Week 13: Nick Arnold and Lucy McBath from Bullets into Bells

Week 13: College Reading and Writing

Nick Arnold and Lucy McBath: Annotating, Summarizing, Imitating, Analyzing, Synthesizing

to annotate: to make notes on something to help you understand it better

to summarize: to put something in your own words

to imitate: to create an original piece of writing based on something you have read

to analyze: to consider a question on the text, providing supporting examples from the text

to synthesize: to connect two or more texts in your own writing

Today you’ll each get the book we will use for the rest of the class.  These books belong to you; write your name on the inside cover and annotate them thoroughly. Bring them to class each week. We are doing the first poem and response in the book today, starting on page 1.

Exercise: Read and annotate

1. Read the poem and response out loud and underline any words you need to look up

2. Write any questions you have in the margins or in your notebook

3. Put tricky sentences into your own words in notes in the margins or in your notebook

Exercise: Questions for Comprehension of the poem

1. Who do you think is the “normal adolescent” Arnold mentions?

2. Who is the speaker of “Baby, just take another one!”?  What do you think it means?

3. What does he think about Jordan’s killer? 

Exercise: Questions for Comprehension of the response

1. What do you understand about McBath from the stuff about her in italics?

2. What are some of the things McBath cries about?

3. What is the thing that makes her “get afraid” (McBath 2)?

Exercise: Summarize the poem

Write a paragraph summarizing the poem in your own words, with quotations, in-text citation, and a Work Cited Page.  Don’t include your opinion, just summarize the poem.

example summary, incorporating quotation and in-text citation:

In Nick Arnold’s poem “Jordan,” Arnold uses rhyme and rhyme and slang to reflect on his cousin Jordan’s death. While the speaker is angry at “Jordan’s killer,” he concludes by wanting “this country to head in the right direction” (Arnold 1).  He believes this direction is “preventing murders” (Arnold 1).

Work Cited Page

Arnold, Nick. "Jordan" Bullets Into Bells: Poets and Citizens Respond to Gun Violence. Ed. Brian Clements et al. Beacon Press, 2017.

Exercise: Summarize the response

Write a paragraph summarizing the response in your own words, with quotations, in-text citation, and a Work Cited Page.  Don’t include your opinion, just summarize the response.

example summary, incorporating quotation and in-text citation:

In Lucy McBath’s response to Nick Arnold’s poem “Jordan,” McBath reflects on Jordan’s death.  Four years have passed, and she worries she can’t feel Jordan’s “presence” sometimes (McBath 2). She talks about crying, and about working for a world where no one suffers because of “gun violence” (McBath 2).

Work Cited Page

McBath, Lucy. “Response to ‘Jordan’" Bullets Into Bells: Poets and Citizens Respond to Gun Violence. Ed. Brian Clements et al. Beacon Press, 2017.

Exercise: Synthesizing Analysis

Question for synthesizing analysis: Which of these did you find the most emotionally affecting?  Why? Quote both texts and consider counterargument in your work.

Exercise: Imitation

Write your own poem or short prose piece about someone you have lost, or someone you miss.  Choose elements of the poem by Arnold or the prose piece by McBath to help shape your piece.  For example, you may choose to put your poem in rhyming couplets, like Arnold, or to include a list of things, like McBath’s list of reasons she cries.

For homework, revise these in a blue book or on loose paper; do not turn in your notebook or rip out pages to turn in.

1.     Summary of Arnold

2.     Summary of McBath

3.     Synthesizing Analysis

4.     Imitation