Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Poetry Madness: Let the Games Begin!

Image result for march madness

During March, the best college basketball teams compete for the National Title. In order to be the best, each team must state their case by playing the best, scoring the most, and ultimately advancing to the next round.

To create a sense of poetry madness in our room and celebrate poetry, we will read two poems each day and advance a class winner the following day. However, like the basketball tournament, we must use specific criteria to judge a poem: meaning, poet's craft (rhyme, line breaks, punctuation, simile/metaphor, word choice, repetition), ability to visualize, and your personal connection.

You will answer the following 3 questions about the poems you have read.

1. What is the meaning of the first poem? (Summarize in one-two sentences)
2. What is the meaning of the second poem? (Summarize in one-two sentences)
3. Based on the criteria, which poem did you choose and WHY? ***Please tell me everything you think, but use your best writing.

You will complete Game 1 in class.  Please read Game 1 (Dust of Snow and Mother to Son), choose your favorite, and leave your comment below.  I left an example in the comment section.

Here is an example of an advanced/proficient post:
The first poem, I, Too, is about race and how the poet is accepted over time and is a part of America.

The second poem, Sun Song, is about a song for African-Americans to sing about the sun to bring them hope.

I choose I, Too as the winner because I like the deeper meaning of change and how the poet uses each stanza to tell the story. I also like how Hughes changes one word (“sing” to “am”) in the first and last line to show acceptance.

33 comments:

  1. The first poem, Dust of Snow is about something bad happening and changing his outlook and mood. The second poem , Mother to Son is about life being hard , but never give up.
    I choose Mother to Son as the winner because it is encouraging and has good advice.

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  2. The first poem is about snow on a branch and a bird sits on the branch and snow falls down on a person.The snow made the person have a different mood.The second poem is about a mom telling her son that life is not easy.Then she says don't turn your back on me don't go down stairs.
    I chose the snow one because I would feel different if a lot of snow just fell down on me.

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  3. Mother to son is about a mom teller her son that life is hard so you just have to keep on running and never giving up. Dust of snow is about a person who has had a rough day and something saved his day from hating it, to loving it. I think Mother to son won because it tells more and gives more info about things in life and that it is not always perfect.

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  4. The winner for me is, “Mother to Son.” I say this because mothers are always telling their children about their childhood and how it was either rough for them or if they were poor. And this story states that the mother's family was poor and she was tripping and falling atom but never gave up!!!!!!

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  5. The first poem,Dust of snow is about and boy that is under a snowy tree. A bird lands on the tree and all the snow comes down on him and he was so mad.
    Second poem mother to son is about a mother that is having a talk about life and that is not always good and how their can be good and bad times.
    I choose mother son as the winter because my mom always does that to me too. I also think that it is a true statement.

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    Replies
    1. I like it but nice try on beating me though.

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  6. I think Dust of Snow is about when the snow fell on top of him, it warmed his heart and changed his point of view of life.
    I think Mother to Son is about a mom telling her son not to stop believing and to keep walking on. And even if it doesn't go right, you have to keep living on.
    I vote for Mother to Son because I can really relate to that because sometimes I give up and think that I'm not going to make it but when someone encourages me like my mom or dad to keep going, it helps me to go on.

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  7. Poetry Madness: The first poem, Dust of Snow is about a crow landing on a tree and when he lands snow falls off the branch. Underneath the branch is a man, all the snow falls on him, but after that he had a change of mood.
    The second poem, Mother to Son is about a mother talking to the son, but I think it is really encouraging because she is talking about all the things in life that aren't perfect, but that she can fix. She says that she kept climbing which means she didn't give up and she kept trying.
    I chose Mother to Son as the winner because, I think this poem is really encouraging because it says “It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor” which is talking about life and how life isn't perfect

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  8. For dust of snow I feel like it was like he took everyday things described them then put a rhyme to them. For Mother to son I feel like the mother was telling the son that lives not easy but never give up. I feel like mother to son easy choice is my favorite. I really like the way that the mother had been through alot and she was telling the son to never give up even if your not the same just keep going.

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  9. The first poem, ‘’Mother To Son’’, is about a mother's life and the hard work compared to a child’s life. Being a mother is a lot harder than being a son.

    The second poem,’’ Dust of Snow’’, is about the winter and he was down like the grinch was when nobody cared about him.

    I choose ‘’Mother To Son’’ as the winner because it gave me a lot of details. I got a lot of information from Mother to son like what you have to go through. You have to go through a lot to be a mother and if I was in the poem I would try to help my mom every day

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  10. The first poem,Dust of Snow, is about how the crow shook snow on him from a hemlock tree. That change his day.


    The second poem, Mother to Son, is about how the mother talks about
    her childhood.


    I think the winner is Mother to Son because it talks about how life was like back then when the was their age.

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  11. The first poem, Dust of Snow, is about someone who was not nice and there was something mean in his heart. Something or someone made his heart whole and he is not mean any more.

    The second poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother having a hard life when she was little and she doesn't want her son to go there what she went thru. She doesn’t want him to lose hope.

    I chose Mother to son because I think that it is very sweet that a mother tries her best to help her child.

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  12. I think the first poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother who is telling her son that even though there will be hardships in life you can’t give up, and you just have to keep going.

    I think the second poem. Dust to Snow, is about person when snow falls on him he becomes resentful for the rest of the day but he saves some of that resentfulness in his heart.

    I think that Mother to son is the best because it has a good life lesson. After one hard thing, we can’t just give up because no one would get anywhere in life. Also, I think a little more effort was put into it.

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  13. The winner for me is, “Mother to Son.” I say this because mothers are always telling their children about their childhood and how it was either rough for them or if they were poor. And this story states that the mother's family was poor and she was tripping and falling atom but never gave up. Dust of snow is about a kid seeing a bird shake at him and the leaves on a hemlock tree shimmer. And once he felt he did not hate it.

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  14. The first poem, “Dust Of Snow,” is about a bird on a tree that shook the tree and a dust of snow fell on the man Robert. Butd the snow reminded him of the joy of life and switched his day around!

    The second poem, “Mother To Son,” is about a mother [Probably a slave] telling her son to not back down on life because even though life is hard life is an adventure. So she is just telling herson to keep on CLIMBING!!!

    I choose the poem, “Dust Of Snow,” as the winner because if you really get the poem it will really take out a lesson for you. It is like nature basicly reminding you of the happiness in life!

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  15. The first poem, Dust of Snow, is about a person who had hate and did something bad. Then, the person realizes what he/she has done and knows he/she can fix it with the time left in the day.

    The second poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother telling her son about her hard life. The mom then tells her son to keep going up the crystal stair even when life gets hard.

    I chose Mother to Son as the winner because it is the mother telling the son to keep going on the crystal stair even when life gets hard. The mom was also telling the son that life got hard for her and didn’t know what she could do. But, even though the mom didn’t know what to do, she would keep on climbing.

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  16. Mother to son: it is saying that they had a sad sad life and that life is not fair.

    Dust of snow: he got sad earlier that day and when snow fell on him he got more happy.


    I think mother to son is better because it shows more feelings in it. It also explains more.

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  17. Mother To Son is about how a mother has to work her way up to the top not use a shortcut.
    Dust Of Snow is about how a person who was under a tree got covered in snow, instead of getting mad it put him into a good mood.
    I vote Dust of Snow because it is about thinking positive. He was not even annoyed. Even if it was a bad day it turned into a good day.
    I vote Dust of Snow.

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  18. The first poem, Dust of snow, is about someone who has been having a bad day but then a crow lands on a tree and brushes snow on him which gives him a change of mood and is happy




    The second poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother whose life had some bumps and wasn't always perfect but is telling her son to always keep going and get back up again.



    I choose Mother to Son because it has a deeper meaning. For example, She tells her son to always keep trying.

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  19. 1.I think the first poem dust of snow is not very deep thought and it is very short.
    2. The second poem is very thought through and has a good amount of length





    3. So for my final decision I am going with mother to son! I think that mother to son is a lot more deep thought.

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  20. For “Dust Of Snow” He takes things from an everyday life and puts them into a poem.

    For “Mother To Son” he is talking about no matter what you look like, smell like, or, sound like you should always keep going.

    I think that Mother To Son was an easy choice because it was more deep in context and feeling.


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  21. Dust of snow is about a person in the beginning who was having a bad day, and then the snow fell on him and he became happy.
    Mother to Son is a mother who is telling her son to never give up on life, and when you fall to get back up.
    I like Mother to Son the most because she is telling her son to keep on going even when life is hard, and we can do the exact same things in our life.

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  22. Mother to Son is about a mother who tells her son that she is having a hard life with many obstacles.

    Dust of Snow is about how snow saved a man for having a terrible and horrible day.

    I chose Dust of Snow because it is telling you that sometimes you have bad days and sometimes you have good days. Also, it is telling you that even the smallest little thing can light up your day. Finally, it tells you even if your morning starts out bad it can always turn out good.

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  23. In the book Mother to Son. life has been hard for the mother and she’s telling her son to never give up.

    In the book Dust of Snow. The crow shook the tree and that changed his mood.

    In my opinion Mother to Son won because it has a deeper meaning because it talks how the mom live is hard but she goes through it. And she tells her son to never give up.


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  24. I thought the first poem meant that someone was having a bad day and snow fell on them and changed their mood. I thought the second poem meant that a mother was telling her son about all the mistakes she made in life and that you should always try your best. I liked the Mother to Son the most because it made the most sense to me and was meaningful to me.

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  25. Mother to Son is about a mom telling her son that there are obstacles in your life an you can’t just give up when your going through a hard one.

    Dust of Snow is about a guy and when he get snow all over him he doesn’t hate his day any more.

    I think Mother to Son is the winner because it has more of a meaning to me

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  26. I think mother to son is about a mother that did not have a very good life and is telling her son not to go down a path like her.


    I think Dust of snow means that Frost was not having a very good day but when the snow dusted off Hemlock tree it changed his mood



    I think Mother To Son has a deeper meaning because it is about a mom teaching her son a lesson. And dust of snow is just talking about a tree that changed his mood.


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  27. The first poem, Dust of Snow, is about about a certain way snow fell and changed someone's heart.

    The second poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother telling her son that her life was hard but she worked hard through it.

    My choice for the winner is Mother and Son because she is telling her son to not turn back and believe in himself.

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  28. The first poem, Dust of Snow, is about how a person was mad and then changed his mood, and was happy.

    The second poem, Mother to Son, is about how the mom is telling her son that life is hard, and that you can not give up.

    I chose Mother to son as the winner because it is more meaningful to me. Also I like it because is has a lot of words in it.


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  29. The first poem, Dust of Snow, is about someone who was sad or mad all the time and thought about death to much. But when a crow covered in snow shook snow on her from atop of a tree, it put some light into his/her world.

    The second poem, Mother to Son, is about a mother who is teaching her child that life isn’t always easy. But you can’t look back on the bad times too much though


    I thought the best poem was Mother to Son because its a teaching poem. It doesn’t say the setting or plot, but its words were soothing.

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  30. Dust of Snow is about how the way the crow shook down on somebody changed their mood and made them happier.
    Mother to Son is about a mother telling her son how her life hasn’t been easy and she tells him how she kept going even though it was hard. She also tells him not to stop and to persevere.
    I choose Mother to Son as the winner because I think it teaches an important lesson about not giving up. It also shows how even though the mother had hard times, she doesn’t want that for her son. She also wants her son to follow in her footsteps by not turning back.

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  31. The first poem, If, is about what you think not what others think of you. You have to trust yourself. Being good without any effect with others. Try to work as hard as you can to get better and be honest with yourself. Don’t lie!

    The second poem, Who has seen the wind, is about have you seen your real self? You haven’t seen it but you are picturing it in your head. Everybody in the world are kind of similar in their own way.

    I choose ‘’If’’ as the winner because I don’t care about what others say because i’m made in my own way in that is not in others. I try to make good choices with no one in affect. I try to try to be honest. sometimes it is hard not to lie. Trying to work as hard as you can can take a while.

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