Module 5- Hopkins Award Poetry



Myers, Walter Dean, Myers, Christopher ill. Jazz. New York: Holiday House, 2006. ISBN 978-0-8234-2173-2

Review:
Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers capture the earthiness of jazz through the poems and illustrations in their book, Jazz. The poems represent the development of jazz, some influential people in jazz, and a glossary of terms. In "America's Music", jazz instruments are introduced as well as the meter of jazz- 4/4 time. Walter Dean Myers gives character to the instruments through personification and the use of similes, "Strings crying like midnight widows/ Horns tearing down Jericho walls/ A clarinet sassing". These words give sounds and personality to the instruments and the music they make. The illustrations by Christopher Myers uses bold  blues, greens, yellows, and reds with bold brush strokes representative of the music they represent. The rhythm of the poem is like jazz in that it is, "Behind the beat, around the beat/ Bending the in-between". Jazz can be on the upbeat, the down beat, or a syncopated rhythm similar to the poem. This is a wonderful addition to a library collection.


Introduction:
Play jazz music in the library. While they listen to the music, have them draw shapes, lines, designs that the music's rhythm or instrumentation makes them see in their minds. Similar to a stereo equalizer but with shapes and such. Give each student a copy of the poem and read it to them. Reread the poem aloud. Read the poem and have the students read in chorus the words in yellow print. For a challenging activity, try reading the poem in a cannon.

Poem: America's Music by Walter Dean Myers an excerpt from Jazz

What did the world see?
What did the world hear?
Black men sweating in 4/4 time
Behind the beat, around the beat
Bending the in-between
Strings crying like midnight widows
Horns tearing down Jericho walls
A clarinet sassing
Its way through
a Sunday-night sermon
And the chorus calling out the blues!
And ragtime!
And jazz!
From Mississippi to Harlem
While the folks across the ocean
were just saying
AMERICA

Extension:
Have band students prepare a jazz piece of music and play it for the class. They can play solos, duets, trios, etc. Students can also research influential jazz musicians and present 6 interesting facts about the person to the class. They can write an acrostic poem describing their person.