“Life is a Jigsaw Puzzle” by Juanita Bratcher
1 Life is a jigsaw puzzle
It's not always fun and games
Life is what you make of it
And nothing ever remains the same
5 Life can test your courage
It can test your inner strength to endure
It can test your mental psyche
Life is a challenge for sure
9 Life is an exciting adventure
It can be a bumpy and rocky ride
But life is what you make of it
You don't need a "how to" guide
13 Life has many dimensions
Too enormous to even count
But life should always have a purpose
Void of any amount
17 Life can be enlightening
Indeed it can be challenging, too
It can be a roaring opportunity
But that depends on you
21 But never throw in the towel
Because things don't go your way
Just ride the tides of patience
And keep focused on your dreams each and every day
Puzzlers: What does it mean? Juanita Bratcher uses many idioms and other examples of figurative language and/or vivid words in the poem. Using the context clues found within the poem tell what each of the following words and phrases mean (in your own words). You may use a dictionary and/or thesaurus if necessary.
1) “Life is a jigsaw puzzle”
2) “mental psyche”
3) “ ‘how to’ guide”
4) “life is what you make of it”
5) “…life should always have a purpose void of any amount”
6) “roaring opportunity”
7) “throw in the towel”
8) “ride the tides of patience”
Make it fit: Choose a line from the poem that reveals the theme. Justify how it reveals the theme.
Connect the pieces: How does this relate to you and your life?
“Picture Puzzle Piece” by Shel Silverstein
One picture puzzle piece
Lyin' on the sidewalk,
One picture puzzle piece
Soakin' in the rain.
It might be a button of blue
On the coat of the woman
Who lived in a shoe.
It might be a magical bean,
Or a fold in the red
Velvet robe of a queen.
It might be the one little bite
Of the apple her stepmother
Gave to Snow White.
It might be the veil of a bride
Or a bottle with some evil genie inside.
It might be a small tuft of hair
On the big bouncy belly
Of Bobo the Bear.
It might be a bit of the cloak
Of the Witch of the West
As she melted to smoke.
It might be a shadowy trace
Of a tear that runs down an angel's face.
Nothing has more possibilities
Than one old wet picture puzzle piece.
Assignment Directions: In the poem you just read, Shel Silverstein imagines all the different pictures that a puzzle piece might create when placed with the other pieces of the puzzle. Like Silverstein, use your imagination and the poem by Shel Silverstein to complete the questions. Pretend that you found a puzzle piece on the sidewalk. Imagine what picture the puzzle would make. Use your imagination.
BRAINSTORM! – consider the following questions (you may just think about them – you do not have to write your answers)
1) Where did you find the puzzle piece (where are you)?
2) Where was the puzzle originally? Who did it once belong to?
3) How did this piece end up on the sidewalk? What happened to the other pieces?
4) What picture is on this one piece – what colors or images do you see on this one little puzzle piece?
5) What picture does the entire puzzle make when put together? How do you find out what picture the whole puzzle makes? Do you find the other pieces or just imagine what it could be?
6) What happens when you put the puzzle together? Do you even find out?
COMPOSE! - Now, use your brainstorming answers to the questions above and write your own poem
to tell about a puzzle piece.
Requirements:
· It does not have to rhyme.
· It must be at least 8 lines.
· It must contain at least 1 example of sound devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, etc.)
· It must contain sensory details and vivid language – NO DEAD WORDS!