Wed. Oct. 4, 2017: How to Read Poetry Cont. & Poem to "Read"

Today, the students and I finished figuring out the steps to reading poetry Using the poem "Hams>' I have pasted the steps below that are to be applied to each poem. I then gave out a short poem for them to analyze. I have also pasted this below. Students will work on this tomorrow as well.

How to Actively Read a Poem

Before (On Front)

1.      Look at the title of this poem. What might it mean? Write what you think down.

2.      Look at the layout of the poem. Note the number of stanzas, lines, rhyme schemes and any layout that deviates from a flush left set up. Write these down and then highlight all punctuation.

During (On Front)

3.      First Read: Read the poem through paying attention to the punctuation (stopping at periods, slowing down at commas). While reading, highlight words/phrases that are unknown or confusing (different colour highlighter).

4.      Look up the definitions of the highlighted words and put them right on the page.

5.      Second Read: Examine the poem once more. Identify any figures of speech you see and define them. Look up allusions and write them down if there are any.

6.      Third Read: Reread the poem again (third read). Now,

paraphrase the stanzas or thoughts (put in

your own words).

After (On Back)

7.      Create five questions that would help you understand the poem, characters or context. Be sure to create grammatically correct sentences.

8.      Create a three sentence summary about the poem. Be sure to include the title and author as well as a beginning, middle and end without your own personal opinion. Be grammatically correct.

9.      Brainstorm topic words and write them down as they come to you.

10.  Based on everything you have, figure out what the theme of the text is. This is the “so

what” or the “what I am to learn” from the piece that can apply to life in general. Be grammatically correct.

Poem for analysis

Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—

5          And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags

10        like a heavy load.

Or does it explode? 

                                    Langston Hughes