David L. Harrison’s “Meanwhile”

Reminder: PoetryTagTime is the first ever electronic-only poetry anthology of new poems by top poets for children. You can purchase the book for 99 cents at Amazon and read it on your Kindle or through the downloadable Kindle platform for your computer, cell phone, etc.

Previously: Joan Bransfield Graham

Next up: DAVID L. HARRISON

David's blog

Setting the Stage: Lead the kids in a discussion of the two major roles for bees: drones and queen. Do they know which is which and what each does in the hive? If not, research and share.

Poetry Performance: David Harrison’s poem, “Meanwhile” is a concrete or shape poem that suggests the look of a bee’s hive. But it also uses the shape to suggest a slowing-down rhythm for reading the poem. Read it aloud to the kids first beginning at a normal pace, then pausing after the word “once” to read the remainder of the poem more and more slowly. Then invite them to join in on repeated readings with the same rhythm, pausing after “all,” “they,” and “ask” for extra impact.

Just for Fun: Join the kids in looking for more shape poems, more bee poems, or creating a hive shaped poem from the queen’s point of view (perhaps growing from smaller at the top to larger at the bottom).

Poem Links: Here are key words that connect this poem with other poems in the PoetryTagTime collection:
Bees
Shape poem
Sky
Humor
Bugs

Buy the book now, so you can share each poem along with the ideas and activities that follow here.

Next up for PoetryTagTime: Julie Larios

Image credit: PoetryTagTime

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2011. All rights reserved.