Throughout The Crossover, Alexander uses Definition Poems to tell a story. You are going to write your own Definition Poem that mimics the format and style of the poems "cross-o-ver" (page 29),"ca-lam-i-ty" (page 39), "pul-chri-tu-di-nous" (page 55), and many others.
These poems have specific characteristics, including:
They have 4 stanzas (remember, stanza is to poem as paragraph is to essay)
Title breaks the word into syllables and provide pronunciation and part of speech
Poem tells a story
See sources below for additional information on format, a graphic organizer and examples.
Title and Stanza Breakdown Example
TITLE: word you are defining and telling a story about
Pronunciation of word and Part of Speech
STANZA 1
Definition of the word in your own words
STANZA 2
Start with: As in: and tell summary of the story
STANZA 3:
Start with: As in: and tell middle part of story
STANZA 4:
Start with: As in: and tell ending of story
TITLE: Fru-strat-ed
Pronunciation: fruh-streyt-ed (adjective)
STANZA 1
Feeling of defeat, annoyance, and disappointment all rolled into one
Trying and trying, but never feeling like you've won
STANZA 2
As in: a student studying for a test
Feeling overwhelmed and stressed, doing their best
STANZA 3
As in: the time ticking away
Still not understanding, feeling dismay
STANZA 4
As in: the moment the test is over and done
Realizing all that hard work has finally won