Week 44: College Reading and Writing: Michael Klein and Monte Frank



 
Michael Klein and Monte Frank: Annotating, Summarizing, Analyzing, Imitating 
 
to annotate: to make notes on something to help you understand it better 
to summarize: to put something in your own words 
to analyze: to consider a question on the text, providing supporting examples from the text 
to imitate: to create an original piece of writing based on something you have read 
 
We are doing the twenty-eighth poem and response in the book today, starting on page 100. 
 
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 parts into your own words in notes in the margins or in your notebook 
 
Exercise: Questions for comprehension of the poem 
 
1. What is a “The Talking Day” and why is it the title of the poem (Klein 100)?
2. What is the purpose of brackets in this poem? 
3. Why does the speaker focus on Lily? 
 
Exercise: Summarize the poem  

Write a paragraph summarizing the poem with quotations, in-text citation, and a Work Cited Page.  
  
Example too-short summary, incorporating quotation and in-text citation:   
   
Brenda Hillman’s poem “The Family Sells the Family Gun” tells the story of siblings getting rid of their father’s gun after “his ashes...were lying” (87). The speaker questions what it means to own and get rid of a gun in America, saying, “[w]e couldn’t take it to the cops even in my handbag” (Hillman 88).   
  
Work Cited Page (for today’s poem)   
 
Klein, Michael. “The Talking Day.” Bullets Into Bells: Poets and Citizens Respond to Gun Violence. Ed. Brian Clements et al. Beacon Press, 2017. 
 
Exercise: Questions for Comprehension of the response 

  1. What do we learn from the morning routine in the response?
  2. What is the speaker still waiting for in the response?
  3. Why does the speaker refer to 9/11?

Exercise: Summarize the response 
 
Write a paragraph summarizing the response with quotations, in-text citation, and a Work Cited Page. 
 
Exercise: Analysis 
 
Question for analysis: There are similarities and differences to how Klein and Frank understand the idea of “The Talking Day” (100, 102). Closely examine the two texts and write an analysis where you think about each author’s perspective, their relationships to gun violence, and how that might affect their understanding of and experience with “The Talking Day” (Klein 100, Frank 102).


 
Exercise: Imitation 
 
Write a poem about fear. List all of the reasons you are worried. Use other elements from Klein’s poem that you admire to make your own poem stronger.  
 
 
Homework: 
 
1.     Summary of Poem 
2.     Summary of Response 
3.     Analysis of Poem and Response
4.     Imitation of Poem 
 
About this class: 
 
In this class, you are welcome to submit homework for a grade. If it’s not strong enough to earn an A, I’ll give you some comments to help you revise it, and let you do it over again. You have as many chances as you want to complete and perfect the work in this class, and you are welcome to do more than one week’s worksheet for homework at a time; ask me for sheets you’ve missed. Students who complete 15 weeks of graded assignments and a longer paper can qualify for college credit. When you get close to completing 15 weeks, I’ll help you get started on your longer paper. 



Comments