PRE —AP ENG II
Reading Photographs and Historical Influence
TASK:
Construct a poem about a character/person/group of people based on the photo selected.
Your poem MUST follow the conceptual and structural (syntactical) pattern of “Abandoned
Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser.
Notice the use of concrete details, imagery, contrast, sentence inversion, and personification.
Imagine your character’s /person’s house or environment once he/she has abandoned it. This
must be true to the Great Depression/Dust Bowl period. What clues would be left behind as
evidence of your character’s personality and the events that occurred there?
STANZA ONE:
Introduce the character/person by employing concrete detail. Remember to use
personification and inversion. End with a contrasting detail (“but not…”; see lines 7 -8 of
“Abandoned Farmhouse”).
STANZA TWO:
Introduce a secondary character/person using concrete details, some of which may hint at
problems or conflicts within the relationship. Again, be sure you use personification throughout
the stanza and inversion in the first half of the stanza.
STANZA THREE:
Imply or directly state the conflict (problem) central to the novel/book and the characters. Use
concrete detail about the state of the general environment, but maintain a sense of mystery
about what exactly happens. Again, be sure you use personification and include a rhetorical
question. Finally, be sure the answer to your question begins with a simile, lists three concrete
details, and contains a hyphen that precedes these details. Be sure you end your poem by
repeating the beginning of stanza three (“Something went wrong, they say”).
NOTE: Each stanza should be about the same length (within one line) as each stanza of
“Abandoned Farmhouse.” If they are not, you are not following the conceptual and structural
pattern of the model poem. NOT FOLLOWING THE CONCEPTUAL AND SYNTACTICAL PATTERN
will result in a SIGNIFICANT grade penalty. You WILL NOT earn a passing grade if you do not
adhere to the model. It is IMPOSSIBLE to adhere to the conceptual and syntactical pattern
without looking at the model poem while you write your own. If you read non-fiction, your
characters may be groups of people, and the conflict/problem should be the main subject
of your book. Please ask for help during class today or come in for tutoring if you need help!
When you are done with your rough draft, use a thesaurus to help you refine your diction. As
you construct your final draft (what you will use to type your final copy), be sure to spell-check
and proofread!
Pay special attention to subject-verb agreement (proper use of “say” and “says”) and the
proper use of commas (again, see the model poem for clarification and imitation). Proper
subject-verb agreement, the use of commas, and sophisticated diction are ALL part of the
grade!
PRESENTATION (all count as part of your final grade): 1) TYPE your character poem. Be sure to
separate each stanza, and justify your poem in the center of the page.2) GLUE your poem to the
inside of a manila folder.3) Use the other side of the folder to glue your photograph used as
inspiration for your poem. Using blue or black ink or typing, write the title of your photo and
the name of the photographer at the top of the photograph.
Copy of your photo
Copy of your poem
NOTHING SHOULD BE WRITTEN USING PENCIL!!
Create a cover design
Include the following:
Your name
Title of your poem
Pre-AP English II Class Period
Date.
5) Bring your rough draft(s) to class to turn in, but DO NOT staple or affix them in any way to
your final copy.
OTHER GENTLE REMINDERS:
1. Remember, you are demonstrating that you have read and understand the expectations
of this project.
2. This assignment counts as a major grade (project/product) for the second six weeks’
average
3. DUE DATE:_______________________________________________________ **If you are absent on
the day the poem is due, it MUST be turned in the day you return to school (usually the
next calendar day). It will be counted late if you do not turn it in on the day you
return, regardless of whether or not you have English that day!
4. As always, please come to tutoring if you need help!