The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one
The mouse ran down
Hickory, Dickory, Dock
(It actually has more verses that have been added after the traditional Mother Goose. It's a counting song. Here's another version with music. )
What is the purpose of the rhythm, repetition, and rhyme in this poem?
Most of the time, when I ask adults this question, they look at me with blank stares for a bit.
But seriously. This is important. Sing it aloud to yourself and tap your feet. What happens to you?
It sounds like a clock. The writer did that on purpose, y'all. Sometimes writers use their syllables, their repetition, and their rhymes to help the reader hear something that's connected to the meaning of the poem. Understanding this helps us comprehend what the writer is saying. It helps us participate in the poem to see and hear what the writer describes.
We can look at the rhyme scheme to help us understand and visualize the poem as well. Dock and clock rhyme. Together, they help us hear the ticking and see the pendulum of an old grandfather clock swinging in time. We call that onomatopoeia. One and down don't rhyme. They show a contrast that help us visualize the conflict or cause and effect. That teeny little mouse runs up the clock for some reason. And then that big hand on the clock moves to one o'clock and a great big noise scares that little mouse so bad that he runs back down and scrambles back to a safe hidey-hole.
Noticing these things can also help us know how we can perform this poem in a way that is interesting and engaging to the listener. It helps us know what to emphasize with our prosody.
But why would the writer do that? We can comprehend the poet better when we think about the purpose and audience. Who are nursery rhymes usually written for? And when are they usually used? Nursery rhymes are used for little ones at bed time. Probably rocking in the chair with momma. So what happens when rhythm and rhyme are used at bedtime? It's soothing and comforting. Especially when combined with a tune.
But why is this worth noticing? Because when we understand how writers use the tools of rhyme, and rhythm, and repetition, we can ask ourselves important questions that help us comprehend. But they can also give us tools that we can use as writers as well. Is there a place in your writing where you want the reader to hear or see something? Can you imitate the sound with your language? We call that diction in high school. You can use your syllables and the order of your words to make them sound like what you want the reader to hear.
Our new standards for ELAR require this kind of teaching. Look at the knowledge and skills statements for the Author's Purpose and Craft Strand. We are to examine Author's Purpose in Craft in a way that informs how we listen, speak, read, write, and think. In addition, this kind of teaching requires a critical inquiry lens. We are not just telling kids how to help them read and think through a poem - we help them discover how to do this. And our work is not just about identifying author's craft, but "analyze the author's choices and how they influence and communicate meaning within a variety of texts." Furthermore, the student "analyzes and applies author's craft purposefully in order to develop his or her own products and performances."
When we are looking at our standards, it's important that we look at the Knowledge and Skills statement, but also the trajectory of the student expectation row. If you only look at your grade level, you are missing the purpose of the row.
- 2nd grade 10F: identify and explain the use of repetition
- 3rd grade 10G: identify and explain the use of hyperbole
- 4th grade 10G: identify and explain the use of anecdote
- 5th grade 10G: explain the purpose of hyperbole, stereotyping, and anecdote
- 6th grade 9G: explain the differences between rhetorical devices and logical fallacies
- 7th grade 9G: explain the purpose of rhetorical devices such as direct address and rhetorical questions and logical fallacies such as loaded language and sweeping generalizations
- 8th grade 9G: explain the purpose of rhetorical devices such as analogy and juxtaposition and and of logical fallacies such as bandwagon appeals and circular reasoning
- English I 8G: analyze the purpose of rhetorical devices such as appeals, antithesis, parallelism, and shifts and the effects of logical fallacies
- English II 8G: analyze the effects of rhetorical devices and logical fallacies on the way the text is read and understood
- English III 8G: analyze the effects of rhetorical devices and logical fallacies on the way the text is read and understood
- English IV 8G: analyze the effects of rhetorical devices and logical fallacies on the way the text is read and understood
The purpose of this row is not to identify and explain the use of repetition. The purpose of this row is to gradually support students toward the capacity to analyze texts rhetorically. If you don't start aiming for that with the littles, the bigs will never hit that target.
The implications here should CHANGE how we teach. We must address our skills rhetorically and in concert with multiple texts and genres and in multiple applications for comprehension and composition.
In second grade it might look like this:
Let's read and enjoy: Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, and Kitty Caught a Caterpillar. What did you notice that all of these writers are doing? When writers repeat words, phrases, or ideas, that's called repetition. But writers all use repetition differently. Let's look more closely at Goodnight Moon. How does Margaret Wide Brown use repetition? What effect does it have on you as a reader? Who is she writing for? When (purpose) might someone read this text? How can we listen for repetition when we experience texts? How can that help us comprehend or visualize? How might the repetition influence the way we perform this text? How does the repetition help the author communicate her message? What would the text be like without the repetition? How can you write with repetition like Margaret Wise Brown? Where is a place in your draft where you would like to do something similar for your reader or message?
In third grade, we might look at Alexander and the Terrible Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Piggie Pie, and the poem Appetite. But we won't simply stop by asking questions like this:
Because if an English teacher has asked it, the answer is already out there. We have to go five-thousand-leagues-under-the-sea deeper with our analysis and USE of hyperbole and that's no exaggeration for truth, emphasis, or humorous effect. Well, it kinda is.
In fourth grade, we might look at After the Fall (Santat uses an anecdote as his lead! Cool!) and Firetalking. Which brings me to another point. Y'all. We have to start reading some books. We have to KNOW the literature that has this stuff in it. Or you need a good friend like Deborah Dickinson or Teri Lesesne that you can go ask. Thanks girls.
In fifth grade, we might consider thematically linked texts like The Paper Bag Princess, Ruby's Wish, or Rosie Revere, Engineer that combat stereotypes.
Literary Analysis for the Littles. Yes. Sign me up for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment