Warm Up 9/9 We will study war poetry for the next two days in order to establish an emotional context for our unit on The Things They Carried. Here are some general questions about your experience with poetry in an academic setting. 1. What is poetry? 2. How has poetry affected you as a student? 3. Do you have a favorite poem or style of poetry? Why does it appeal to you?

A (very general) Definition of Poetry (n.) writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm.

Agenda Drill and review. Sample poem to illustrate SIFT method. Group work on selected poem. Independent work to create a theme statement for the poem.

The SIFT Method Symbols Imagery Figurative language Tone/Theme

Learning Targets I can define new vocabulary terms using context clues. I can recognize and identify a number of poetic devices in poems. I can employ the SIFT method in order to analyze a poem independently or with a partner.

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon.

Symbols Tangible objects that represent intangible ideas Look for possible symbols by identifying objects in the poem and considering what they could mean (this may take a little while).

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon. Let’s identify any OBJECTS from this poem. List them on your paper.

Imagery the name given to the elements in a poem that spark off the senses. ◦ See ◦ Smell ◦ Taste ◦ Touch ◦ Hear

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon. Going through each of the five senses, what images does Brooks create for her audience?

Figurative Language the use of words in an unusual or imaginative manner Forms: ◦ Metaphor ◦ Simile ◦ Personification ◦ Hyperbole ◦ Alliteration ◦ Idiom ◦ Euphemism ◦ Pun ◦ Allusion

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon. Focus on finding these three examples of figurative language. List them and their types.

Tone The poet’s attitude toward the poem’s speaker, reader, and subject matter, as interpreted by the reader.

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon. What words, or other choices, in this poem give us clues about its tone?

Theme A theme is the central idea or ideas explored by a literary work. For this method, it is always in the form of a full sentence and is referred to as a theme statement.

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon. Based on the information that we’ve collected, what do you think is the main idea that Brooks is exploring?

Group Work You will work in groups of 3-4. In your group, you will read your assigned poem and complete the SIFT activity (in your journal) in order to analyze the poem and then share your findings with the class. You will be expected to read the poem to you classmates and then share your findings. You have the rest of the day to prepare.

Homework - Create a theme statement for the poem.