TPCASTT Poetry Introduction

TPCASTT Poetry Introduction

Multiple Choice

Which of these is the most similar to a poem?

• a song

• an article

• a short story

• a novel

reading poetry

• Reading poetry is not that different than reading a short story, article, or novel.

• ​In order to make reading poetry less scary, we use the TPCASTT method

Poll

How do you feel about reading poetry?

TPCASTT - T = Title ​

Think about the title and try to predict what you think the poem may be about.

​Activating that prior knowledge you already have makes reading the poem a whole lot easier.

Multiple Select

The title of the poem is "How To Fight". What is a logical prediction about this title? Select all that apply.

• It is about a child learning how to stand up for themselves.

• It might be about learning how to apologize.

• It might be about learning to be better at karate.

• It might be about learning how to protest for your rights.

​TPCASTT - P = paraphrase

• What is the poem actually saying?

  • Summarize by stanza or full text or both.

  • Just the facts: what’s happening/what’s the poem about? ​

  • It's when you take out the fluff.

Multiple Choice

What is an accurate way to describe paraphrasing?

• Picking out what you think is important and writing it down.

• Analyzing the text for deeper meaning.

• Breaking down the text little by little to understand what is actually happening.

Open Ended

Paraphrase the stanzas and take out the fluff!

TPCASTT - C = Connotative & Figurative language

• First step is to identify the language used. Great. Next, think about why the author chose to use that language. Explain with text evidence. 

• Consider imagery, figures of speech (simile, metaphor, personification, symbolism), diction, point of view, and sound devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, and rhyme)

Multiple Select

After paraphrasing a poem for its literal meaning, you begin to look for ______ (select all that apply).

• Figurative Language

• Diction

• Imagery

• Sound Devices

• Point of View

Multiple Choice

Use this line to answer the question

One by one children would

slip on syllables until there

were only a few of us left.

What type of figurative language is this?

• Metaphor

• Personification

• Simile

• Rhyme

TPCASTT - A = ATTITUDE ​

• Examine diction, images, and details which might suggest the speaker's attitude. What is the tone of the poem?

  • Tone: How the author feels about the subject?

• How does the author feel towards the subject of the poem? ​

Fill in the Blank

Attitude is code word for ________

Word Cloud

Identify the author's tone in three words or less. (Click the image to make it bigger)

​tpCastt - s = shifts

Rarely does the poet's experience begin and end in the same place. This "shift" is a gradual realization of a new understanding. In order to determine where this occurs, watch for the following:

• ​keywords (but, yet, however, although)

• punctuation (dashes, periods, colons) ​

• ​stanza divisions

• changes in lines or stanza length or both ​

• ​irony

• changes in sound which may ​indicate changes in meaning

• changes in diction ​

Hotspot

Identify the shift!

​tpCastt - t1 = theme

Identify the theme by attempting to recognize the human experience, motivation, or condition suggested by the poem.

What lesson is the author trying to teach us? ​

​What message is the author trying to convey?

​tpCastt - t1 = theme

Theme Equation = Topic + the author's message about the topic

​

Example:
Topic: Difficult times
Author's message: we need to remember that people struggle all the time
THEME = Everyone is going through something difficult in their life; even if we can't see it.

Multiple Choice

Which of these is a theme statement?

• In the poem, "How To Fight", the narrator learns how to win a spelling bee.

• In the poem, "How To Fight", the narrator learns that language and words accomplish more than violence.

• In the poem, "Ho To Fight", the narrator learns that using violence is better than words.

• The poem "The Blessing" contains many elements of figurative language.

​TPCASTT - t2 = title (revisited)

• Look back at your first prediction based on the title - was your prediction correct? Yes/No? Why/why not?

tpCastt

• Title

• Paraphrase

• Figurative Language

• Attitude

• Shift

• Theme

• Title (Revisited) ​