Poetry Jigsaw Understanding Poetry in Groups CSHS 2012 Sophomore Comp & Lit “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” Langston Hughes Role A You are responsible for reading this poem to the class. It should be read clearly as you honor appropriate stops. Make sure you learn how to pronounce all of the words correctly. You are also responsible for grading the facilitator and wriCng a 3-­‐5 sentence descripCon of what they did well and what they did not do well. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the theme of perseverance and the following quesCons: 1.  Why does our speaker choose to focus on the Euphrates, the Congo, the Nile, and the Mississippi rivers? 2.  Where do we get a sense of perseverance in this poem? 3.  What line shows us the theme of perseverance? Role B You are one of the reporters of the group and will be responsible for recording the answers for quesCons asked by A & C and turning it into me. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the theme of race and the following quesCons: 1.  At what moments do we see the idea of race surface in this poem? 2.  What role does the Ctle play in this poem? Role C You are one of the reporters of the group and will be responsible for recording the answers for quesCons asked by B & D and turning it into me. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the theme of memory and the past and the following quesCons: 1.  What role does memory play in this poem? 2.  What moments in the past does our speaker discuss? 3.  Do we get a sense of the future in this poem? 4.  What line shows us the theme of memory and the past? Role D You are the facilitator of the group. It is your responsibility to make sure that your group gets through all of the quesCons in the Cme given. You will need to write a report of all the members in your group, giving them a leSer grade based on focus and contribuCon, as well as a 3-­‐5 sentence descripCon of what they did well and what they did not do well. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the theme of freedom and confinement and the following quesCons: 1.  As he recalls his past, when is our speaker free and when is he confined? 2.  Do you get the sense that our speaker is currently free? 3.  What line shows us the theme of freedom and confinement? 3.  What line shows us the theme of race? “Facing It” Role A You are responsible for reading this poem to the class. It should be read clearly as you honor appropriate stops. Make sure you learn how to pronounce all of the words correctly. You are also responsible for grading the facilitator and wriCng a 3-­‐5 sentence descripCon of what they did well and what they did not do well. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: The poem describes a visit to the Vietnam War Memorial, but what is the “it” that Komunyakaa asks himself and us to face? When he writes at the poem’s beginning, "black face fades,/hiding inside the black granite," what is he hiding from? What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? Role C You are one of the reporters of the group and will be responsible for recording the answers for quesCons asked by B & D and turning it into me. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the theme of memory and the past and the following quesCons: For Komunyakaa, looking at the Wall is a catalyst (agent of change). Discuss moments in your own lives where seeing something physical led you to a much deeper, psychological revelaCon. Write about that experience, describing in detail both what you saw and what you now know as a result of seeing it. What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? Yusef Komunyakaa Role B You are one of the reporters of the group and will be responsible for recording the answers for quesCons asked by A & C and turning it into me. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: In what ways do the poem’s line breaks suggest the speaker’s complicated and conflicCng emoCons in the poem? How does the poem’s form mirror the speaker’s experience of looking at the Wall? Highlight or circle the areas of the poem that demonstrates this. What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? Role D You are the facilitator of the group. It is your responsibility to make sure that your group gets through all of the quesCons in the Cme given. You will need to write a report of all the members in your group, giving them a leSer grade based on focus and contribuCon, as well as a 3-­‐5 sentence descripCon of what they did well and what they did not do well. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: The poem’s final image—“In the black mirror/a woman’s trying to erase names:/No, she's brushing a boy’s hair”—is especially powerful. How is it similar to previous images and how is it different? Why might Komunyakaa have chosen this parCcular descripCon to end the poem? What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? “Those Winter Sundays” Role A You are responsible for reading this poem to the class. It should be read clearly as you honor appropriate stops. Make sure you learn how to pronounce all of the words correctly. You are also responsible for grading the facilitator and wriCng a 3-­‐5 sentence descripCon of what they did well and what they did not do well. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: How does Hayden characterize the relaConship between father and son in the poem? Try to find parCcular words that seem to suggest more than one meaning and think about how they contribute to both the literal and emoConal world of the poem. What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? Role C You are one of the reporters of the group and will be responsible for recording the answers for quesCons asked by B & D and turning it into me. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the theme of memory and the past and the following quesCons: Take the point of view of the father and think about what his life is like. Write a leSer to his adult son who just wrote this poem. Make sure the leSer responds to this poem and uses emoCons. What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? Robert Hayden Role B You are one of the reporters of the group and will be responsible for recording the answers for quesCons asked by A & C and turning it into me. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: Listen to the words of the poem and note any alliteraCon, assonance, consonance and other sound devices the author uses. What do these sound devices do to the reading of the poem and our emoCons? Reword the last two lines of the poem, but keep its meaning. What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? Role D You are the facilitator of the group. It is your responsibility to make sure that your group gets through all of the quesCons in the Cme given. You will need to write a report of all the members in your group, giving them a leSer grade based on focus and contribuCon, as well as a 3-­‐5 sentence descripCon of what they did well and what they did not do well. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: What does the son (as an adult) feel about his father and what did he feel then? Find images in the poem that expose the difference in the speaker’s childhood and adult understanding of his father. What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? “Miss Rosie” Lucille Clihon Role A You are responsible for reading this poem to the class. It should be read clearly as you honor appropriate stops. Make sure you learn how to pronounce all of the words correctly. You are also responsible for grading the facilitator and wriCng a 3-­‐5 sentence descripCon of what they did well and what they did not do well. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: What details tell you how Miss Rosie looks now? How she used to look? What does standing up in the face of Miss Rosie’s destrucCon mean? What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? Role B You are one of the reporters of the group and will be responsible for recording the answers for quesCons asked by A & C and turning it into me. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: What was the effect on the speaker aher observing Miss Rosie? What line in the poem caused you to think this? Why do you think the speaker was so affected by Miss Rosie? What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? Role C You are one of the reporters of the group and will be responsible for recording the answers for quesCons asked by B & D and turning it into me. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: Note all the figuraCve language (imagery, repeCCon, alliteraCon, hyperbole, simile, metaphor) used in the poem. What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? Role D You are the facilitator of the group. It is your responsibility to make sure that your group gets through all of the quesCons in the Cme given. You will need to write a report of all the members in your group, giving them a leSer grade based on focus and contribuCon, as well as a 3-­‐5 sentence descripCon of what they did well and what they did not do well. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: In a way, Miss Rosie seems to represent something more than herself, something never named. What do you think she might symbolize? What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? “Kitchenette Building” Role A You are responsible for reading this poem to the class. It should be read clearly as you honor appropriate stops. Make sure you learn how to pronounce all of the words correctly. You are also responsible for grading the facilitator and wriCng a 3-­‐5 sentence descripCon of what they did well and what they did not do well. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: A “kitcheneSe” was an apartment divided into a series of small rooms which were rented out, something to enCre families. How does Brooke create the feeling of many people living together? What does she include to dramaCze such close quarters? What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? Role C You are one of the reporters of the group and will be responsible for recording the answers for quesCons asked by B & D and turning it into me. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the theme of memory and the past and the following quesCons: What does “’Dream’ make a giddy sound” mean? Compare it to “rent,” “feeding a wife,” or “saCsfying a man.” The second and third stanzas form a quesCon. What is the speaker’s answer to it? Where do you find the answer? What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? Gwendolyn Brooks Role B You are one of the reporters of the group and will be responsible for recording the answers for quesCons asked by A & C and turning it into me. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: Do you think dream is an acCve agent, capable of making a change? Refer to your personal experiences. The second stanza uses words like “send,” “fluSer,” “fight,” and “sing” when referring to dreams What do you make of this? What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why? Role D You are the facilitator of the group. It is your responsibility to make sure that your group gets through all of the quesCons in the Cme given. You will need to write a report of all the members in your group, giving them a leSer grade based on focus and contribuCon, as well as a 3-­‐5 sentence descripCon of what they did well and what they did not do well. In your group, you will be leading the discussion on the following quesCons: Analyze the fourth stanza. Do we end on a posiCve note? What is the general feeling towards dreams in this poem? Do you agree or disagree with what the poem is saying about dreams? What do you think is the most important line of the poem and why?