… to be told to 5th, 6th, and 7th graders.
A little while ago, a schoolteacher friend asked if I could come into her school, and read some poems for the classes there. She asked me, she said, because I have done some voice acting in the past–she wants the poems to “come alive,” as she puts it, as I orally interpret them. The point, apparently, is to show the kids that poetry is not just something printed on the page for bland reading and recital, but something that really does express the poet’s mood, thoughts, and ideas.
It sounded challenging, and I agreed to do it, though (and maybe I stepped too far here), I offered to memorize everything, rather than reading it.
Anyway, I’d like some suggestions for poems, if you can help. She’d like me to do three or four, and so far, I’m thinking of choosing from among the following:
Rudyard Kipling’s “If” (Actually, the teacher specifically asked for this one, so it’s a must-do.)
Shel Silverstein’s “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout”
Thayer’s “Casey at the Bat”
Service’s “The Cremation of Sam McGee” or “The Shooting of Dan McGrew”
I may include one of my own as well, but are there any others that you can suggest? Remember, the kids are aged 10 to 12 or so, so most of what we studied in college is probably out. But maybe not. What’s got plenty of rhythm and rhyme, so I can do the most with my recital time?
