Poetry OUT LOUD!

Winter Break is over and it is time to prepare for finals. For the last few weeks of school, we will be studying poetry. The final exam will be a test on poetry terms, but it will also include something else - a poetry reading BY YOU!

Each student will choose a poem from the Poetry Out Loud website to memorize and perform for the class. You can see the list of poems here:

POETRY OUT LOUD

There are MANY poems to choose from - some of them have only 25 lines of fewer. Look around and read some poems until you find one you like - or you can hit the "random poem" link and see what you get.

While we do not have any homework over the break, you can still take this time to choose and practice your poem.

Enjoy your break!

Found Poems

The week before Winter Break we spent one class period making Found Poem posters to hang on the wall. The classroom looks very colorful!

Below are a few selected poems "written" by students in our class. Enjoy!

        "Someone Was Watching"

        They ran past their food.

        "If this is some kind of joke - "

        The room blurred and faded out.

        Piggy banks were opened.

        Maybe you think I was supposed to read your mind.

                                        - Kevin. W (per. 2)

     
        "The Moon's Full Silver"

        Outside, the rain dripped

        Shizuko wondered.

        In fact, the truth surpasses imagination

        but the sense of evil lingered.

        You shall be the wolf.

                                        - Andrea Z. (per. 1)

     
        "Virtue, Knowledge, and Ignorance"

        I am the wing.

        The delicious cool saved us from the heat above

        black as Black Beard's beard.

        Very, very ugly.

        They are awful berries.

                                       - Raymond T. (per. 1)

     
        "By the Midnight"

        Three years ago on a spring evening

        Seething, but not wanting to make a scene

        I put the sunglasses on.

        The window itself was different.

        Of all the bouncing balls, the football is the most predictable.

                                      - Patrick L. (per. 3)

Welcome to Ms. Naylor's Class!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break and are ready to begin our last two units of the semester! Here is a brief summary of what's coming up:

• We will be learning about clauses and phrases to prepare for the English Benchmark on Thursday, December 15th.
• We will be reading the classic Greek Drama Antigone (see the picture, above).
• We will be working on literary terms, drama terms, and poetry terms.
• After winter break, we will study poetry.
• We will be preparing a poetry reading.

The first semester ends on January 27th - after that it will be time to prepare for the CAHSEE. Let's work together to have a great end of the first semester!