2. AGENDA
• Discuss Motorcycle Ride on the Sea of Tranquility.
• What do you think? Did you read more? Do you think you
might like this for a literature circle.
• Literature Circle A – presentations on Monday
• Literature Circle B (Starts week 10)
• I think it is important that we use books that you are interested
in; therefore, we might not use all of them that have been
introduced.
• Today we will watch part of “Bless Me Ultima.” Watching this
may give you a better idea of whether you would like to use
this book.
• Reading a Poem
• “I am Joaquin” poem – forum discussion
3. READING POETRY
• Let your emotions guide you into the
poem
• Do any images or phrases call up a strong
emotional response?
• If so, try to puzzle out why those passages seem so
emotionally loaded.
• What is the poem’s tone?
4. READING POETRY
• Determine what is literally happening in the poem.
• Separate literal language from figurative or
symbolic language can be one of the trickiest –
and most essential – tasks in poetic interpretation.
Begin by working out the literal.
• Who is speaking in the poem?
• To whom?
• Under what circumstances? What happens in the
poem?
5. ASK WHAT IT ALL ADDS UP TO
• Once you’ve pinned down the literal action of the
poem, it’s time to take a leap into the figurative.
• What is the significance of the poem?
• Address symbolism, figures of speech, and any language
that means one thing literally but suggests something else.
6. CONSIDER THE POEM’S SHAPE
• …on the page, and the way it sounds.
• What patterns do you notice?
• Are the lines long, short, or a mixture of both?
• How do these elements contribute to the poem’s effect?
• (this is one of the questions for the forum)
7. FOR WEDNESDAY
• Read excerpt from Amnesia in a Republican
County.
• Read “Never Marry a Mexican” by Sandra Cisneros
from Bordering Fires book.
