Page 47 - SpringBoard_CloseReading_Workshop_Grade7_Flipbook

Close Reading of poetry (continued)
ACTIvITy 4
Synthesis Questions
Your teacher may choose or ask you to choose one of the following assessments as a way of showing your understanding of the texts you have read.
Writing Prompt: Review the way that poets used extended metaphor and personification in this workshop to express ideas about society: a machine that changes the way people travel or a city that reflects the nature of its people. Revisit the work you have done with these three texts, and consider how the two poets and the photographer used significant details to convey a conflicted tone. Choose a technological advance, a historical event, or a significant place and write a poem that reveals both your positive and negative feelings about your subject. Use extended metaphor or personification to communicate your tone and theme.
Debate/Discussion: When asked to describe the poem “Chicago,” Carl Sandburg replied that his poem is a “chant of defiance by Chicago . . . its defiance of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, London, Paris, Berlin, and Rome. The poem sort of says, ‘Maybe we ain’t got culture, but we’re eatin’ regular.’” With your class, select a variety of American cities in order to debate or discuss their relative merits. With a peer or small group, brainstorm and prepare notes on the strengths and challenges associated with the cities your class has selected. Be prepared to explain why and how one of these cities is more worthy of praise than the others.
Multimedia Presentation: Extended metaphors and personification are not just literary techniques but have branched out into all aspects of modern society. Conduct independent research to find examples in other media such as visual art, song lyrics, advertisements, and film. Prepare to present your findings along with background information about the subject. Consider using a presentation tool in order to share your research with the class.
Reflection
Think about what you have learned from your close reading and analysis of the texts you have examined in this workshop.
1. How can writers and other kinds of artists use techniques such as metaphor, symbolism, and personification to express ideas and emotions?
2. In this workshop, you have learned how to make meaning of three different texts. How can you use what you have learned to help you as you encounter challenging texts in the future? What strategies best helped you as a learner during this workshop? When and why would you use these strategies again?
46 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 7
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