Lesson 1

·         Start by reading Shel Silverstein’s “Where the Sidewalk Ends”:

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

·         Ask the children what the poem makes them feel

o   If they’re having trouble, ask them if it’s happy or sad or read a specific line

·         Ask them what makes them think it’s happy or sad or whatever feeling they said

·         Now ask them what the poem is about, keeping in mind how it made them feel

o   If they’re having trouble, point out specific lines like “the children, they know/The place where the sidewalk ends.” Ask them what’s next to a sidewalk, what you might be stepping on after you get off the sidewalk. Ask them what goes on the road and try to lead them so they know it’s about growing up (e.g. you can only drive when you’re 16)

o   Other interpretations are okay

o   If they have a meaning, ask them if they think the poem thinks it is a happy or sad thing or both

·         “The purpose of a poem is to express a feeling. There will be some poems that you cannot interpret, but a good poem will let you know how to feel, and that is the most important part. Silverstein lets you know how to feel with description.”

o   Give specific examples: he doesn’t just say the grass is growing, he says how it grows “the grass grows soft and white”

o   Look at the line “To cool in the peppermint wind.” Ask the children what peppermint makes them think of and how that could be used to describe wind.

o   Ask them if there are any words that stood out and told them how to feel about the poem

·         Give the children some time to write a scene and tell them to use as much description as possible using all five senses—taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell—to tell the reader how to feel about the place they are describing.

o   Afterwards, ask if anyone wants to share and try to point out the lines in each girl’s piece that made you feel the most.

·         Explain what a stanza is (a paragraph in poetry). Tell them that in the second stanza of the poem, the poem changes with the line “Let us leave this place.” Poems move. They have a beginning and an ending.

·         There are three ways to make a moving poem:

o   Tell a story. Silverstein does this in his poem when he mentions walking a walk that is measured and slow and leaving to find the place where the sidewalk ends.

o   Coming back to the beginning. This is when a poem begins and ends with the same or similar lines because it is restating the main idea of the poem.

§  Read “A Pizza the Size of the Sun” by Jack Prelutsky:

I’m making a pizza the size of the sun,

a pizza that’s sure to weigh more than a ton,

a pizza too massive to pick up and toss,

a pizza resplendent with oceans of sauce.

I’m topping my pizza with mountains of cheese,

with acres of peppers, pimentos, and peas,

with mushrooms, tomatoes, and sausage galore,

with every last olive they had at the store.

My pizza is sure to be one of a kind,

my pizza will leave other pizzas behind,

my pizza will be a delectable treat

that all who love pizza are welcome to eat.

               

The oven is hot, I believe it will take

a year and a half for my pizza to bake.

I hardly can wait till my pizza is done

my wonderful pizza the size of the sun.

§  Ask them if there are any words they don’t understand

o   Chorus, or a repeated line. Songs use choruses to restate the main idea of the song. Ask the children if they know a song that uses a chorus and if any of them would be willing to sing it. If not, just ask them to say what the chorus is.

·         Give the children time to write a poem using one of the three forms. When they’re finished, ask them to share.

·         “Now let’s talk about describing things in unusual ways. For example, if I asked you to describe how something sounded, you probably wouldn’t use a color. However, poetry is for breaking rules and you can describe things in unusual ways. This particular way of describing something is called synesthesia” write synesthesia on the board. “synesthesia is using one sense to describe another. For example, you could call something a stinky green or say it felt like fireworks. Fireworks aren’t something you touch, are they? But they give you a feeling. By saying something felt like fireworks, we are saying that the something gave us the samfirse feeling fireworks do.”

·         Read “Jilted” by Sylvia Plath:

My thoughts are crabbed and sallow,

                My tears like vinegar,

Or the bitter blinking yellow

                Of an acetic star

Tonight the caustic wind, love,

                Gossips late and soon,

And I wear the wry-faced pucker of

                The sour lemon moon.

While like an early summer plum,

                Puny, green, and tart,

Droops upon its wizened stem

                My lean, unripened heart.

o   Ask them if there are any words they don’t know (there will be a lot, so explain to them what the poem is about first. If you want, you can substitute easy words for the words they don’t understand then read it again so it’s easier for them).

o   Look at the line “

o   Bring around some vinegar for them to smell

o   Ask the children how the vinegar smelled and how it made them feel

o   Plath’s tears were not like vinegar in smell or taste; they were like vinegar in how they made her feel. She reacted to her tears how she reacted to the vinegar.

·         Give the children time to practice using unusual descriptions. Tell them they can write a whole poem or just descriptions. Ask them to share when they’re finished.

·         “If you think about Plath’s poem, there are one or two colors she uses over and over. What are they?” [yellow and green]

·         Colors are a great way to express emotion. What do Plath’s colors mean?

·         What colors would you pair with emotions? Offer the children emotions first like anger, sadness, etc.

·         Give the children time to write a poem that focuses on one color. When they’re finished, ask if anyone wants to share.

·         Using colors to express feelings works especially well in painting. Show them the poster and ask the children what kind of mood it sets.

·         “Just like in poetry, you can use color to tell the reader or viewer what you are feeling. You can also use objects of the same color to set the mood. For example, you could use the night sky as a dark blue background. What are some things that go with the color ____ (pick any) that also have the same tone? Tone is the mood something sets.

·         Give the children some time to pick a color and make a drawing showing the mood for that color. Tell them it does not have to be realistic. For example, they could draw blue fire if it matches the tone they want. When they’re finished, ask if anyone wants to share.

·         Give the children time to do a portrait of someone. Tell them to pick one color to show how they feel about the person. When they’re finished, ask if anyone wants to share.