Sweet Revenge

Hello,

Welcome to our blog!  Each week we will be reporting on a variety of books we have read in a variety of ways.  We will include a summary of the book, reasons it fits a certain genre, our opinions of the book and at times tips on using them in your classrooms.  At the end of each session, we will leave you with a question – we look forward to hearing your comments, feedback, and ideas. So come along with us as we explore new books in expanding our classroom library. J

    Karen and Whitney   


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
Elements of Poetry in The Haircut

Rhyme – through each stanza, the first and fourth line rhymes.  Rhymes are engaging for children and often make it easier to remember.  

Rhythm- is also found in this poem. Rhythm can be thought of as the “beat” of the poem. The rhythm in this poem is a lot like what hear rhythm when we listen to the beat in a song.

                                                   You shouldn’t have asked her.

                                     You should have listened to what your dad said

                                                    Before you asked your sister

                                        To trim those shaggy hairs upon your head.

Karen’s thoughts:

I LOVE this poem.  It screams Mischief  - Children – Siblings!  Having children of my own, this poem brings a smile to my face.  No matter how much you teach children about some dangers, there are those that have to learn it on their own.  I feel like that’s the case here with the clippers.  Although the mom and dad had warned them that clippers are not toys – the brother learned the hard way by having to wear a bald spot right down the middle of his head.  It’s a great piece that offers humor in a life lesson. I think it would be a great poem to introduce to older students.  It has two main things they would enjoy – humor and being able to relate to it.  The poem is full of rhyme and rhythm through each stanza, making it easy for students to understand and enjoy.  Onomatopoeia is represented in the poem in my favorite line:

“BrrrrrrrRRRRrr,” groaned the electric clippers.

I can hear those clippers rearing up as the sister cuts through the hair.  It’s too late then, the hair is gone.

I don’t know that I could be that trusting of my sibling to cut my hair. Could you?

What Whitney Thinks

I felt like this poem was very entertaining and is something that a young child would definitely be able to relate to. I would use this in my classroom as a guide to expose children to poetry. I feel they would enjoy this poem because most of them will be able to connect past experiences with it and understand the topic. If a child can enjoy the reading they are more likely to take it seriously and want to explore more into reading. This poem is funny and exciting which would be interesting to students. Rhyme and rhythm is some of the first elements I noticed in this poetry which gives me the feel it’s a “true” poem (Even though it does not have to contain those elements to be a poem.)  

If I were teaching this poem in my class I feel it would be an excellent introduction to a writing lesson where I would ask my students to write their own poem about a similar situation. I feel like this activity would get positive feedback from students. ;) At the end of the poem we have all learned a very valuable lesson, even if parents don’t seem to be right, most of the time they are!