Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day…

Why it’s important: Poems are often written with a message in mind Why it’s important: Poems are often written with a message in mind. In order to better understand the poem, readers want to discover the poet’s message. To do this, readers pay attention to their own emotions and thoughts as they read.

by Ernest Lawrence Thayer “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day: The score stood four to six with just an inning left to play; And so, when Cooney died at first, and Burrows did the same, A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.   A straggling few got up to go, leaving there the rest With that hope that springs eternal within the human breast; For they thought if only Casey could get one whack, at that They'd put up even money, with Casey at the bat. If we can pay attention to all of these things combined,, we can reflect on how the poem makes us feel. If WE feel a certain way, then that might have been the poet’s message all along.

Parts you don’t understand Parts you understand

The Mudville baseball team is losing. What is happening here? “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day: The score stood four to six with just an inning left to play; And so, when Cooney died at first, and Burrows did the same, A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.   A straggling few got up to go, leaving there the rest With that hope that springs eternal within the human breast; For they thought if only Casey could get one whack, at that They'd put up even money, with Casey at the bat. The Mudville baseball team is losing. The game is almost over, and it’s not looking good.

People are starting to leave. The fans want Casey because they think he’s a good hitter. “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day: The score stood four to six with just an inning left to play; And so, when Cooney died at first, and Burrows did the same, A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.   A straggling few got up to go, leaving there the rest With that hope that springs eternal within the human breast; For they thought if only Casey could get one whack, at that They'd put up even money, with Casey at the bat. What is happening here?

But Flynn let drive a single to the wonderment of all, And the much-despised Blake tore the cover off the ball; And when the dust had lifted, and they saw what had occurred, There was Blake safe on second and Flynn a-hugging third! Then from the gladdened multitude went up a joyous yell, It bounded from the mountain-top, and rattled in the dell, It struck upon the hillside, and rebounded on the flat; For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

Pick a poem of your choice. Read each stanza carefully. Ask yourself, “What is happening here?” Then summarize.

Continue reading “Casey at the Bat.” Practice summarizing each stanza by asking “What is happening here?” LearnZillion Notes: --On the Extension Activities slide(s) you should describe 2-3 activities written with students as the audience (not teachers). Each extension activity should push the students a bit further with the lesson but in a different application or context. Each activity should be designed to take roughly 20-40 minutes. Teachers will likely display the slide in class and then assign an activity to a student or group for additional practice and differentiation. Ideally, these Extension Activities will be created such that a teacher can differentiate instruction by giving more difficult extension activities to students who have shown mastery of the lesson, and less difficult activities to students who are not yet proficient. --If you need more than one slide to list your extension activities, feel free to copy and paste this slide!

Summarize “Casey at the Bat” from beginning to end. Turn your summaries into a newspaper article describing the events of that day!

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air, And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there; Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped: "That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire said.   From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar, Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore; Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted some one in the stand. And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand. LearnZillion Notes: --”Quick Quiz” is an easy way to check for student understanding at the end of a lesson. On this slide, you’ll include a way for teachers to quickly and authentically assess student understanding. That’s it! You won’t be recording a video of this slide and when teachers download the slides, they’ll direct their students through the example on their own so you don’t need to show an answer to the question.