Pamela M. Fowler
A.
READING OF SELECTED POEMS
Pass out photocopies of the selected poems for the class to read along.
Choose a child to read the poem(s) aloud. Put emphasis on the pervious lesson on intonation.
1. Bothering Me at Last—David Ignatow
2. Poem—Mark Strand
3. The Sitter—Shel Silverstein
4. Something Missing—Shel Silverstein
Mini Lesson: Sonnet
A sonnet is a poem consisting of 14 lines. Each alternating line rhymes as follows:
a-b a-b c-d c-d e-f e-f g-g
B. WRITING
Koch DREAMS pages 128-136
Teacher read page 137
DAY’S FORMULA AND ASSIGNMENTS:
Work through completing a sonnet as a group project. If the class seems to be grasping the idea, split the up into groups and have them work on a sonnet of their own.
When splitting the class up into groups keep them small. Three or four children per group is enough.
The children in the group should vary in level. One child who is at a high level, two who are at an average or medium level, and one who is functioning at a lower level.
Keep in mind also that personalities are important when splitting the class into groups. You may want a strong personality with one who is a ‘behavior problem’ and a shy personality with a more timid and easy personality who will bring out ideas from this shy child.
C.
QUIET UNINTERRUPTED WRITING TIME
D.
SHARE TIME
Pointing: Same as Lesson IV.
For Lessons #12 and #13 on description of a real person, teacher or student a basic formats to follow is:
I know a (man, woman, person, boy, girl) who often wears ___. He/She ___ _____ . . .
Write 6-8 lines describing the person. Don’t name the person. Use it during share time and have the author read the description to the class and see if the class can guess who it is the author was trying to describe.
A useful mini-lesson is to discuss images and personal aspects that give each person their individuality. This lesson can be modified into a game. Give the class ten minutes to describe a person. Read it aloud and have the class guess the identity of the person described.
After three weeks have passed and the class has been writing an assortment of poems, they are ready for a surprise. For five to ten days incorporate music into the writing of poetry. Yes, hou are introducing RAP.
Children enjoy music a great deal and seem to think that nothing is better than the Raps they hear by the famous rappers like Heavy D and the Boyz, Koo Moo Dee, Salt ’n Pep to name just a few. To keep the class interested in the poetry and also to keep them on their toes, I hve incorported the performing of poetry reding with musical accompaniment.
There are two ways to work this idea:
The first:
Have the child write the poem first and discuss, during a conference, the feeling that they want to get across to the audience. After the conference have the child select from a collection of instrumental music a tune that is appropriate for the poem, and what they want their audience to feel.
Allow the child time and space fo rrehersal to make sure that his/her choice is what they wanted. If not start all over again.
The second:
Reverse the above proces. Have the child select an instrumental version of a song, identify the feeling/emotion they feel from the music and then write a poem which depicts that mood.
The two techniques render very interesting pieces. As with any piece of information taught, these two techniques may prove to be difficult for some children while others find it fairly easy. The object is to have children use their inductive and deductive techniques. The main objective is FUN!
In Kenneth Koch’s Wishes, Lies and Dreams read the chapter entitled ‘Poems Written While Listening to Music’ pages 224-244. The teacher should read page 245.
The final phase of this workshop is performance. At the end of the year, an Author’s Tea will be held. Each Author will select the two or three poems that he/she feels is their best work over the entire year.
The children will plan and execute the Tea themselves with the teacher as supervisor. Each child will make a list of those adults they would like to invite to the Tea. Names should include parents, guardians, family members, friends teachers, principals and school personnel from the central offices. A guest speaker is also appropriate. Have invitations already prepared for the class to fold and stuff into envelopes. The Tea last no longer than an hour and a half.
Upon completion of the reading, conclude the tea with distribution of certificates for each author. (You may want to award them a gift also) Certificates are most memorable when they are awarded to the author by a special guest. Finally, invite the guest to join in a reception of tea, coffee and finger sandwiches.
Make this Tea special for you and your children. Dress up and insist on appropriate behavior and manners. Video tape it and have a guest sign in book.
For the students it may be nice to photocopy the poems, bind them and give them to the guest as they arrive. Just before the reception announce that the authors will be available to sign their work. Encourage this time. It will further develop self-esteem in the students.
The following pages are lessons, reading selections formulas and writing assignments, pages to read from Kenneth Koch’s book as well as suggested strategies, sequences and formulas to use throughout this unit.
Due to space Lessons VI-XVI can be found at the Teacher’s Institute Office at 53 Wall Street.
SUGGESTED SEQUENCES
One line sequences
I wish . . .
Once . . .
Now . . .
Remember . . .
Yes . . .
No . . .
And . . .
It seems . . .
I have a dream . . .
Oh . . .
Name of someone you know
Name of a loved one
But on the other hand . . .
Elicit ideas from class.
Two line sequences
Once . . . Now . . .
It seems . . . but really . . .
If . . . Then . . .
Why . . . ? Because . . . !
Descriptions
Teachers
Students
Friends
Neighbors
Toys
A room in the house
Places
Animals
Pets
Plants
Clothing
Posters
SUGGESTED FORMULAS
Make each line a lie.
Make each line a dream.
Each line MUST mention a color.
Each line MUST mention a word in Spanish.
Each line MUST mention a part of the body.
Each line MUST mention a city.
Each line MUST mention an article of clothing.
SUGGESTED STRATEGIES
Party Game Poetry
Each child writes one line given one of the restrictions: 1. with each person knowing all of the previous lines. 2. with each person knowing only the preceding line. 3. with everyone blind to the other lines. Have each child read their line aloud or collect them and have one person read the entire poem.
Pooling
Pool stanzas with any of the previously mentioned sequences. Assign each person a separate room in a house and have the class write four lines. After they have written the line combine all the stanzas and organize it with the class to come to a group decision of what order they prefer the stanzas to be in.
Dear Diary
Make a poem by writing it as a real letter to somebody you know, to yourself as if the poem was in your diary.
