Abandoned Farmhouse

Abandoned Farmhouse by Ted Kooser

He was a big man, says the size of his shoes On a pile of broken dishes by the house; A tall man too, says the length of the bed In an upstairs room; and a good, God-fearing man, Says the Bible with a broken back On the floor below a window, bright with sun; But not a man for farming, say the fields Cluttered on boulders and a leaky barn.

A woman lived with him, says the bedroom wall Papered with lilacs and the kitchen shelves Covered with oilcloth, and they had a child Says the sandbox made from a tractor tire. Money was scarce, say the jars of plum preserves And canned tomatoes sealed in the cellar-hole, And the winters cold, say the rags in the window-frames. It was lonely here, says the narrow country road.

Something went wrong, says the empty house In the weed-choked yard. Stones in the fields Say he was not a farmer; the still-sealed jars In the cellar say she left in a nervous haste. And the child? Its toys were strewn in the yard Like branches after a storm – a rubber cow, A rusty tractor and a broken plow, A doll in overalls. Something went wrong, they say. Poetry Assignment: Dependent Authorship

Using either “Abandoned Farmhouse,” or “T’was the Night Before Christmas” as a guide, write an original poem about you or a special event in your life. To do this you must closely READ the original Poem. The poem you are to write is to give the reader information about you, your life, your hobbies, etc. Do NOT use an abandoned farmhouse, or Christmas, as your point holding your poem together. Your poem does not need to have the same tone as the original Abandoned Farmhouse (you’re can be happy).

FOR ABANDONED FARMHOUSE: How long? Minimum: 3 stanzas, each stanza six or 8 lines (all three stanzas must be the same length). You need to use the “…says the ______with a ______” type phrase to hold your poem together. Look carefully at the poem to see where these types of lines are used (example: 1st line: “He was a big man, says the size of his shoes”) – what can be “said” about you by things? ( ______was a ______, says the ______).

How to begin? Carefully go through POEM and identify all the literary elements/techniques used to create the poem – circle/underline them – label them. Your poem needs to follow - at least 70% - of the structure set up in the poem. Look at rhyming. Look for alliteration. Look for similes or metaphors. For Abandoned Farmhouse: Focus each stanza on just one, well-developed, idea about you and the physical things that “say” this about you.

Submit: Well go to the lab to type your poem on Friday, Oct 26 th for you to type your poem and add visuals (that match what you have described in your poem). Use the paper horizontally or vertically; center your poem; be sure to include “by” with your name and class period.

DUE: Tuesday, October30th Value: 40 pts -Writing Grade

Notes: http://gouchercenter.edu/jcampf/abandoned_farmhouse.htm - a web quest about the poem

1. Note agreement of subject and verb. Pay close attention to the plural or singular noun(s) used. Sometimes the verb is listed first. Note the use of "and" or "or" when joining nouns together. 2. Note specific description ("the jars of plum preserves"). Be as specific as possible. Think about the reader trying to paint exactly what you have described. Make each word be exactly the one you want to use. 3. Use stanzas that point out separate things - parents, siblings, rooms in house, the property the house is on, the neighborhood the house is part of, the community. Focus each stanza on just one, well- developed, idea.

For T’was the Night Before ______: Select a different special night or event/activity (graduation, Mole Day, your Grandmother’s Birthday, the day before the first Harry Potter film came out, the day before you get your driver’s license, the day before the first day of high school, the day before tryouts for ______team, etc. The following notes are for Abandoned Farmhouse – you will do a similar break down of T’was the Night Before Christmas, if you decide to use that

Adjective Noun____ by ______

Pronoun is a adjective man/woman, says the description of item On a(n) result image of what was described in 1 st line by the house; A(n) adjective man/woman too, says the description of an item In an adjective place; and a good, adjective man/woman, Says the physical item with a item,described with allusion On the where the item just described is, descriptionof place just given; But not a man/woman for task you do NOT do well, say the what proves you can’t do just mentioned thing Description of place just mentioned.

A man/woman/animal lived with him/her, says the physical thing proving who was there too Papered with lilacs and the kitchen shelves Covered with oilcloth, and they had a child Says the sandbox made from a tractor tire. Money was scarce, say the jars of plum preserves And canned tomatoes sealed in the cellar-hole, And the winters cold, say the rags in the window-frames. It was lonely here, says the narrow country road.

Something went wrong, says the empty house In the weed-choked yard. Stones in the fields Say he was not a farmer; the still-sealed jars In the cellar say she left in a nervous haste. And the child? Its toys were strewn in the yard Like branches after a storm – a rubber cow, A rusty tractor and a broken plow, A doll in overalls. Something went wrong, they say.

Special literary techniques to work in Abandoned Farmhouse: Line 4 – alliteration Line 5 – alliteration Line 7- look, the thing you don’t do well forms an alliteration with where you do it Says – starts line 5/stanza1 and line 4/stanza 2 and line 3 /stanza 3 Line 12 begins with an alliteration And ends with alliteration Line 13 ends with alliteration 3rd stanza is a big shift in tone (something went wrong!) Line 19 – alliteration Line 21 – rhetorical question Lines 21 & 22 – simile using “like” Last stanza, 1st like (something went wrong) repeated as last of last line too Rhyme Scheme: only ONE place of end rhyme – lines 22 and 23(no other end rhymes) Note where period fall in the lines ---not at the end as with prose writing. Each line starts with a capital letter Title: same words NOT used in poem, but “abandoned” sets tone for whole poem. 1st line of each stanza, the phrase “says the…” ends each line Throughout the entire poem, you find “says…” only at the very end is it “…they say”

Special Literary techniques to work in for T’was the Night Before Christmas: Rhyme Scheme Stanza lengths Length of lines To use this poem, you will need to go line by line and note all techniques in use – just as I have done above for Abandoned Farmhouse…………

Applicable Writing(W) & Reading Literature (RL) Standards: W.9-10.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.) W.9-10.5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. W.9-10.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically. W.9-10.10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. RL.9-10.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone). RL.9-10.5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.