The Pleasure of Words: Poetry, Play and Learning
EDU 530-01
Tonya Frazier
March 25,2001
Dear friend,
Hello
my dear friend, I hope all is well,
It’s
been years since I’ve seen you last,
I’ve
been thinking of you and the time we both shared
Years
ago in our dear past.
I
met you there standing in line,
I’ll
hold your spot if you hold mine,
That
was the beginning of our special time,
A
time our hearts grew, you grew in mine.
Our
time together all things were new,
While
facing our new lives a true friendship grew.
We
helped each other to always stand strong,
At
times reminded each other what was right, what was wrong.
You
were my closest friend, my true confidant,
The
person I went to, when to others I could not.
We
shared laughs, tears and times of fun,
When
I think of a closer friend I feel I have none.
I
wonder now what you think what you feel,
As
distance has put more that miles between us,
I
miss you more, my dear friend, as time passes on,
I
hope in our lives we’ll share one last song.
Don’t
worry dear for the house will come,
We’ll
work hard and save each penny,
I’ll
cut coupons and you’ll pack your lunches,
More
money in the savings our answer.
We’ll
have our dream home with the big yard,
With
the wrap around porch and the two car garage,
Four
bedrooms, two baths, a bay window in front,
Maybe
a fireplace, gas stove, or such.
We’ll
sit on the porch swing and watch the kids play,
Laugh
and tell stories of our past days,
Renting
small apartments, having nothing of our own,
We’ll
look around and thank God for our own home.
I’ll
make the coffee, dear, you get the mail,
We’ll
sit, talk, and feel better,
We
only have to wait One more year,
Our
time will come, don’t worry.
When
did the gas bill get so high?
We
still owe the doctor more money?
When
did you use the credit card last?
Student
loan bills keep coming.
Don’t
worry dear for the house will come,
We’ll
work harder and save fewer pennies,
We’ll
have money to put in the savings next week,
In
a Few more years we’ll have our home, don’t worry.
Don’t
ask me to tell you for I really don’t know,
Only
these old walls hold the secrets of our time.
Day
to day we’ll continue to be and we’ll be here,
Like
the ones before us and the ones to come.
I’ll
take care of you, you’ll watch over me,
I’ll
sit next to you in your rocker, we’ll sip tea
Reminisce
about our accomplishments, cry about our fears,
Days
will turn to nights, months to years.
But
we’ll be together as only we can,
For
only God knows how long we’re in his plan.
They’ve
made quite a living out of their fibs,
God
pity that woman, hopefully he did,
They
took everything from her they possibly could,
Now
they should pay like any thief should,
They
took her power, money and time,
They
blamed it on her, she drank too much wine,
Now
they are gone and feeling fine,
She
is left alone facing the crime.
I
want to help her, but I know I can’t
Give
her back all that they took,
With
the marvels of science we still don’t know,
How
to help those we love who are lost.
We
are powerless to all of this evil,
If
we don’t see them then we are doomed,
For
now all she sees is sad snippets of time,
The
end of her world now rains upon her.
I
have a make believe friend,
My
make believe friend is a bug,
I
love my bug and my bug loves me,
I
take him wherever I go.
My
bug is little, my bug is a girl,
When
I don’t have kids to play with she’s there,
My
parents are suspicious, they don’t understand,
That’s
because they’re big and don’t play pretend.
When
my bug is busy I really don’t mind,
I
pretend and play something new,
I
am a cowgirl with an invisible horse,
Or
a doggie crawling on all fours.
Maybe
I am a doctor helping the sick,
Or
a model in my dress up clothes,
I
become a builder with my Lego set,
Or
an artist with my crayons and watercolors.
Big
people worry to much about what they want and need,
I
don’t want for anything, I am all I need,
And
if I don’t have something I want, that’s O.K.,
I
pretend and I have it anyway.
Our
schools are scary places,
So
much violence and anger,
Parents
are scared, teachers at wits end,
Where
do we start, where’s the beginning.
Children
are hurting, feeling alone,
Not
knowing where to turn, who to trust,
Thinking
violence is their only way,
To
feel strong and important.
The
problems are blamed on teachers,
They
didn’t see this violence coming,
Or
maybe it is the school’s fault,
This
“no tolerance to violence” is not working.
The
real problem lies at the student’s home,
The
parents create the bullies,
Parents
say, “Go away, don’t bother me now”,
“Keep
your mouth shut, I’m busy”.
“I
have to much to worry about”,
“I
don’t care about your day”,
“Leave
me alone, go to your room”,
“Why
were you born anyway?”.
These
poor kids have no where to turn,
Their
anger builds up inside,
They
turn to violence to get what they need,
They
hurt so they need to hurt others.
Not
all of the problems can be fixed,
But
we do have to start somewhere,
Being
the teacher who listens first,
Could
help students feel better inside.
Teachers
can’t fix all the problems,
But
they will work hard to try,
Because
they love those kids you see,
Those
kids are why they are there.
Tonya
Frazier
Music
Appreciation Class
Activity: Poetic Writing
1.
Students
will become familiar with the music of Ludwig van Beethoven.
2.
Students
will study the history of Beethoven to be familiar with his life so to
understand the time period when his music was written.
3. Students will have the opportunity to
express themselves during musical lessons.
1.
Students
will listen to the piece “Moonlight Sonata”.
2.
Students
will write twenty words they think of when listening to the recording.
3.
Students
will then take the words and write short poems of how the piece of music makes them feel.
1.
Students
have become familiar with the life of Beethoven.
2. Students have heard this piece of music
before.
2.
Students
have written short stories in similar assignments.
1.
Students
are able to express the way they feel.
Students are told they can only use words that are
school appropriate.
Materials
-recording
of “Moonlight Sonata
-paper
and pencil for students
Equipment
-cassette
recorder
1.
Have
tape recorder and tape set up.
2.
Play
the piece of music for the students.
3.
Have
students only listen to the music the first time.
4.
Play
the piece of music again and ask students to write twenty words they think of
when listening to the music.
5.
Students
are reminded to use words that are school appropriate.
6.
Students
are then given twenty minutes to write a small poem of at least eight lines
using the words they came up with.
7.
If students are unable to finish they are
able to take the project home.
8.
Students
are able to share their poems that day or the next.
1.
Equipment
failure—Play the piece “Moonlight Sonata” on the piano
2. Remediation—If students are unable to think
of twenty words then play the recording
a third time.
2.
Acceleration—If
all students finish poems then have all students share poems.
Move on to another piece of music and have
students do the same
Assignments.
1.
Did
students write twenty words to describe the music? ( )
2.
Did
students complete a poem of at least 8 lines?
( )
1.
Have
students write a short story using information in their poem.
2.
Do
the same assignments using different pieces of music.
3.
Allow
students to bring in their own music to use with this activity (the music must
be school appropriate).