7th Grade Poetry Packet: Assigned Monday, May 9th Due: Tuesday, May 24th
Over the next few weeks, you will review and learn some new terms related to poetry. You will look at different styles of poems and
read a variety of poetry as well. Best of all, you will get to create some poetry too!
Follow the guidelines and pay attention to your final deadline!
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Read through the explanation of poetry.
Look up the poetry terms included with the instructions. You may use a dictionary or look them up online. You might want
to look at examples to help clarify the meaning.
Read the instructions about analyzing a poem (TP-CASST) and choose between the two included poems “Oranges” or
“Pretty Words” and perform an analysis.
Reread the sample poems and answer the questions connected with each poem.
Look for poems that you find interesting and include your favorite poem. At the bottom of the page where you type or
rewrite the poem (and author), please write about why you like it.
Review the instructions for the various styles of poems and follow the directions for completing and collecting your poems.
Create a cover page with a nice background and the following information: Poetry Packet, By (your name), Teacher name,
Date, Period
Get a folder and follow the included table of contents for organizing your final product. Put this after your cover page in
folder.
Make sure all poetry you write is solely your own. Do not copy from the internet or get big sister to do it for you. Poetry is
personal. It doesn’t have to be award winning!
What is poetry? There are as many definitions of poetry as there are poets. Wordsworth defined poetry as "the spontaneous
overflow of powerful feelings;" and Dylan Thomas defined poetry this way: "Poetry is what makes me laugh or cry or yawn, what
makes my toenails twinkle, what makes me want to do this or that or nothing."
Poetry Terms: Please look up these terms and write the definitions:
Stanza
Theme
Connotation
Allusion
Denotation
Figurative
Alliteration
Language
Onomatopoeia
Imagery
Diction
Tone
Using TP-CASTT to Analyze Poetry
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Title
What do the words of the title suggest to you? What denotations are presented in the title? What connotations or associations do the words
possess?
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Paraphrase
Translate the poem in your own words. What is the poem about?
C
Connotation
What meaning does the poem have beyond the literal meaning? Fill in the chart below.
Form
Diction
Imagery
Point of View
Details
Allusions
Symbolism
Figurative Language
Other Devices
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Attitude
What is the speaker’s attitude? How does the speaker feel about himself, about others, and about the subject? What is the author’s attitude?
How does the author feel about the speaker, about other characters, about the subject, and the reader?
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Shifts
Where do the shifts in tone, setting, voice, etc. occur? Look for time and place, keywords, punctuation, stanza divisions, changes in length or
rhyme, and sentence structure. What is the purpose of each shift? How do they contribute to effect and meaning?
T
Title
Reanalyze the title on an interpretive level. What part does the title play in the overall interpretation of the poem?
T
Theme
List the subjects and the abstract ideas in the poem. Then determine the overall theme. What message is the author trying to convey? What
lesson is being taught? The theme must be written in a complete sentence.
T
Title
P
Paraphrase
C
Connotation
A
Attitude
S
Shifts
T
Title
T
Theme
What meaning does the poem have beyond the literal meaning? Fill in the chart below.
Form
Diction
Imagery
Point of View
Details
Allusions
Symbolism
Figurative Language
Other Devices
Table of Contents
Poetry Definitions
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My favorite poem
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TP-CASST Analysis of “Oranges” or “Pretty Words”
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Questions for “Oranges”
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Questions for “Pretty Words”
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I Am Poem-Me
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I Am Poem-Character
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Haiku w/ picture
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Sonnet
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“Be Humble & Kind” Poem
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5 Ws Poems
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Poetry Folder Rubric
Criteria
Folder is neat, organized, and shows effort, has creative
cover page
Poetry Term Definitions
Pts. Possible
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Analysis of “Oranges” or “Pretty Words”
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Questions for “Oranges”
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Questions for “Pretty Words”
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I Am Poem-Me
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I Am Poem-character
10
Haiku w/ picture
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Sonnet
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“Be Humble & Kind”
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5 Ws Poems
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Extra Credit if typed
5
Total Possible
100
5
Pts. Earned
Oranges by Gary Soto
The first time I walked
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And asked what she wanted---
With a girl, I was twelve,
Touched her shoulder, and led
Light in her eyes, a smile
Cold, and weighted down
Her down the street, across
Starting at the corners
With two oranges in my jacket.
A used car lot and a line
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With rouge. I smiled,
Of her mouth. I fingered
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A nickel in my pocket,
Beneath my steps, my breath
And when she lifted a chocolate
December. Frost cracking
Before me, then gone,
Of newly planted trees,
That cost a dime,
As I walked toward
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I didn’t say anything.
Her house, the one whose
Before a drugstore. We
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Entered, the tiny bell,
My pocket, then an orange,
Night and day, in any weather.
Bringing a saleslady
And set them quietly on
A dog barked at me, until
Down a narrow aisle of goods.
She came out pulling
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At her gloves, face bright
Tiered like bleachers
The lady’s eyes met mine,
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I peeled my orange
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Coats between trees.
That was so bright against
Very well what it was all
I took my girl’s hand
The gray of December
About.
In mine for two blocks,
That, from some distance,
Then released it to let
55
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I was making a fire in my hands.
Porch light burned yellow
And held them, knowing
Outside,
A few cars hissing past,
Until we were breathing
I turned to the candies
Fog hanging like old
Her unwrap the chocolate.
I took the nickel from
The counter. When I looked up,
Someone might have thought
Pretty Words
By Elinor Wylie
Poets make pets of pretty, docile words:
I love smooth words, like gold-enameled fish
Which circle slowly with a silken swish,
And tender ones, like downy-feathered birds:
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Words shy and dappled, deep-eyed deer in herds,
Come to my hands, and playful if I wish,
Or purring softly at a silver dish,
Blue Persian kittens, fed on cream and curds.
I love bright words, words up and singing early;
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Words that are luminous in the dark, and sing;
Warm lazy words, white cattle under trees;
I love words opalescent, cool and pearly,
Like midsummer moths, and honeyed words like bees,
Gilded and sticky, with a little sting.
“Oranges”
1. What happens to the two oranges from line 4 that the speaker had in his jacket? Cite evidence from
the poem to support your answer.
2. What does the word weighted mean as it is used in the phrase weighted down in line 3 of the poem?
Use the context clues in lines 3-4 to define the meaning of the word.
Write your definition of weighted and tell how you figured out the word’s meaning.
3. Highlight an example of alliteration in lines 20-23. Why do you think the poet uses alliteration in these
lines? What does the use of this poetic element add to the poem? Cite specific evidence from the text.
4. Highlight an example of onomatopoeia in lines 43-50. What effect does the use of onomatopoeia have
on the mood in these lines of the poem? Make annotations to record specific textual evidence to
support your answer.
5. What is the theme of the poem? How does the theme illustrate the challenges of human interactions?
Highlight examples of human interactions in the poem. Cite specific evidence from the text as support.
“Pretty Words” Questions
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What does the word “docile” mean?
If you were to rename the poem, what would you call it? Explain your reasons.
What is alliteration? Can you find examples of this in the poem?
What animal does Elinor Wylie refer to that is not as docile as the others? Why might she have
included that one?
5. How could words be considered pets?
6. Have you ever heard the word pet used to describe something other than an animal? List as many
ways as you can. How do you think these phrases developed?
7. Are there words whose sound is offensive to you? Can you separate the sound of a word from its
meaning