Materials for this lesson:
R is for Rhyme book
Poetry for Young People Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Poetry notebooks
Concepts to be Presented:
- Poetry type: Ballad
- Poetry Concepts: Stanza, Rhythm, Meter, Foot
- Poet: Longfellow
Presentation Ideas:
Read It: The "Ballad of Butterfly and Rose" on the "B" page of R is for Rhyme.
Discuss It: Have everyone comment on something they notice about the poem. Each child must say something new. Have an older child record answers.
Do It: Write a definition of a ballad from your list of observations. Compare your definition with the one in the first and second paragraphs of the sidebar text. Which elements did you pinpoint? Did you miss any? Have any children who are able make a bulleted list of a ballad's characteristics in their poetry notebooks.
Read It: Have a child read "Becalmed" on p. 26 of the Longfellow book to the rest of the family.
Discuss It: Afterwards, have the other children vote whether the poem is a ballad or not. If it is not, have them guess which of a ballad's characteristics it illustrates. If you have no students old enough to do this, you could choose a couple of poems ahead of time and read them, letting younger kids vote on the characteristics.
Do It: Repeat this activity with "A Psalm of Life" on p. 36 and "The Wreck of the Hesperus" on p. 21.
Read It: Longfellow's "The Village Blackmith" on p. 13 of the Longfellow book.
Discuss It: Read some of the historical information found here. Alternatively, you could summarize for a younger crowd, or let them watch a a video of a backsmith at work.
Do it: Think of a modern day worker who is like the blacksmith in some way. Try writing your own ballad about that worker. Start by brainstorming the story, then let older and younger kids work in pairs to compose stanzas for the poem. In younger families, each child can take a turn working with mom to write a stanza. Keyboard the poem and print a copy for each person's poetry notebook.
Read It: Longfellow's biographical information on pp. 4-8 of the Longfellow book.
Discuss It: Flip through the pages of the book, reading the titles of the poems out loud. Have the children take turns inferring by what aspect of Longfellow's life the poem was inspired.
Do It: Have the children create a Longfellow page in their poetry notebooks where their narration will go later. Ask them create a bottom border for the page with symbols from Longfellow's life.
Read It: The third paragraph of the sidebar text on the "B" page in R is for Rhyme.
Discuss It: Clap out the number of syllables in each family member's name. Write them out on a piece of paper, marking the break between syllables with a "/". Determine which syllables are stressed and unstressed by saying the names slowly out loud, one syllable at a time. Mark stressed syllables with "`" and the unstressed syllables with a "~". Challenge the children to try to arrange the names to form a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, or to create lines that contain the same number of syllable groups. Explain that this is the process of creating poetry with a certain meter--arranging words into a pattern so that a certain rhythm is created, much like writing lyrics for a song.
Do It: Read the "Ballad of Butterfly and Rose" out loud slowly and ask the children to try to tap out the rhythm on the table, tapping with one hand for unstressed syllables and two hands for stressed syllables. If it is difficult for the children to hear the rhythm of the poem, exaggerate the stresses so they are able to hear it.
Extending the lesson:
Ideas for Older Students:
Write a narration of Longfellow's life and add it to their poetry notebooks. You may want to include another copy in your family's Book of Centuries as well.
Create an illustration of Longfellow on the facing page, imitating the portrait included in this post or creating a caricature. Children who prefer not to draw the portrait can print it out and place it in their notebooks, creating a decorative border.
Have the children copy the Longfellow ballad of their choice into their poetry notebooks, designing the layout and illustrations before they begin to create the nicest finished product they can.
Ask the children to read "The Sound of The Sea" on p. 25 of the Longfellow book each day for three days, copying it into their poetry notebook over the course of those days. On the fourth day, read the poem out loud slowly and have the children write it as you read. When they are done, have them compare their version to the original, correcting all mistakes.
Ideas for Middle Students:
- Have the children divide the Longfellow page in their poetry notebooks into four squares and include an interesting fact about Longfellow's life in each square. Encourage them to create an illustration for each as well. The students can draw a picture of Longfellow on the facing page or print his portrait and add it to the facing page.
- Have the children copy " The Rainy Day" from p. 12 of the Longfellow book into their poetry notebooks. Encourage them to plan before they work, designing a layout and illustration to create the nicest finished product they can.
- Follow the dictation idea for older students using the poem "The Arrow and the Song " on p. 9 of the Longfellow book.
Ideas for Younger Students:
- Have younger children tell you what they remember about Longfellow's life while you keyboard for them. Print the narration and add it to their poetry notebooks. Print the portrait of Longfellow included in this post and add to the child's poetry notebook. Encourage him to decorate the page.
- The youngest students can copy lines of the "Ballad of Butterfly and Rose" into their poetry notebooks during the week.
More Ideas for Ballads and Beats:
- Invite the children to make up a happy ending for the "Ballad of Butterfly and Rose" or another ballad.
- Choose a favorite poem from the Longfellow book and try to determine its meter pattern by counting syllables and identifying the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
- Try tapping out the meter of favorite nursery rhymes or other familiar poems during the week. Ask older children to try to identify the meter in their favorite songs.
- Let each family member choose one aspect of a ballad--characters, setting, ending---and write one together.
- Make up poems about the workers you come into contact with in your daily activities. Try to write a ballad about these people. Ideas include the postman, your soocer coach or piano teacher, your pastor. Have the children consider the joys and difficulties of that person's job as you brainstorm ideas.
Ideas and questions about poetry posts can be directed to Colleen at ccmitch.serendipity@gmail.com.
