Saturday, January 14, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
POETRY OUT LOUD! "Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou (DUE 1/11)
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn
and he names the sky his own
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
LISTEN!
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn
and he names the sky his own
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
(b.1928–)
DIRECTIONS: Read Maya Angelou's poem, "Caged Bird", and address the following open-ended questions. Please compose your responses using Gdocs and post your url/web address in the comment box.
*USE TEXT EVIDENCE: Information contained in the text that supports your response.
*ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS: Address each one of the questions with a paragraph.
- What is the metaphor contained in the poem? (1 paragraph)
- How does fate OR freewill factor into the poem? (1 paragraph)
- What is the theme/message being communicated by the author? (1 paragraph)
*USE TEXT EVIDENCE: Information contained in the text that supports your response.
*ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS: Address each one of the questions with a paragraph.
Friday, January 6, 2012
TED - Dan Pink on the surprising science of MOTIVATION (DUE 1/6)
DIRECTIONS: Watch this video from TED and submit a brief response in the comment box about how Dan Pink's presentation relates to education.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
POETRY OUT LOUD! "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost (DUE 1/5)
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
(b.1874–d.1963)
Robert Frost is considered the bard of New England. Casual readers sometimes overlook the depth of his poetry and its technical accomplishment. His apparently simple poems — collected in volumes from A Boy’s Will to In the Clearing — reveal a darker heart upon close reading, and his easy conversational style is propelled by an unfaltering meter and an assiduous sensitivity to the sounds of language.
DIRECTIONS: In Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken", he compares life to a road. Please read the poem again and consider what else you might compare life to. Using Gdocs, write an original poem in which you compare life to something that shares many of its qualities and characteristics. Once completed, post the web address/url to your document in the comment box.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
"The Truth of Imagination: Metaphor's Universe of Possibilities" by Dan Albergotti (DUE 1/4)
DIRECTIONS: Please read the poem "Water to Sky" from the article provided and answer the following question in a one-paragraph response in the comment box below this post.
WHAT IS THE METAPHOR CONTAINED IN THE POEM, "WATER TO SKY"?
Extra Credit!
DIRECTIONS: Watch the music video for the song, "Lunch for the Sky" by the band Socratic, and explain the connection it shares with the poem, "Water to Sky", in an additional one-paragraph response.
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