On Wednesday, March 30th we TPCASTT the poem, "If We Must Die" by Claude McKay. Please make sure to fill out a TPCASTT chart on this poem. If you need a reminder on the steps of TPCASTT, you can find the class notes in the student work section of the website. Please find the poem below:

If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursed lot.
If we must die, O let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
O kinsmen we must meet the common foe!
Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

In addition to TPCASTT the poem, we wrote an open response that argues that the events in Claude McKay's life inspired the poem. We read an article written by Claude McKay about his poem and we used that artic

On Tuesday, March 29, we TPCSASTT the Claude McKay poem "The Tropics in New York" Please find the poem below:

Bananas ripe and green, and ginger-root,
Cocoa in pods and alligator pears,
And tangerines and mangoes and grape fruit,
Fit for the highest prize at parish fairs,

Set in the window, bringing memories
Of fruit-trees laden by low-singing rills,
And dewy dawns, and mystical blue skies
In benediction over nun-like hills.

My eyes grew dim, and I could no more gaze;
A wave of longing through my body swept,
And, hungry for the old, familiar ways,
I turned aside and bowed my head and wept.

Also, make sure to pick up a tone chart for this poem. The tone chart is a 20 point assignment as well as the TPCASTT chart. Please compelte both.

On Friday, March 25, we TPCASTT the poem "What happens to a dream deferred" Take a look at the poem below:

What happens to a dream deferred?\

By Langston Hughes

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Homework for students (due March 23) is to TPCASTT the poem "Justice" by Langston Hughes. TPCASTT is a method for analyzing poetry that we learned about today (March 22) in class. You can find the notes we took in class on TPCASTT in the Student Work section of the website. You can find the poem, "Justice" right here!

Justice 

by Langston Hughes

That Justice is a blind goddess
Is a thing to which we black are wise:
Her bandage hides two festering sores
That once perhaps were eyes.

Feel free to use this slideshow as a fun way to study your poetry terms. If you need to make up the poetry quiz that we took on March 21, this is a great way to study for the make-up quiz. Enjoy!

Today we took a quiz on fundamental poetry terms. The quiz is worth 100 points. If you were absent on Monday, March 21st, you need to make up the poetry quiz. If you need to study for the poetry quiz, check out the Poetry Word Wall post in the Student Work section. All the definitions are there.

 On March 15 students looked at a power point presentation on painting in the Harlem Renaissance. Because we will soon read poetry from the Harlem Renaissance era, it will help us understand major themes of the period by looking at other styles of artistic expression. You can find a slideshow of images from the Harlem Renaissance in the Harlem Renaissance section of the website.

On Tuesday, 3/15/2011 we started a new unit on Harlem Renaissance poetry. We have not had any assignments on poetry yet, but students are responsible for memorizing the definitions to the following poetry terms:

On Monday, 3/14/2011 we took a multiple choice test on Black Boy with an open response question. Make sure to make up this test as soon as possible if you did not take the test on Monday

The theme worksheet is an important part of the memoir assignment. It is meant to help you pinpoint a theme that you would like to include in your memoir. Remember, the composition worksheet is a required part of the assignment and it is worth 50 points.