Read “How to eat a poem.” That is where we got the name for this course.

After you read “How to eat a poem,” reply to the Week 1 - Actvity 1 message. Tell us who you are (first names only), where you live, and how you eat poems. If you want to see an example, read my posting called “How Tracey eats poems.”

Call your posting “How ___your name___ eats poems."

Deadline: Saturday, February 5.

Download pdf worksheet.

Read the poem called “An Early Start in Midwinter.”
How does this poem make you feel?
Have you ever had a morning like this?
Do you ever have time to dream in the morning?
Which senses do you use when you read this poem?
Which words make you use which senses?

Look outside your window or think of a favourite place.
What words would you use to describe this place that would help us to “see” it?
Remember that we “see” with all 5 senses plus our hearts and spirits.
Make a list of words.

Deadline: Saturday, February 12.

We are going to keep reading about winter, but this time the poem is about a winter evening.

Or is it?

Read "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost.

Look at the rhyming pattern.
Think about the picture he paints.
Think about any symbolism in the poem.

How do the rhyming words affect the way you read the poem?
How did the poem paint a picture? What words help you to see the poem?
............

Questions:

1. What words rhyme in this poem?
List the rhyming words in each section using the < p > code.

2. Did you find any symbolism in the poems?
Who do you think owns the woods?
What do the woods symbolize?
What is the sleep?
Is it regular sleep or does he mean something else?

Post your ideas on the discussion.

Deadline: Saturday, February 19.

We are going to look at a poem
by Langston Hughes.
He is a poet from a movement
called The Harlem Renaissance.
Harlem is in New York city.

The poems is: Dreams by Langston Hughes

Questions:

What does Hughes say happens to us if we let dreams die?

Is he optimistic or pessimistic?

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For people who want to do more reading and listening:

--- You can listen to Langston Hughes read a poem about the history of African-Americans. The poem is called The Negro Speaks of Rivers. Click on Hear it!

--- You can read and listen to another Harlem Renaissance poem by Gwendolyn Brooks called We Real Cool

What does Brooks say about what happens to us if we let our dreams die? Is she optimistic or pessimistic?

--- You can read a poem about dreams by a poet from Toronto. The poet is called Raymond Souster and the poem is called Midsummer, Queen and Sherbourne.

What does Souster say about how dreams die? Is he optimistic or pessimistic?

For people who know Toronto, what is it like to read a poem that has familiar street names in it?

Deadline: Saturday February 26.

Read the poem "Rain".

What are the rhyming words?

Why do you think the lines are crooked?

If you want to answer this question, reply to the message Week 1 - Optional Actvity 1 and call your message "Rain".

If you grew up in a country that is very cold in winter, like Canada, read “Snow and Spruce Forest”.

If you grew up in a country that is warm, like Jamaica, read “Land of Promise.”

Think about the picture the poets have painted with words.
What do you think of when you read this poem?
What do you feel when you read this poem?
Does you feel the same way about “home” as this poet?
What words help you to “see” and “feel” what the poet is seeing and feeling?

You need to have a program called RealPlayer on your computer. Even if you have RealPlayer, the poem can take a while to load and it sometimes does not work.

You can read along with the poem.

If you want to read more about Robert Frost,
click on his name.

How does it feel to hear this?

Evaluation

Please take some time to reflect on your experience in this course and help us make our course better.

People who would like to receive the certificate must do the evaluation.

Do not be shy, we want to know what you think. We have some ideas about what worked well and what did not work so well and we want to hear your ideas.

1. Name something that you learned in this course about learning online.

2. Name information that you learned in this course that was new for you.

3. What worked well for you?

4. What did not work well for you?

5. How would you change this course to make it better?

Email your answers to traceym@alpharoute.org by February 27, 2005.

Thanks to all of you, Tracey

Read the poem "A bit of a thrill".

What are the actions and shapes in this poem?

How could you write this poem so that the shape of the lines look like the actions and shapes in the poem?

You can try this in your program and show it to a tutor or program staff person.

Take the list of words you made in activity 1 about outside your window or your favourite place and write a poem.

Go to http://www.m-w.com/

Type the word symbol in the box next to “Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary”.

Click “go”.

Read definition 2.

What is the example of a symbol that they give?

Does Robert Frost use any symbols in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"?

Tips for posting 1:

This trick will let you add line spaces in your text in this discussion area.

Here's what you do.

Type a line of text. At the end of the line type < p > with no spaces between. Then type another line of text. Post your message.

You will see that a line space is added between your two lines of text.

You have to type < p > with no spaces between.

To get < p > use Shift to capitalize and then use the < and > on the keys for comma and period on your keyboard. Type p in between and you have the code.

Find a definition of symbol.

Go to http://www.m-w.com/

type the word symbol in the box next to “Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary”.
Click “go”.
Read definition 2.
What is the example of symbol that they give?
Email the answers to Tracey.

Go to http://www.m-w.com/

Type the word metaphor in the box next to “Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary”.

Click “go”.

Read definition 1.

What is the example of metaphor that they give?

Does Robert Frost use any metaphors in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"?