Poetry

A Teacher’s Lament BY KALLI DAKOS Don’t tell me the cat ate your math sheet, And your spelling words went down the drain, And you couldn’t decipher your homework, Because it was soaked in the rain. Don’t tell me you slaved for hours On the project that’s due today, And you would have had it finished If your snake hadn’t run away. Don’t tell me you lost your eraser, And your worksheets and pencils, too, And your papers are stuck together With a great big glob of glue. I’m tired of all your excuses; They are really a terrible bore. Besides, I forgot my own work, At home in my study drawer.

“A poem is like a can of frozen juice – add three cans of water and your get the prose version.” - Eve Merriam

“Poetry is elegant shorthand.” -William Coles

“Poetry is a sort of dancing with the voice.” -Francis Scarfe

Features of Poetry A unique treatment of an ordinary topic Use of descriptive language Precise and economical word choice Focus on the sounds of the language as well as the meaning Repetition of sounds, words, and phrases for effect Attention to line breaks and white space Sometimes a formal structure (sonnet, ballad)

Tools of Poetry Rhythm Musical language Sensory imagery Comparisons Shape and form Rhyme

Activity: Its always fun to listen while some, poor, unsuspecting soul becomes totally unglued while trying to recite a tongue twister. Of course, reciting a tongue twister is not quite as fun for the performer -- unless he or she has practiced a few times.

Could you say this 3 times fast?

What makes tongue twisters so difficult to say?

Alliteration The repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words in a sentence or in a line of poetry. Ex. charming children broken bones gross green grapes

Test your skills

Betty Botter Betty Botter bought some butter. "But," she said, "the butter's bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter-- that would make my batter better." So she bought a bit of butter, better than her bitter butter. And she put it in her batter, and the batter was not bitter. So 'twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter!

How good of a tongue twister are you? 40 seconds and over: Too slow. Your grandparents could say the poem faster. 30 to 40 seconds: Not bad. You're probably a faster talker than the President. 20 to 30 seconds: Pretty good. You've been gifted with a fast pair of lips. 15 to 20 seconds: Excellent. You can out talk anyone around. 14 seconds or less: You are a tongue tying champion!

Assignment: Some of the most popular tongue twisters of all time tell a story using hard-to-say sounds and catchy rhythm. Your assignment for today is to make your own tongue twister that tells a story.

Examples: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Examples: She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I'm sure she sells seashore shells.

Examples: Ned Nott was shot and Sam Shott was not. So it is better to be Shott than Nott. Some say Nott was not shot. But Shott says he shot Nott. Either the shot Shott shot at Nott was not shot, Or Nott was shot. If the shot Shott shot shot Nott, Nott was shot. But if the shot Shott shot shot Shott, Then Shott was shot, not Nott. However, the shot Shott shot shot not Shott, but Nott.