Week 3: Writing a poem with metaphors
Monday: HW Guiding Notes p.7-8 (due Thursday)
By now, you should all be experts on METAPHORS, but in case you still are a bit unclear, a metaphor is a sentence that says one THING is another THING. For example: ________________________ is ___________________________. You could say a number of things...School is food for our brains. Or this food is trash. But the one thing that you need to make sure that you are doing is comparing two things. Saying "School is boring" is not a metaphor, but "School is prison" is a very strong metaphor.
For the homework, you now need to write your own two-stanza poem with four lines in each stanza (8 lines total). We went over this in great detail in class on Monday, so please have a look at the examples in the photos below.
Your poem should be written from the perspective of your IDENTITY - or what you identifty as. I think everyone understood this. Next, you needed to write down at least one quality of your identity. Have a look at the photo below if you forgot what qualities are.
Finally, you need to put your poem together and make sure that it follows the same rhyme scheme as Dreams, by Langston Hughes. As I walked around in class, I could see that you were all on track with your writing. Great job, everyone!
By now, you should all be experts on METAPHORS, but in case you still are a bit unclear, a metaphor is a sentence that says one THING is another THING. For example: ________________________ is ___________________________. You could say a number of things...School is food for our brains. Or this food is trash. But the one thing that you need to make sure that you are doing is comparing two things. Saying "School is boring" is not a metaphor, but "School is prison" is a very strong metaphor.
For the homework, you now need to write your own two-stanza poem with four lines in each stanza (8 lines total). We went over this in great detail in class on Monday, so please have a look at the examples in the photos below.
Your poem should be written from the perspective of your IDENTITY - or what you identifty as. I think everyone understood this. Next, you needed to write down at least one quality of your identity. Have a look at the photo below if you forgot what qualities are.
Finally, you need to put your poem together and make sure that it follows the same rhyme scheme as Dreams, by Langston Hughes. As I walked around in class, I could see that you were all on track with your writing. Great job, everyone!
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Week 2: Metaphors (cont'd)
Thursday: HW Guiding Notes p.6 (classwork)
Today, we reviewed poetic structure and I pointed out what lines and stanzas are. If you compare poetry to a story, the lines would be the sentences in a story, and the stanzas would be the paragraphs. So stanzas and paragraphs serve to group ideas together, while lines and sentences convey meaning. Something to note about lines and sentences, however, is that lines in a poem don't always follow the grammmatical rules of a sentence.
To go into more detail:
Structure
Lines vs. Sentences:
Lines and Sentences:
Lines and Sentences:
We also talked about rhythm in poetry, focusing on stressed and unstressed syllables. Remember, a 'u' above a syllable means 'unstressed' and a '/' above a syllable means that it's 'stressed'. Our names are good to practice this. Usually the first syllable in a name is stressed and the other syllables are unstressed.
Today, we reviewed poetic structure and I pointed out what lines and stanzas are. If you compare poetry to a story, the lines would be the sentences in a story, and the stanzas would be the paragraphs. So stanzas and paragraphs serve to group ideas together, while lines and sentences convey meaning. Something to note about lines and sentences, however, is that lines in a poem don't always follow the grammmatical rules of a sentence.
To go into more detail:
Structure
Lines vs. Sentences:
- Both lines in poetry and sentences in prose are fundamental building blocks. A line presents a complete thought or idea, just as a sentence does.
- Lines can vary in length and can be more flexible in punctuation and rhythm, while sentences follow grammatical rules.
- Stanzas group lines together, similar to how paragraphs group sentences. Both serve to organize thoughts and ideas.
- Stanzas often have a specific pattern (like rhyme or meter), while paragraphs are typically organized around a central theme or idea.
Lines and Sentences:
- Both are used to convey meaning. A line in a poem can evoke imagery or emotion, just as a sentence can communicate a message or action.
- They can stand alone or connect with others to build a larger narrative or theme.
- Stanzas and paragraphs help structure a piece, allowing for shifts in tone, theme, or focus. Each stanza or paragraph can introduce new ideas or developments.
- They provide visual breaks in the text, making it easier to read and understand.
Lines and Sentences:
- Poetic lines often employ rhythm, meter, and sound devices, which can create a musical quality. Sentences may also use rhythm, especially in creative writing, but are generally more straightforward.
- The arrangement of stanzas can create a specific emotional impact, much like how the structure of paragraphs can affect the flow of a narrative. Both can create tension and resolution through their organization.
We also talked about rhythm in poetry, focusing on stressed and unstressed syllables. Remember, a 'u' above a syllable means 'unstressed' and a '/' above a syllable means that it's 'stressed'. Our names are good to practice this. Usually the first syllable in a name is stressed and the other syllables are unstressed.
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Monday: HW Guiding Notes p.5 (classwork)
In this lesson, we reviewed what we covered in the previous lesson, and continued to learn about metaphors.
We read another poem in class and discussed the metaphor "Life is no crystal stair."
Mother to Son
By Langston Hughes
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor--
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now--
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
We finished up by talking about stressed and unstressed syllables in poems, and how they create rhythm in poetry. We'll cover more of this in the next lesson.
In this lesson, we reviewed what we covered in the previous lesson, and continued to learn about metaphors.
We read another poem in class and discussed the metaphor "Life is no crystal stair."
Mother to Son
By Langston Hughes
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor--
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now--
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
We finished up by talking about stressed and unstressed syllables in poems, and how they create rhythm in poetry. We'll cover more of this in the next lesson.
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Week 1: Metaphors
Monday: HW Guiding Notes p.1-4 Nearpod link: app.nearpod.com/?pin=DYLGI
Today we focused on learning about metaphors, and we identified the differences between similes and metaphors. We also learned about the Harlem Renaissance, and a poet named Langston Hughes.
Similes and metaphors are both ways to compare things, but they do it in different ways.
We also looked at the following poem and identified the metaphors:
Dreams, by Langston Hughes:
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
The two metaphors in this poem:
Today we focused on learning about metaphors, and we identified the differences between similes and metaphors. We also learned about the Harlem Renaissance, and a poet named Langston Hughes.
Similes and metaphors are both ways to compare things, but they do it in different ways.
- Simile: A simile compares two things using the words "like" or "as." For example, if you say, "Her smile is like sunshine," you are saying her smile is bright and warm, just like sunshine.
- Metaphor: A metaphor also compares two things, but it does it more directly without using "like" or "as." For example, if you say, "Her smile is sunshine," you are saying her smile is sunshine, making it feel even more powerful.
- Similes use "like" or "as."
- Metaphors say something is something else.
We also looked at the following poem and identified the metaphors:
Dreams, by Langston Hughes:
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
The two metaphors in this poem:
- Life is a broken-winged bird
- Life is a barren field
- Life is a broken-winged bird: Broken-winged birds can't move and will die easily, so we can say that we can't go on.
- Life is a barren field: A barren field is a field where nothing will grow, so we can say that we can't grow.
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