Module 4- Social Studies Poetry

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, Alcorn, Stephen ill. My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States, New York: Scholastic Inc., 2000. ISBN 0-439-37290-9

Review:

My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States is a collection of poems gathered by Lee Bennett Hopkins. It is a poetic atlas of the seven geographical regions of the United States including the capital- Washington D.C. Each geographical region includes a map, state facts-including a great fact for each state, and poems. The poems reflect different aspects of each region from weather to city life. Livingston's poem uses a line from the song, America, the Beautiful, as its title and then describes this line by using the geographic features of the mountain states. Livingston compares the mountains to majestic kings in this line by using a simile, "They rise like kings". Alcorn's illustrations bring the poems visually to life. They represent Americana folk art with a Picasso-like flavor thrown in for variety. it is a great resource for a social studies classroom.

Introduction:

Have students sing the song, America, the Beautiful. After singing the song, have students talk about the lines in the poem (have a copy of the poem showing on a screen using a LCD projector). Lines like, "...for spacious skies/ for amber waves of grain/ for purple mountain majesty/ above the fruited plain"- have students discuss what these are describing. Students can create a 4-square graphic organizer, write each line in a square, and then draw an illustration of the line. Then read the poem and show the illustration.

Poem: excerpt from My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States

"For Purple Mountains' Majesty" by Myra Cohn Livingston

I saw them today.
I saw them.
So many years I have heard them in a song.
It's true. They're purple when you see them.
They rise like kings.
They are mountains.
Suddenly
I know.
I really know.
What that song is all about.

Extension:

Have students write a poem about their state and then create an illustration to accompany it.

Module 4- Biographical Poetry

Bernier-Grand, Carmen T. Frida: ¡Viva la vida! /Frida: Long Live Life!. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Children, 2007. ISBN 9780761453369

Review:

In Frida: ¡Viva la vida! /Frida: Long Live Life!, Bernier-Grand uses free verse poems in first person to describe the life of artist Frida Kahlo. Kahlo's art work is featured throughout the book with many matching the accompanying poem. The poems speak of Kahlo's life from birth to death including her polio bout, bus accident, surgeries, marriage, infidelity, pain, and more. In her poem, Wounded Deer, Bernier-Grand explores Kahlo's painting The Little Deer (1946). The images of barren trees, arrows, blood, and Kahlo's head on a deer body are represented in the poem's words- My barren landscapes show my barren self/ I have lost three children/ Four arrows in my heart/ to remind Diego how his shots have made me bleed. Even though the tone is sad, it ends with an uplifting thought- "But I am happy to be alive". This book is visually stunning and the poems give a voice to the artwork of Kahlo, whose complicated life was eased through art. A short biography of Kahlo's life, timeline, glossary, sources, and quotes are included in the book. It is a good starting book for those interested in her biography and artwork. It is more appropriate for young adult students than elementary students.

Introduction:

Show the picture of The Little Deer using a document camera and LCD projector. Have students describe the mood of the picture. As they answer, ask them why they think that is the mood. You can also use symbolism in this way as well.  Record their answers on chart paper. Read the poem aloud with the image still showing.

Poem: excerpt from Frida: ¡Viva la vida! /Frida: Long Live Life! by Carmen Bernier-Grand
(accompanied by Frida's painting The Little Deer (1946).

Wounded Deer

My barren landscapes show my barren self.
I have lost three children.

Four arrows in my heart
to remind Diego how his shots have made me bleed.

Shooting pains in my hip,
Shooting pains in my foot,
Shooting pains in my spine.

I am not sick.
I am broken.
But I am happy to be alive.

http://www.artchive.com/web_gallery/F/Frida-Kahlo/The-Little-Deer.html

Extension:

Choose another of Kahlo's paintings (or another artist's work) to show to the class. Have students discuss the image and write down the words used to describe the artwork. Then have students create a poem based on the artwork from the artist's point of view. Students can read their poems aloud to each other or in small groups.

Module 4- Science Poetry

Wermund, Jerry. Soil: More Than Just Dirt. Buda, TX: Rockon Publishing, 2009. ISBN: 9780972625531

Review:
Wermund uses free verse and haiku poems to present information about soil, bugs, weathering, etc. Each poem is accompanied by an informational paragraph about the poem's subject matter. The poem below uses strong science vocabulary to describe the physical and chemical changes to rock that creates soil throughout the weathering process. The poem's words have a rhythm to them as you read them aloud. Some of the words utilize onomatopoeia such as crack. The poem is a mix of 1, 2, and one 4 syllable words,  this is symbolic of rocks breaking down from one large piece to several smaller pieces. Even the poems use of right justification is reminiscent of cracks and splits in creating the rough surface of a rock. Each poem is located on full page color photos of the poem's subject. A wonderful resource for any science classroom and especially an Earth Science unit.


Introduction:

Bring in examples of rocks- large rocks to smaller pieces. Have students discuss how these many shapes and sizes of rock are possible. Then read the poem.

Poem: excerpt from Soils: More Than Just Dirt by Jerry Wermund

Parent Material

Rocks

fracture

break

rupture

crack

split

shatter

splinter

erode

dissolve

decay

disintegrate

give birth

to Soils.

Extension:

Have students create a list of 1, 2, 3, and 4 syllable words that explain and describe the weathering process of rocks. Then they can create their own free verse poem about weathering rocks.

Module 3- 2011 Poetry Book

Frost, Helen. Hidden, New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011. ISBN-978-0-374-38221-6.

Review:
Frost has written an intriguing free verse novel from two different perspectives- Wren and Darra. Life is never the same for Wren Abbott and Darra Monson after that fateful experience. An ordinary day for Wren Abbott turns into a nightmare as she is inadvertently kidnapped during a robbery and get-a-way. She is in the back seat of  her mom's stolen van. She hides under a blanket in the van and then in a boat in the garage. She is so afraid that all she can do is hide. Darra's life is interrupted when Wren escapes and leads police to her house. Darra's father is arrested and her life is never the same all because of Wren Abbott. The girls attend the same summer camp several years later and confront the past, their feelings, and experiences. Frost invented a new form of poetry to help give insight into Darra's story. Darra's poems are told in long lines; take the last word of the longest lines to read Darra's thoughts and memories. This is truly an inventive form of a poem within a poem or a story within a story. I highly recommend it.

Introduction:
Have students discuss their fears and what they do when they are afraid. Then have them talk about what they feared as a child and how they dealt with their fears.

Poem:

excerpt from Hidden by Helen Frost

Darra might look in the boat for her cat.
          Should I try to look like a gray sweatshirt
          wadded up on the floor of the boat
          under the blue boat-cover?
                Or
          should I let Darra see me?
          I didn't know who I could trust.
                I stayed quiet.
                I hid.

Extension:
Have students read or write Darra's thoughts from the last words of the longest lines. Discuss how these thoughts help the reader to understand Darra's perspective better. Students can also complete a compare and contrast Venn diagram of Wren and Darra. Students can also discuss how their relationship changes throughout the verses.

Module 3- Verse Novel

Applegate, Katherine. Home of the Brave, New York: Square Fish, 2007. ISBN- 978-0-329-71277-8.

Review:

Applegate writes a compelling free verse novel of Kek, a Sudanese refugee and his experiences in America. There are four parts and an epilogue which begin with an African Proverb. Applegate captures the loss and guilt Kek feels at being the survivor of his family. He saw his father and brother killed and had to leave his mother to hide from the attackers. He has come to America not knowing where his mother is or if she is alive. Applegate uses similes, metaphors, and personifications well in her free verse poem to describe things through Kek's eyes. For example, "The icy air kicks at my chest". Kek is not used to the cold air and it can feel like a heavy blow to your body when first inhaling freezing air. In this alien world, Kek feels overwhelmed and lost at times, but finds solace in a lonely gariatric cow. In his tribe, everything has a place and purpose in life around cattle. Kek begins to tend to the cow and befriends it-a small glimmer of home. I recommend this book to classroom teachers, especially ESL classroom teachers. Many students will be able to identify with Kek's feelings and experiences.  

Introduction:

Have students discuss these questions and write down responses on poster paper:

How many of you have moved here from another school? Another country?

How does it feel to be the "new kid" in school?

How many of you did not speak English when you first came here?

How did that make you feel?

What made you feel better during this time?

Poem:

expert from Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Again I'm learning

that America people

don't understand the wonder of a cow.

Maybe if they had more cows

on the TV machine,

people would begin to feel as Ganwar and I do.

You can have your dogs and cats,

your gerbils and hamsters

and sleek sparkling fish.

But you will  have lived

just half a life

if you never love a cow.

Extension:

Have students choose 1 or 2 similes, metaphors, and/or personifications from the verse novel. Have them illustrate the simile, metaphor, and/or personification. Then have students create similes, metaphors, and personifications and share with the group.

Module 3- Poetic Form

Clements, Andrew, Bowers, Tim ill. Dogku, New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007. ISBN-978-1-428-74864-4

Review:

Clements cleverly tells a tale about a homeless dog finding a home through haiku poems. This book is a wonderful introduction to the poetic form of haikus. Clements uses the format effectively to tell Mooch's story. As shown below, Clements humor is combined with haiku format in finding the perfect name for the dog. The illustrations by Tim Bowers also gives insight to the dog's new name, as he is seen mooching food from the family's breakfast. Even the name of the book is a play on the word haiku- Clements combined the poetic form with the subject of the poems thus creating Dogku. Clements includes an author's note at the end of the book explaining the rules of haiku-"A haiku is so simple-only 17 syllables, 5/7/5". Clements tone throughout the book and author's note is so positive, friendly, and encouraging about haikus, that students will be willing to try some of the fun involved in writing haikus.

   

Introduction:

Haikus use a pattern. Introduce patterns to students by using dominoes. Using a document camera and LCD projector place dominoes in a 5,7,5,5,7,5, and 5 pattern. Have students tell what the pattern is and what the next set of numbers should be.

Poem: from Dogku by Andrew Clements

A dog needs a name.

Rags? Mutt? Pooch? No, not Rover.

Mooch. Yes, Mooch! Perfect.

Extension:

Have a selection of words with 1-5 syllables written on the board or chart paper. Have students try to guess how many syllables are in each word. If students are having trouble breaking words into syllables, have students clap the syllabic patterns of each word. For example, the word chocolate will have 3 claps. Rewrite the words broken up by syllables to help students in needed. Then have students add their own words to the list. The list can be placed in the classroom as an anchor chart when writing haikus.