Paul B. Janeczko, ed. New York:
Simon & Shuster Books for Young Readers, 1990. 100.

b. Poem from an author’s own book
, . “Title of the Poem.” Title of the Book. City of Publication: Publishing Company, year of publication. page number.
Creech, Sharon. “September 27.” Love That Dog. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2001. 3.

c. Poem found on the internet
, . “Title of the Poem.” “Title of the Web site.” Web Address.
Date visited the web site.
Williams, William Carlos. “The Red Wheelbarrow.” “American Poets.”
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/williams/thered.shtml April 22, 2003.

4. Illustrate major images or themes found in each of the 5 poems in scrapbook or collage style using clip art, magazine clippings, tissue paper, photographs, stickers, paints, ink drawings, etc.
5. Write a two to three paragraph summary of your impression of the poem, including possible meanings, techniques you enjoyed, and overall impact of the piece. Be sure to include many of the significant items you examined during step 1.

Personal Poetry

From the 15 or more styles of poetry that we try, choose at least 8 of your favorite poems to revise, edit and publish in your book. Each poem must be in a different form.

1. Frame poetry
2. Found Poetry or Magnetic Poetry
3. Acrostic
4. Cinquain
5. Haiku
6. Senryu
7. Tanka
8. Blues
9. Free Verse
10. Concrete poetry
11. Rhyme poetry (sonnet, ballad or other lyric
verse)
12. List poetry
13. Narrative poetry
14. Poetry for two or more voices
15. Alliteration poetry or Tongue-twister

After bring your poetry to publish-ready quality, students will complete the following:
1. Type the poem EXACTLY how you want it to look on the page. Remember to give each poem a title, and to type your name on each poem.
2. Illustrate major images or themes found in each of the 5 poems in scrapbook or collage style using clip art, magazine clippings, tissue paper, photographs, stickers, paints, ink drawings, etc.

Personal Reflection

1. Create a colorful cover page that names the entire collection. Be sure to put “selected by” and your name on the cover page.
2. Create an introduction page that tells a reader what to expect from reading your book.
3. Table of contents page that lists all of the poetry found in the book.
4. Notes pages that includes the following:
a. Three to four paragraphs about each of your poems that tell the reader what your inspiration was for the poetry and the techniques you used.
b. A short biography that tells about you the author.
Bind your book in a beautiful way. Don’t simply put a staple in it and call it done! Take time to really work it out!

Assessment
Refer to provided rubric for scoring information.

Due Date
Your poetry notebooks will be due after exactly three full weeks of in-class time - currently holding at March 9th.