Poetry Mini-Unit

1. Poetry Mini-Unit

2. Ten Little Soldiers Ten little soldier boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were Nine. Nine little soldier boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were Eight. Eight little soldier boys going up to heaven, one fell down the stairs and then there were Seven. Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six. Six little soldier boys playing with a hive; A bumble bee stung one and then there were Five. Five little soldier boys going in for law; One got into Chancery and then there were Four. Four little soldier boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were Three. Three little soldier boys walking in the Zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were Two. Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was One. One little soldier boy left all alone; He went and hanged himself and then there were None.

3. Terms to know (write them in your journal!)… • Stanza- a collection of lines in a poem, like paragraphs in poetry

4. Example Stanzas Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein There is a place where the sidewalk endsAnd before the street begins,And there the grass grows soft and white,And there the sun burns crimson bright,And there the moon-bird rests from his flightTo cool in the peppermint wind.Let us leave this place where the smoke blows blackAnd the dark street winds and bends.Past the pits where the asphalt flowers growWe shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,And watch where the chalk-white arrows goTo the place where the sidewalk ends.Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,For the children, they mark, and the children, they knowThe place where the sidewalk ends.

5. Terms to know (write them in your journal!)… • Rhyme scheme- the pattern of rhyming words in the poem • Meter- the rhythm of the syllables in the poem

6. Rhyme Schemes: AABB • AABBwith 7 syllable meter Sally went into the store She nearly fell through the floor She saw the prices sky high And decided not to buy

7. Rhyme Scheme: ABAB • ABAB with a 6 syllable meter Walk with me to the park A peaceful day to roam I will not stay till dark By then I will be home

8. Rhyme Scheme: ABCB • ABCB On the beach I find myself Happily patrolling the shore I see many ships sailing about And wonder what they’re for

9. Life is Fine by Langston HughesWhat rhyme scheme does he use? I went down to the river,I set down on the bank.I tried to think but couldn't,So I jumped in and sank.I came up once and hollered!I came up twice and cried!If that water hadn't a-been so coldI might've sunk and died.But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!I took the elevatorSixteen floors above the ground.I thought about my babyAnd thought I would jump down. I stood there and I hollered!I stood there and I cried!If it hadn't a-been so highI might've jumped and died.But it was High up there! It was high!So since I'm still here livin',I guess I will live on.I could've died for love--But for livin' I was bornThough you may hear me holler,And you may see me cry--I'll be dogged, sweet baby,If you gonna see me die.Life is fine! Life is fine

10. Limerick • The first, second, and fifth lines rhyme and have the same number of syllables, typically 8 • The third and fourth lines rhyme with 5 syllables • These are often used as nursery rhymes and are funny Example: 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!"

11. Write a Limerick! • The first, second, and fifth lines rhyme and have the same number of syllables, typically 8 • The third and fourth lines rhyme with 5 syllables • These are often used as nursery rhymes and are funny • Not sure what to write about? Look at your list of 16 things you love. Use items 2 or 12 as your topic/inspiration. Example: 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!"

12. Poetry Assignment #1 • Write an Ode! • Here are the det’s: (1) Five stanza, (2) 20 lines, (3) structured poem with a rhyme scheme, (4) 150+ words, and (5) metered with the same number of syllables. • AABB • ABAB • ABCB EXAMPLE STANZA: “iPod” by Anonymous  iPod, I do appreciate thee.  Always helping and calming me.  I always go to you when I’m in need. Everything you do is a good deed. Not sure what to write about? Look at your list of 16 things you love. Use either item 6 or item 16 as a topic.

13. Haiku • Japanese poetry that focuses on nature • Does not rhyme, but uses strict line and syllable count • Either 5/7/5 or 3/4/5 Example: A weeping willow (5) Leaves tickling the warm ground (7) Spring has come again (5)

14. As the wind does blow      Across the trees, I see the                Buds blooming in May

15. Falling to the ground,        I watch a leaf settle down In a bed of brown.

16. It’s cold—and I wait For someone to shelter me And take me from here.

17. Write a Haiku! • Write three Haikus! • Your first Haiku should use 5/7/5 syllable count. • Your second Haiku should use the 3/4/5 syllable count. • Your third Haiku can use either syllable format we learned today. • Need inspiration? Look at items 1 and 5 on your list of 16 things you love.  • When you’re finished, create your writing portfolio. Instructions on the whiteboard.

18. Free-Verse Poetry • No rhyme scheme, no metered rhythm My little pup, my labradoodle, with its curly yellow hair is the sweetest dog, the best companion, the kindest friend, I could ever have.

19. Figurative Language • Onomatopoeia- sounds spelled out as words • Boom! • Kablam! • Whoosh! • Alliteration- using the same sound in repetition • Anna ate ample apples at another apartment. • Hyperbole- an extreme exaggeration • If she dumps me, I will never be happy again!

20. Figurative Language: Comparisons • Metaphor- comparing two unlike things without using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ • Redbull gives you wiiiings. • Extended Metaphor-a comparison that lasts for multiple lines, stanzas, or throughout text • Simile- comparing two unlike things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ • She laughs like a donkey. • My dog is as dumb as rocks.

21. Figurative Language • Personification- inanimate objects acting or feeling like people • The light creptover the mountains. • The house stood proudly. • Anthropomorphism- animals acting like people • The puppy danced across the floor. • The cub cried out for its mother. • The cat smiled when it had the mouse cornered.

32. Excerpt from “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”by Maya Angelou The caged bird singswith fearful trillof the things unknownbut longed for stilland his tune is heardon the distant hill for the caged birdsings of freedom The free bird leapson the back of the windand floats downstreamtill the current endsand dips his wingsin the orange sun raysand dares to claim the sky.But a bird that stalksdown his narrow cagecan seldom see throughhis bars of ragehis wings are clipped andhis feet are tiedso he opens his throat to sing.

33. Mending Wall by Robert Frost Something there is that doesn't love a wall, 
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, 
And spills the upper boulders in the sun, 
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. 
The work of hunters is another thing: 
I have come after them and made repair 
Where they have left not one stone on a stone, 
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding, 
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean, 
No one has seen them made or heard them made, 
But at spring mending-time we find them there. 
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill; 
And on a day we meet to walk the line 
And set the wall between us once again. 
We keep the wall between us as we go. 
To each the boulders that have fallen to each. 
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls 
We have to use a spell to make them balance: 
'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!' 
We wear our fingers rough with handling them. 
Oh, just another kind of out-door game, 
One on a side. It comes to little more: 
There where it is we do not need the wall: 
He is all pine and I am apple orchard. 
My apple trees will never get across 
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. 
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'. 
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder 
If I could put a notion in his head: 
'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it 
Where there are cows? 
But here there are no cows. 
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know 
What I was walling in or walling out, 
And to whom I was like to give offence. 
Something there is that doesn't love a wall, 
That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him, 
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather 
He said it for himself. I see him there 
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top 
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. 
He moves in darkness as it seems to me~ 
Not of woods only and the shade of trees. 
He will not go behind his father's saying, 
And he likes having thought of it so well 
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

34. Poetry Assignment #2 • Take a look at the 5th item on our Brainstormed list for inspiration. • Use that item as the inspiration for a 20 lined, free verse poem with at least 150 words • You must use figurative language more than once • Remember, free verse poetry does not have a rhyme scheme or any particular structure