The base stealerby robert francis poised between going on and back, pulled both ways taut like a tightropewalker. Two boys uncoached are tossing a poem togetheroverhand underhand backhand sleight of hand everyhandteasing with attitudes latitudes interludes. Poised between going on and back, pulledboth ways taut like a. Poised between going on and back pulledboth ways taut like a tightropewalkerfingertips pointing the opposites. I like to see it lap the miles by emily dickinson and. This poem uses alliteration by saying tingles, teases, and taunts them. Their aim, though, differs from johnsons in that they decided to eschew wellknown poems already anthologized, such as donald halls couplet, about an oldtimers day at fenway park, and robert franciss gems the base stealer and the pitcher. Question 2 2 the poem the base stealer by robert francis begins with these lines. Poised between going on and back, pulled both ways taut like a tightrope walker, now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball, or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on.
The poem the base stealer by robert francis begins with. Painter of portraits robert browning was a master at capturing. Test and improve your knowledge of literary figurative language with fun multiple choice exams you can take online with. Sample titles from poetry cart pdf sample contents of student anthology pdf. This bundle of materials allows students to first read and analyze poetry, and then write their own poetry in the same style or on the same topic. Collected poems, captures a moment poised between two statesan instant of developing action, of leaving one condition and entering another. Reproductions supplied by edrs are the best that can be made. The base stealer by robert francis poised between going on and back, pulled both ways taut like a tightrope walker, fingertips pointing the opposites, now.
The random house book of poetry for children book, 1983. Their aim, though, differs from johnsons in that they decided to eschew wellknown poems already anthologized, such as donald halls couplet, about an oldtimers day at fenway park, and robert francis s gems the base stealer and the pitcher. If no one volunteers, explain that a runner on a base looks for an opportunity to advance to, or steal, the next base as the pitcher is delivering a pitch to the batter at home plate. The base stealer by robert francis on baseball almanac. Say, we are going to read a poem that captures this event. Both ways taut like a tightropewalker, fingertips pointing the opposites, now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball. Taunts them, hovers like an ecstatic bird, hes only flirting, crowd. A fun activity is to show tense sporting moments and instruct students to come up with several similes to describe it. Book length literature title author the pearl john steinbeck the miracle worker william gibson the skin im in sharon g. Francis, robert base stealer, the poetry for students vol. The figurative language in the base stealer is simile. Also, the author uses simile by comparing a base runner to a. Scott momaday the base stealer by robert francis sonnet cxxx by william shakespeare poems with metaphors dreams by.
Each page is crammed with verse and illustrations by caldecott medalist arnold lobel. Just makes you think about what goes on right before you steal a base. Find another example of alliteration and explain its effect. Literary selections elements of literature 2nd course this text will be the primary source for stories, poetry. Numerous poems by previous fifthgrade students jack also makes books from his poetry cart available to his students during the lesson. The main poetic elements would be simile and repetition. Poised between going on and back, pulled both ways taut like a tightropewalker. Multigenre thematic unit curriculum map based on understanding by design breaking barriers with values. Examples of similes in poetry with anlysis and references. Poised between going on and back, pulled both ways taut like a tightropewalker, fingertips pointing the opposites, now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on, running a scattering of steps sidewise, how he teeters, skitters, tingles, teases. Tips for literary analysis essay about catch by robert francis. The base stealer by robert francis dreams by langston hughes short stories.
The base stealer by robert francis famous poems, famous poets. The base stealer robert francis by josh schulman on prezi. The base stealer by robert francis famous poems, famous. Robert francis description of a base stealer captures the intensity of speed on the bases. Identify two other sound devices that the poet uses and describe their effects. Literary selections elements of literature 2nd course this text will be the primary source for stories, poetry, and informational text for 8th grade english and may be supplemented by any of the following. Baseball almanac presents the base stealer, a baseball poem so well written that it is simply classic poetry. Or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on, running a scattering of steps side wise. The base stealer francis, robert the czars last christmas letter. Or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on, running a scattering of steps sidewise. Printed copies of the poems, writer waiting by shel silverstein, the base stealer by robert francis and foul shot by cory bogner see teacher prep.
What do you take to be the literal meaning of the poem. Analyzing figurative language and imagery in poetry sas. Read aloud the poem the base stealer, by robert francis. Special kind of writing in which language, pictures, and sounds combine, creating a special emotional effect written in units called stanzas more musical than prose writings the effect of the language used. For example, hovers like a ecstatic bird another is pulled both ways taut like a tightropewalker. Church bells larry wiggin answer questions 1, 2, 3. Read the poems listed or other poems without telling students the titles, and then. Poised between going on and back, pulled both ways taut like a tightrope walker, fingertips pointing the opposites, now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball, or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on. By describing a base runner, francis might be describing any experience in.
Poetry writing prompts highly structured poems by the. Two years in harmony with john milton 20 09 the vagabonds bookshelf 2 015 a. Similes and metaphors teachercreated lesson plan common. Robert franciss the base stealera baseball player described as a tightropewalker among other things.
Born august 12, 1901, in upland pennsylvania died in july, 1987 francis lived most of his life in amherst, massachusetts. The figurative language in the base stealer is simile, imagery, symbolism, alliteration, and repetition. Castin nowlan, alden a grafted tongue montague, john having a coke with you ohara, frank hope is a tattered flag sandburg, carl the lamb blake, william. Literary figurative language practice test questions. A barn in the urals dubie, norman filling station bishop, elizabeth for jean vincent dabbadie, baron st. Robert francis s the base stealer a baseball player described as a tightropewalker among other things. The base stealer by robert francis prove that poetry isnt just for nature loving, overly constipated geeks. This deceptively slender volume contains a treasuretrove of poems. The base stealer poem by robert francis poem hunter. The base stealer close read read the poem completely before answering the questions in the right column. I like to see it lap the miles by emily dickinson and lick. Fingertips pointing the opposites, now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball. You dont have to purchase anything to get the free pdf that offers some. Create padlet wall with two columns similes and metaphors.
The base stealer by robert francis from reflections on the gift of a watermelon pickle numerous poems by previous fifthgrade students. He is showing the reader how the decisions that go through the. Robert francis was born in upland, pennsylvania, and studied at harvard. Robert francis the base stealer, a poem about baseball which was published in francis 1976 volume robert francis. Analysis on the base stealer poem matherne 1 rechael. The base stealer by robert francis poised between going on and back, pulled both ways taut like a tightropewalker, fingertips pointing the opposites, now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on, running a scattering of.
Sample titles from poetry cart pdf sample contents of. The base stealer by robert francis read the poem before you. All of the writing prompts are structured for all those students who say, i cant write poetry. Robert francis was born on august 12, 1901 in upland, pennsylvania. Jack wildes lesson on distinguishing poetry and prose. I was able to recognize that it is about baseball because of the title, and a few words, such as throw and. Indiana high ability language arts unit 5 indiana department of.
Base stealer the base stealer poem by robert francis poem hunter. Provide students with a stanza from each of three poems including the base stealer robert francis, ithe daffodils william wordsworth and caged bird maya angelou. Casey at bat ernest lawrence thayer the base stealer robert francis i, too langston hughes in just e. Poised between going on and back pulledboth ways taut like a tightropewalkerfingertips pointing the. He would later attend the graduate school of education at harvard where he once said that he felt that hed come home. Author title herrick, robert to the virgins, to make much of time whitman, walter cavalry crossing a ford stevens, wallace idea of order at key west, the yeats, william butler leda and the swan wheatley, phillis to his excellency, general washington. Poems with similes what happens to a dream deferred by langston hughes red red rose by robert burns simile by n. Buy a study guide for robert franciss the base stealer poetry for students. Author title herrick, robert to the virgins, to make much of time whitman, walter cavalry crossing a ford stevens, wallace idea of order at key west, the yeats, william butler leda and the swan wheatley. Poems for teaching similes ela common core lesson plans. Poised between going on and back, pulledboth ways taut like a tightropewalker,fingertips pointing the opposites,now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped. The base stealer by robert francis read the poem before.
A moment in time beacon learning center lesson plans. Many great men and women have written entire books about every aspect of the game. Also, the author uses simile by comparing a base runner to a hovering bird. Or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on, running a scattering of steps. Carl sandburgs fogfog described as a cat may swensons southbound on the freewayautomobiles described by a tourist from orbitville as living objects. Even if they eventually learn to respect such poets as historical gures, many studentseven those who think of. All of poems used in these examples can be found online via the links included in the reference section at the bottom of this study guide. The base stealer poem by robert francis poised between going on and back, pulled both ways taut like a tightropewalker, fingertips pointing the opposites, now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on, running a scattering of steps sidewise, how he teeters, skitters, tingles, teases.
Poetic elements of the base stealer spottts summary the base stealer has many poetic elements. The imagery is shown when francis writes, poised between going on and back francis 1. Scott momaday the base stealer by robert francis sonnet cxxx by william shakespeare. Poetry and language read the poems listed in each section and answer the questions. The base stealer poem by robert francis poised between going on and back, pulled both ways taut like a tightropewalker, fingertips pointing the opposites, now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on, running a scattering of.
Two boys uncoached are tossing a poem together, overhand, underhand, backhand, sleight of hand, everyhand, teasing with attitudes, latitudes, interludes, altitudes, high, make him fly off the ground for it, low, make him stoop. The base stealer by robert francis from reflections on the gift of a. Robert francis the base stealer from the orb weaver 1960 by robert francis, wesleyan university press by permission of university press of new england. All you need to do is make copies and do what you do. Both ways taut like a tightropewalker, fingertips pointing the opposites. The base stealer by robert francis poised between going on and back, pulled both ways taut like a tightropewalker, fingertips pointing the opposites, now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on, running a scattering of steps sidewise, how he teeters, skitters, tingles, teases. The behavior clinic in the eye of the storm ron fimrite cobb would have caught it robert fitzgerald the base stealer robert francis the redheaded outfield zane grey couplet donald hall how to pitch to ted williams pat harmon hint from heloise heloise the bishops brother roger kahn what did we do wrong. I found the pitcher by robert francis a very confusing and unordinary poem. After graduating, he moved into a small house in amherst, massachusetts that he named fort juniper, inspiring editors at the university of massachusetts press to name their poetry award the juniper prize. The base stealer by robert francis is also chock full of similes. The use of alliteration emphasizes the tension that the base stealer feels. I like how this poem makes it seem like you are about to steal a base.
Children engage in a simile metaphor scavenger hunt in pairs. The base stealer by robert francis from reflections on the gift of a watermelon pickle. Although he taught at workshops and lectured at universities across the united states, he lived for over sixty years in the same house near amherst, massachusetts. Raoof literature and composition 17 may 20 the base stealer robert francis the poem the base stealer was written by poet robert francis in 1948. Robert francis, born in upland, pennsylvania in 1901. Transparencies of the poemscopies of the poems for students see teacher prepcopies of the student handouts foul shot, a moment in time and recap see associated file. Poem analysis of catch by robert francis for close reading. Robert francis pitcher from the orb weaver 1960 by robert francis, wesleyan university press by permission of university press of new england. A study guide for robert franciss the base stealer. The poem is about a base runner trying to steal a base at a baseball game. The speakers in this next poem could be understood to be the collective voice of the pool players mentioned underneath the title. Figurative language examples and definition literary devices. Reproductions supplied by edrs are the best that can be. The base stealer by robert francis many great men and women have written entire books about every aspect of the game.