Grade 7 and 8 Poetry Project! Due: Dec. 11th

POETRY SEMINAR Ms. Dingwell
THE ASSIGNMENT
You will find a poem and then tell the class the "meaning" of the poem. As you should recall, "meaning" is the sum of many things. Select a song that you feel tells a good story and makes use of literary or poetic devices you will be able to turn into a good essay paper. You're not likely to get a lot of meaning from a rock 'n' roll song about girls and partying all night. Those songs serve a purpose, but not in an English-class analysis.

Listen to your song choice several times. Pay attention to the lyrics. Write them down and make notations if it helps. Try to read between the lines. Look for literary devices such as simile, metaphor and parallelism. These devices are often used in well-written song lyrics. Consult a literary device guide to help you understand these literary elements. Look for poetic devices and poetic structure, such as internal and other rhyme schemes found in poetry. Search the lyrics for hyperbole, symbolism and beautiful language you would be more inclined to find in the works of noted poets. You can find more about poetic devices by referring to a guide as you analyze your song. Use the resources on my webpage http://drclarkschool.blogspot.com/ to help you.

Discuss the music of your song in terms of tone, mood, and how it works with the song lyrics to enhance the overall message of the song. You don't need to be able to read music to hear what's going on musically within a song.

Your seminar presentation will include your reading the poem or playing it for the class if it is on CD and then explaining the meaning.

The written part of the assignment will be to write a critical analysis of another student's seminar. This will test your knowledge of poetic techniques and critical thinking. It will also prepare you for JEOPARDY!

PREPARATIONNeedless to say, begin immediately. You will be required to give me the poem written out legibly in dark print by the day before your seminar at the latest. We will also have 2 labs to work on this.

THE PRESENTATION will be about 5 to 10 minutes long and be brilliant. You should organize it in advance. Props or handouts are allowed.

THE WRITTEN REVIEW will be about 150 words long and, although it will be kept confidential, it must be constructive as well as honest in its criticism. You should concentrate on areas such as clarity of presentation, depth of research, bibliographic information and the seminar's intellectual and informationalcontent.

A SIGN UP SHEET will be posted in the classroom as soon as a set of dates has been arrived at. The slots will be on a first come, first served basis.

SEE ME FOR ANY HELP OR SUGGESTIONS.