WARMUP:  READ POEM WHERE I AM FROM

TARGETS: As a result of today’s class you should

• Be able to analyze the techniques Lyons uses in “Where I’m From”
• Get a start on creating your collection of poetry.

TEMPLATE FOR WHERE I AM FROM POEM

WARMUP:  Read this quote from Robert Pollard, lead singer/songwriter/genius behind legendary indie rock band GUIDED BY VOICES.  What do you think about his process?

WARMUP:  FIVE MINUTES OF VOCAB

LEARNING TARGETS: as a result of today’s lesson you will

• develop your own interpretation of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”
• be able to explain how you used interpretive strategies to come to that interpretation.

In class we completed the following assignment.  If not completed during class time it was homework. interpreting-the-road-not-taken

• Broke into groups to read and work on questions
• Returned as full class final 10-15 minutes, discussed.
• (NOTE:  2nd and 3rd hour had a different version of the worksheet.  I switched up after the morning because I thought this would work better after the a.m. classes.  If you were in 2nd /3rd Hour but were absent, just use this one.

WARMUP:  FIVE MINUTES ON VOCABULARY EXERCISES

LEARNING TARGETS: as a result of today’s class you should be able to

• Explain and use specific strategies for reading poetry

MATERIALS USED:

• VIDEO: HOW TO READ A POEM
• Poetry collection at Google Classroom
• poetryreadingstrategies
• inferencegraphicorganizer

IN CLASS: after warmup/good things

• Watched video “How to Read a Poem”
• C.E. led full class read/discussion of “The Pitcher” (at Google classroom)
• Broke into individual/small groups to do a read of “The Road Less Traveled” (at Google classroom).

HOMEWORK: When you arrive at class tomorrow, be prepared to show you have tried to understand THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED.

WARMUP:  Free Write Five Minutes–things you noticed.

LEARNING TARGETS:  By the end of the day you will be able to

• Analyze in your own words the poem “CHICAGO” by Carl Sandburg
• Be able to say something about how to read a poem correctly

RESOURCES: ACTIVITIES:

• CHICAGO: Carl Sandburg
• CHICAGO: Carl Sandburg
• Chicago: Carl Sandburg

In class we received a handout of Carl Sandburg’s poem “Chicago” and then did three readings of the poem–discussing and digging deeper each time.  The big question we tried to answer is: Do you think Sandburg likes or dislikes “Chicago” and why.

WARMUP: Open up your writers’ notebook.  Freewrite for four minutes about your artifact.  If you need a starting place, start with what it means/symbolizes to you.

LEARNING TARGETS: as a result of today’s lesson you will be able to

1. Explain how the first vocab unit will work.
2. Explain where poets get inspiration

Materials:  steve-shilling-buccaneer-poet

ACTIVITIES:

1. Launch Vocab Unit
2. Read Steve Shilling Buccaneer Poet

HOMEWORK: without losing your focus or wasting time, try to be mindful and NOTICE things that are going on around you in your classes.  What is a small moment or “noticing” that you could turn into a poem?

WARMUP:  Read the following poem and list any examples of FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE that you find.

• Define (in your own words) “figurative language” and be able
  • give several examples
  • explain how poets use it.
• Be able to explain the purpose of the writers’ notebook

HOMEWORK:

1. Read CARL SANDBURG: Chicago  be ready to discuss.
2. Bring in an ARTIFACT that has meaning to you.  (something you can write about).

LEARNING TARGETS: By the end of the day, you should be able to define, in your own words the difference between

• PLOT and THEME
• LITERAL and FIGURATIVE

ACTIVITY: Watched an episode of the TV show “Freaks and Geeks” and used it to discuss the above.

Warmup:  what is the difference between constructive criticism and negative criticism.

Learning Targets: as a result of today’s session you should be able to

• use numerous non-judgmental sentence starters to respond to peers’ writing.
• gain and implement multiple strategies for improving your obituary.

CLASS ACTIVITIES

1. C.E. will visually check your progress and distribute nonjudgmental sentence starters
2. C.E. will share his obituary
3. Full class practices using non-judgmental responses by responding to C.E.
4. Break into small groups
   • Each group member shares their story via docs
   • groups read eachothers’ stories
   • feedback–oral and written using non-judgmental terms.
5. Write final draft, submit to Google Classroom!

C.E. Sikkenga  1970-2072.

Most novelists write their first book long before the age of 60.  As his readers will tell you, C.E. Sikkenga was not most novelists.

Sikkenga, who passed away quietly yesterday at the age of 102 became known as the voice of several generations through his unique wit and lowbrow philosophizing.

Critics called The School Improvement Committee, Sikkenga’s absurd dark comedy about public education his generation’s Catch-22.  Published three years after he retired after 36 years as a history, journalism and literature teacher at Grand Haven High School, it became an instant sensation due to its hilarious, often scathing take on the American education system.  Soon, Sikkenga was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the first rank of American celebrities, his bad puns, odd stories and riddles always a reliable way to start a discussion.  Over the next 25 years, he wrote dozens of other fiction and non-fiction works before retiring from the writing life in his mid 80s.  He also curated a music blog, Radio Free Grand Haven which grew to become one of the most influential tastemakers in the music industry.

In spite of his newfound fame, he retained much of his regular guy persona, rejecting VIP rooms to stand with the crowd near the front of the stage in dingy indie rock clubs or enjoying his season tickets to Michigan State basketball and Chicago Cubs baseball games

.  On his frequent book promotion or lecture tours, he’d often slip off in his trademark flannel shirt, shorts and sandal combos to dig through the crates at record stores and also became an expert on the best hot dogs in every American city.  Those two passions became the subject of Dogs and Discs, his wildly successful coffee table book published in 2047.

Through his writings and frequent memorable appearances on the late night talk show circuit, he became a friend and mentor to many younger celebrities.  Although  decades younger than Sikkenga, both Presidents  Miley Cyrus and Jacob Sartorius considered Sikkenga a dear friend and confidant, one they often consulted during the toughest days of their administration.

“He was always there with honest advice,” Cyrus said.  “I wouldn’t’ have made it through the Canadian War without him. Sometimes he’d say the most bizarre, obscure things but once I took some time to think about it, it always made sense.  He was like a little hairy, roly-poly yogi that way.”

Sikkenga is survived by his constant companion Booker, a beagle he adopted in 2002.

WORK DAY:  No warmup.

THE TASK:  Write a short (175 word MINIMUM) obituary of yourself, using the New York Times 9/11 portraits that we looked at in class as a model.

EXAMPLES:

• From the NY TIMES  9_11-portraits-example
• C.E.’s Example: obituary_ce-example

TIPS:

• Shoot for interesting active verbs
• Vary your sentence length/style
• Try to write like you’d talk.
• Have fun with it!

Assignment is at your Google Classroom!