Friday, February 20, 2009

Module 2: Poetry Break - Douglas Florian

THE GORILLA by Douglas Florian
(Found in: Florian, Douglas. 2000. MAMMALABILIA. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0152021671)

This humorous poem can be found in a collection of short poems and paintings all about various mammals. Children will love the simple rhyming text of this poem, and Florian’s ability to create his own catchy words, such as the word “stilla,” give the poem a rhythmic feel that helps the words flow off the tongue with ease. Florian also skillfully utilizes line breaks and pauses in this poem to deliver the words at just the right time to be both humorous and easy to read. Both young and old readers will enjoy the poem’s abrupt transition from a serious reflection on gorillas to a comical warning about the dangers of gorillas. Additionally, Florian’s accompanying painting of a menacing gorilla pointing to the reader in a human-like fashion matches the poem perfectly and will add to the reader’s delight.

INTRODUCTION: Since young students love riddles and guessing games, ask them the following riddle prior to reading THE GORILLA to them: “What mammal lives in Africa, can weigh more than 400 pounds, loves to eat fruit, and might use its fists to beat on it chest whenever its upset?” As the students begin to guess that the answer is a gorilla, tell them that they are in for a treat because they are going to hear an excellent and funny poem about a gorilla.

THE GORILLA
By Douglas Florian

A gentle giant
Blessed with grace…
It’s stilla
Gorilla—
Don’t get in its face.

EXTENSION: The rhythmic qualities of this poem make it a perfect poem to have students read out loud as a group, perhaps with drums or clapping hands to keep the beat (a slower beat for the first two lines, then a faster beat for the remainder of the poem). Also, this poem would pair very well with either a nonfiction book about gorillas, such as GORILLAS by Seymour Simon, or a picture book about gorillas, such as GORILLA! GORILLA! by Jeanne Willis. Both of these books mention the potentially softer side of gorillas in addition to their fearsome qualities, which might lead to a good discussion about how scary (or not so scary) gorillas really are. Of course, students might like to paint their own versions of a menacing gorilla, too!

1 comment:

  1. Great entry, and wonderful extensions around and relating to accessible children's poetry.

    I enjoy the entries on your blog - lots of good information!

    I thought your readers would be interested to know that Seymour Simon has a website, www.seymourscience.com, which provides supplementary information such as Discussion Guides, Science Projects, and Contests to support his books.

    In addition, if you are a member of Facebook, we invite you to join the Seymour Simon Fan group (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=57675721076&ref=ts ) so that you will be notified of Seymour's new books as they are published, as well as his upcoming speaking appearances.
    Liz Nealon

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