"The Road Not Taken" video for home viewing, reciting

Read the poem aloud to yourself using the "Poem Flow" widget-tool below. Practice reading along with this pace and speed.
http://www.poemflow.com/flows/share/269?more=true

Some videos of "The Road Not Taken"

https://vimeo.com/13770771

"The Road Not Taken" My analysis and reading by the poet, by Robert Frost

"The Road Not Taken" read by Robert Frost

The newest piece of literature we will analyze is "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. This is a very well-known poem by a well-loved American poet who used natural and rural symbols in his poems to discuss social themes. This poem has been loved and read and misunderstood by people for almost 100 years! Be very careful when you read and analyze this poem.        Ask and answer these questions as you read and analyze the poem: Symbolism--The "road" is a not a real or literal  road. What is the road a symbol for? Who is the traveler?  Setting--When and where does this poem take place? Why are the leaves of the wood yellow?  Conflict--What is his conflict? When he can't see to the end of the road what does he choose to do?  A road that is grassy and "wanted wear"--wanted someone to walk on it--what does that mean? What does he say that he will think about his decision? What I am asking you to look at now are the last 2 lines, in the last stanza: I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. You can't take this to mean that he is sorry, or that he regrets his choice. NO!  He says, as he is making a choice (at the fork in the road=symbolism), and he is young--he is looking to his future (foreshadowing)  that he could have chosen either way (both choices are equal, popular, and nice, ("both paths may be equally worn and equally leaf-covered"). He says in the 2nd and 3rd stanzas that in the future, he will look back and then call one road "less traveled by." This is Foreshadowing - hints or a suggestion of what is to come in the action of a play, poem or a story not Flashback (looking at the past).       The sigh "aaaah", is mistakenly interpreted as regret (that he made the wrong decision)  or self satisfaction (that he made the right decision). But no! Robert Frost is playing with us. He is not saying he made a good or bad decision. He says that both roads look the same, but in the future (he can not change his mind, change his decisions) he KNOWS he will think that he took the one that was less common, less popular. And that "has made the difference.' made his life turn out the way it did.        You can never go back and change your choices in the past-- you can only go forward. When you are older, your memories trick you, you don't remember things correctly. It's human nature.

Listen to Robert Frost read his poem.......This is an old old recording. http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15717 The Road Not Taken (1915)   Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

"The Road Not Taken"

The theme of this poem could be Carpe Diem often expressed as Seize the Day
The origin and explanations of the proverb or aphorism.....
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/carpe-diem.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpe_diem

"Thank You Ma'm" by Langston Hughes

http://jobdoer.podomatic.com/entry/2009-01-28T11_15_38-08_00

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=c9M8fjkdzVs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1dBjtwiKTQ&feature=related

“Thank You, Ma'm”

by Langston Hughes

She was a large woman with a large purse that had everything in it but hammer and nails. It had a long strap, and she carried it slung across her shoulder. It was about eleven o’clock at night, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch her purse. The strap broke with the single tug the boy gave it from behind. But the boy’s weight and the weight of the purse combined caused him to lose his balance so, instead of taking off full blast as he had hoped, the boy fell on his back on the sidewalk, and his legs flew up. the large woman simply turned around and kicked him right square in his blue-jeaned sitter. Then she reached down, picked the boy up by his shirt front, and shook him until his teeth rattled.

After that the woman said, “Pick up my pocketbook, boy, and give it here.” She still held him. But she bent down enough to permit him to stoop and pick up her purse. Then she said, “Now ain’t you ashamed of yourself?”

Firmly gripped by his shirt front, the boy said, “Yes’m.”

The woman said, “What did you want to do it for?”

The boy said, “I didn’t aim to.”

She said, “You a lie!”

By that time two or three people passed, stopped, turned to look, and some stood watching.

“If I turn you loose, will you run?” asked the woman.

“Yes’m,” said the boy.

“Then I won’t turn you loose,” said the woman. She did not release him.

“I’m very sorry, lady, I’m sorry,” whispered the boy.

“Um-hum! And your face is dirty. I got a great mind to wash your face for you. Ain’t you got nobody home to tell you to wash your face?”

“No’m,” said the boy.

“Then it will get washed this evening,” said the large woman starting up the street, dragging the frightened boy behind her.

He looked as if he were fourteen or fifteen, frail and willow-wild, in tennis shoes and blue jeans.

The woman said, “You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong. Least I can do right now is to wash your face. Are you hungry?”

“No’m,” said the being dragged boy. “I just want you to turn me loose.”

“Was I bothering you when I turned that corner?” asked the woman.

“No’m.”

“But you put yourself in contact with me,” said the woman. “If you think that that contact is not going to last awhile, you got another thought coming. When I get through with you, sir, you are going to remember Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones.”

Sweat popped out on the boy’s face and he began to struggle. Mrs. Jones stopped, jerked him around in front of her, put a half-nelson about his neck, and continued to drag him up the street. When she got to her door, she dragged the boy inside, down a hall, and into a large kitchenette-furnished room at the rear of the house. She switched on the light and left the door open. The boy could hear other roomers laughing and talking in the large house. Some of their doors were open, too, so he knew he and the woman were not alone. The woman still had him by the neck in the middle of her room.

She said, “What is your name?”

“Roger,” answered the boy.

“Then, Roger, you go to that sink and wash your face,” said the woman, whereupon she turned him loose—at last. Roger looked at the door—looked at the woman—looked at the door—and went to the sink.

Let the water run until it gets warm,” she said. “Here’s a clean towel.”

“You gonna take me to jail?” asked the boy, bending over the sink.

“Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere,” said the woman. “Here I am trying to get home to cook me a bite to eat and you snatch my pocketbook! Maybe, you ain’t been to your supper either, late as it be. Have you?”

“There’s nobody home at my house,” said the boy.

“Then we’ll eat,” said the woman, “I believe you’re hungry—or been hungry—to try to snatch my pockekbook.”

“I wanted a pair of blue suede shoes,” said the boy.

“Well, you didn’t have to snatch my pocketbook to get some suede shoes,” said Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. “You could of asked me.”

“M’am?”

The water dripping from his face, the boy looked at her. There was a long pause. A very long pause. After he had dried his face and not knowing what else to dodried it again, the boy turned around, wondering what next. The door was open. He could make a dash for it down the hall. He could run, run, run, run, run!

The woman was sitting on the day-bed. After a while she said, “I were young once and I wanted things I could not get.”

There was another long pause. The boy’s mouth opened. Then he frowned, but not knowing he frowned.

The woman said, “Um-hum! You thought I was going to say but, didn’t you? You thought I was going to say, but I didn’t snatch people’s pocketbooks. Well, I wasn’t going to say that.” Pause. Silence. “I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son—neither tell God, if he didn’t already know. So you set down while I fix us something to eat. You might run that comb through your hair so you will look presentable.”

In another corner of the room behind a screen was a gas plate and an icebox. Mrs. Jones got up and went behind the screen. The woman did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run now, nor did she watch her purse which she left behind her on the day-bed. But the boy took care to sit on the far side of the room where he thought she could easily see him out of the corner of her eye, if she wanted to. He did not trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now.

“Do you need somebody to go to the store,” asked the boy, “maybe to get some milk or something?”

“Don’t believe I do,” said the woman, “unless you just want sweet milk yourself. I was going to make cocoa out of this canned milk I got here.”

“That will be fine,” said the boy.

She heated some lima beans and ham she had in the icebox, made the cocoa, and set the table. The woman did not ask the boy anything about where he lived, or his folks, or anything else that would embarrass him. Instead, as they ate, she told him about her job in a hotel beauty-shop that stayed open late, what the work was like, and how all kinds of women came in and out, blondes, red-heads, and Spanish. Then she cut him a half of her ten-cent cake.

“Eat some more, son,” she said.

When they were finished eating she got up and said, “Now, here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes. And next time, do not make the mistake of latching onto my pocketbook nor nobody else’s—because shoes come by devilish like that will burn your feet. I got to get my rest now. But I wish you would behave yourself, son, from here on in.”

She led him down the hall to the front door and opened it. “Good-night! Behave yourself, boy!” she said, looking out into the street.

The boy wanted to say something else other than “Thank you, m’am” to Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, but he couldn’t do so as he turned at the barren stoop and looked back at the large woman in the door. He barely managed to say “Thank you” before she shut the door. And he never saw her again.

Story courtesy of: http://shortstory.byethost6.com/hughesthankyou.html

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain. 

Emily Dickinson

"Thank You M'am" by Langston Hughes

Do Now--Introduction: "It takes two parents to produce a child, but it takes an entire village to raise the child." -African Proverb Group Discussion Questions: What do you think? Should the community have some responsibility in making sure all kids turn out ok? Should raising a child be entirely the parents' job? What about parents who aren't doing their jobs? What about their kids? Conflict: internal vs. external. What's the difference?

"James Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was a small child, and his father moved to Mexico. He was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen, when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her husband, before the family eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in Lincoln, Illinois, that Hughes began writing poetry. Following graduation, he spent a year in Mexico and a year at Columbia University. During these years, he held odd jobs as an assistant cook, launderer, and a busboy, and travelled to Africa and Europe working as a seaman. In November 1924, he moved to Washington, D.C. Hughes's first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1926..." Go to Poets.org to read more about Langston Hughes, and to sample his poetry...

Goal: How does Langston Hughes express the theme of life lessons in the short story “Thank You Ma’m”? Read the story and the poem, also please rereada” Mother to Son. ” Answer the following multiple questions and short essay questions. Roger is...a) a big strong kid, b) just average build, c) thin but muscular, d) weak and delicate, e) fat. Why might the boy have told the woman that he would run if she let him go? a) he was afraid of her, b) he knew she wouldn't believe him if he said he wouldn't, c) he figured she wouldn't let him go anyway, d) all of the above, e) none of the above Roger probably would have gotten away with Mrs. Jones' purse if only...a) he could have run faster, b) Mrs. Jones had not kicked him, c) the purse strap hadn't snapped, d)he were a little sneakier, e) all of the above, f) none of the above. Roger tried to steal Mrs. Jones' purse because...a) he was hungry and needed money for food, b) for the excitement, c) he wanted a pair of shoes, d) his family was poor and needed money, e) a and d, f) none of the above. (quote) What does Mrs. Jones say Roger could have done to get the money instead of trying to steal her purse? Why does the boy say his face is dirty? a) he hates to wash, b) he has nobody to tell him to wash it, c) he's been sleeping outside, d) the water has been shut off at his house. Why might Mrs. Jones treat Roger the way she does? a) because she's lonely and needs someone to talk to, b) she was like him as a kid herself, c) she realizes that he needs someone to take care of him and teach him a few things, d) she thinks he needs the money, e) all of the above, e) b and c Why doesn't Roger run after she turns him loose, or steal her purse when she leaves him alone with it? a) he thought he might get caught again, b) he didn't want to disappoint Mrs. Jones, c) he realized she was as poor as he was, d) he thought she would call the police. Read the poem by Emily Dickinson after the story. (in vain means without any point or purpose.) If I can stop one heart from breaking, If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.  Emily Dickinson How is the story related to the poem? a) They’re both about broken hearts, b) they're both about a nice person, c) the story's author, Langston Hughes, was a poet too, d) the speaker of the poem wants to do what Mrs. Jones did, e) both the poem and the story tell us how we should act.  What if Mrs. Jones had not taken Roger home? How might his life be different? What would Mrs. Jones probably have to say about the proverb above? Imagine that Roger and Mrs. Jones meet ten years after the events of the story. Write a dialogue that they might have. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ What does this mean?He looked as if he were fourteen or fifteen, frail and willow-wild, in tennis shoes and blue jeans. Frail means easily breakable... thin and delicate. If a china cup is frail it means it is made of very thin china. If a person is frail it either means they are very skinny and underfed, or it means they are ill and weak and thin. Willow wild is a poetic sort of description. A willow tree is a very bendable sort of tree, it's branches sway and twist in the wind... not like a maple or an oak tree whose branches only move a little bit in the wind. So if a person is like a willow, they are thin and bendy, like the wind would blow them around. Wild, of course, means something that is not tamed, or a person who has not been taught the rules very well and so breaks the rules all the time. Something or someone who is wild is usually scared of people, and is hard to catch and will fight if you trap them. All together the sentence is describing a boy who is underfed, terribly thin and somewhat weak, with one of those skinny young boy bodies that looks like it is bending more than it is supposed to bend, who has a scared, untrusting look about him. =============================================================== Who said it takes a village to raise a child? In: Famous Quotations, Homelessness [Edit categories] Answer:   Improve The phrase is attributed to an old African proverb. Its exact origin seems to be lost in time. In 1994 children's author Jane Cowen-Fletcher released a book, published by Scholastic Press, titled It Takes A Village in which a young African girl searches for her younger brother, only to find the rest of the village has been watching over him as well. In January 1996 publisher Simon & Schuster released hillary Rodham-Clinton's It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us. Reviews are mixed. In May 2001, publisher Harper-Collins released the seventh book in the Lemony Snicket's Unfortunate Events series titled The Vile Village, it was mentioned at the beginning of the book, "It takes a village to raise a child."

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"Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes

These are some videos and images to help you comprehend the complexities of this powerful poem............
(BTW the movie I mentioned in class is "Precious". Be aware-it a a scary awful  movie. The opening picture of the young girl looks like the star of the movie.)


http://vimeo.com/12021460

Biography of author.....
http://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/all/article/309429/The-Life-and-Legacy-of-Langston-Hughes/

Excellent interpretation of poem..........

" target="_blank">Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

Some images from" A Dream Deferred" including a different, less disgusting picture.

These are some images that the poem brings to mind.

Langston Hughes Dream Deferred

This poem is part of a book-long poem. It's usually called "A Dream Deferred" but sometimes called Harlem.

Harlem

BY LANGSTON HUGHES

What happens to a dream deferred?

      Does it dry up

      like a raisin in the sun?

      Or fester like a sore—

      And then run?

      Does it stink like rotten meat?

      Or crust and sugar over—

      like a syrupy sweet?

      Maybe it just sags

      like a heavy load.

      Or does it explode?

Langston Hughes, “Harlem” from Collected Poems. Copyright © 1994 by The Estate of Langston Hughes. Reprinted with the permission of Harold Ober Associates Incorporated.

https://vimeo.com/1303240




This is a very short biography of the poet.

https://vimeo.com/8257667
Dream Deferred

You Tube 

Langston Hughes reads his poem--Dreams begins at :37.

"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks

Listen, again and again, to the author read her poem. Think about what she says and how she says it. Then answer these questions here in the blog as a comment.  Please edit and spellcheck your writing before you post. This is an ACADEMIC FORUM not Facebook!

1. What does she say the word "jazz" means? 
2. What did other people think she meant by that word? 
3. What was thinking as she wrote it? 
4. Is she pleased that her poem is so famous? Why or why not? 
5. What does the poem really say about the choices that those boys made?
6. How does the last line make you feel?

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15433


Listen to "Summertime" and other songs by the famous jazz and blues musician Charlie Parker while you answer these questions. This will get you in the mood that the pool players were in-just don't skip school.
(I didn't login to listen to music, I just typed in Charlie Parker. You don't have to sign in either. Then a few different songs, all the same style played for a while. This is early experimental blues and jazz. )

http://www.jango.com/music/Charlie+Parker?l=0

The Eagle by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

This is a short but very complex poem which MUST be read aloud.
I know that you can do better than Superman!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzk8E_RKeQ4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLn8d3sVc8A&feature=colike

This is a hunt between the eagle and a goat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VklTs-Tid_I



http://10000birds.com/alfred-lord-tennysons-the-eagle.htm

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174589

This is a website that has more poems by the same poet.

There's a cute but hairy baby eagle and mother.
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/baldeagle/

crag--a rock
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/crag
 Use a pronunciation dictionary site and your dictionary to improve your accent.

Damon and Pythias

This is a funny trailer (preview of a movie) for an old Hollywood film of the story we will be reading next. It's not at all the real legent or even the story we have, but it will give you an idea of the setting. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV25pYXyC_M&feature=colike



Simple time line......



high school version.....
http://youtu.be/bP5TMVN12jI

Course Outline and Parent, Teacher and Student Contract

Course Outline and Parent, Teacher and Student Contract

Class Code and Section: L4T Subject:  ESL Literature Term: Spring 2012

Teacher: Ms. Nancy De Pas    Telephone: (718) 937-6005, ext. 104

Email: ndepas@schools.nyc.gov Blog: MsDePasL4T@blogspot.com  Analyzing Literature and everything…L4T Spring 2012

This class is an advanced English literature course designed to help you improve all your language skills and to prepare for passing the English Regents Exam. You will improve their formal and informal language, listen for information, read for comprehension, write essays and speak clearly. It is important that you are immersed in an English-speaking environment, both at home and at school, so that you will use what you learned in class and out of class, think in English, therefore write better in English and improve your fluency. This will ensure that you will do well in the class, pass the English Regents, and graduate high school.

1.      Course Goals and Objectives

·         Academic skills – improve writing summary and controlling idea paragraphs, learn how to write a critical lens essay, participate in literature circles

·         Language skills – improved verbal and written expression of English, discussion of literary ideas

·         Content – poetry, short stories, music, films, videos, excerpts of  a novel

·         Thinking skills – mastering of literary terms, analyze and critique literature,  synthesize themes found in literature across different genres

2.      Course Requirements and Expectations

• Lateness and Absences – Be on time. Attend class every day. Bring a note from your doctor or parents when you are absent. Students who are late, cut class or are absent will miss important work such as assignments, cooperative activities, quizzes and tests and therefore they will get a lower grade. Late homework is not accepted. Students are responsible to get the assignments and notes from a classmate when they are absent.
• Note-taking – Speak, read and write English in class. Copy all class notes. Keep notes, handouts and returned work in your binder. Participate and do your own work in class and at home.  
• Behavior in class –Respect yourself and others. Respect all teachers and school staff members. Do not disrupt, talk or play in class. Dress appropriately for school. No iPods, cell phones or hats are permitted. Don’t chew gum, write on the desks, apply make-up, or eat in class. Pick up and throw out your trash. Respect school furniture and equipment. If you break any school rule, you may be sent to the dean’s office and face possible suspension. If your cell phone is taken away from you, a parent will be asked to come to school to claim it.
• Use of textbooks – Textbooks will be kept in the classroom and a text book will be sent home for study and homework. Students must bring their book to school every day. He or she is not permitted to write in the book. A fine will be charged for unreturned and damaged books. 
• Class participation – Come to class prepared to learn every day. Bring your binder, pens, highlighter and dictionary/translator. Raise your hand to speak. Pay attention to the teacher and other students.

3.      Themes & Topics

• First Marking Period – the power and importance of language, the immigrant experience
• Second Marking Period – adversity, discrimination, choices
• Third Marking Period – adversity, advice, confronting challenges, independence

4.      Assessment Policy

• Homework (25%)
• Participation and Group-Work (25%)
• Exams, Essays and Quizzes (25%)
• Projects and Presentations (25%)

5.      Closing statement to parents & students

• You will use teacher-provided handouts and books: Voices in Literature Gold, English, Yes, Intermediate Level 2 and multimedia materials on the class blog
• I look forward to meeting with you at the Parent-Teacher Conferences: Friday, March 29, 2012 (6:00-8:30 PM); and Friday, March 30, 2011 (1:00-3:00 PM)
• You may contact me to discuss your child’s progress at (718) 937-6005, ext. 104   ndepas@schools.nyc.gov
• Attendance in College Now, 21^st Century After School and Saturday Programs are strongly recommended

Students, please sign. Parents, please sign that you will help your child follow the contract.

***************************************************************************************************

Ms. Nancy De Pas Student’s signature _____________________________Print Name _________________

        Parent/guardian’s signature_______________________ Print Name__________________ relationship____________

Literary Devices Games

This was originally posted on the other blog on Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Literary device games

Please go to the websites below to play some games that will sharpen your skills. 

Play for 15 minutes.Then post a comment with your name and how you felt about the game. 

You can post your score if you wish.
Ms De Pas

Alliteration is a type of repetition--the same letter or sound is repeated. For example: "baby boy in a blue blanket" the /b/ repeated. "Cuando, cuando, cuando" is not alliteration.

http://eclassroom.110mb.com/3rd%209%20weeks%20web/Figlang1.swf

http://eclassroom.110mb.com/3rd%209%20weeks%20web/figurative_language_-_classify_it!.swf