I am sorry I am not there with you to celebrate this monumental occasion!
Today, you will be working on what we didn't get to on Friday. By the end of class, you will be able to say:
"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'."
Step 1: So, you will start out by TWISTing through the poem "I Hear America Singing". The substitute teacher will give you a copy of this, and you can TWIST through with your partner. The steps are posted below. If you were gone Friday, please join up with a partner group. Also, as you are reading, highlight examples of anaphora in the poem.
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!
Step 2: When you are done, you should either discuss your analysis of the poem as a class or with another partner group. The sub will tell you how that will work.
Step 3: After that, you will receive a copy of the "I Hear My School Singing" handout. With your partner, you will be writing a poem similar to Whitman's about Earlham High School using the poem guide. It should be fairly easy, but if you need help, refer to the model poem (the sub has it). Your goal with the poem is to capture the tone and theme of "I Hear America Singing". Whitman focused on the strengths, character, and individuality of Americans, so you should do the same with your poem.
There is an extra planning guide on the backside of the poem sheet. You may use that to help you, but it is not required.
Step 4: Along with your poem, you will be creating a visual representation of the themes and people you focused on in your original poem. Below is an example of what has been done in the past. It obviously represents a different poem of Whitman's , but you can create something along these lines. You may also use keynote, iMovie, or another software program to create your representation. Whatever you use, you will be graded on the connection to your poem, and how realistic the representation is.
You will be presenting both your poem and visual representation in class TOMORROW. So, please make sure you are using your time wisely!
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.
