August 28-29

1. August 28-29 • When you come in… • Get out a piece of paper, pen/pencil, highlighter and put everything else away (NO ELECTRONICS) • Today we are… • Beginning our look at history’s influence on writing • Discussing the impact of experiences on our beliefs • Analyzing the use of sentence variation and details in our writing • Activities… • Whole class brainstorm • “Abandoned Farmhouse” analysis • Imitative Poem • When you leave you should be able to… • Better annotate a poem • Use sentence variation in your own writing • HOMEWORK • Get supplies (by next Wed) • Get a book (by next Wed) • Finish imitative poem (due next class)

2. “Abandoned Farmhouse” Creating Life from Details

3. What we will learn… • Through studying this poem we will… • Practice using different types of sentences. • Understand subject verb agreement. • Use prepositional phrases to complicate our descriptions. • Infer the relationship between detail and life. • Create details using complex sentences to explain ourselves and our lives.

4. Read the poem on your own… • Read the poem silently to yourself at least twice. • If you are comfortable annotating your poem, feel free to do so. • Begin thinking about what the poem is about and what clues help you arrive at this conclusion.

5. Listen to the poem… • “Abandoned Farmhouse” • Listen to the reading by the poet, Ted Kooser. • On the back of the poem, explain what you think happened in the poem. Your explanation should be one full page. • What can you tell about the people in the poem? What do you think happened to the people in the poem? Use textual evidence to support your response. Be thorough.

6. Compare • Share your response with your partner. • Did you have the same response? What details stood out to each of you? Do you think your prior knowledge and/or experiences play any role in your assumptions? • Share results with the class.

7. Now let’s take a closer look at the details of the poem…

8. Diction (Word Choice) What is the feeling of this poem? What words make it feel that way? Circle all the negative words in the poem. Did you find - broken, fearing, broken, leaky, scarce, lonely, wrong, choked, nervous, strewn, rusty, broken, wrong?

9. Now let’s look at thesubject – verb agreement • Notice that it is the items in the poem that “speak.” They tell the story. • The poem says: “He was a big man, says the size of his shoes…” • Normally, we would say: “The size of his shoes says he was a big man…” (Remember it is the “size” speaking, so it is singular, although “shoes” is plural. The size says, “he was a big man”, but if the shoes were “speaking”, the shoes say, “he was a big man.”) • Underline all places where an item “says” something. Ex. - He was a big man, says the size of his shoes…”

10. Prepositional Phrases • What is a preposition? (Hint…something a squirrel can do to a tree) • A preposition shows the relationship between two items. It gives context for the objects and adds detail. • The squirrel was by the tree. • The squirrel was on the tree. • The squirrel went around the tree. • Highlight the prepositional phrases.

11. There are about 150 prepositions, but these are the most common ones. aboutaboveacross afteragainstalongamong aroundatbeforebehindbelow beneathbeside betweenbydownduringexceptforfromin in front of insideinstead ofintolikenearof off onontoon top of out of outsideoverpastsince through totowardunder underneathuntilup upon with withinwithout

12. Think – Pair – Share • Notice that the first two stanzas go in the following order: • what is said • the item that says it • Where the item is located • Why would Kooser invert the natural order of the sentence? Where is the emphasis in each description?

13. Now try imitating the author • The items in this poem “say” things about the people? • Find one item from the classroom you think says something about your English teacher. • Imitate the author’s style and create a sentence on your paper explaining what the item says about your teacher. • Volunteers can share with the class. She is passionate about the environment, says the recycle box sitting anxiously beside the trashcan.

14. Time to Look at the Final Stanza…How is it different? • It asks a question. Why is this the only question? • “And the child?” • Simile: • “like branches after a storm” • What does this simile tell you about the family and what must have happened to them? • Short Sentence that is repeated at the beginning and end of the stanza: • “Something went wrong.” • Overall idea that the objects convey

15. Brainstorm/Graphic Organizer/Pre-writing • Think of a space or an event. Choose something that is comfortable and you know well. (Example: Home, room, car, practice field, breakup, move, funeral, holiday, competition, meal etc.) • Create three columns – Says, Item, Location – on your paper. • List items in the middle column. Be creative. • What do the objects say about you or the event? • Remember, what the object says comes first. • Example: She was an active woman, say the running shoes discarded on the cluttered floor… • Where are the items in the space? (prepositional phrases)

16. After you have picked your items.. • Now you can use this outline to create your own imitative poem. • Your poem should be broken into stanzas • It should include 10-15 items and plenty of original details • It should follow the same structure and formatting as the mentor text • The last stanza should have a line that is repeated, a central question, and a simile

17. Final Tips Before You Turn It In – Take ownership and pride in your writing. • What message do you want revealed? • Do you have enough sensory details to make it vivid? • Is your diction precise and does it evoke the feeling you want? • Have you slowly proofread your poem OUT LOUD to catch any errors? FINAL DRAFT OF THE POEM IS DUE NEXT CLASS