Paul Fleischman imaginatively engages the reader through his use of varying perspectives in his collection of poems titled Joyful Noise. As with other Paul Fleischman books such as Bull Run and Seedfolks, Fleischman interconnects characters by revealing their personal accounts and points of view. Joyful Noise is a collection of poems that pay homage to the insect world. Some poems are told from a third person perspective while others are written in first person. I never thought that I could empathize with a digger wasp until I read Fleischman's poem! This poem reveals the wasp's point of view. The wasp describes the arduous task of preparing for her offspring, despite the fact that she will die before they are born. Fleischman captures this insect's resolve. Who would have known that it was possible to reveal a wasp's internal struggles?
As I read the poems, I immediately noticed their rhythmic quality. Fleischman's poems are intended to be read by two people and the interchangeable voices create a musical tone as they are read aloud. Fleischman's word choices also add to the rhythm of each poem. He incorporates alliteration and other literary devices to enhance the rhythmic tone. As I read these poems silently, I could hear the two voices as I read. I was able to identify and read the poems with proper rhythm and timing. This can be attributed to Fleischman's skillful orchestration of incorporating both voices (readers). This added to the flow of each poem and kept me engaged throughout. Fleischman's literary techniques kept me invested in his insect poems, when I may not have been otherwise.
These poems provide a wonderful opportunity to engage students in read-alouds such as Reader's Theater. I can envision having students work in pairs to present a Reader's Theater of each poem. This collection of poems also provides a valuable content area resource. This collection could be integrated in a Science unit on insects. I believe that students would be motivated by reading these poems aloud while learning interesting facts about a day in the life of an insect.
As I read the poems, I immediately noticed their rhythmic quality. Fleischman's poems are intended to be read by two people and the interchangeable voices create a musical tone as they are read aloud. Fleischman's word choices also add to the rhythm of each poem. He incorporates alliteration and other literary devices to enhance the rhythmic tone. As I read these poems silently, I could hear the two voices as I read. I was able to identify and read the poems with proper rhythm and timing. This can be attributed to Fleischman's skillful orchestration of incorporating both voices (readers). This added to the flow of each poem and kept me engaged throughout. Fleischman's literary techniques kept me invested in his insect poems, when I may not have been otherwise.
These poems provide a wonderful opportunity to engage students in read-alouds such as Reader's Theater. I can envision having students work in pairs to present a Reader's Theater of each poem. This collection of poems also provides a valuable content area resource. This collection could be integrated in a Science unit on insects. I believe that students would be motivated by reading these poems aloud while learning interesting facts about a day in the life of an insect.
1 comment:
I also noticed that the point of view changed from poem to poem. I agree with you that it helped to keep me engaged. Initially I thought, "Oh great" when the first poem about grasshoppers was in third person and described their jumping habits, but once I realized that the point of view changed from poem to poem, I was eager to read and determine who the "reader" was this time.
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