Fusion Unit

Fusion Day 1
Dont forget to collect their writing and use the new seating plan
You may want to go ahead and put all the handouts they will need for this class
period in their folders.
Be prepared to make the podcast really work. It occurred to me that a smart thing to
do would be to open up the podcast in like 6 different windows and set each one to a
different time. Jenni could set those up between classes by arriving early and while
Dawson is doing the what is poetry portion of the lesson. You could use
headphones to make sure each was at the right spot.
Handouts (make sure these are already in students folders)

The Words that Shimmer handout
The poem, Ars Poetica
The poem, Kitchenette Building
The poem, Whats In My Journal, by William Stafford
The poems, Whats in Our Journals, by BHS World Lit class 2011
Standards:
VA3b: Writes, reflects, and revises throughout the course a personal answer to the
question, What is art?
W10 Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames.
SL3 Evaluate a speakers point of view and reasoning
Essential Questions:
What is art? What is poetry? Who is poetry for? Who writes it?
Note: No Reading Workshop today
Introduction: Over the past month weve been paying attention to what interests you. Many
of you said you were interested in art and many of you have shown a great interest in the
poetry weve been looking at, so we decided to do a mashup of art and poetry.
15 Warm-up:
What is art?
What is art? If you had to define it, how would you do that? Try it on your own first
then pair up with a person or two around you. In a couple of minutes, Im going to
call on people at random to share their answers. Discuss answers and play devils
advocate.
Probe with questions such as If I draw a smiley face on the board, is that art? Is this
desk art? Is a website art? (Answer: a big part of what makes something art is the
intentionality of the artist someone stating that it is art and being able to explain
their intention in calling it art.)
What is poetry?
What is poetry? If you had to define it, how would you do that? Try it on your own
first then pair up with a person or two around you. In a couple of minutes, Im going
to call on people at random to share their answers. Discuss answers and play
devils advocate.
Probe with questions such as What makes a poem different from a chunk of a story
from this novel? (Answer: If you chunk it into shorter lines, you could turn it into
poetry. And there are prose-poems that are just like paragraphs from a story but
with more poetic language and self-contained.)
What makes a poem different from song lyrics? (Answer: Nothing. Song lyrics are
a form of poetry. You can read lyrics as poetry, and many poems could be put to
music. Some pieces we call poems were originally set to music. Ancient Greek
poems were always sung.)
40 New information:
Listen to and discuss chunks of the podcast interview of poet Elizabeth Alexander, the
fourth poet in history to write a poem for a presidential inauguration. (See overhead
Words that Shimmer) Podcast is at:
http://castroller.com/podcasts/ApmSpeakingOf/3307084
Hand out 3 things: the Words that Shimmer Handout and the words to 2 poems:
Ars Poetica and Kitchenette Building
Play clips from the podcast while projecting the transcript from those clips so
students can listen and read at the same time.
Stop the podcast at the end of each clip to allow students to write and discuss. Be
careful to keep these stops quite short, one to two minutes maximum!
Teacher prep: Read up on the poem Kitchenette Building

Kitchenette Building - http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/guide/240198#guide
15 - Writing
We know you are anxious to do some of your own writing and have a chance to express
what you believe. To do that, youll need to take out two things
1. The poem, Whats In My Journal, by William Stafford

2. The poems, Whats in Our Journals, by BHS World Lit class 2011
Note: please keep all the poems we hand out together with one paperclip and all the
poems you write together with another paper clip. Use the 3rd paper clip for stuff
related to the poetry unit but not actual poetry. Use the 4th paperclip to keep all your
reading workshop stuff together.
Lets read these poems together
Note that in the BHS poems, each line was contributed by a different student. Thats
what we are going to do today. (If time is short, just read one of the three poems.)
Note that these things in their journals are literal but metaphorical. What does that
mean? What do some of these lines say about the person who wrote them?
Now take 30 seconds to just breathe.
For the rest of the class period, write as many lines as you can that summarize what
would be in your journal. Come up with lines that represent how original, beautiful,
and mysterious you are.
At home, select one line from each student and create a class poem to distribute the next
day. First choose each students best line and then think about a pleasing way to order
those. Send me the completed poems Wednesday evening and Ill post it to Livetext so it will
be easy to project the resulting poems.
Fusion Day 2 LP
Note: images cut and pasted into Word dont show up if you are viewing in draft
mode. You have to view in print layout mode
Handouts: List of terms, How to read art and poetry, copies of poems used
Standards:
VAHSVAMC.3 Cultivates critical thinking and logical argument in aesthetics
VAKC.1 Applies information from other disciplines to enhance the understanding
of artwork
R1 Read closely to determine what the poem says explicitly and to make logical
inferences from it, cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to
support conclusions drawn from the poem.
How do you read a poem?
How do you read a work of art?
Why do humans use metaphor so often? Why is it so crucial for us as humans?
15 - Reading Workshop
Make sure students are reading the moment class starts.
Dont forget to have students record how far they got in their logs.
15 - Mini-lesson on finding metaphor in art and in poetry
We are going to be looking at a lot of art and a lot of poems during this unit, so lets
learn some basics about how to read a poem and how to read a work of art.
(Dont feel you have to spend a lot of time on these today. Hand them out. Well work
on hitting them one at a time. Maybe we can make a poster of these.)
How to read a work of art

(Based on the Feldman method of critique)
Where does your eye fall first? What is emphasized?

What is in the foreground, middleground, background?
What colors are used and how are they used?
Is there any use of contrast? If so where?
Is there any use of pattern? If so where?
Is there a sense of space or perspective?
What do you believe was the goal of the artist?
Is there a mood or feeling being conveyed?
How to read a poem

(Based on Nancie Atwell)
Slow down and savor

Read all of it or parts of it more than once
Read it out loud
Notice how you feel and the images created in your mind
Which phrases can you taste, touch, hear, smell? (Imagery!)
Which words and phrases do you like best?
Which parts just plain sound good?
How does the poem begin and end?
Which parts do you need to talk about, think about, write about?
Read class poem Whats in Our Journals
Mini-lesson on Metaphor in Poetry and Art
1. Describe this room to someone your age from a desert tribe in Africa. The only
buildings this teen has ever seen are simple huts with simple furnishings. Go. (1 min)
2. Did you end up using similes or metaphors? If so, why? (They likely will because one
of the easiest ways to help someone understand something they have never
experienced is by comparing it to something they have experienced.)
3. Metaphor and simile are key to human intelligence. Without them, we cannot
understand anything we haven't directly experienced or seen. There are scientists who
claim that virtually all human understanding is based on metaphor and simile.
When would you want to use simile and when metaphor?
Simile - A is similar to B
Metaphor - A = B
The difference is important. A metaphor packs a wallop and can shock us; it offers no
comfortable distance. A simile, which points out a likeness between things, is more
easygoing. You'd think that, because of its greater intensity, metaphor would be 'better'
than simile, but that's not the case. It all depends on what the poem needs. (Adapted
from John Drury)
A simile lets you keep going and is fairly casual. A metaphor is a jolt.
Add to your list of definitions:
Simile: A comparison usually using like or as. A is similar to B. Is

fairly casual.
Metaphor: An implied comparison. A = B. More jolting than a simile.

Why do you think Mike Taylor used simile instead of metaphor in the poem, Im
Thinking About You to help his girlfriend see what his thinking about her was like? (Im
thinking about you like) They will remember this from the last unit, so you dont
have to re-watch it. They have the words in their folders if they want to see them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0QiFy8dmX0
Simile Examples in Poetry
"light falls thought cracks

the way swordblades
pierce a magician's box."
-Gregory Orr, "Morning Song" (From John Drury)
(note this one doesnt use like or as)
"Flare up like a flame"

-Ranier Maria Rilke
"He sits before you, face to face

like a cardplayer."
- Sappho, Fragment 31, Robert Lowell translation
Metaphor Examples in Poetry
"Your laughter is water hurrying over pebbles"

"Every gesture is a proclamation"

"Vowels of delicious clarity

for the little red schoolhouses of our mouths"
- Charles Simic
Metaphor in Art
(The actual images can be found in the agenda for day 2)
Dorthea Lange, Indonesia, Photograph
What can you say about these people just by looking at their feet? (They are
likely in poverty, have poor hygienic conditions, dont have shoes, dont have
good health care, etc.)
Is there a mood or feeling being conveyed? (a little depressing, especially since

one foot appears to be badly cut.)
Since this photo is titled, Indonesia, what is the artist is trying to say about the
country of Indonesia? (It is likely a comment on how bad conditions are in
Indonesia.)
What are these feet a metaphor for? (the feet are a metaphor for difficult living
conditions)
This is Violin of Ingres by Man Ray.
What is May Ray comparing the form of a womans body to? A violin
What point is he trying to make by doing this? He may just be fascinated by how
similar the shape is and therefore how lyrical a womans body is.
Is there a mood or feeling being conveyed? Beauty, sensuality
This is a surrealistic painting by Kush
What is Kush comparing the human face to? Nature

What point might he be trying to get across by making this comparison? Maybe
that humans are part of nature, not removed from nature.
Is there a mood or feeling being conveyed? Beautiful but strange
Photo by Amy Sorrells
What is A and what is B in this metaphor? A rose = music

What point might the artist be trying to make in this comparison? That roses are
like music and music is like roses.
Is there a mood or feeling being conveyed? Playful, lovely, lyrical
Most every line of your "What's in My Journal" poems are kind of metaphoric because
there is an unspoken "I am" at the beginning of each line. The things in your journals
stand in or represent who you are as a person. That's what's cool about those poems.
Those words aren't there, but the reader feels them there. That's the kind of wonderous
thing that makes poetry different from other kinds of writing.
What happens if you change a metaphor to a simile or a simile to a metaphor? Always

try it both ways when you are writing to see which works better.
One more definition to add to your list:
Anaphora - repetition of the opening word or phrase in several

successive lines (Kowit, p. 59)
15 Scaffolding the poetry writing
Before we start writing, I have a beautiful childrens book to read you. The entire book
is written in metaphors. The book is also an excellent example of the use of anaphora.
(Also discuss the nature and quality of the illustrations.)
20 - Creation time!
Write at least 6 metaphors like in Uptown

2 beginning with "Our class is"
2 beginning with "Early College is"
2 beginning with "Milledgeville is"
We are celebrating these places, so think about what makes each unique, beautiful, or
wondrous?
Remember to follow up your metaphor with a second sentence like in Uptown.
Write more than 2 for each if you can!
(Teacher take these home and pick each students one best line out of all the lines
they wrote and then use those to craft three poems. You can make small changes to the
students writing if needed. Dawson: Send me the completed poems and Ill post it to
Livetext so I can pull it up and show it to the class tomorrow.)
Fusion Day 3 LP
Point of view/perspective
Handouts: Poem: Where Im From, a few Where Im From templates
Standards:
VAKC.1 Applies information from other disciplines to enhance the understanding
of artwork
Why does point of view matter?
What symbolizes YOU?
15 Mini-lesson on Point of View/Perspective
**insert lesson here**
15 Scaffolding the Writing
Lets look at a famous poem called, Where Im From by George Ella Lyons. (Hand out
and read aloud.) http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html
What is the point of view of this poem?
We studied metaphor yesterday and will study symbols next week. It is crucial to
distinguish a symbol from a metaphor:
Metaphors are comparisons between two seemingly dissimilar things;
Symbols associate two things, but their meaning is both literal and figurative.
So when Lyons says, I am from clothespins

If I asked you to underline the metaphor, youd underline the whole comparison
(which in this case is the whole line)
If I asked you to underline the symbol, you would just underline the thing that is
symbolic (which in this case is clothespins)
What do you think clothespins symbolize? (low-income, country, old-fashioned,
simple)
1. What are some metaphors in this poem?

2. What are some symbols in this poem?
3. What do some of the various symbols symbolize?
4. How do you think the author came up with these symbols? What do they tell you
about the kind of person she is?
20 Creation Time!
Think about significant things in your life that are symbols for where you have come
from and what made you who you are now. Make a list of important or memorable
Places
Facts about your family members
Experiences
Food
Music
Sayings
Objects
You all did an amazing job writing pieces of poems the last few days. Now you are more
than ready to write your own poem.
Write your own Where Im From poem using Lyons poem as an example and perhaps
using some of the ideas you just brainstormed. If you havent written much poetry
before, we can give you a template to get you started. (I would only use the template
for special needs students or students who are really struggling.)
If we have time at the end, some of you can read yours out loud.
Fusion Day 4 LP
Tone, Mood, and Setting
Handouts: Random pages from random novels for creating found poems, copies of the two
featured poems
To do: pull up vimeo of Crystal Stair and agenda
Standards:
VAKC.1 Applies information from other disciplines to enhance the understanding of
artwork
R1 Read closely to determine what the poem says explicitly and to make logical inferences
from it, cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions
drawn from the poem.
Tone and mood, what on Earth is the difference?!
Reading Workshop
Make sure you are reading by no later than 11:20, and dont forget to log your daily reading
and log when you finish a book!
Mini-lesson on Tone, Mood, and Setting

Tone - the author, narrator, or artists attitude toward the subject
Mood the feeling that a work conveys to its readers or viewers
Poem 1
Margaret Walker, 1915-1998
When For My People by Margaret Walker won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award in 1942, "she
became one of the youngest Black writers ever to have published a volume of poetry in this century," as
well as "the first Black woman in American literary history to be so honored in a prestigious national
competition," noted Richard K. Barksdale in Black American Poets between Worlds, 1940-1960.
Lineage
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/239042
By Margaret Walker
1. What is the mood of this poem? How do you know?

2. What is the tone of this poem? In other words, how does Margaret Walker feel about
the subjects of her poem? How do you know?
3. What is the setting of this poem? How would the poem be different if she was
talking about her grandmothers cleaning office buildings?
Poem 2
Langston Hughes
19021967
Langston Hughes was first recognized as an important literary figure during the 1920s, a
period known as the "Harlem Renaissance" because of the number of emerging black
writers. Nevertheless, Hughes, more than any other black poet or writer, recorded faithfully
the nuances of black life and its frustrations. He was the first black American to earn his
living solely from his writing and public lectures.
Mother to Son
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177021
By Langston Hughes
1. What is the mood of this poem? How do you know?

2. What is the tone of this poem? In other words, how does the narrator/mother feel
about her life and her son? How do you know?
3. Are the stairs she describes literal or metaphorical? How do you know?
Check out this video version:

http://vimeo.com/12021460
Does the video artist capture the mood of the poem accurately? If so, how?
Art 1
http://www.baroquepotion.com/2008/01/evidence-in-art-tanner%E2%80%99s-
the-banjo-lesson/
Henry Ossawa Tanners The Banjo Lesson

What is the setting of this painting?
1. How would you describe the mood of this painting?

2. How does the artist use color to create a mood?
3. How does the artist use brush strokes to create a mood?
4. How does he use light?
5. What is the tone of this painting? How does the artist feel about this place and these
people?
6. How would changing the setting change the mood? What if they were in a field full
of flowers? What if they were on the moon?
Art 2
Da Da Doggy Sculpture - By Karen Arp
1. What is the setting of this sculpture?
2. How would you describe the mood of this sculpture?
3. How does the artist use color to create a mood?
4. How else does the artist convey mood with this piece?
5. What is the tone of this sculpture? How does the artist feel about dogs?
6. How would changing the setting change the mood? What this dog was in a dirty
alley?
Apply to novels
Open the book you are reading to the page you just finished. What is the setting for the
scene you just read? What is the mood? How do you know?
Poem Writing of the Day
"Found poems" are when poets take snippets of language and put them together in a new
way. You could write down things you overhear in the cafeteria and hallways and turn that
into a poem, for example. I like to take a page or two from a great novel and see if I can
make poetry from it. Check out this example. There is a PDF with the original page on it.
My Poem The exact lines I used

Let me paint you the picture Let me paint you the picture
On the one hand an exclusive boarding school exclusive boarding school
wealthy alumni wealthy alumni
a girl
On the other hand a local public school
modest circumstances modest circumstances
a boy
First the two meet

He: adoring her desperately desperately
emphasizing the singularity of himself emphasizing the singular of himself
She: a trace of mockery a trace of mockery

Pretending he wasn't there pretending it wasn't there
turning the screw turning the screw
Then audacity
His audacity hushed hushed
Silence again silence again
incapacitated incapacitated
And now?
success in honor success in honor
not bitter bitter
he thrives.
Directions:
Take a random page from a novel. Underline, circle, or highlight bits and pieces that
speak to you, that have some kind of beauty or fascination.
Transfer those words and phrases onto a separate piece of paper.
Experiment with putting those pieces together in different ways until you have
something poetic. Feel free to add, subtract, or change anything you want to in order
to get something you love.
What is the mood of the poem that is starting to emerge? Use words and setting to
strengthen the mood of the poem.
Fusion Day 5 LP
Imagery/Haiku
Handouts:
Haiku adv organizer
Standards:
artwork
How can engaging the senses bring your writing to life?
Mini-lesson on Imagery
Journal- think of your favorite item of clothing and describe it so that someone who
has never seen it can picture it perfectly
Share journals and as students are reading write strong descriptive words on the
board. Discuss why they are strong
NOTE non-visual descriptions- anyone talk about how the clothing feels?
Come up with class definition. Narrow it down and edit until you feel comfortable
with the definition. Maybe add things on if necessary.
TEACHER NOTE: Imagery- descriptive elements of a work that appeal to the senses.
POETRY: Emily Dickenson, Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Because I could not stop for Death

By Emily Dickinsen
Because I could not stop for Death What images stand out in this poem?
He kindly stopped for me
The Carriage held but just Ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove He knew no haste

And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility
We passed the School, where Children strove

At Recess in the Ring
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain
We passed the Setting Sun
Or rather He passed Us
The Dews drew quivering and Chill
For only Gossamer, my Gown
My Tippet only Tulle
We paused before a House that seemed

A Swelling of the Ground
The Roof was scarcely visible
The Cornice in the Ground
Since then 'tis Centuries and yet

Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15395 (written out)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgWnGllpnto (reading)
What types of imagery are presented in this poem and where are they?
TEACHER NOTE: third stanza- auditory, fourth- touch, all throughout- visual
ART: Van Gogh and Chuck Close self portraits

Art questions: Chuck Close
What words would you use to describe this painting?
What senses are in engaged?
How do those senses contribute to the overall feeling of the painting?
How does the imagery contribute to the overall mood of the painting?
Art questions: Van Gogh

Imagine if you could touch this painting... how would it feel?
http://twistedsifter.com/2013/07/detailed-close-ups-of-van-gogh-
artworks/
What words would you use to describe this painting?
What senses are engaged?
How do those senses contribute to the overall feeling of the painting?
How does the imagery contribute to the overall mood of the painting?
These both have recognizable imagery, the human form. But they are represented
in very different ways, Van Gogh with expressive marks and Close with hyper-
realism.
"If you were to create a self portrait of yourself how would you communicate your
personality? What kinds of visual imagery would be important to communicating
you as a person?"
Writing Mini-lesson:
Part of the point of this lesson is to prepare you to be successful at higher grade levels when
you are going to have to pay attention for more extended periods of time. Dont worry,
youll do great!
About Haiku
Most poetry is focused on the joy of words and the musicality they can create. Haiku is very
different because it aims to make you forget the words and just have an image or picture in
your head.
Haiku is like a snapshot that captures how a moment in time looks, feels, sounds, tastes or
smells. It is all about imagery!
The most famous Haiku poets are

Li Po (701-762),
Basho (1644-1694), and
Issa (1763-1828)
BECOMING A HAIKU POET (edited version)

by Michael Dylan Welch
1. Show dont tell!

The most important characteristic of haiku is how it conveys, through implication and
suggestion, insight into nature or human nature. Haiku does not state this insight, however,
but implies it. This means you avoid words that interpret what you experience, such as
saying something is "beautiful" or "mysterious," and stick to words that just convey the facts
of what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. (Show, dont tell!) Instead of writing about
your reactions to experiences, in a good haiku you write about those things that cause your
reactions. This way your readers can experience the same feelings you felt, without your
having to explain them.
spring breeze--
the pull of her hand
as we near the pet store
--Michael Dylan Welch, Sammamish, Washington
2. Use comparison or contrast
Examples of using comparison
new moon
curve of the steeple bell
in winter twilight
--Ebba Story, San Francisco, California
a spring nap
downstream cherry trees
in bud
The first one compares the curve of the steeple bell to the curve of the new moon. The
second compares spring buds, which are like sleeping flowers getting ready to wake up, to a
spring nap.
Examples using contrast
long hard rain

hanging in the willows
tender new leaves
stars above the hill

shadow of the tree is cast
over emerald grass
The first poem contrasts the tender leaves to the hard rain.
The second poem contrasts the brightness of the stars with the darkness of the shadow.
3. Include a reference to what season it is.

Another key strategy in haiku is the seasonal reference. Traditional Japanese haiku use a
season word to anchor the poem in time. A simple example would be "snow" to indicate
winter, or "frog" to indicate spring. You could name the season also, but the best season
words are more subtle than that.
Mother's scarf
slides from my shoulder--
wild violets
--Peggy Willis Lyles, Tucker, Georgia
4. Create an emotional impression

Speaking of writing carefully, haiku is often thought of as the most compressed poem in the
world. This doesn't just mean it's the briefest, but that it packs a lot more into its scant three
lines than you might have in other poems or prose. Above all, a haiku mysteriously creates
an emotional impression.
gone from the woods

the bird I knew
by song alone
--Paul O. Williams, Belmont, California
This poem makes the reader feel lonely, even though the author doesnt say he is lonely.
5. Things NOT to do in a haiku

On a practical note, haiku never have titles, almost never rhyme, and seldom use overt
metaphor and simile. The reasoning for this is that these devices often make the reader
more aware of the words than their meaning. Use direct and simple language. Avoid long
words. Paint a picture and let the reader figure out what it means.
withering wind
the fence-builder pulls a nail
from his lips
--Mark Brooks, Austin, Texas
6. Dont worry too much about syllables

You may have noticed that thus far I've said almost nothing about form in haiku. That's
because form is not nearly as important as the other strategies I've covered. Form, in fact, is
the most misunderstood aspect of haiku. Haiku in Japan are arranged in a single vertical
line, and traditionally (meaning, not always) have three parts of 5, 7, and then 5 Japanese
sound symbols (which are not the same as syllables). Many English-language textbooks say
that haiku in English should be 5-7-5 syllables. This assertion exhibits a misunderstanding
of the differences between Japanese and English syllables and how the languages differ.
Indeed, the vast bulk of serious haiku written in English are usually shorter than 17
syllables, and choose to follow or apply a free or organic form rather than a syllable count.
7. Read haiku before writing them

Read a lot of good haiku to see what makes them work. Observe life around you closely and
see freshly and authentically so that you may imply life's little epiphanies effectively. Let the
"aha" moments of life be implied by your carefully chosen words describing nature and
human nature. Then you, too, will become a haiku poet.
road from Banbury

a man spilled from his crushed car
dead eyes full of rain
dark branches
against the twilight sky
wolf songs echo
supper-scented air
hands in pockets, collar turned
he walks on
wildflowers
the early spring sunshine
in my hand
Washing machine
Quakes the chilled house
The night rumbles
Eyes closed
The pinch of a needle
Wasp strikes sweating skin
So to summarize
1. Write in three lines of about 10 to 17 syllables total
2. Try to include some reference to the season or time of year.
3. To make your haiku more immediate, write in the present tense.
4. Write about common, everyday events in nature and in human life; choose events
that give you a moment of understanding or realization about the truth of things
around youbut dont explain them.
5. Write from personal experience
6. Create an emotional response in the reader by presenting what caused your
emotion rather than the emotion itself.
7. Put two images together in the poem to create comparison or contrast, using words
that are specific, common, and natural
8. Avoid titles and rhyme as well as metaphor and simile
Fusion Day 6 LP
Symbol
Handouts: Gary Sotos Ode to Pablos Tennis Shoes
Standards:
artwork
What symbolizes you?
20 - Mini-lesson on Symbol
Symbol: A person, place, word, or thing that represents something other than itself.
First, a few questions to warm up your brains. Ill use a random method to call on people, so
be ready to answer every question. Dont worry about a right or wrong answer, just throw
something out there.
What do each of these commonly symbolize?

A Flag
A crown
A book
An Eagle
Have you ever stood in one of those dressing rooms in a store where there are mirrors on 2
or 3 sides and you can see reflections of yourself going on to infinity? What does that look
like?
Does it seem like all those yous are stretching into the past or into the future?
When you think of a barbershop, what thoughts come to mind?
So what might a barbershop symbolize?

Billy Collins, 1941-
Billy Collins was born in New York City in 1941. He is one of the most widely known
poets in America today. From 2001-2003 he was the Poet Laureate of the U.S. which
means the president chose him as the poet who would represent the United states.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/poem/2009/07/the_symbol.html - to hear him read
The current poet laureate for the US is Natasha Trethewey
The Symbol
By Billy Collins
Once upon a time there were two oval mirrors What is the mood of this poem? How
which hung facing each other do you know?
on the walls of a local barbershop
What is the tone of this poem? Is it
in the middle of a kingdom, we should add, easier to know how the author feels
which ran the length of a valley about his or her subject when you
lined with the molars of high mountains. hear that person read aloud?
It's hard to say how the mirrors felt

about all the faces peering into them,
the unshorn, the clean-cut, and the bald,
for mirrors cannot help doubling

whatever stands or passes in front of them,
including the perfumed heads of customers.
And when business was slow

the mirrors would see the barbers themselves
glancing in to a run a comb quickly through their hair.
Every day except Sunday the mirrors

received the rounded heads
and gave back the news, good or bad.
And the reward for their patience

arrived by night in the empty shop
when they could look down the long
Does Collins say the mirrors
symbolize the past or the future?
corridors of each other
one looking at the dead mirrors of the past
the other looking into the unborn mirrors of the future,
Why does he say the barbershop
symbolizes the present?
which means that the barber shop
must symbolize the present, in case anyone asks you
the present with its razors, towels, and chairs,
its green awning withdrawn,

its big window and motionless pole,
and the two mirrors who lived unhappily ever after.
Frida Kahlo is one of the most widely known female painters in history. She is
acknowledged for her self-portraits, and she is often inspired by her Mexican heritage.
She was married to another famous painter, Diego Rivera. Diego in my thoughts
portrays both her and her husband.
Diego in my Thoughts- Frida Kahlo
What is the first thing you notice when looking at this painting?
Do you see any symbols? What do they represent?
Now that you know the symbols, how does this painting make you feel?
Van Gogh was a painter in the 1880s known for committing suicide. Wheatfield with
crows is said to be the painting he was working on just before he ended his life. Whether
it was on his easel or not at the exact moment of his death is unknown, yet the painting
gives off a foreboding feel because of the symbolism in the portrait.
Wheatfield with crows- Vincent Van Gogh
What kind of story is this painting telling?
What could the crows represent?
Do you see any more symbols in the painting? What could they mean?
Now that you know the background, how do you feel about the piece? How do
the symbols change how you feel?
30 - Poem Writing of the Day

First, think about what different kinds of shoes might symbolize
- brand new tennis shoes
- beat up tennis shoes
- high heels
- little childrens shoes
- flip flops
Think of a pair of shoes that meant something to you, that you loved or hated or wanted but
didnt get, maybe shoes that symbolize someone. Then write a poem about them. Lets look
at two examples
http://forum.baby-gaga.com/about359302.html
Gary Sotos Ode to Pablos Tennis Shoes
Fusion Day 7 Agenda

Theme
Standards:
artwork
What do you do when youve got the blues?
Reading Workshop
Book Talks
Great Quotation
We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we
are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And
medicine, law, business, engineering - these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain
life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love - these are what we stay alive for.
-Professor Keating in Dead Poets Society
Mini-lesson on Theme
Lets start by figuring out the theme of some works of art. The theme of a work of art can
usually be summarized in one word. When we talk about theme in art, we just mean, What
does the work of art depict? See if you can match the art to the theme here is each one
religious, patriotic, abstract, or historical?
Can you figure out the theme without having categories to choose from?
What is the theme of this?
Theme in Poetry
Themes in lyrics or poetry are a little harder. Sometimes they can be a single word or
phrase such as some themes in To Kill a Mockingbird are
- Race
- Coming of age
- Justice and judgment
- Morality
- Compassion and forgiveness
Sometimes they are a sentence or phrase such as

- The American Dream is not real
- Being feminine can look different for different people
Today we are going to be looking at Blues lyrics and Blues poetry. See if you can figure
out the theme of each of these.
Crossroad Blues (recorded 1936)

Snippet of music available at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A
I went to the crossroad

Fell down on my knees
I went to the crossroad
Fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above "Have mercy, now,
Save poor Bob, if you please
Mmmmm, standin' at the crossroad

I tried to flag a ride
Standin' at the crossroad
I tried to flag a ride
Didn't nobody seem to know me
Everybody pass me by
Mmm, the sun goin' down, boy

Dark gon' catch me here
oooo ooee eeee
Boy, dark gon' catch me here
I haven't got no lovin' sweet woman that
Love and feel my care
You can run, you can run

Tell my friend-boy Willie Brown
You can run, you can run
Tell my friend-boy Willie Brown
Lord, that I'm standin' at the crossroad, babe
I believe I'm sinkin' down
Bad Mother Blues
By Sandra McPherson
When you were arrested, child

And I had to take your pocketknife
When you were booked
And I had to confiscate your pocketknife
It had blood on it from where
You had tried to take your life
A thief will blind you with his flashlight

But your daughter be your bouquet
A thief will blind you with his flashlight
But your daughter be your bouquet
When the thiefs your daughter
You turn your eyes the other way
A Poem for Myself

By Etheridge Knight
I was born in Mississippi

I walked barefooted thru the mud.
Born black in Mississippi
Walked barefooted through the mud.
But when I reached the age of twelve
I left that place for good.
I been to Detroit & Chicago

Been to New York city too.
I been to Detroit & Chicago
Been to New York city too.
Said I done strolled all those funky avenues
Im still the same old black boy with the same old blues.
Usual pattern 6 lines
Line 1
Line 2
Repeat line 1
Repeat line 2 (sometimes with slight variation)
Line 3
Line 4 (rhymes with line 2/4)
You try it!
Fusion Day 8 LP
SL1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and

collaborations with diverse partners, building on others ideas and expressing their own
clearly and persuasively.
inferences from it, cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support
conclusions drawn from the poem.
R2 Determine central ideas or themes of a poem and analyze their development
R4 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a poem and analyze how specific
word choices shape meaning or tone.
R5 Analyze the structure of poems including how specific lines and stanzas relate to
each other and the whole.
R6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a poem
Note: no reading workshop until the end of class
Directions for students

1. Today you have a special challenge. Your goal will be to take a group test with
someone you dont usually work with. You may write on the back of this sheet if
you need to.
2. Half your grade will be based on a) how well you whisper and b) how well you
work together, sharing the work equally and discussing each answer thoroughly
together. One in a pair could get a higher grade than the other if one speaks
more quietly and/or works harder, but your goal is for BOTH of you to get the
full 50 points on this half.
3. The other half of your grade will be based on the number of answers you get
correct.
4. When you are finished, write a letter to your reading workshop pen pal. There is
a handout in your folder that will give you ideas about what to write based on
whether you are just starting a new book, in the middle of a book, or almost
finished.
5. When you are finished with your letter, read your book.
1. Open by having students take their new places for today only
2. Show students the rules for the day
3. Hand out the poem
4. Watch the video of the poem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-ieHBFDDGA
5. Insist the students quietly read through the poem at least twice. They should
underline any words they dont know
6. Define any unknown words
7. Hand out the test
8. Display the website on form
a. Website to look at form:
https://plus.google.com/101423581602122657410/posts/XGV7sjaQnKG)
9. Keep careful notes on who is whispering, who is working well together, etc.
10. After everyone is finished with the test and has had the chance to work on their
literary letter, go over the text as a class. Choose students at random to answer
questions.
11. If time permits ask some further questions about this poem.
Fusion Day 9 LP
Sound and abstraction
Standards:
artwork
Does a poem have to make sense or could it just sound wonderful?
Reading Workshop
Go over yesterdays test
Mini-lesson on sound in poetry
All of the following terms are related to sound in poetry. What you write about is
important, of course, but part of what makes poetry different from prose is that poetry
pays attention to sound.
Lets get the definitions down, find examples in a poem, and then come up with
examples for all of them of our own.
1. Alliteration - when words with the same initial letter are used in close proximity
2. Assonance - the repetition of vowel sounds in different words in close proximity

3. Consonance similar to alliteration except at least on of the repeated consonant
sounds is inside a word instead of at the beginning
4. Internal rhyme when two words rhyme, not at the end of two lines but within
one line or in close proximity
5. Slant rhyme words that almost rhyme but not exactly
6. Onomatopoeia a word that imitates the sound it describes
For Olivia on Her Birthday

By Cynthia Alby
1 If we two lived in the land of Buddhas

2 Wrote our poems in pictures
3 Ate rice upon rising
4 Perhaps on this day
5 Under a canopy of jade
6 We would reminisce
7 How our fleet feet outdistanced the tiger
8 How we fed one another under crackling sun
9 How we charmed the would-be samurai boys
10 Sisters in a siblingless land
Where is the alliteration in line 1?

Where is the assonance in line 2?
Where is the internal rhyme?
Where is the onomatopoeia?
Where is the end rhyme that is also slant rhyme?
Where is the consonance in line 10?
Now lets go back to our list of terms and add examples
Mini-lesson on form over content in art
Sometimes artists focus very much on what they are depicting a person, a bird, a
landscape, etc. But other times, the artist may focus instead not on any thing in
particular but on the form itself.
For example if an artist wanted to depict anger, he or she could paint an angry face OR
that artist could focus on form instead by creating an abstract painting.
If you were going to create an abstract painting of anger

1. What colors would you use?
2. What type of lines would you use?
3. Would there be more darkness or more light?
How would your answers change if you were depicting peace, sadness, or joy?
What emotion is expressed in each of the following pieces anger, peace, sadness, or
joy? (see agenda to view the four sample paintings)
Focus on form and sound in poetry

In poetry you can do the same thing as these artists did; you can take the focus away from
the content and move it more toward a focus on the brushstrokes of poetry: sound.
Lets play around with sound. What would it sound like if you wrote a poem that used mostly
hard vowels and hard consonants? What if you used mostly soft sounds?
(Then look at the examples below and have students try their hand at it using the handout
as a guide.)
Harder vowels
Long a date, clay, maiden, wail, scrape
Long o smoke, loam, swollen, nomadic
Harderconsonants
t, d, b, p
Softer vowels
oo flute, newt, jewel, goo, moon
short a car, gardenia, barb, lobster
Softer consonants
s, m, l, r
Softer words Harder words

Loot, lullaby, genre, similar Pike, coat, bloke, tart, gloat
Lute, resin, relish, roof, loot Potato, coke, Shane, goat, toad
Flock, scoop, stew, mute Road, bowl, bait, gate, hate
Coup, aloof, who, lute Float, moat, boat, clay, toot, god
Soup, moo, blue, root Lunar, flow, (balloon, cartoon, maroon)
Scoot, loop, loofa, bloop, Smoke, dote, scold, smote, debate
Sound Play - By Justin Emerson, 11th grade, BHS

A dote of scold
Is mute like smoke
A gloat of toad
Is blue maroon
The hate of soup

It tastes of tart
That fills a plate

All scooped of dates
Fusion day 10
Essential Question:
What does it mean to draw using the right side of the brain?
Reading workshop
Lets start some book talks today!
Going over the test together

As we go over the test, use the red pen to make any changes you want to make to
improve your grade.
1. Why would blues poems be considered fixed verse?

2. Can a free verse poem still have some rhyme?
3. What makes rhyme different in free verse than in fixed verse?
4. Mood What the reader feels
5. Hint: Start your answer with, As the reader, this poem made me feel _________
because of lines such as
6. Tone What the author feels toward the subject
7. Hint: Start you answer with, The author clearly feels _________ toward the
subject because of lines such as
8. How will you remember the difference a year from now?
9. What is the definition of theme write it on your sheet
10. Why isnt confetti a theme?
Any others you missed? Use your notes to help you figure it out. If you need to,
call one of us over to talk it through with you.
If you finish before others, read for a few minutes.
Want to improve your work and whisper score? You can boost your score up to
10 points extra by writing me a half page explaining why working hard in school
is important to you and to your future.
Lets draw!
What does it mean to draw using the right side of the brain?
Day 11
Poetry Beyond the Rational
EQ: Does a poem have to make sense to be amazing?
Mystery lies at the heart of all the artspoetry was originally the divine knowledge or
the divine hallucinations of primitive peoples. Boisseau and Wallace p. 210
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. Noam Chompsky
Realism, photorealism, and surrealism in art
Jabberwocky an example of surrealistic poetry
In Through the Looking Glass, Humpty Dumpty heightens the poems absurdity by
informing Alice that slithy means lithe and slimy, mimsy means flimsy and miserable.
And toves are something like badgers something like lizards and something like
corkscrews that make their nests under sundials and live on cheese. Boisseau and
Wallace p. 212
Now its your turn. See if you can rank art and poetry as realism, photo-realism, or
surrealism
World poem
Ordeal
By Nina Cassian (Romania)
I promise to make you more alive than youve ever been.

For the first time youll see your pores opening
like the gills of fish and youll hear
the noise of blood in galleries
and feel light gliding across your corneas
like the dragging of a dress across the floor.
For the first time, youll note gravitys prick
like a thorn in your heel,
and your shoulder blades will hurt from the imperative of wings.
I promise to make you so alive that
the fall of dust on furniture will deafen you,
and youll feel your eyebrows like two wounds forming
and your memories will seem to begin
with the creation of the world.
Translated by Michael Impey and Brian Swann

How did it feel to hear that poem? Why?
What does this poem make you think about?
Poem #1 - Boisseau and Wallace p. 224
1. Everyone takes a piece of paper and writes down a fantastic noun something
concrete, sensual, resonant, like biscuit or spatula or kayak
2. Pass your word on to the next person who will add a word two lines below your
word that somehow goes with your word in terms of sound like biscuit fist,
spatula spook, kayak kooky
3. Now fold the paper so only the second word shows and pass it to the next
person who will write a word that is an interesting sound match for that word.
4. Each person adds a word then folds the paper so only their word shows
5. When the paper gets back to you, try to use some or all of the words to write a
poem. It doesnt have to make sense, but make it sound good.
Title to be revealed later

By Michelle Boisseau
Location, location, location

Even when Im a slivered wafer
blanked out by the big guy, I got pull.
Just a shiny rock? So what. Im close.

Others triumph in looks and power
But watch them fade as darkness brightens-
The big brassy moment I show up

(I adore being a blond), entrancing
homesick soldiers and drowning poets.
Poem #2
Imagine you are a weed in the parking lot, a zipper, a farm pond, a basketball, or some
other inanimate object. What might you feel as that thing? What have been your
experiences? What might you be aware of that others arent? Write a poem in the first
person, speaking as that object, and adopting an attitude some clear tone.
Your Poem, Man
By Edward Lueders
unless there's one thing seen

suddenly against another--a parsnip
sprouting for a President, or
hailstones melting in an ashtray--
nothing really happens. It takes
surprise and wild connections,
doesn't it? A walrus chewing
on a ballpoint pen. Two blue tail-
lights on Tyrannosaurus Rex. Green
cheese teeth. Maybe what we wanted
least. Or most. Some unexpected
pleats. Words that never knew
each other till right now. Plug us
into the wrong socket and see
what blows--or what lights up.
Try
untried
circuitry,
new
fuses.
Tell it like it never really was,
man,
and maybe we can see it
like it is
Poem #3
Tell it like it never really was, man. Follow the advice in Lueders poem and see what
beautiful, mysterious, oddity results. Your goal is to pull together things that have never
appeared in a sentence together. Put adjectives with nouns they only barely make sense
with like Chompskys Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Day 12
Resources:
Enough copies of Tracks of the Wandering Mind that every pair can have a copy
Copies of The Art of Revision for everyone
Hand back show poems
This activity is modeled after an exercise by poet Steve Kowit. Below you will find a
terrible poem he created. Working with a partner, label the mistakes as follows
1. Old fashioned words often sound silly in modern poetry. Circle the word
that is old fashioned in the first few lines.
2. Be careful of rhyming just to have rhyme. Underline a word that doesnt fit
the poem, a word that the poet clearly put in because he couldnt think of a
better rhyme.
3. Beware of words and phrases that are overly common. Squiggly underline
the two phrases near the end of the poem that sound overused or stale.
4. Show, dont tell. Put a star next to the two lines that are the worst in terms of
telling how the author feels rather than showing.
5. Dont try too hard to make your poem sound poetic. You dont want to
sound like youre trying too hard. Cross out two phrases where the poet sounds
like he is trying too hard to sound poet-ish.
6. Avoid weak nouns and verbs, and dont go crazy with the adjectives.
Leave out any adjectives that dont add something important. Cross out
the 5 weakest words in this poem.
Tracks of the wandering mind - handout
Next: Read aloud together Steve Kowits The Art of Revision.
Now: This week you are going to

1. Choose your favorite poem of all the ones youve written so far this unit.
2. Revise it like crazy until it is super amazing
3. Turn it into a video-poem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ4g60JqMz8 The Raven (I wish the music

didnt have words)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QXtKfJDBAk Miracle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB2L4pVynw0 Mother to Son
Lets start by having you gather all the poems youve written so far.
Choose your favorite poem and do a first revision fixing any of the problems you just
saw in Tracks of the Wandering Mind.
Then:
1. Were going to collect your poems and redistribute them.
2. Your mystery editor is going to underline about half the lines in the poem the
lines he or she thinks are the best lines.
3. After that well gather them up and give you your poem back.
4. Then re-write the whole poem on a clean sheet of paper replacing all the lines
that arent underlined with lines that are better, stronger. Make your reader feel
what youre feeling.
Edit round #2: Were going to collect your poems and redistribute them again. Your
mystery editor is going to follow our instructions to make suggestions about how to
strengthen your poem.
1. Replace five words in the poem with words that mean about the same thing
(synonyms) but that are more powerful, more specific.
2. Re-write two lines so that they are trimmed down a bit
3. Put question marks by any line that is confusing
4. The first line has to be great. Make two suggestions for other possible first lines.
5. Re-write two lines to add some interesting consonance and/or assonance
Stop and read a poem about revising a poem.
The Poem You Asked For

Anonymous
My poem would eat nothing.

I tried giving it water
but it said no,
worrying me.
Day after day,
I held it up to the light,
turning it over,
but it only pressed its lips
more tightly together.
It grew sullen, like a toad

through with being teased.
I offered it money,
my clothes, my car with a full tank.

But the poem stared at the floor.
Finally I cupped it in
my hands, and carried it gently

out into the soft air, into the
evening traffic, wondering how
to end things between us.

For now it had begun breathing,
putting on more and
more hard rings of flesh.

And the poem demanded the food,
it drank up all the water,
beat me and took my money,

tore the faded clothes
off my back,
said forget this,

and walked slowly away,
slicking its hair down.
Said it was going

over to your place.
Finally:
On a clean sheet of paper, incorporate some of the ideas your editor gave you.
Also, as you write this final draft, play around with line length, punctuation,
capitalization, stanzas, indentation, how the lines appear on the page all the
things that have to do with the form of the poem how it looks on the page.

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Fusion Day 1

Handouts (make sure these are already in students folders)

Note: No Reading Workshop today

Teacher prep: Read up on the poem Kitchenette Building

1. The poem, Whats In My Journal, by William Stafford

15 - Mini-lesson on finding metaphor in art and in poetry

How to read a work of art

Where does your eye fall first? What is emphasized?

How to read a poem

Slow down and savor

Read class poem Whats in Our Journals

Mini-lesson on Metaphor in Poetry and Art

When would you want to use simile and when metaphor?

Add to your list of definitions:

Simile: A comparison usually using like or as. A is similar to B. Is

Metaphor: An implied comparison. A = B. More jolting than a simile.

Simile Examples in Poetry

"light falls thought cracks

"Flare up like a flame"

"He sits before you, face to face

Metaphor Examples in Poetry

"Your laughter is water hurrying over pebbles"

"Every gesture is a proclamation"

"Vowels of delicious clarity

Dorthea Lange, Indonesia, Photograph

Is there a mood or feeling being conveyed? (a little depressing, especially since

This is a surrealistic painting by Kush

What is Kush comparing the human face to? Nature

Photo by Amy Sorrells

What is A and what is B in this metaphor? A rose = music

What happens if you change a metaphor to a simile or a simile to a metaphor? Always

One more definition to add to your list:

Anaphora - repetition of the opening word or phrase in several

Write at least 6 metaphors like in Uptown

Handouts: Poem: Where Im From, a few Where Im From templates

15 Mini-lesson on Point of View/Perspective

**insert lesson here**

15 Scaffolding the Writing

So when Lyons says, I am from clothespins

1. What are some metaphors in this poem?

To do: pull up vimeo of Crystal Stair and agenda

Mini-lesson on Tone, Mood, and Setting

1. What is the mood of this poem? How do you know?

1. What is the mood of this poem? How do you know?

Check out this video version:

Henry Ossawa Tanners The Banjo Lesson

1. How would you describe the mood of this painting?

Poem Writing of the Day

My Poem The exact lines I used

First the two meet

She: a trace of mockery a trace of mockery

POETRY: Emily Dickenson, Because I Could Not Stop for Death

Because I could not stop for Death

We slowly drove He knew no haste

We passed the School, where Children strove

We paused before a House that seemed

Since then 'tis Centuries and yet

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15395 (written out)

ART: Van Gogh and Chuck Close self portraits

Art questions: Van Gogh

The most famous Haiku poets are

BECOMING A HAIKU POET (edited version)

1. Show dont tell!

insert lesson here