National Poetry Month Assignments!!

Congratulations!  You have been selected to participate in a nation wide EXTRAVAGANZA!!  The prerequisites???  Being one lucky member of Ms. Cafarelli?s English classes!  Our goal this month is to come up with a better understanding of the art of poetry and the poets within!  This Month we will complete several assignments, none too complicated, but all with the intent of broadening your artistic horizons!  Keep in mind, however, that this is still a major project, and each project will be graded as a summative assignment.    

1.        ?Poem A Day? -Daily study of short poems/authors in relation to skills we are learning in class. Dates: EVERYDAY!

2.        ?Pocket Poems?- Students select one poem to carry with them (in your pockets!) and share with (minimum) one person per day.  Keep a log, blog, journal, etc of the experience. Dates: 4/17-4/30.

a.         Students must have selected one poem by April 17^th and sign up with Ms. Cafarelli in class.

b.        This poem can be from an author they find, one we have studied, or a poem uniquely created.

c.         Students must carry the poem with them daily, to share with one person every day!  This may be a friend, family member, or (trustworthy) stranger!

d.        Students will keep a reflection diary (in the form of a log, blog, journal, etc) of the experience.  They will record the date, who they shared their poem with, why they selected this person, what their reaction was, and a short personal reflection on the experience! Each entry should be min. 1 paragraph.

e.         ** 5 Bonus (extra credit) points will be awarded to anyone who digitally captures the experience as well!

f.          Journals are due, with a copy of the pocket poem, on April 30^th.

3.        ?Free Verse Project?- Write lines from a favorite poem (or your pocket poem! only this poem must be from another author) on a sandy beach, assemble twigs on a hillside, or chalk the sidewalk. Take a photo before it disappears and submit to Ms. Cafarelli! Photos are due with the Pocket Poem journal, on April 30^th. Photos may be printed (only in good quality) or emailed? or both for good measure!

a.         Submit the original poem, with your selected lines highlighted!

b.        Go to the following website for ideas: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36330862@N04/3352109936/in/pool-freeverse/

c.         ***PLEASE DO NOT DEFACE OR PERMANENTLY DAMAGE ANY PROPERTY IN THIS PROJECT?ALL WRITING SHOULD BE WASHABLE or REMOVEABLE!!

4.        ?Poetry Celebration!?  April 30^th will culminate our experience.  On this day, we will take a break from the rigors of daily instruction and reflect on the world of poetry.  What did we learn?  What poets did we find?  We will all share some reflections from our journals, and our pocket poems, and do some final readings.  We will also finish the experience by writing our own 6 line descriptive poems of ourselves!  Each student will write the poem, transfer and decorate it on cardstock, which will be added to the POETRY MONTH BOOK. 

Happy Reading! -Ms. C