1. READ SILENTLY e ither your independent SEM-R novel or your Literature book

2. December 1, 2011 - Winter Poetry intro to TPCASTT - I Heard a Bird Sing and Skiing Ho mework S tudy for RIU quiz tomorrow! Finish Skiing TPCASTT. Le sson Essential Question What is the TPCASTT poetry analysis strategy and how can it help me better comprehend poetry? Warm Up Complete numbers 6-10 on pg.14 in RIU book. Write out the sentence starter and be sure your answer contains context clues that let me know you understand the word's meaning.

3. TPCASTT is a strategy that you will work with throughout your time here at Robinson. It is an excellent tool for analyzing poetry. It is an acrostic, which means that each letter stands for a word. So in your notes, write TPCASTT going down the paper. Leave a line between each letter so you can fill in the explanation for each strategy.

4. TPCASTTTPCASTT

5. T - Title Wh at will the poem be about? Make a prediction based just on the title. G o deeper - Ask: What about that topic?

6. P - Paraphrase What is the literal meaning of the poem? One of the biggest problems that students often make in poetry analysis is jumping to conclusions before understanding what is actually taking place in the poem. When you paraphrase a poem, write in your own words exactly what happens in the poem. your paraphrase should have a similar number of lines as the poem. Paraphrase - put it in your own words. Looking at the literal meaning.

7. C - Connotation Look for figurative language and sound devices, and think about how they contribute to the overall meaning in the poem. It is not necessary that you identify all the poetic devices within the poem. The ones you do identify should be seen as a way of supporting the conclusions you are going to draw about the poem.

8. A - Attitude (the writer's attitude toward his / her subject (tone) How does the author feel about the subject of the poem? What words do they use to reveal this?

9. S - Shift W hat is a shift? A change, or a turn Look for the following things that may provide a clue: key transition words, (but, yet, however, although) punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis) stanza divisions changes in line or stanza length or both

10. T - Title (again) Now look at the title again, but this time on an interpretive level. What new insight does the title provide in understanding the poem? What would be a good alternate title?

11. T - Theme What subject or subjects does the poem address? What do you learn about the subject? What idea does the poet want you take away with you concerning this subject? Remember that the theme of any work of literature is stated in a complete sentence. Avoid cliches and remember, themes are NOT selection specific. They are BROAD lessons about life!!!

12. Let's try to TPCASTT a poem together... We will now read I Heard a Bird Sing Ma ke a prediction about the poem based on the title

13. I heard a bird sing A In the dark of December. B A magical thing A And sweet to remember. B ''We are nearer to Spring A Than we were in September," B I heard a bird sing A In the dark of December. B I Heard A Bird Sing - Oliver Herford

14. T - I predict that I Heard a Bird Sing will be about how peaceful and good it sounds to a speaker to hear this, a bird teaches a guy to sing, how a speaker can relate to a bird singing. P - The speaker hears a bird singing on December evening. The speaker thinks the bird is magical and sweet. The message from the bird is that Spring is closer now than it was in September. The speaker hears a bird singing on December evening. C - rhythm and regular rhyme scheme repetition - the first line is the last line too. alliteration - dark of December - emphasizes the gloominess of the time of year metaphor - comparison of the bird to a magical thing A - sweet to remember, magical - the speaker is fond of the bird S - change in speaker. It goes from the person to the bird. T - A Light in the Dark of December T - Even in the darkest of times, there is hope in the future. Look on the positive side, even when things don't look so positive.

15. Now you do a TPCASTT for the poem Skiing

16. Skiing - Marchette Chute I' m very good at skiing. A I have a kind of knack. B For I can do it frontways C And also on my back. B And when I reach the bottom D I give a sudden flop E And dig myself in sideways C And that's the way I stop. E

17. T - I predict Skiing will be about the speaker talking about how good he is at skiing, an experience had while skiing, skiing for the first time, a speaker enjoying skiing. P - The speaker says she's good at skiing and has a natural talent / ability to do it. She can ski forwards and on her back. At the bottom of the slope, she flops and digs herself in sideways and stops like this. C - irregular rhyme, but it does have rhythm. A - sarcastic!!!! flop, I can do it frontways and also on my back. Digging her body into the snow. S - shift in tone, what she does T - My #1 Talent, I ROCK at Skiing, The Ski Professional T - Find humor in things, even if you're not very good at them.

18. Homework Stud y Rev It Up words for Friday's quiz.