Class 1

''...my field -- the minor idiocies of humanity''

Ogden Nash is the poet we will be reading while learning about the basic Poetic Devices. As you see in the quote above his poetry is comical, sarcastic and makes fun of human nature and the silly things we do.

Poems to read & understand* in class are listed below. Be prepared to explain what each poem talks about.
*I suggest copying the individual poems into a Word document and then write vocabulary words after each poem along wih a note about what you think each poem talks about.

http://www.westegg.com/nash/guppy.html
http://www.westegg.com/nash/whats-the-use.html
http://www.westegg.com/nash/samson.html
http://www.westegg.com/nash/firefly.html
http://www.aenet.org/poems/ognash3.htm The Parent, Song of the Open Road, Lather as You Go
http://www.aenet.org/poems/ognash4.htm The Dog, The Fly, The Eel, The Cow, The Jellyfish
http://www.aenet.org/poems/ognash17.htm A Caution to Everybody,

Class 2

Homework Check: Vocabulary and notes document
Review poems read last class
Let's talk about the poems we have read individually.

Brainstorm on and introduction to the following poetic devices: metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, personification, consonance, assonance, alliteration, rhyme

Class 3

We will practice identifying the 8 poetic devices in the following activity:

Poetic Devices Activity (.doc)

Pop Song Presentations

Choose a pop song and analyse it as a poem (Surprise! Songs ARE poems!)
Individual or teams of 2
The quality of your oral English will be evaluated.

Content of presentation:
Oral presentation should be a PowerPoint presentation and must include the following elements:
 - lyrics of your song
 - explanation of the meaning of the song (think deeper than the words on page- do some research!!)
       - show us examples or bits of the song that prove what you say
       - discuss any influences or connections to the author of the song (Do some research!)
 - identification & explanation all poetic devices (the 8 we have studied) in song
       - must show all examples of each device identified on your PPT
       - ex: show assonances, explain metaphors to us, etc...
 - play a piece of the song for us (30 second excerpt)


Suggestions :
* *Write out the text for your presentation so you can correct the  English, practice and even memorize what you want to say
* *Use a system to show poetic devices on the screen (underline, bold, highlight, colour, etc)
* *Organise your PPT based on the logical order in which you will explain things.
* *Use POINT FORM ONLY for text on your PPT slides, YOU MUST NOT READ SLIDES(your audience can do that….just talk to us – the ppt is a guide for the audience)



Class schedule:
* Class 1 &2:      choose song, identify poetic devices and song meaning
* Class 3&4    plan presentation, PPT lesson(Mark), build your PPT,
* Class 5    prepare for presentation (correct oral grammar, practice presentation, etc



Evaluation Grid (.doc)