7th Grade Determining Words Enrichment (RL2.4)

"Composed Upon Westminster Bridge" by William Wordsworth

Earth has not anything to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and the temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

What is the impact of the figurative language, "This City is now doth, like a garment, wear/The beauty of the morning;" on the passage?

• The city is like a group of people that are all wearing the same, lovely clothes, new, crisp, and not wrinkled.

• The city is like a piece of clothing that looks like a sunset because of the reds, oranges, and golds.

• The city is like a flower that wears different colors that represent the morning colors

• The city is like a person who is wearing a lovely piece of clothing, one that is fresh and glittering and golden.

"Composed Upon Westminster Bridge" by William Wordsworth

Earth has not anything to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and the temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

What is the impact of the author's word choice such as splendour, calm, and sweet on meaning or tone?

• He admires the peace and beauty of the city scene.

• He prefers city sights to the valleys and hills of the country.

• He wishes that the river would flow quietly through the city.

• He hopes that the heart of the city will remain still and silent.

from "At Loafing--Holt" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Since I left the city's heat

For this sylvan, cool retreat,

High upon the hill-side here

Where the air is clean and clear,

5 I have lost the urban ways.

Mine are calm and tranquil days,

Sloping lawns of green are mine,

Clustered treasures of the vine;

Long forgotten plants I know,

10 Where the best wild berries grow,

Where the greens and grasses sprout,

When the elders blossom out.

Now I am grown weather-wise

With the lore of winds and skies

15 Mine the song whose soft refrain

Is the sigh of summer rain.

Seek you where the woods are cool,

Would you know the shady pool

Where, throughout the lazy day,

20 Speckled beauties drowse or play?

Would you find in rest or peace

Sorrow's permanent release?--

Leave the city, grim and gray,

Come with me, ah, come away.

25 do you fear the winter chill;

Deeps of snow upon the hill?

'Tis a mantle, kind and warm,

Shielding tender shoots from harm.

Do you dread the ice-clad streams, --

30 They are mirrors for your dreams.

What does the phrase, "Now I am grown weather-wise/With the lore of winds and skies" suggest in lines 13 and 14?

• Living in the woods in the wind and under the skies has made the speaker grow wiser.

• The speaker can "read" the wind and skies in order to predict the weather.

• The speaker warns that country life is not for everyone because the winds and weather are harsh.

• The speaker studies the weather and writes stories about how the wind and skies change.

from "At Loafing--Holt" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Since I left the city's heat

For this sylvan, cool retreat,

High upon the hill-side here

Where the air is clean and clear,

5 I have lost the urban ways.

Mine are calm and tranquil days,

Sloping lawns of green are mine,

Clustered treasures of the vine;

Long forgotten plants I know,

10 Where the best wild berries grow,

Where the greens and grasses sprout,

When the elders blossom out.

Now I am grown weather-wise

With the lore of winds and skies

15 Mine the song whose soft refrain

Is the sigh of summer rain.

Seek you where the woods are cool,

Would you know the shady pool

Where, throughout the lazy day,

20 Speckled beauties drowse or play?

Would you find in rest or peace

Sorrow's permanent release?--

Leave the city, grim and gray,

Come with me, ah, come away.

25 do you fear the winter chill;

Deeps of snow upon the hill?

'Tis a mantle, kind and warm,

Shielding tender shoots from harm.

Do you dread the ice-clad streams, --

30 They are mirrors for your dreams.

Which line or lines from the poem indicate the change the speaker notices about himself since he moved to the country?

• "I have lost the urban ways"

• "Sloping lawns of green are mine..."

• "Long forgotten plants I know..."

• "Mine the song...is the sigh of summer rain."

from "At Loafing--Holt" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Since I left the city's heat

For this sylvan, cool retreat,

High upon the hill-side here

Where the air is clean and clear,

5 I have lost the urban ways.

Mine are calm and tranquil days,

Sloping lawns of green are mine,

Clustered treasures of the vine;

Long forgotten plants I know,

10 Where the best wild berries grow,

Where the greens and grasses sprout,

When the elders blossom out.

Now I am grown weather-wise

With the lore of winds and skies

15 Mine the song whose soft refrain

Is the sigh of summer rain.

Seek you where the woods are cool,

Would you know the shady pool

Where, throughout the lazy day,

20 Speckled beauties drowse or play?

Would you find in rest or peace

Sorrow's permanent release?--

Leave the city, grim and gray,

Come with me, ah, come away.

25 do you fear the winter chill;

Deeps of snow upon the hill?

'Tis a mantle, kind and warm,

Shielding tender shoots from harm.

Do you dread the ice-clad streams, --

30 They are mirrors for your dreams.

How does the figurative and connotative language convey that the speaker likes the country more than the city? Select ALL that are true.

• "Leave the city, grim and gray" conveys a negative connotation about the city and is relieved to leave the city.

• "Mine the song whose soft refrain" conveys a positive connotation about the city and the speaker likes singing about it.

• "Speckled beauties drowse or play?" conveys a negative connotation about the country and the speaker is talking softly about the it.

• "Calm and tranquil days" conveys a positive connotation about the country" and is celebrating the country.

"Harriet Tubman" by Eloise Greenfield

Harriet Tubman didn't take no stuff

Wasn't scared of nothing neither

Didn't come in this world to be no slave

And wasn't going to stay one either

"Farewell!" she sand to her friends one night

She was mighty sad to leave'em

But she ran away that dark, hot night

Ran looking for her freedom

She ran to the woods and she ran through the woods

With the slave catchers right behind her

And she kept on going till she got to the North

Where those mean men couldn't find her

What is the impact of a rhyme, "neither, either, behind her, find her"on the text?

• They add to the poem's rhythm and help readers imagine that Harriet Tubman is the one talking.

• They emphasize that she had to run for a long time to get away from the slave catchers.

• They help create unity in the poem and a musical quality.

"Harriet Tubman" by Eloise Greenfield

Harriet Tubman didn't take no stuff

Wasn't scared of nothing neither

Didn't come in this world to be no slave

And wasn't going to stay one either

"Farewell!" she sand to her friends one night

She was mighty sad to leave'em

But she ran away that dark, hot night

Ran looking for her freedom

She ran to the woods and she ran through the woods

With the slave catchers right behind her

And she kept on going till she got to the North

Where those mean men couldn't find her

What is the impact of a repetition, "ran into the woods, ran through the woods"on the text?

• They help create unity in the poem and a musical quality.

• They add to the poem's rhythm and help readers imagine that Harriet Tubman is the one talking.

• It emphasizes that she had to run for a long time to get away from the slave catchers.

"Harriet Tubman" by Eloise Greenfield

Harriet Tubman didn't take no stuff

Wasn't scared of nothing neither

Didn't come in this world to be no slave

And wasn't going to stay one either

"Farewell!" she sand to her friends one night

She was mighty sad to leave'em

But she ran away that dark, hot night

Ran looking for her freedom

She ran to the woods and she ran through the woods

With the slave catchers right behind her

And she kept on going till she got to the North

Where those mean men couldn't find her

Nineteen times she went back South

To get three hundred others

She ran for her freedom nineteen times

To save Black sisters and brothers

Harriet Tubman didn't take no stuff

Wasn't scared of nothing neither

Didn't come in this world to be no slave

And didn't stay one either

What is the impact of a repetition, "nineteen times" on the text?

• The repetition of the phrase creates a musical rhythm in the first few lines of the stanza.

• The repetition emphasizes how frequently Tubman traveled back to the South.

• The repetition helps the readers understand that "nineteen times" is the most important idea.

• The repetition of the phrase highlights Tubman's determination and courage.

"To Honor" by Jayna Taylor

1 Scene II, in which three students discuss their group project.

2 TIA: Mr. Claypool said we have to find "a unique way to honor a hero" in our Veteran's Day presentation. People have been honoring heroes forever; so how can we possibly be unique?

3 JEROME: Yeah, like way back in Roman times when conquering generals were given a parade with chariots, cheering crowds, tons of trumpets---

4 ALICIA: That gives me an idea. We can create a unique version of an old way of honoring a hero by using poetry somehow. People have been writing poems about heroes forever.

5 JEROME: Poetry? Really? Poems are about flowers and fluff!

6 ALICIA: No way! What about this poem from the Civil War? It's about a woman who stood up to the Southern soldiers by hanging up the Union flag after they took it down.

Up rose old Barbara Frietchie then

Bowed with her fourscore years and ten;

Bravest of all in Frederick town,

She took up the flag the men hauled down;

7 JEROME: Hmm, bravest of all...that's neat. Do you know others?

8 TIA: Well, there's a famous poem about a battle in 1854 when British soldiers bravely charged a hill while cannons thundered all around them. it goes, "Cannon to right of them/Cannon to left of them,..."

9 JEROME: Yeah, poems about soldiers,...bravest of all. Wait! There's got to be poems about bravery and courage, and lots of veterans have proved they're brave. We can find poems that describe the bravest of all!

10 TIA: That's it Jerome! We'll put together a slide show using poems about bravery--and music, too. Jerome, you're a genius!

What is the impact of the repetition of sound that the poet uses in the Barbara Frietchie poem?

• The repetition of the sound at the end of bravest and the beginning of town stresses the importance of these words.

• The rhyming words at the end of each pair of lines tie the lines together and cause the lines to flow in a musical way.

• The repetition of the word up in the first and fourth lines shows that Barbara Frietchie's bravery made the town look up to her.

• The similar sounds in the words frietchie and flag call attention to the connection between Barbara Frietchie and her heroic deed.

"To Honor" by Jayna Taylor

1 Scene II, in which three students discuss their group project.

2 TIA: Mr. Claypool said we have to find "a unique way to honor a hero" in our Veteran's Day presentation. People have been honoring heroes forever; so how can we possibly be unique?

3 JEROME: Yeah, like way back in Roman times when conquering generals were given a parade with chariots, cheering crowds, tons of trumpets---

4 ALICIA: That gives me an idea. We can create a unique version of an old way of honoring a hero by using poetry somehow. People have been writing poems about heroes forever.

5 JEROME: Poetry? Really? Poems are about flowers and fluff!

6 ALICIA: No way! What about this poem from the Civil War? It's about a woman who stood up to the Southern soldiers by hanging up the Union flag after they took it down.

Up rose old Barbara Frietchie then

Bowed with her fourscore years and ten;

Bravest of all in Frederick town,

She took up the flag the men hauled down;

7 JEROME: Hmm, bravest of all...that's neat. Do you know others?

8 TIA: Well, there's a famous poem about a battle in 1854 when British soldiers bravely charged a hill while cannons thundered all around them. it goes, "Cannon to right of them/Cannon to left of them,..."

9 JEROME: Yeah, poems about soldiers,...bravest of all. Wait! There's got to be poems about bravery and courage, and lots of veterans have proved they're brave. We can find poems that describe the bravest of all!

10 TIA: That's it Jerome! We'll put together a slide show using poems about bravery--and music, too. Jerome, you're a genius!

What phrase is used to highlight Jerome's gradual change in attitude?

• "chariots, cheering crowds, tons of trumpets"

• "flowers and fluff"

• "bravest of all"

• "poems about soldiers"