Rhyme like a dime!

Poetry is needed for stories to be told to children in a free-flowing form. Poetry is a precise form of language, with the use of imagery, feelings, and qualities of sound (Temple, Martinez, and Yokota, 2019). Poetry provides its audience with a story that can be told with a few verses that have a theme that can be relatable to some who read it. Like in “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein (2002), the poem “I Must Remember” provides the audience with stories of the food that is typically eating during some of the big American holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter – and days - Sunday, Friday, and Monday (p.14). The poem is told in the form of a narrative – being passed down from generation to generation – and tells the stories of the food that is typically eating during these holidays and days that follow (Temple et al., 2019). Stories all always told from person to person and does not require text. These narratives are told from those who are older and continue when children tell these stories to one another. It is critical that teachers incorporate poetry into their classrooms so that children are exposed to these forms of narratives through poetry and know that they can create poetry themselves. The interesting part of this poem, “I Must Remember”, is that the poem provides humor (Temple et al., 2019). Humor appeals to children. In this poem, the person at all the food that is typically eaten during holidays in one day - sheesh, how could he?!

What comes to mind when you think about the Fourth of July? Fireworks! As Silverstein (2002) describes, “...CRASH!...BASH!...BANG!...ZANG!...WHOOSH!...BAROOOM! ...WHEW!” (p. 15). This is what you think about when you know the American holiday is approaching. The sounds and lights that the fireworks produce are exemplified in Silverstein’s poem, “THE FOURTH”. The imagery and the qualities of sounds are brought to life in this poem – poetry is crafted towards a keen ear for sound and that is why it is usually best to read to poem aloud (Temple et al., 2019). You can imagine what fireworks are making these sounds and what colors are coming to mind as you read this poem. The poem also appeals to feelings (Temple et al., 2019). As Silverstein described, “Oh…my…it’s…the…Fourth…of…July” (p. 15). It appeals to the audience’s feelings with how the words are written – “oh my”, making it seem as if this is the holiday to be celebrating. Silverstein cleverly wrote some words in capital letters and some in lower-case letters to get different meanings out to the audience. It provides those reading with two different senses when reading the poem.

Poetry usually rhymes, but it does not have to. In the poem, “THE LOSER”, Silverstein (2002) creates a rhythmic flow in his verses. Verse after verse, the stanzas are rhyming with one another – the pattern is stressed and unstressed – and it is the beat of the poem (Temple et al., 2019). The rhythm is slow and can be easily followed even though a narrative is being presented if someone “loses their head”. You can think about losing your head if you are not thinking about what you are doing. You need your head to control you’re the function of the body, and, if your head isn’t fastened on, you will just sit on a rock (Silverstein, 2002). Think about it, can you produce effectively if you do not have a good head on your shoulders? Probably not. You must think effectively in order to do things that will give you insight as to what needs to be done and how it needs to be done.

Poetry can be implemented in the classroom through the introduction of certain themes that will come about through the content. The poems must be culturally relevant to the students. The poems must give the readers a chance to fully engage with the text through the different modes – imagery, sounds, and feelings – that the poems provide.

References:

Silverstein, S. (2002). Where the sidewalk ends: the poems and drawings of Shel Silverstein.

New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Temple, C. A., Martinez, M. G., & Yokota, J. (2019). Children's Books in Children's Hands: an

introduction to their literature. NY, NY: Pearson.