I found a sweet video yesterday that I want to share with all of you. It is about Malala Yousfafzai, a young Pakastani girl who demonstrates the traits of a good Transcendentalist, AND she is doing "Transcendental" right now!
Then, we will move on to our next author, Walt Whitman (holla!). You will do a little background research on him with a partner for a bit, and then we will talk about him as a class. Wouldn't it be great if you had a sheet to take notes on while you are researching Whitman? Oh look, here's one right here! Please make a copy of it, and fill it out as you find information about him.
After that, we will take a look at one of Whitman's famous poems "I Hear America Singing". With your partner, you will TWIST (get pumped) through the poem to analyze what Whitman's message is.
As you are reading, highlight examples of anaphora.
Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a line. Big word for a pretty simple idea! Now you can use it in your everyday lives and sound really smart!
When you're done, we will get back together as a class to discuss what you thought about the poem.
THEN, you will group up with your partner again, and this time you will become authors! You will have the opportunity to write a poem about what you "hear" Earlham high school saying! You will continue to work with these poems on Monday and we will present our final products on Tuesday.
I can feel your excitement! Let's make it a great Friday!
When you go home tonight and someone asks you what you learned, you will be able to say:
"I can identify how Walt Whitman's background impacted his writing."
"I can analyze Whitman's poem 'I Hear America Singing" using the TWIST method."
"I can define anaphora and identify it in a poem."
"I can support my analysis of the poem using evidence from the text."
"I can create an original poem about my school based on Whitman's 'I Hear America Singing'."
TWIST Steps:
T= Title Read the title and stop. Predict what the poem will be about. Consider connotations of the wording.
W= What is it about? Paraphrase each LINE of the poem. Tell it in your own words
I= Imagery Look for any imagery, symbolism, metaphors, similes, personifications, irony, understatement, allusions, the tone shift, poet's attitude toward the subject, etc. These will help you understand the poem
S= Structure Look for tone shift, punctuation, stanza division, layout of poem, capitalized words. Discuss how these elements relate to the meaning of the poem
T= Theme Look at the title again from an interpretive level. Do you see anything new? What is the subject of the poem? Then determine what the poet is saying about each of the subjects which is your theme.
