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Creating Your Verse Novel Reading Response Be sure you have reviewed the VoiceThread and downloaded the Verse Novel Response Directions from Module 2. Type your poem in the text box and include your "planning" for each of your 6-rooms either as an attachment or an image. Take a look back after you've posted and read through some of the other responses--both for the text you selected and ones that are new to you. Choose a few classmates and leave a comment for them under their post! 

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Creating Your Verse Novel Reading Response Be sure you have reviewed the VoiceThread and downloaded the Verse Novel Response Directions from Module 2. Type your poem in the text box and include your "planning" for each of your 6-rooms either as an attachment or an image. Take a look back after you've posted and read through some of the other responses--both for the text you selected and ones that are new to you. Choose a few classmates and leave a comment for them under their post! 

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A battle begins

He is only

17

What is happening?

Vietnam, racism, riots

Young love

Old hate

A battle begins

Mom and dad are opposites

Dad is full of hate

Mom is full of love

Mom finds love somewhere else

Ashe finds love with Angela

Dad has no love

Where is Angela’s brother?

A battle begins

No one gives answers

Worry and fear take over

Life must go on

A battle begins

Dad wants custody

Dad wants revenge

Dad wants everything

A battle begins

Ashe must grow up

Face his fears

Save his family

Do the right thing

Join the army.

Nicole O'Brien

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Six Room Poem Adaptation-Verse Novels (1)

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Jamie is experiencing one of the most difficult times in her life. Her grandmother has passed away and she is having a difficult time coping. She was raised by her grandmother and they used to love taking evening walks outside the neighborhood and listening to music.

The sun is setting in the distance and it’s one of the most beautiful sites to see. Being one with nature was her favorite.

How do I cope now?

What memories can I save?

Will this pain ever go away?

Headphones on listening to the beats, rhythms, and melodies as she thinks of all the good times they shared.

These memories bring back happy thoughts and puts a smile on Jamie’s face.

A sense of peace comes to mind and she’s able to temporarily escape the reality of the world.

Thoughts of listening to the voices of Etta James, Ray Charles, and Billie Holiday bring back all the special moments shared between Jamie and her grandmother dancing in the kitchen.

Although this is a difficult pill to swallow Jamie knows her grandmother would want her to move forward and continue to live each day better than the last.

Music is my muse

Music is my muse

Music is my muse

Kaylin Polite

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Bounce, Bounce, Swish

A family

Basketball

The love of the game

Everything is changing

Bounce, Bounce, Swish

The crowd erupts

Shoes squeak

Players rush to the other end of the court

The crowd chants defense

Bounce, Bounce, Swish

Dad is gone

The game is over

Nothing will be the same

The game is forever changed

Bounce, Bounce, Swish

We were playing

You were cheering

Now you are gone

It all over and nothing is the same

Savannah Schaubhut
The Crossover
Kwame Alexander

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“Filthy McNasty”,

"Da Man" would say

“follow through on your jump shot.”

Best Dunks Ever

Crossover like

"Da Man" taught me

Hypertension

Filthy, Filthy, Filthy

If he was "Da Man",

I knew one day I’d need my own wings to fly.

Dreams gone too soon

Zoom Zoom!

Like jazz misses Dizzy,

"Da Man" misses basketball

Like hip-hop misses Tupac,

I miss "Da Man"

Guess I’m "Da Man" now

- Rebecca Meloy
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

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We are brothers

And teammates

Always have been

Always will be

Some things never change.

We love hard

But compete harder

On the court

And for the girl

Some things never change.

Mom is always pushing

For us to be scholars and gentlemen

For dad to be healthy and wise

Only some of us will listen

Some things never change.

Brothers now distant

Family no longer whole

Losing games and losing dad

Wishing for the days when

Some things never changed.

Stuck in the middle

Lost in the crowd

Cheers turn to sorrow

I’m confused about tomorrow

Because now…

Everything has changed.

Everything has changed.

Everything has changed.

-by Tiffany Kirkland; based on The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

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My young brother
is loved by his father.
Two twin brothers
who love each other's.
Love of basketball is a game
passed onto children without shame.

The sky is cloudless outside,
a beautiful sunny day, I cried.
Seating on the back of the car,
I see a shiny sky as bright as a star.

Jazz music in my dad's room, I hear,
a sudden silence appear.
Different from the music of the game,
the laughs and screams are to blame.

Why isn't dad playing the basketball game?
Is his knee to blame?
Is it true that twins know what they are feeling?
Why can't they tell that their father's heart is not healing?

I love basketball as much as I love freedom.
Every time I steal the ball I feel like a king in his kingdom.
My mother's love is like gold,
I hope to be loved when I am old.

He was crazy, crazy in love with his twin boys.
He was crazy, crazy in love with his twin boys.
He was crazy, crazy in love with his twin boys.

By Nadia Goulet
From the Novel
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

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On the court, nothing else matters,
ball thumping the glossy floor, bright lights shining,
and cheer leaders stomping.
Basketball is Life

Life can bring you heartache,
torn between a girl,
dad in a downhill whirl,
relieved to see the fans still cheering.
Basketball is Life

Confused as to where i go from here,
Alone, dad in the hospital and brother no longer cares.
Final game a little later,
too much for me to bear, but,
Basketball is Life.

The county championship is ours,
but I'm sure gonna miss my dad.
So encouraging, he would have loved that final shot.
For when life gets tough, you gotta play through the storm.
Like shooting #50,
Basketball is Life.

-Travis Moseley

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Twins, so much the same,
but also not.
Pushing, challenging, obsessed, ignoring.
Yet at the worst, I still have your back.

The gym is my home,
ball is my life.
Sweating, leaping, FLYING.
Can you smell it? Sweat, popcorn, mom perfume...the opponents' fear?

The crowd roars like lions, I am their king.
Thumping, bouncing,
Flossing, criss crossing.
SWOOOOSH!!!

I thought life was just ball, when did girls mess that up?
When did doctors become the enemy?
Why did my dad's heart stop?

I was always the one, cocky but strong.
Silently watching, waiting for your mistake....swoosh.
JB always loud, first to smack talk in your face.
First to find the girl, first to quit the race.

Chuck "Da Man" Bell.
Legend, father, friend.
Larger than life.
Now I'm "Da Man", this can't be right.

~~Lisa Gomez Based on The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

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Six Room Poem Adaptation graphic organizer

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I am half Italian.
I am half Irish.
Grandma Lucia died.  She left a letter, a ring and many unanswered questions.
My father's father was not Genaro Bianchini? Who was American Ace?

Dad speaks his secret identity a year later at the family restaurant.  My driving lessons become a search for answers.   Librarian Jake is helpful. Uncle Father Joe comforts.  So many What if questions? Who was my father's father? Who was American Ace?

Grandma Lucia's had a secret romance with American Ace.  Yearbook photos and DNA testing revealed our secret family history.  Ace was American.  Ace was African American.  Ace was a Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.

Did Connor ever discover American Ace's true identity? How will Tony make peace with his African American heritage? Who else finds out about the Bianchini family secret?

A heartfelt family story.
Happy. Sad. Mysterious.

Who was my father's father?
Who was American Ace?
He was my grandfather.

By Haley Richards
From the Novel
American Ace by Marilyn Nelson

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"I dream basketball",

"I am basketball",

"I don't fear basketball"

Mom wants this

Dad supports it all

I can’t control life

But I can control the ball

Crossovers,

dunks

Set expectations

dribbles

Met expectations

"I dream basketball",

"I am basketball",

"I don't fear basketball"

I have uncertainty in my father
I fear for my mother
I am questioning my girl friend

I can’t guide my brother

But basketball I understand

"I dream basketball",

"I am basketball"

"I don't fear basketball"

Even the game is beginning to change

I am losing everything one at a time

I wish somethings could stay the same

"I dream basketball",

"I am basketball"

"I don't fear basketball"

But should I, it's all I have left

By: Candice Coolin

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

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Six-Room Poem Adaptation

Room 1: Plot
Twin brothers: Josh and JB come from a loving family day is a retired basketball player and mom is a principal at their school.The boy attend Reggie Lewis Middle school. Dad has medical issue that he does not want to address until he collapses. JB and his dad are in denial about his dads health issues until his symptoms intensify. During this time JB is feuding with is brother and questioning the relationship with is girlfriend. His relationships are spiraling and he soon to loose one of the most important people in his life.

| Room 2: Setting
Duke University Carolina State Recreation Center -Boy practice Reggie Lewis Middle school -Mom works as principal/two boys attend

Room 3: Sounds
Fans/Crowd cheers during games
Quit inter thoughts of characters

| Room 4: Questions
Could the outcome have been different if dad had went to the doctor at the beginning of the story? .Does the family rally together or drift apart? Will he beat his dads score of 50?
Room 5: Feelings
Excitement
Adrenalin
Worry
Fear
Uncertainty
Expectancy

| Room 6:
Basketball
Basketball
Basketball

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Basketball

Bounce, Bounce

Basketball

Filthy to the Basket

J.B. to the Basket

Twins Balling Like Magic

Crossover, That’s Fantastic

Steal the Ball, Steal the Magic

Oh No! Sweet Tea is Some Kind of Tragic

No More Filthy and J.B. Magic

“Dad this is Tragic!”

“Son, it’s a Different Kind of Magic.”

Filthy, “But Yeah it Feels Tragic!”

Filthy ALONE with only his Crossover Magic

Filthy Makes a MISTAKE but it’s Tragic!

It Depletes the Twin Magic!

Cough, Cough, Faint

Dad this is Beginning to Look Tragic!

Dad, “Nah Son! I Still Got Magic!”

Mom, “Put down that Crossover,

Put Down Those Doughnuts Too,

Before that Stress Kills the Magic!”

Dad, “I Got This! I’m Magic!”

Filthy Still Alone with His Crossover Magic

Dad LOSES his MAGIC!

TRAGIC!

Filthy has to CROSSOVER

Take His Place

“Da Man”

Filthy with the Crossover Magic

Pamela Williams

“The Crossover”

By Kwame Alexander