Mr. Prater's 6th Grade ELA Room 209



Casey at the BatBY?ERNEST LAWRENCE THAYERA Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;?The score stood four to two with but one inning more to play.?And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,?A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.?A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest?5Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;?They thought if only Casey could but get a whack at that—?We’d put up even money now with Casey at the bat.?But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,?And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake;?10So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,?For there seemed but little chance of Casey’s getting to the bat.?But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,?And Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball;?And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,?15There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.?Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;?It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;?It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,?For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.?20There was ease in Casey’s manner as he stepped into his place;?There was pride in Casey’s bearing and a smile on Casey’s face.?And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,?No stranger in the crowd could doubt ’twas Casey at the bat.?Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;?25Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.?Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,?Defiance gleamed in Casey’s eye, a sneer curled Casey’s lip.?And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,?And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.?30Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped—?“That ain’t my style,” said Casey. “Strike one,” the umpire said.?From the benches, heavy with people, there went up a muffled roar,?Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.?“Kill him! Kill the umpire!” shouted someone on the stand;?35And it’s likely they’d have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.?With a smile of Christian charity great Casey’s visage shone;?He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;?He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;?But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, “Strike two.”?40“Fraud!” cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud;?But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.?They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,?And they knew that Casey wouldn’t let that ball go by again.?The sneer is gone from Casey’s lip, his teeth are clinched in hate;?45He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.?And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,?And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey’s blow.?Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;?The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,?50And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;?But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.A Bird, came down the Walk BY?EMILY DICKINSONA Bird, came down the Walk -?He did not know I saw -He bit an Angle Worm in halves?And ate the fellow, raw,??And then, he drank a Dew5From a convenient Grass -And then hopped sidewise to the Wall?To let a Beetle pass -?He glanced with rapid eyes,That hurried all abroad -10They looked like frightened Beads, I thought,He stirred his Velvet Head. -??Like one in danger, Cautious,I offered him a Crumb,And he unrolled his feathers,?15And rowed him softer Home -?Than Oars divide the Ocean,Too silver for a seam,Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon,?Leap, plashless as they swim20Dust of SnowBY?ROBERT FROSTThe way a crow?Shook down on me?The dust of snow?From a hemlock tree?Has given my heart?5A change of mood?And saved some part?Of a day I had rued.Twelfth Song of Thunder [Navajo Tradition]BY?ANONYMOUSThe voice that beautifies the land!?The voice above,The voice of thunderWithin the dark cloud?Again and again it sounds,5The voice that beautifies the land.??The voice that beautifies the land!?The voice below,The voice of the grasshopper?Among the plants?10Again and again it sounds,The voice that beautifies the land.?The Road Not TakenBY?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;?5Then 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,?10And 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.?15I 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.20Neither Out Far Nor In DeepBY Robert FrostThe people along the sandAll turn and look one way.They turn their back on the land.They look at the sea all day. As long as it takes to pass5A ship keeps raising its hull;The wetter ground like glassReflects a standing gull.The land may vary more;But wherever the truth may be--- 10The water comes ashore,And the people look at the sea.They cannot look out far.They cannot look in deep.But when was that ever a bar15To any watch they keep?Dirty FaceBY?SHEL SILVERSTEINWhere did you get such a dirty face,My darling dirty-faced child??I got it from crawling along in the dirtAnd biting two buttons off Jeremy’s shirt.I got it from chewing the roots of a rose 5And digging for clams in the yard with my nose.I got it from peeking into a dark caveAnd painting myself like a Navajo brave.I got it from playing with coal in the binAnd signing my name in cement with my chin. 10I got it from rolling around on the rugAnd giving the horrible dog a big hug.I got it from finding a lost silver mineAnd eating sweet blackberries right off the vine.I got it from ice cream and wrestling and tears15And from having more fun than you’ve had in yearsEverywhereBy Frank Weil Jr. She's in every crossword?She haunts the radio?she's in my mind, memories blurredCan’t help but chase her shadow?I feel my heart still palpitate?5With just the utterance of her name?All my life , to her , I'd gravitate?For no one else, i feel the same?She's in the stars, for each an ode?Under the moon I'd weep?10I think of all the " I love you's " told?And I cry myself to sleep?She's in every, unoccupied thought?I can't help but to endear?But despite all this, its all for naught?15Because she's everywhere, but here .LIFE DOESN’T FRIGHTEN MEBy: Maya AngelouShadows on the wallNoises down the hailLife doesn’t frighten me at allBad dogs barking loudBig ghosts in a cloud5Life doesn’t frighten me at all.Mean old Mother GooseLions on the looseThey don’t frighten me at allDragons breathing flame10On my counterpaneThat doesn’t frighten me at all.I go booMake them shooI make fun15Way they runI won’t crySo they flyI just smileThey go wild20Life doesn’t frighten me at all.Tough guys in a fightAll alone at nightLife doesn’t frighten me at all.Panthers in the park25Strangers in the darkNo, they don’t frighten me at all.That new classroom whereBoys pull all my hair(Kissy little girls30With their hair in curls)They don’t frighten me at all.Don’t show me frogs and snakesAnd listen for my scream,If I’m afraid at all35It’s only in my dreams.I’ve got a magic charmThat I keep up my sleeve,I can walk the ocean floorAnd never have to breathe.40Life doesn’t frighten me at allNot at allNot at allLife doesn’t frighten me at all..Romeo and Juliet PROLOGUEBy William ShakespeareTwo households, both alike in dignity,In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.From forth the fatal loins of these two foes5A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;Whose misadventured piteous overthrowsDo with their death bury their parents' strife.The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,And the continuance of their parents' rage,10Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;The which if you with patient ears attend,What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.DreamsBy Langston HughesHold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreams5For when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.?The Homework Machine Shel SilversteinThe Homework Machine,Oh, the Homework Machine,Most perfectcontraption that's ever been seen.Just put in your homework, then drop in a dime, 5Snap on the switch, and in ten seconds' time,Your homework comes out, quick and clean as can be.Here it is— 'nine plus four?' and the answer is 'three.'Three?Oh me . . .10I guess it's not as perfectAs I thought it would be.?Sarah Cynthia Slyvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out by Shel SilversteinSarah Cynthia Sylvia StoutWould not take the garbage out!She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans,Candy the yams and spice the hams,?And though her daddy would scream and shout, 5She simply would not take the garbage out.And so it piled up to the ceilings:Coffee grounds, potato peelings,Brown Bananas, rotten peas,Chunks of sour cottage cheese. 10It filled the can, it covered the floor,?It cracked the window and blocked the doorWith bacon rinds and chicken bones,Drippy ends of ice cream cones,Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel, 15Gloppy glumps of cold oatmeal,Pizza crusts and withered greens,Soggy beans and tangerines,Crusts of black burned buttered toast,Grisly bits of beefy roasts... 20The garbage rolled down the hall,It raised the roof, it broke the wall...Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs,Globs of gooey bubble gum,Cellophane from green baloney, 25Rubbery blubbery macaroni,Peanut butter, caked and dry,Curdled milk and crusts of pie,Moldy melons, dried-up mustard,Eggshells mixed with lemon custard, 30Cold French fries and rancid meat,Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat.At last the garbage reached so highThat finally it touched the sky.And all the neighbors moved away, 35And none of her friends would come to play.And finally Sarah Cynthia Slylvia Stout said,'Ok, I'll take the garbage out!'But then, of course, it was too late...The garbage reached across the state, 40From New York to the Golden Gate.And there, in the garbage she did hate,Poor Sarah met an awful fate,That I cannot right now relateBecause the hour is much too late. 45But children, remember Sarah StoutAnd always take the garbage out!?Ladies FirstBy Shel SilversteinPamela Purse yelled, 'Ladies first,'Pushing in front of the ice cream line.Pamela Purse yelled, 'Ladies first,'Grabbing the ketchup at dinnertime.Climbing on the morning bus5She'd shove right by all of usAnd there'd be a tiff or a fight or a fussWhen Pamela Purse yelled, 'Ladies first.'Pamela Purse screamed, 'Ladies first,'When we went off on our jungle trip.10Pamela Purse said her thirst was worseAnd guzzled our water, every sip.And when we got grabbed by that wild savage band,Who tied us together and made us all standIn a long line in front of the King of the land-15A cannibal known as Fry-'Em-Up Dan,Who sat on his throne in a bib so grandWith a lick of his lips and a fork in his hand,As he tried to decide who'd be first in the pan-From back of the line, in that shrill voice of hers,20Pamela Purse yelled, 'Ladies first.'?Tahquamenon FallsBy Denise RodgersWater rushing,gushing,pushingpast the limits of the edge.Water barrels off the ledge, 5whipping up the bottom sludge,makes the water look like fudge,growling with a freight train's roar,wildly rushes out some more.You could harness all the power 10as it flashes hour by hourand will never, ever stop,thickly loaded from the top.Water flowing, swiftly whooshing,always whisking, always pushing 15to the river down below,always rushing, never slow,till it falls right past the islands,gives it just another try andwith a mild and calming quiver, 20it becomes a simple river.It's amazing if you spy it;all that noise and then theQuiet.SmartBy Shel SilversteinMy dad gave me one dollar bill'Cause I'm his smartest son,And I swapped it for two shiny quarters'Cause two is more than one!And then I took the quarters 5And traded them to LouFor three dimes-- I guess he didn't knowThat three is more than two!Just then, along came old blind BatesAnd just 'cause he can't see10He gave me four nickels for my three dimes,And four is more than three!And I took the nickels to Hiram CoombsDown at the seed-feed store,And the fool gave me five pennies for them,15And five is more than four!And I went and showed my dad,And he got red in the cheeksAnd closed his eyes and shook his head--Too proud of me to speak!?20And I Have YouNikki GiovanniRain has drops?Sun has shine?Moon has beams?That make you mineRivers have banks?5Sands for shores?Hearts have heartbeats?That make me yoursNeedles have eyes?Though pins may prick? 10Elmer has glue?To make things stickWinter has Spring?Stockings feet?Pepper has mint? 15To make it sweetTeachers have lessons?Soup du jour?Lawyers sue bad folks?Doctors cure 20All and all?This much is true?You have me?And I have you?YesterdayBy Paul McCarthy and John LennonYesterday,all my troubles seemed so far awayNow it looks as though they're here to stayOh, I believe in yesterday5Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to beThere's a shadow hanging over me.Oh, yesterday came suddenlyWhy she had to goI don't know10she wouldn’t sayI said something wrong,now I longfor yesterdayYesterday,15love was such an easy game to playNow I need a place to hide awayOh, I believe in yesterdayMother to SonBY?LANGSTON HUGHESWell, son, I’ll tell you:Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.It’s had tacks in it,And splinters,And boards torn up,5And places with no carpet on the floor—Bare.But all the timeI’se been a-climbin’ on,And reachin’ landin’s,10And turnin’ corners,And sometimes goin’ in the darkWhere there ain’t been no light.So boy, don’t you turn back.Don’t you set down on the steps15’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.Don’t you fall now—For I’se still goin’, honey,I’se still climbin’,And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.Knoxville TennesseeNikki GiovanniI always like summerBestyou can eat fresh cornFrom daddy's gardenAnd okra5And greensAnd cabbageAnd lots ofBarbequeAnd buttermilk10And homemade ice-creamAt the church picnicAnd listen toGospel musicOutside15At the churchHomecomingAnd go to the mountains withYour grandmotherAnd go barefooted20And be warmAll the timeNot only when you go to bedAnd sleep?HarlemBY?LANGSTON HUGHESWhat happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry uplike a raisin in the sun?Or fester like a sore—And then run??5Does it stink like rotten meat?Or crust and sugar over—like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sagslike a heavy load.?10Or does it explode?ArithmeticCarl SandburgArithmetic is where numbers fly like pigeons in and out of your head.Arithmetic tells you how many you lose or win if you know how many you had before you lost or won.Arithmetic is seven eleven all good children go to heaven - or five six bundle of sticks.5Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze from your head to your hand to your pencil to your paper till you get the answer.Arithmetic is where the answer is right and everything is nice and you can look out of the window and see the blue sky – or the answer is wrong and you have to start all over and try again 10and see how it comes out this time.If you take a number and double it and double it again and double it a few more times, the number gets bigger and bigger and goes higher and higher and only arithmetic can tell you what the number is when you decide to quit doubling.15Arithmetic is where you have to multiply – and you carry the multiplication table in your head and hope you won't lose it.If you have two animal crackers, one good and one bad, and you eat one and a striped zebra with streaks all over him eats the other, 20how many animal crackers will you have if somebody offers you five six seven and you say No no no and you say Nay nay nay and you say Nix nix nix?If you ask your mother for one fried egg for breakfast and she gives you two fried eggs and you eat both of them, who is better in arithmetic, you or your mother?The BatTheodore RoethkeBy day the bat is cousin to the mouse.He likes the attic of an aging house.His fingers make a hat about his head.His pulse beat is so slow we think him dead.He loops in crazy figures half the night5Among the trees that face the corner light.But when he brushes up against a screen,We are afraid of what our eyes have seen:For something is amiss or out of placeWhen mice with wings can wear a human face. [in Just-]?E. E. CUMMINGSin Just-?spring????????? when the world is mud-?luscious the little?lame balloonman?whistles????????? far????????? and wee?5and eddieandbill come?running from marbles and?piracies and it's?spring?when the world is puddle-wonderful?10the strange?old balloonman whistles?far????????? and???????????? wee?and bettyandisbel come dancing?from hop-scotch and jump-rope and?15it's?spring?and??????????the???????????????????goat-footed?balloonMan????????? whistles?20far?and?weeTo Young Readers-Gwendolyn BrooksGood books arebandagesand voyagesand linkages to light;are keys and hammers,5ripe redeemers,dials and bells andhealing hallelujah.Good books are good nutrition.A reader is a guest10nourished, by riches of the Feastto lift, to launch, and to applaud the world.Dinner Together-Diana RiveraSitting by the barbecuewaiting for sausages and hotdogsblue-gray smoke the same colorof the skyI see a tiny spider5walking down from the sky with tiny six-footed stepsdowndownin a perfectly straight10lineall the waydownto the floorthen back up15the same linerising from one cloudup to another,a liver speckglisteningat its mouth,20climbing the invisible ladder.I, Too?LANGSTON HUGHESI, too, sing America.?I am the darker brother.?They send me to eat in the kitchen?When company comes,?But I laugh,?5And eat well,?And grow strong.?Tomorrow,?I’ll be at the table?When company comes.?10Nobody’ll dare?Say to me,?“Eat in the kitchen,”?Then.?Besides,?15They’ll see how beautiful I am?And be ashamed—?I, too, am America.“Daydreamers”Eloise GreenfieldDaydreamers...holding their bodies stillfor a timeletting the world turn around themwhile their dreams hopscotch, 5doubledutch, dance,thoughts rollerskate,crisscross,bump into hope and wishes.Dreamers 10thinking up new ways,looking toward new days,planning new tries,asking new whys.Before long,15hands will start to move again,eyes turn outward,bodies shift for action,but for this moment they are still,they arethe daydreamers,20letting the world dizzy itselfwithout them.Scenes passing through their mindsmake no soundglide from hiding places25promenade and returnsilentlythe children watch their memorieswith spirit-eyesseeing more than they saw before 30feeling moreor maybe lessthan they felt the time beforereaching with spirit-handsto touch the dreams35drawn from their yesterdays.They will not be the sameafter this growing time,this dreaming.In their stillness they have movedForward40toward womanhoodtoward manhood.This dreaming has made themnew. ................
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