Poetry
exercise from class – Poem with complications
Kristyna Ewing
“L. A. Woman”
My
leather coat awaits
The
day of your return
To
be free to walk the streets
Hand
in hand
With
ours hearts shouting
That
these were the best of times
And
the worst of times.
My
mother would strut around
In
her purple housecoat
As
if she assembled this perfect love
Of
course in the back of her mind
She
believes I turn every relationship into
A
complete debacle.
But
what if you never return to Center Street
And
my leather coat is never worn again?
Please
answer me my dear friend.
Poetry
exercise from class – Don’t Borrow, Steal!
“Why Fear Poetry?”
You
guys are doomed!
(Getting
rid of them is not going to be easy)
I
watched while everyone peered
Towards
the happiness in the distance.
Ah
–the perplexing question –what is happiness?
This
sort of artistic madness
Shows
only relative modesty in a few.
Bringing
together a whole bunch of slackers
And
forcing them to devour poetry
In
some sort of emotional wasteland is draining.
As
I sit, my life flashes before me
In
sad snippets of wonder
Will
I ever understand cummings?
Will
I ever realize that priests and poets
Are
the only ones that can communicate with the gods?
Is
it true what the politicians of the town say
When
they shout that man is good for nothing?
So
what is the purpose of poetry
if
it is coming out of nothingness?
Nothingness
is doomed.
Poetry exercise from class – Imitation/Transformation
“The New Assignment”
Stop
asking – more like whining-
If
this assignment will be graded.
Would
it really make a difference in the long run?
Place
your worries and procrastination aside
Throw
all of these efforts into doing the work now
Rather
than contemplating how horrid in might turn out to be.
Think
of all Benjamin Franklin’s cheesy aphorisms
And
remember – “A stitch in time saves nine.”
We’ll
figure out what that means later.
So
dive into the assignment and let your mind become engulfed
Don’t
worry about the bell because nothing in the future
Can
change what is due by the end of this period.
Poetry exercise– Pay Attention!
“Itty-Bitty”
What
could possibly be so important
That
you tear through the entire house
Faster
than Jeff Gordon?
Is
it the birds in the front yard?
Could
the squirrels be taunting you in the back?
But
as quickly as this episode began
You
decide that it is time for your third bath this evening.
The
rodents outside are forgotten;
Or
are you just sure that they are not planning
To
attack your fortress anytime soon?
After
the self-made salon it is time to patrol the upstairs.
The
facet is still dripping that deadly poison into the sink.
Then
you spot Hoover (better known to all cats as Satan).
Slowly,
as not to wake it, you creep past
Never
once turning your gaze away.
Suddenly
you race to the window
The
birds are now closing in on all sides.
You
signal your warning to no one to take cover
And
begin your race downstairs to the windows
Beginning
the same ten minutes of your life all over again.
Why
would any cat want nine lives?
Poetry exercise– Beyond the So-Called Real World
“Poker”
Ah
the beauty of the art of cigar smoking dogs
Where
there are no humans on the cards, only pure breeds
A
pair of Jacks – Lassie look alikes – are being taught a lesson
By
a full house – Queen Labs over Great Dane Kings
But
wait!Rover silences everyone with
a wag of his tail
Four
dead cats are revealed to outshine the full house
What
could the wages have been?
A
belly rub?
No
– I’ll see that belly rub and raise you
An
unattended garbage can after Christmas dinner
The
dealer calls after the ante is filled with two squeaky toys, a tuggy rope
And
four trips to the park with a Frisbee
The
game is interrupted when the mailman is spotted outside
The
needless destruction of the cards when no one is watching the pup
How
quickly a calm situation can be turned upside down.
In
a world when the longest attention span is less than fifteen seconds
The
game was doomed from the start
Of
course on the wall taking all of this in is a picture of the Mona Lisa.
Lesson
Plan #1
Kristyna Ewing
Poetry with Shakespeare and the Globe
Grade
level:
Freshmen class, second semester
Amount
of class periods:
One
Needed
materials:
Romeo
& Juliet book
Handout
and notes over Shakespeare and Globe theatre (previously given)
Small
slips of paper
Paper
and writing utensil
Dictionary
(found under desk)
Handout
with requirements for this assignment
Process:
After finishing Romeo & Juliet and the test has been taken,
use the knowledge gained to transition into a poetry unit.The
students will be required to use ideas and phrases from the previous unit
to apply to this poetry assignment.
Begin
with opinions of what the students think is poetry.If
guidance is needed use posters around the room or have someone look the
definition up in the dictionary.Is
all poetry rhyming?Refresh their
memory on rhyme scheme and meter.
Give
handout over assignment.Go over
together and answer any questions. SEE ATTACHED SHEET
Hand
out two slips of paper to each student.Have
them write a title to a poem using a quote from Romeo & Juliet
on one slip of paper.Collect promptly.Then
have them write an opinion of a character, Shakespeare or the Globe Theatre
on the second sheet of paper and collect.
Place
the quotes in one container and the opinions in another.Each
student will draw one slip of paper from each to use for this assignment.If
their own slip of paper is drawn, they must redraw.
Give
students the remainder of the period.If
not complete, the assignment will become homework.
Grading
sheet:
SEE
ATTACHED SHEET – PART OF THEIR HANDOUT
You are to create a poem completely on your own using the two slips of paper drawn.The first one will become the title of your poem.The second one must be used anywhere in your poemBut there are more guidelines listed below.Be creative!You choose whether the poem is serious, funny or a little bit of both.
Grading Sheet
Title _____ 2 points
One
fact about Shakespeare’s life_____3
points
One
fact about the Globe Theatre_____3
points
Your
favorite character’s name _____2
points
At
least five of the words from the list below:_____5
points
Moon Angelica Tragedy Star-crossed
lovers
RingThirteenWeddingLondon
JudithHamnetShotgun
weddingLove
Use
two oxymorons_____4
points
Use
personification_____3
points
A
minimum of ten lines longs with more than _____3
points
five
words per line
Only
three lines can rhyme_____2
points
Type
your poem_____2
points
TOTAL POINTS _____ 30 POINTS
This assignment is worth 30 points, but if your complete all the requirements, you could get a possible 34 points total!
.Attached each slip of paper you drew along with this grading sheet to your completed poem when you hand it in.
EDU
530-01
Jeff
Gundy
Lesson
Plan #2
Kristyna Ewing
Haiku & Tone
Objective:
Students will use their prior knowledge poetry and rhyme scheme to create
two haiku.An understanding of meter,
haiku and tone will be explained.They
will complete these poems individually using the required guidelines given.They
will also show their computer skills by creating a PowerPoint with two
slides.The PowerPoints will be very
simple due to the lack of knowledge in this area.
Grade
level: Freshman-
second semester
Amount
of class periods: Two
class periods
Needed
materials:
Computer lab
Text
book (Literature)
Paper
and writing utensil
Handout
of haiku samples
Handout
with guidelines
Process:Begin
the class with defining haiku and looking at examples.Find
the meter and syllables of each.
Discuss
the topic of each.
Show
two with the same topic, but different tones.Discuss
tone and define.
Explain
that they each will write two or more poems with different tones.One
must be a positive tone and the other negative.
Spend the first day writing in class individually.
The
second day the poems must be completed and begin the PowerPoint.Explain
that they must convey a positive tone in one slide and a negative tone
in the other.The haiku itself and
the slide layout will accomplish this.
Grading
sheet: Haiku5
points each
Slides
with haiku5 points each
TOTAL
OF 20 POINTS
Grade
will be based on effort and requirements such as syllables per line, spelling,
proper display of tone, etc.
Two poems
by students in my class:
“All
Are Punished”
The
play was too long
But
so is life for most
The
way the moon laughs at those who murder others
A
soliloquy from Angelica would drag on and on
But
the apothecary would get right to the point
Who
knew that Judith and Hamnet’s father could write such a long tragedy.
The
bitter sweet ending makes me think twice about marriage.
Juliet
was a fool to marry a stranger, but love can grab you at times
Just
as the Globe was tragically destroyed so soon, so was poor Mercutio’s life
We
sure did find him a grave man
Now
he only exists when you write his name in Verona’s sand.
“Do
You Bite Your Thumb Sir?”
Shakespeare
wrote a very sad tragedy
Star-crossed
lovers and murder was involved.
Mercutio
is very witty, but not quick enough.
“Do
you bite your thumb at us sir?”
Verona
is the place where the Globe Theater lays
The
Globe Theater is the place where they
Show
all the plays.Juliet’s marriage:
Aside
From
Romeo is bitter sweet.Their
loving-
Hate
pulls them apart.Paris marries death
For
his love of Juliet.If only
the hate
Between
two families stopped.The lovers
Would
be living and all the fighting would
Be
done.
Powerpoint Haiku by my students