Poetry Project Ms. Gough’s English 7

Introduction You are about to enter the wonderful world of poetry. Read all the information very carefully, so you can do an awesome job. When you are finished, you and your friends will have created a unique poetry book including theme poems on a topic of your choice, the biography of a famous poet and some of his or her most famous poems, as well as original poems and art work by you! Good luck on your quest!

Introduction What is poetry? Here’s what some well-known poets had to say about it. “A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.” W. H. Auden “A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom.” Robert Frost “Always be a poet, even in prose.” Charles Baudelaire “Poetry is all that is worth remembering in life.” William Hazlitt “Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” Edgar Allan Poe “A poem is never finished, only abandoned.” Paul Valery “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” - Robert Frost

TASK Your task is to design a poetry book. Your book will have three sections: theme, poet, and original poems. Autumn

Process Step 1: Choose a theme. Examples: war, seasons, weather, dreams, food, home, ships, cars, flying, windows, school, civil rights, magic, fences, the sea, royalty, money, walls, music, trees, baseball, fashion, America, Alabama, etc.! Be creative! You probably want to look at some poems first before you choose your theme! (Each group must have a different theme.)

Process Step 2: Locate at least five poems that represent your theme to include in your poetry book. Step 3: Write a very short explication (basically a summary) of five of the poems in this section to explain how the poems relate to the theme.

Process Step 4: Choose a famous poet. Get ideas from our literature book and online. Choose someone well-known who has staying power. No two groups may choose the same poet. (I need to approve your final choice!) Examples: Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Ogden Nash, Alice Walker, Christina Rosetti, John Keats, Wordsworth, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Edgar Allen Poe, Matthew Arnold, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edgar Guest, etc.

Process Step 5: Research the poet’s life and work. Write a 1 ½ -2 page biography in your own words. Carefully check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation. This should be typed and double-spaced. (You must provide all the bibliographical information for the source you use to locate your information. In other words, give the complete web address.)

Poems by Edgar Allen Poe Process Step 6: Locate at least five poems by the poet you chose. (You must provide all the bibliographical information for the sources you use to locate your information.) “The Raven” “Annabel Lee” “The Bells” Poems by Edgar Allen Poe

PROCESS Step 7: Write original poems for your poetry book. Include at least three original poems by each group member. These poems should be your best work. You should prewrite, draft, and revise your work before including it in your poetry book. The original poems should be neatly typed and double-spaced.

PROCESS Step 7 (continued): If you want, submit one of your original poems to the teen poetry contest at www.poetryamerica.com. See the web site for more information. This is worth extra credit.

Process Step 8: Give your book a title and design a cover for it. Use a 1” binder and carefully organize all your information inside. (Be sure to include your names, theme, and poet’s name on the cover.) Step 9: Create a title page. Include the title of the book, first and last names of all group members, class period, and date the book is due. This is the very first page of the book. Step10: Create a table of contents to show how your book is organized. It should list every item included in your book. (There is a sample table of contents on the classroom web site.)

PROCESS Step 11: Design a cover page for each of the three sections: theme section, poet section, original poetry. Place the cover pages at the beginning of each section. Step 12: Include art work to make your book more attractive. Draw it yourself, create computer art, neatly cut pictures out of magazines, take digital photos and upload them… do anything you like as long as it is neat and appealing!

Resources Use the following websites to locate your information. http://www.poets.org http://www.americanpoems.com http://www.poemhunter.com (Careful, some of these are by kids like you, not by published poets.) http://www.poetryclass.net/kids.htm http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/Poetry/index.html http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/newpoem.htm (This is the site that can help you write your own poems.) (Remember, be cautious when using the internet. Include appropriate poems by legitimate, published poets.)

Additional Resource Visit my website at schoolrack.com/lfields. See the section called Poetry Project Information Spring 2008. Additional poetry project information and tips are located there. Be sure to read it all carefully!

Evaluation None Poor 50% Fair 70% Good 85% Great 100% Poor 50% Fair 70% Good 85% Great 100% Items worth 10 points Cover & Title Page Table of Contents 3 Cover Pages Art Work Web Address Info. Items worth 50 points 5+ Theme Poems 5 Explications Poet’s Biography 5+ Poems by Your Poet Original Poems