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Monster, A Residential School Experience By Dennis Saddleman

Guided Analysis
Name: ____________
Date: _______________
Your friends, and your associates, and the people around you, and the environment that you live in, and the speakers
around you . . . and the communicators around you, are the poetry makers. If your mother tells you stories, she is a
poetry maker. If your father says stories, he is a poetry maker. If your grandma tells you stories, she is a poetry maker.
And thats who forms our poetics.
-Juan Felipe Herrera

Pre-reading
Part 1: Watch Moment of Reckoning--Turning the Page on a Dark Chapter of our Shared History, a short documentary
produced by The Assembly of First Nations at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlEhRy_m1kU. Record your notes
about the Indian Residential School system in Canada below. (5)

Part 2: Using your smart device, visit www.trc.ca and explore The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canadas
website. What is their purpose? (2)

Part 3: Visit http://infotel.ca/newsitem/you-didnt-care-how-you-ate-up-my-native-culture/it2185 and answer the

following questions about the poems author. (4)

Briefly describe the subject matter of each of the poems Saddleman shared.

How does Saddleman describe writing?

https://www.google.ca/search?q=monster+dennis+saddleman&espv=2&biw=1600&bih=732&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=5-vYVLK9B8PnoATz_YCYCA&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&dpr=1#imgdii=_&imgrc=-EP_3qjuGAC2cM%253A%3B-P8Q5ALPqkBBlM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.cbc.ca%252Fthecurrent%252Fdennissaddleman-feature.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.cbc.ca%252Fthecurrent%252Fepisode%252F2014%252F04%252F03%252Fchecking-in-ipcc-climate-change-report-labiaplasty-the-end-of-bookstores-and-poet-dennis-saddleman%252F%3B620%3B350

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Reading
Part 1: Using the steps we covered last week, perform a close reading of the poem. (5)

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Part 2: Answer the following comprehension questions (2)

Where did Saddleman attend Residential School?

What church ran the school he attended?

Listening
Visit the following link to hear a spoken version of the first part of the poem:
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2014/04/03/monster-by-poet-dennis-saddleman/.

Guided Analysis
Part 1: Spoken word poetry involves one or more people performing a poem, using voice, gesture, rhythm, and pacing to
enhance its meaning. Generally, there is no formal rules or structure. Take notes on the two main types of poetry below,
then identify which type spoken word poetry falls under. (3)
Closed:

Open:

What is spoken word?

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Part 2: Poet Dana Gioia says that reciting poetry and listening to others recite it can train our emotional intelligence. . .
. Gioia [also] points out that most poems tell a narrative of emotions: that is, they move through a series of moods and
tones of voice, arranged in a particular order to tell a particular emotional story.
How did listening to Saddleman read the piece change your emotional reaction to the poem? Explain. (3)

Part 3: Read the tone words on the list below. Look up and define any words you arent familiar with. You must define at
least 3 words (3).

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Using your chunks from close-reading, and the list of tone words above, assign a tone word to each chunk to create
a tone map on your copy of the poem. If youd like to create smaller chunks to show more nuances, you may.
Listening to the poems recording again may also be helpful. Please highlight your tone words in YELLOW on your poem.
(10)

Part 4: Define metaphor:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
(1)
Define extended metaphor: ___________________________________________________________________________

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__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
(1)
An extended metaphor is being used in the poem. What is Saddleman saying the residential School is? How is this
characterized? (3)

The extended metaphor is brought to life in two main ways . . .

Part 5: Define Imagery: (notes from Miss I)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
(1)
For each of the three sense below, find a line in the poem that appeals to that sense. Record them below and cite the
line number in brackets. (6)

Sight

Touch

Sound

Part 6: Define Personification:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
(1)
Find three specific examples of personification in the poem. Record the lines below and cite the line numbers in
brackets. (6)
1)

2)

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3)

Part 7: A Substantial shift in Saddleman occurs throughout the poem. Describe how each emotion is present in the given
section of the piece. Use specific lines as evidence to support your answer. (9)

Beginning: ANGER

Middle: FORGIVNESS

End: HOPE

Woohoo! Youve made it. Great job!

Total: ____/65

Percentage:____%