Count That Day Lost

If you sit down at set of sunAnd count the acts that you have done,And, counting, findOne self-denying deed, one wordThat eased the heart of him who heard, One glance most kindThat fell like sunshine where it went --Then you may count that day well spent.

But if, through all the livelong day,You've cheered no heart, by yea or nay --If, through it allYou've nothing done that you can traceThat brought the sunshine to one face--No act most smallThat helped some soul and nothing cost --Then count that day as worse than lost.

George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)

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Count That Day Lost

Worksheet-Basic Understanding

Q1.Fill in the following sentences with missing words from the poem:

1.If you take an aspirin, it will__________ your pain.

2.I can't __________my dog's steps. Where do you think he went

3.Every time there's an important football match, I ______ the weaker team.

4.My grandfather is very______ to us. He always buys us presents and takes us to

exciting place.

5.Whenever she sees her husband, her face lightens up like___________

6.I need to__________ on my friends if I want them to trust me.

7.it seems that student often___________ the seconds too the end of the lesson.

Q2:Match a word from row A to it its meaning in B

A B

Set of sun ______Person

Count ______Comfort

Act ______Things done

Ease ______give hope/courage

Cheer __to consider something in a particular way

Soul ____to pass time

Spend ____to find out someone by following sings

Lost ___to waste time

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Which of these activities would mean you had a good day or a bad day? Fill in the chart.

Activity A Good Day A Bad Day

1. You made someone happy.

2. You didn't help anyone.

3. You lost some money.

4. You helped somebody.

5. You made somebody sad.

6. You ate your favorite food.

7. You had to stay at home.

8. You looked after your little brother.

9. You went out with friends.

10. You did your homework.

Write one activity which made your day a good day: ___________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Write one activity which made your day a bad day: ___________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Have a few students share their choices and discuss.

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Basic Understanding

Vocabulary Acquisition (high frequency words)

1. Find and highlight/underline the following words, in the poem.2. Write their definition and translate them.

Word or phrase Dictionary definition Translation

at set of sun

an act

self-denial Doing something for someone else at the expense of your own needs. (self-sacrifice)

a deed

to ease

a glance

to cheer

cheer (noun)

through

to trace

a soul

Choose the correct definition of the word or phrase as used in the poem:

a. If you sit down at set of sun

1. In the morning 2. in the afternoon 3. in the evening

b. And count the acts that you have done,

1. things 2. performances 3. mistakes

c. One self-denying deed,

1. self- help 2. self-made 3. self-sacrifice

d. One self-denying deed,

1. promise 2. action 3. contract

e. That eased the heart of him who heard,

1. soothed 2. prepared 3. simplified

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f. One glance most kind

1. act 2. sight 3. look

g. You've cheered no heart

1. enjoyed 2. made happy 3. yelled

h. through all the livelong day,

1. during 2. after 3. finished

i. nothing done that you can trace

1. draw 2. find 3. copy

j. That helped some soul

1. foot 2. heart 3. person

Basic Understanding (cont’d)

Words that need special attention

Count

The word ‘count’ appears a number of times in the poem. It does not always have the same meaning.

Following are several definitions of the word ‘count’, next to each one indicate which line/s in the poem use/s this meaning. Are there any of these meanings that are not in the poem?

1. to say or name numbers in sequence ___________

2. to say or name things _________________

3. to consider something to be in the condition or state mentioned __________________

4. to include ___________________

5. to be important ____________________

6. How does using the word ’count‘ in different ways help us understand the message of the poem? ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

SunThe word ‘sun’ appears in several lines in the poem. Copy out those lines:

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

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Basic Understanding questions

1. Fill in the sentences, one for each stanza:

Stanza One:

If you do __________________________________ then __________________________________________________.

Stanza Two:

If you do not ______________________________________ then ________________________________________________________.

2. What kinds of things does the poet suggest you do in order to make someone feel better? (Find at least two things in each stanza)

Stanza 1:

1)______________________________________________________________ 2)____________________________________________________________

Stanza 2: 1)______________________________________________________________ 2)____________________________________________________________

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Analysis and Interpretation: Literary terms

Metaphors and Similes

Metaphor: Using the characteristics of one thing to describe another. In other words, a metaphor is a way to compare by saying one thing is another thing.

For example: wings of love, an icy look, a sunny smile

Simile: Expressing an idea by comparing one thing with an aspect of another thing, using ‘like’ or ’as…as…’ to show similarity.

For example: He is as brave as a lion.

Decide which of the following are metaphors , which are similes, and which are neither.

Sentence Metaphor Simile Neither

He was as black as coal.

Her heart was as hard as a rock.

The dog dug a bone out of the ground.

There was black smoke from the back of the car.

My heart is a lonely hunter.

She had a long and good life.

The rain came down in long knitting needles.

He was as tall as I am.

This year’s test was as hard as last year.

I’ve been working like a dog.

He smokes like a chimney.

The lonely hunter sat and smoked his pipe.

Life is a journey.

It rained without stop the whole day.

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Using metaphor and simile in the poem

1. How does the sun help us define the length of the day?

2. How does sunshine make you feel?

3. What words does the poet use that relate to the real sun in the sky?

4. Where is sunshine used as a simile in the poem?

5. Where is the sun used as a metaphor in the poem?

6. Why did the poet use the sun as the main image of the poem?

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Analysis and Interpretation : HOTS Analysis and Interpretation : HOTS

3.a 1. Watch the clip : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX-h1BOet-U

2.Watch the clip for the second time and in the Venn Diagram (Handout #4) write

2 things that are different about Jen and Chuck

2 things that they have in common

3 .What we have done is called COMPARING and CONTRASTING - find similarities (comparing) and differences (contrasting) and draw conclusions.

1. When we compare and contrast things we can use the following words:

2. Fill in the blanks spaces to complete the story. Use the words from ex.4 :

There were two friends, Jen and Chuck, who lived on the farm. Jen was a red hen, 1. ________

Chuck was a white duck. Jen lived in the barn, 2.__________ Chuck lived in the pond. 3. _________ they were different in many things, they were best friends.

3.b. Applying HOTS to the text: (Handout #3)

1. Re-read the poem

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2. What should we do, according to the narrator, in order to count

the day “well spent” or lost?

- Sit down and count the acts .

3. Should we do it only if the day is “well spent”? Support your

answer by the words from the poem.

So, in what are these two days similar?

4. Complete the middle part of the graph with the suitable words

from the poem that talk about:

5. What makes these 2 days different?

5.1. Find 3 examples of “counting acts” in Stanza 1 and complete the

appropriate parts of the chart with these words. (one self-

denying deed, one word that eased . . . , one glance . . .)

5.2. Do you have to make a lot of “acts” to consider a day “well

spent”? - No, even one is enough.

Use the text to support your answer.

5.3. Find 3 examples of “acts” in Stanza 2 that make a day “worse

than lost”.

Complete the appropriate parts of the chart with these words.

5.4. According to the poem, a “day well spent” is one in which a

person shows

i. courage ii. kindness iii. persistence d.

selfishness

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5.5. In the last line , the phrase “worse than lost” implies that a

person has robbed himself of happiness. Complete the

following sentence and explain why:

*Because when a person gives others, he ___________________

(makes someone happy/changes someone's life for the better/does

a kindly deed/ also receives)

5.6.Which day’s acts/ day are/is more important for the self-

analysis? How do you know?

(The poet called her poem” Count That Day Lost”).(=Why is the

poem called “ Count That Day Lost” and not “well spent”?)

5.7. Summing up, what, do you think, is the message of the poem?

What deeds should be given more thoughts? Explain the main

idea/s of the poem in 40-50 words.

3.c. Applying the targeted HOTS to your lives and other areas

1. Classroom discussion: Where do we apply the HOTS of

Comparing and Contrasting in real life? Give your examples.

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2. Think and respond in writing:

How was your life

before

now

getting a driving

license

having a girl/boy/true

friend

getting pocket money

from your parents

3. Think of your own example and add it to the table.

3.d Further Analysis and Interpretation

1. Why is the Present Perfect used in the poem?

2. Using the text and the following Poetic Terms list (Handout #5)

answer the following questions;

2.1. Line 7 in Stanza 1 is an example of:

i. allusion ii. simile iii. oxymoron iv. metaphor

2.2. Line 13 in Stanza 1 is an example of:

i. personification ii. simile iii. metaphor iv. alliteration

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Hungry street-children are given bread and a hot drink by volunteer charity workers. Notice

their ragged clothes. The women helping are better-dressed.

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This is Victorian slum in 1872. This shows what a crowded, poor neighborhood looked like

and why people needed help.

(pictures taken from http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/victorian_britain/introduction/)

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Post-Reading Activities

Choose one of the following:

Draw a cartoon or make a PowerPoint presentation depicting your interpretation of the poem.

Write an interview with George Elliot and have her explain the main message of her poem.

Watch the film “Pay it Forward” and explain how the poem is reflected in the movie. You can use these clips as well (watch in order): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGcwG-2owow&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgq8nDBcufo

Write your own poem using the same rhyme scheme and length about the main message of the poem.

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Reflection

Look though all of the work you have done in this unit and answer the following questions:

1. Did you like the poem? Explain your answer in at least two sentences.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

2. As part of this unit of work you were taught a higher-order thinking skill (HOTS) – Explaining Patterns.

How did your teacher teach it?

How did you apply it to the poem?

How could you use it in your life?

How did the HOTS help you to better understand the poem?

In what way did learning the poem in this way (learning about the HOTS and the literary terms) help you understand the poem? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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