Poetry Journal Requirements All journal entries should be numbered. All journal entries must be turned in IN NUMERICAL ORDER. All journal entries must be neatly printed in black/blue ink or typed. This will count as an assessment grade.

Poetry Journal #1 Write about your experience with poetry. What do you remember about poetry that makes it challenging? What, if anything, have you experienced that makes you think poetry might have some value? When/Where do you encounter poetry?

“How to Read a Poem Out Loud” by Billy Collins Step 1: Read the poem slowly. Most adolescents speak rapidly, and a nervous reader will tend to do the same in order to get the reading over with. Reading a poem slowly is the best way to ensure that the poem will be read clearly and understood by its listeners. Learning to read a poem slowly will not just make the poem easier to hear; it will underscore the importance in poetry of each and every word. A poem cannot be read too slowly, and a good way for a reader to set an easy pace is to pause for a few seconds between the title and the poem's first line.

Step 2: Read in a normal, relaxed tone of voice Step 2: Read in a normal, relaxed tone of voice. It is not necessary to give any of these poems a dramatic reading as if from a stage. The poems selected are mostly written in a natural, colloquial style and should be read that way. Let the words of the poem do the work. Just speak clearly and slowly. Step 3: Obviously, poems come in lines, but pausing at the end of every line will create a choppy effect and interrupt the flow of the poem's sense. Readers should pause only where there is punctuation, just as you would when reading prose, only more slowly.

Step 4: Use a dictionary to look up unfamiliar words and hard-to-pronounce words. To read with conviction, a reader needs to know at least the dictionary sense of every word. In some cases, a reader might want to write out a word phonetically as a reminder of how it should sound. It should be emphasized that learning to read a poem out loud is a way of coming to a full understanding of that poem, perhaps a better way than writing a paper on the subject.

Poetry Journal #2: Does “The Red Wheelbarrow” fit your definition of a poem? Write down any thoughts, feelings, opinions, or reactions that you have to the poem. What do you think the author’s purpose is (Do you think he has one)? The Red Wheelbarrow so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens. William Carlos Williams

The _(adjective)__ __(noun)____ so much depends upon a/an ___(adjective)____ ____(noun)___ __(participle)__ ___(prep)__ __(adjective)__ ___(noun)___ ___(prep)___ the ____(adjective)__ ___(nouns)___.

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. Can you figure out the rhyme scheme of this poem?

The Sonnet Prologue from Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life; Whose misadventur’d piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife. The fearful passage of their death-marked love, And the continuance of their parents’ rage, Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. The prologue provides a summary of the play. Translate the prologue of Romeo and Juliet into modern English.

Journal #3: Write your own sonnet!

Journal #4 Write your version of a Pi Poem. Follow the format from the example.

Journal #5: After reading “the lesson of the moth” and “Identity” use complete sentences to answer questions 3, 4, 5, and 7 on page 602. In addition, write a ½ page journal answering the question “Would you rather be a weed or a flower?” Explain your decision.

Journal #6 – “To This Day” Respond to the “To This Day” poem and video. What did it make you think of? Any memories that it brought back to you? What was your reaction to the poem and the visual images in the film? Which part of the poem impacted you the most? Why did you identify with that part? Can you find any examples of your poetry terms in the poem? Identify at least two specific examples from text. Write at least ¾ of a page.

Journal #7 “Mother to Son” and “Speech to the Young” After reading the two poems, use complete sentences to answer questions # 4, 5, 6, and 9.