dear mr - lcps.org€¦ · web viewdepoy/ vallor, english 9. period ___ writing poetry (200...

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Depoy/ Vallor, English 9Period ___

Writing Poetry (200 points)

Students will compose 12-14 original poems this quarter. The subject matter is up to the student under the following conditions:

1) All poems must be original. Students who plagiarize poems or parts of poems will receive disciplinary consequences. Keep in mind that all of these poems will be submitted to turnitin.com.

2) Poems must be appropriate for school. Do not write something that may be considered inappropriate by your parent, the teacher(s) or the administrator. Refrain from writing poems that are explicit or violent in nature. Mrs. Vallor and Mrs. Depoy reserve the right to disqualify poems from the poetry slams and ask students to rewrite them for credit if they are considered to be inappropriate. A poem considered to be offensive may be referred to a counselor or administrator.

3) Each poem will be read aloud to the class (anonymously by another student). Ideally, nobody will ever know you wrote it unless you win a poetry slam and choose to tell the class. However, don’t write anything that would embarrass you if another student found out that you wrote it.

4) You may not show your poem to others, tell them about it, or urge them to vote for it before or during the poetry slam. If you do, you will be disqualified from winning the poetry slam. Since poetry slams must be anonymous, you may not include “hints” in your poem such as your football number, etc.

5) You may not use anybody at this school as the subject of your poem whether is direct or implied (obvious to other students). You may not say, “My friend or teacher doesn’t mind being the subject of my poem” because your friend or teacher may not be honest with you about being embarrassed by your poem.

6) Poems may be humorous or even silly as long as they don’t make a mockery of the assignment. For example, “a cat sat on a mat” does not show effort and would receive a low grade for meaningful content. Another example would be writing poems about how you hate writing poems or hate English class. Please keep in mind that your English teacher is grading your poems and be mature in your compositions.

7) Your poems should be meaningful to you. They can be about “heavy” or “light” subjects, depending on your mood. It is okay if you want to write many poems about something you love such as soccer, your pet or your favorite vacation spot.

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8) You may write poems on sad subjects (as many famous poets do), but be warned that if I suspect that you may be depressed, it is my duty to share your poem with your counselor and/or parent. This does not mean that you’re in trouble or that I didn’t like your poem but simply that I am concerned about you.

9) All poems must be TYPED in Times New Roman, size 12 and double-spaced to receive credit on daily spotcheck grades.

Student Poem #1: Haiku 10 points

Student Poem #2: Tanka 10 points

Student Poem #3: Cinquain 10 points

Student Poem #4: List poem (12 lines min.) 15 points

Student Poem #5: Acrostic poem 15 points

Student Poem #6: “How to” poem (12 lines min.) 20 points

Student Poem #7: Motif poem (12 lines min.) 20 points

Student Poem #8: An original, rhyming poem of at least 16 lines: AABB, ABAB or ABCB 20 points

Student Poem #9: An original, free verse poem at least 12 lines 20 points

Student Poem #10: A limerick 20 points

Student Poem #11: “Emulate an author’s style” 20 points

Student Poem #12: A sonnet or ballad (honors) or your choice (academic) 20 points

*You may submit one or two additional poems only (any format) for extra credit.

Student Poem #1: Haiku

Writing haikus began during the 17th century in Japan. Haikus are usually about nature and have a specific pattern of kami-ku-- three lines with 5 syllables in the first, 7 syllables in the second, and 5 in the third.

Student examples of haiku poems:

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Haiku by Eli Levenson

Softly calling me 5 syllablesThe soft humming of the sea 7 syllables My form of solace 5 syllables

Haiku by Rachel Allegra

The night is endingBright sun comes up over the hillMorning has started

Haiku by Chris Song

Bright moon is glowing Resting over the calm hillNight is beginning

Student Poem #2: Tanka

A Japanese tanka (sometimes called waka) is a poem composed of thirty-one syllables in two sections: kami-ku and shimo-ku. The three lines of kami-ku have five, seven, and five syllables respectively. The following two lines of shimo-ku each have seven syllables.

Student examples of tanka poems:

Tanka by Gabriel Cordova

How life passes by 5 syllablesSeeing the time flying fast 7 syllablesOur world will not last 5 syllables

For we are the destroyers 7 syllablesTaking life from Mother Nature 7 syllables

Tanka by Chris Song

I think carefullyTrying to find braveryShe can see my fear

She is blinded by sorrow My eyes flow over with tears

Student Poem #3: Cinquain

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A Cinquain has 5 lines and is generally in the following format:

Line 1: the subject ( a noun)

Line 2: two descriptive words

Line 3: three verbs

Line 4: a phrase of 4 words

Line 5: a synonym

Cinquain by Alex Epperly

The seaGreen and deepRippling, flowing, slipping awayBearing witness to erasocean

Cinquain by Priyanka Panday

MountaineerRough, strongClimbing, struggling, enjoyingReaching for the peakHiker

Student Poem #4: List poem (12 lines minimum)

Ideas: things I hope to accomplish, things I remember, things I forgot, things I need to do today, excuses for not doing my homework, excuses for not writing this poem,

things to do on a rainy day, reasons I love someone, things I will never throw away, things I should have done, things that make me feel ten feet tall

Student examples:

Things not to throw away by Eli Levenson

My lifeMy healthMy educationMy familyMy friendsMy job

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My freedomMy happinessMy libertyMy choices My humanity

Things in life to be grateful for by Erin Flint

A roof over your headA loving familyParents who careSomeone who cares just for youLoyal friendsFood on your plateClothes on your backAs well as your healthYouth and a long lifeAn adventurous personalityFreedom from tyranny and suppressionIndependent and individuality

Student Poem #5: Acrostic poem

To write an acrostic poem, write the subject of the poem vertically.

Student Examples:

Cheerleading by Allison Bouchard

C reating the goalH aving what it takesE arning a spot on the squadE nthusiasmR emember to have funL earning the routineE ncouraging other teammatesA llowing mistakes—everyone makes themD eciding you want to winI ntense practicesN othing can stop youG iving it your all!

Inspiration by Linnie Beard

I gnite your brainN ever stop the flow

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S pilling out your thoughtsP leasing your penI gnite your brainR ip through pages of wordsA sk me again whatT ook me on this runaway train?I gnition of my brainO ut of the mist the writing appearsN ow you have poetry.

Student Poem #6: “How to” poem (12 lines minimum)

Ideas for how to poems:

How to make it snow, how to make someone love you, how to ace a test, how to cook dinner, how to get a date for the prom, how to get your driver’s license, how to get out of a speeding ticket, how to have a great vacation, how to be happy, how to get an A in English class

Student Examples:

How to be a great football player by Brendan Griffin (notice all the great similes)

Practice harder than your opponents.Become stronger and have more endurance.Have a rifle for an arm.Run like the wind in a thunderstorm.Catch like a broken-in glove.Be tougher than nails.Hit hard like a truck in a head on collision.Run people over like a bulldozer.Look ahead and never look back.Be proud to be the best you can be.Never accept anything but the best.Never be scaredAnd never give up.

How to be a star in the sky by Elena Fokou

Watch from way up, just watch never talkShow the people the right way when they are in the darkMake people stare at you, most of the times with confused feelingsListen to people talk to you about their problems, just listen, never tell them yoursListen to them asking you for advice, just listen, never give it to themKeep them company when they are lonelyBe there for everybody that needs you, because you are the only one who can really keep

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secretsMake them look at you and say how beautiful you areWhile you look down to some who have smilesAnd others who have tearsHave people make a wish while you fall through the sky at the last moments of your life

How to make it snow by Rachel Towarnicky

Be a kid at heartExcited and hoping that the tradition will continue to be true.Reverse your PJs.Run backward around the house three times,Singing let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.Run up to the bathroom,With ice cubes in hand,Drop them in and watch them go down make a wish for it to snow.Close all the window shades,Jump on to the bed and tuck yourself in tight,And go to sleep and don’t peek till the morning comes.

Student Poem #7: Motif poem (12 lines minimum)

A motif poem repeats the same word on every line or almost every line.

Student examples:

Motif Poem by Stephany Martinez

Notice how yellow, orange and green leaves pile on the ground. Notice how trees become bare. Notice how the snow falls on the ground. Notice how the snow glistens on the branches. Notice how the snow melts. Notice how it fades away. Notice how it rains in April. Notice how it falls. Notice how the rainbow appears. Notice how beautiful it is. Notice how the flowers bloom. Notice every color and shape. Notice how it gets real warm. Notice how this will start again.

Paradise to me by Allison Bouchard

Where is paradise?

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Where the water sparkles.Where color is vibrant and fragrant.Where there is a perfect, slight breeze.Where sand is white and fine.Where air smells like a sweet island flower.Where stress doesn’t exist.Where skies are always blue.Where life is being lived and loved.Where everyday life can’t quite reach you.Where no one can complain.

Circle of Friends by Rachel Towarnicky

Circle of friends is all one needsThe feel of comfort and safetyComes with being in numbers

Circle of friends has no endIt just keeps going butIt can grow with the inviting of new people

Circle of friends is a familyEveryone is there for each otherIn good and in bad

Circle of friends is a chainYou can never break the chainOnce you have been linked

Circle of friends will never dieThe circle keeps on goingEven after people pass on

Because the circle of friendsIs ever lastingIt is a circle that keeps the sense of freedom and respect alive

There’s Never Enough Time by Vincent Tapia

There’s Never Enough…Time to finish your homeworkTime to study for a testTime to eat breakfastTime to go to school

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Time to learn to driveTime to get ready when you’re in a hurryTime to do what your parents wantTime to play your favorite gameTime to watch TVTime in a day when you’re having fun Time to do things you want to doTime for everything you can’t do

Student Poem #8: An original, rhyming poem of at least 16 lines: AABB, ABAB or ABCB

Rhyming Poem by Colin Hunt

When the sun goes downAnd the people are asleepAs the colors of the sky meld to be brownAnd gives way to an ocean of stars so deepAnd the moon is but a frownFor my eyes to keep

The clouds grow togetherAnd the begin to cover the moonWhat horrible weatherMust be upon us soon

To make the nightTurn into a frightAnd leave us hereWith no one hearAnd then…

I think of the sun’s golden crownAnd how the clouds are like sheepBut here I am left to drownIn the ocean of stars so deep

Rhyming Poem by Tommy Berry

Acceptance of darknessThe heart of the sunThe battle is overAnd the people have won.

Ray of sunlightDust of the stars

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Eyes against nothingKnow nothing is far

Blue backdropThat holds in the nightVanish foreverIn infinite light

Eyes of the heavensHand of the sunThe old life is overA new has begun.

Student Poem #9: An original, free verse poem at least 12 lines

Student Example:

Life by Colin Hunt (published in the Spring 2002 issue of A Celebration of Young Poets)

Life is a lump of clayYou can mold it and shape it yet you cannot design itSometimes you think you may have that powerJust to discover that you don'tThen you get frustrated and smash it back into a lumpAnd refuse to work on it for weeksBy the time you get backYou've forgotten the purpose of the projectSoon you remember and start rebuildingWhen you are finally onto somethingThat could be the masterpiece of your careerIt hardens and crumbles right before your eyesAll that is left is dust sifting through your clay stained fingers...

Time by Colin Hunt

Time is a gift we should not spend idlyTime is a gift that should be sharedAmong friends and familyLearning this and thatBut don’t forget that time is yoursTo spend how you willAnd to forget that it’s pricelessWould be the greatest sin of all

We are given such little timeOn Earth to make our mark

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So I suggest you spend it wiselyDon’t throw your wealth awaySpread it out and be generous with it.

A Song to Give Me Life by Laura May

I want to singSing to the falling rainSing with the energy I have from the sunSing the songs of my wisdomBelt the words from my soulAnd if my heart grows strongerI mimic the songs of the birdsI can follow the whistle of the windsI can carry my voice to the mountain topsI’ll let out the song withinIt’s a breath to give me lifeI search for a meaningWhile I make a simple melodyI know to live this life, lost of sentimentI want to singUntil my heart stops its rhythmI want to sing forever

The Limit of the Universe by Naji Taib

We are closest when we are apartEach takes steps backWhen we are finally together againForced away by theThoughts of closeness from isolationLonely againLonely togetherThis is not what I had in mindWhere fear is the driving forceFear of each other tooA block forever standingUntil we finally become friendsWhich in this coldDisallowing worldMight never happen.

Student Poem #10: A limerick

A limerick is a humorous five line poem. The first, second and fifth lines rhyme and each have eight syllables; the third

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and fourth lines rhyme and have five syllables.

Ex. by Edward Lear

“There was an Old Man with a beard, Who said, 'It is just as I feared! — Two Owls and a Hen, Four Larks and a Wren Have all built their nests in my beard!”

Limerick by Erin Dice

There was a man who slept all dayAnd when he woke up he would sayI am way too tiredWho cares if I’m firedI don’t like my job anyway

The Fast Man by Sahil Mehra

There is a young man who is fastWho will win the race, not place lastHe is very quickAnd acts very slickAnd he will never be surpassed

Student Poem #11: "Emulate an author's style"

*Choose a poem that you like. Write your own original poem, but try to copy the author’s style.

Emulate the style, tone, rhythm and other techniques used. Type both the original poem (with title and author) and your poem on the same page.

The Choice by Danny Bell (emulating “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost)

Two choices loom that very well could,Decide whether you’re happy, poor, or both,You can’t make up your mind, if you should,But your heart tells you which one would,Provide you with the most growth;

Though the other may provide the better share,The prospect seems quite lame,You know that whatever you wear,No one person will really care,

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And will fill you with petty shame;

The choices seem easy, but not this day,Clouds form in your mind that are black,You chose the second to your own dismay,You light it and it appears as bright as a sun’s ray,And you will fight to find your way back;

After all this you will explain this to your parents, without having to lie,They will provide you with the best defense,Though the judge will make them cry,Your rights as a citizen will ultimately die,And you will serve a hefty sentence.

Student Poem #12: A sonnet or ballad (honors ) Your choice of poetry styles (academic)

A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem. In Italian, the word “sonnet” means “little song.” It is written to express emotions, especially love. (For more directions on sonnets, see textbook, pages 295-310)

Choose one of the following rhyme schemes:

abab cdcd efef gg (Shakespeare)

or

abab bcbc cdcd ee (Spenser)

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest;

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

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"Let me not to the marriage of true minds" by William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no; it is an ever-fixed mark, That looks on tempests, and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error, and upon me prov'd, I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.

A ballad has a dramatic or exciting episode in narrative form. Ballads are written in quatrains, which are four line verses. Usually the first and third lines have four accented beats per line, and the second and fourth lines have three accented beats per line. Usually the second and fourth lines rhyme (ABCB rhyme).

Ballad of Birmingham by Dudley Randall

(On the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963)

"Mother dear, may I go downtown Instead of out to play, And march the streets of Birmingham In a Freedom March today?"

"No, baby, no, you may not go, For the dogs are fierce and wild, And clubs and hoses, guns and jails Aren't good for a little child."

"But, mother, I won't be alone. Other children will go with me, And march the streets of Birmingham To make our country free."

"No, baby, no, you may not go,

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For I fear those guns will fire. But you may go to church instead And sing in the children's choir."

She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair, And bathed rose petal sweet, And drawn white gloves on her small brown hands, And white shoes on her feet.

The mother smiled to know that her child Was in the sacred place, But that smile was the last smile To come upon her face.

For when she heard the explosion, Her eyes grew wet and wild. She raced through the streets of Birmingham Calling for her child.

She clawed through bits of glass and brick, Then lifted out a shoe. "O, here's the shoe my baby wore, But, baby, where are you?”

GRADING:

Student Poem #1: Haiku

/2 neatness/ followed directions

/8 meaningful content

/10 points

Student Poem #2: Tanka


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/10 points

Student Poem #3: Cinquian



/10 points

Student Poem #4: List poem



/15 points

Student Poem #5: Acrostic poem



/15 points

Student Poem #6: “How to” poem



/20 points

Student Poem #7: Motif poem



/20 points

Student Poem #8: An original, rhyming poem of at least 16 lines

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/5 follows AABB,ABAB or ABCB rhyme scheme


/20 points

Student Poem #9: An original, free verse poem at least 12 lines


/5 does not follow a consistent rhyme scheme


/20 points

Student Poem #10: A limerick


/5 written in limerick form


/20 points

Student Poem #11: "Emulate an author’s style”


/5 emulates an author’s style


/20 points

Student Poem #12: A sonnet or ballad (honors) Your choice (academic)

/5 neatness/ followed directions /5 neatness/ followed directions

/5 written in sonnet or ballad form /15 meaningful content


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/20 points /20 points

EXTRA CREDIT: One or two additional poems (up to 20 points total)

TOTAL /200 points

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dear mr - lcps.org€¦ · web viewdepoy/ vallor, english 9. period ___ writing poetry (200...

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