In this task, you will prepare for the group discussion by reading the poems “The Road Not Taken” and “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?” As you read the poems, which are provided below, you will apply the techniques of close reading and annotation that are listed here.
Close Reading and Annotating Texts
Reflect on each poem (including taking notes) for 10 minutes. Keep in mind the idea of changing perspectives as the central topic for the discussion.
Take notes in the margins of each poem.
Write down your reactions to the meaning of the text.
Make connections between the two poems.
Make comments on individual lines and words that are particularly effective in making the meaning clear or adding to your understanding of this theme: How can you change your perspective?
Consider both the style elements and the meaning of the text.
Note specific methods each author uses to get the point across.
To help you prepare for the discussion, write open-ended sentences/questions that reflect curiosity and have no “right answer.” Use the stems provided in the table below to help generate sentences and questions to bring to the discussion.
Remember to include evidence from the poems so that you can refer to it when you share your thoughts and questions during the discussion.
The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost
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.
I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
by Emily Dickinson
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!
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Stems to Stimulate Thinking Complete Stem with Your Thoughts/Evidence from Poems
What puzzles me is
I would like to talk with people about
I was confused about
This poem is similar to
The big idea in both poems seems to be
I have questions about
What does it mean when the author says
Do you think
Do you agree that
I think ____ poem best represents the theme for our discussion because
