“[Poetry] captures the essence of meaning in the sparest of
language.” --Fountas & Pinnell
Notes
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Poetry Workshop Structure
Poet talk
Builds connections between author and
reader
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Poetry Read
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Teacher reads/models
Choral reads
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Poetry Projects
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Poetry Performance
Poet studies
Small groups
Writing poems
Discussing/Responding
Poetry Performance
Conferring
Share
I’ m N o b o d y ! W h o A r e Y o u ?
Emily D i c ki ns o n
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there's a pair of us?
Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!
T he Eagle
L o r d A l f r e d Te n n ys o n
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
Words Like Freedom
Langston Hughes
There are words like Freedom
Sweet and wonderful to say.
On my heartstrings freedom sings
All day everyday.
There are words like Liberty
That almost make me cry.
If you had known what I know
You would know why.
Super M o o n
C i n dy B o ney
C o me visit my landscape
and sit awhile
as I study your face,
pock-m arked with age
and ti me.
I visited you once through
i magination and
trans mitted intercepts
one hot, su m mer’s night.
M e n tread upon your surface
and claimed you
for ourselves—
race was won;
never to pass that
way again.
Oath of Friendship
1st Century B.C.—trans. Arthur Waley
Shang Ya!
I want to be your friend
For ever and ever without break or decay
When hills are all flat
And the rivers are all dry,
When it lightens and thunders in winter,
When it rains and snows in summer,
When Heaven and Earth mingle—
Not till then will I part from you.
Poetry Analysis
Name: _____________________________________ Date: _______________________________
Select a poem to analyze. Follow the directions below to uncover the meaning of
your poem.
1.
Write the title of the poem: ____________________________________
Predict what the poem will be about. ______________________________
__________________________________________________________
Circle the word or words that help you with your prediction.
2.
Analyzing the poem. You will read the poem 2 or 3 times. Each _
time you read
it, the poem will become clearer to you.
First reading: At first, I think the poet is saying_____________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Second reading: Now I think ____________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Third reading: What image does the poet create in your mind? _
Which words
or phrases helped you understand the poem?
When I read the poem I see_____________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Words that help me see pictures in my mind are______________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
11.5.2013—TWU Literacy Conference
Poetry Analysis
Name: _____________________________________ Date: _______________________________
Connection and reflection:
Use the questions below to help you analyze the poem and make connections:
a. Write the gist of the poem: __________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
b. Does this poem remind you of something or someone? _______________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
c. What is the message of the poem? What is the poet saying to you _
reader?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
d. Which element(s) of poetry does the author use to create images or appeal
to the reader’s senses? ________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
e. How is this poem like other poems, stories, or texts you have read? _____
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
f. Did you like the poem? Would you recommend this poem to a friend?
State why or why not. _________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
11.5.2013—TWU Literacy Conference
Poetry Analysis
Name: _____________________________________ Date: _______________________________
11.5.2013—TWU Literacy Conference