Children Literature: Unit 2

UNIT 2-CHILDREN LITERATURE

LESSON 1 Development of Poetry for Children and their Poem-makers
Dr. Isaac Watts
• He published “Divine and Moral Songs for Children” (1715)
• These songs are religious nature that is very real appeal to children
• He believed that morals and religion could be directly taught through hymns and songs 
Early poetry for children consist of:
• Hymned verses written for making children behave
• Verses lamented the death of pets or young friends
William Blake (1757-1827)
• First of the important English poets to write poetry for children 
• For him, children were not little sinners to be warned and frightened, but were the unspoiled handiwork of Divine love.
• He was known for his originality of rhythm and stanza pattern and the fitness of his rhythms to the spirit of his songs
• His themes were about nature, the lives of simple people, gay and laughing children
• Songs of innocence – the first printed poem in 1794
• Example:
• Introduction – shows a gay and a laughing child in lively abandoned
• Tiger, tiger, burning bright – sharp portrayal of pain and sadness and hints on the insoluble question of faith and philosophy
• The Chimney Sweep
• The Little black Boy
• Holy Thursday
Ann and Jane Taylor
(1782-1866)
• Began to write for little children when they were scarcely more than children themselves
• Their concept of poetry was to develop the morals, refine manners and impart information to young children
• They wrote about flowers, birds, moons, stars, the seasons, the fields and garden
• They are the first poets to write exclusively for children
• Original Poems for Infant Minds: By Several Young Persons - The first collection of verses published in1804
• “twinkle, twinkle, little star” 
• “I like little pussy”
• “Pretty cow”
Edward Lear
(1812-1888)
• He had no literary forerunner; he was simply himself
• At the age of 19, he made colored drawings of birds for the London Zoological Society
• He started his early caricatures with limericks 
• He had the ability to entertain all ages
Christina Rossetti
(1830-1894)
• Possessed much of the spiritual quality
• Began to write when still a child
• She use simple, direct an childlike sensory images and words
Celia Laighton Thaxter
(1835-1894)
• Earliest American writers of verse for children
• She was noted for her many beautiful and truthful pictures of birds
• She was a close and understanding observer of children
• Stories and poems-first published in 1883
Robert Louis Stevenson
(1850-1894)
• Considered as the first true “poet-laureate” of children
• His poems had a true lyrical quality and many had been set to music
Laura Elizabeth Richards
(1850-1943)
• She was not only a poet but also a musician
Walter de la Mare
(1873-1956)
• He started the stream of lovely verse
• He displays his greatest gift in writing about fairies, woodland spirits and other blithe spirits in the realm of fairyland 
Rose Flyeman
• “Poet of the Fairies”
• Her fairies mixed openly in the affairs of modern life, urban as well as country life
• They performed activities of real people
• Her poems had the sense of mystery and enchantment in them 
• She wrote amusing light verse about the modern child
Alan Alexander Milne
(1882-1956)
• His poems had delightful humor, captivating rhythms and appealing childish fancies
• He is very competent writer of light verse manufactured many “funny” words to increase rhythmic effects like “The three Foxes”
Rachel Field
(1884-1942)
• Her collections contained numerous poems about people and objects belonging to their immediate environment
Dorothy Aldis
(1897-   )
• She choose simple and common domestic scenes and events which portrays humor and charm
• Her verses appeal to the interests, activities and observations of children
Elizabeth Madox Roberts
(1886-1941)
• Her subjects sensitive to:
• Sights
• Sounds
• Odors
• Tactile sensations
• Her poems displayed in narrative form
Dorothy Walter Baruch
(1899-   )
• One of the modern poets for children
• She use her knowledge of child psychology
• She use free verse in the child’s own manner of speaking

Lesson 2
Who is Mother Goose? Where did she live?
• Mother goose never existed as a person and did not live anywhere
• She is only a myth, a personification of well-loved story-tellers who have existed since the world began.
• 1967 – Charles Perrault, a French writer published a collection of fairy tales named “Tales of My Mother Goose”
• Later on, John Newberry published collection of nursery rhymes called “Mother Goose Melody”
• Evidences by john Bellendenker and Katherine Elwes:
• Anne Boleyn – the pretty maid hanging up her clothes
• Richard III – the humpty dumpty
• 1765 – John Newberry published the earliest collection of Mother Goose entitled “Mother Goose Melody or Sonnets of Cradle”
• 1842 – James Halliwell published Nursery Rhymes of England
• 1897 – Andrew Lang published “Nursery Rhymes”, a collection of over 300 rhymes
• 1952 – Iona and Peter Opie published the latest and most complete collection of rhymes entitled “Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes”

Qualities of Mother Goose Rhyme
1) Musical quality
2) Action
3) Humor
4) Story Interest
5) Variety of subject matter
a.) Animals
b.) Alphabets
c.) Dialogue
d.) Counting rhymes
e.) Games
f.) People
g.) Time verses
h.) Riddles
i.) Tongue twisters
j.) Weather
k.) Accumulative stories
l.) singing rhymes
Values of Mother Goose Rhymes
• Mother Goose Rhymes serve as an introduction to real poetry
• They are good for ear-training and for their pleasure and amusement

Lesson 3
• Verse – a line of poetry having metrical or rhythmical pattern
• Humorous verse – deals with amusing things that befall real people, or might conceivably befall them
• Nonsense verse – deals with absurd or meaningless  words as fables, jumbles, potatoes that dance, chickens that go out to tea
– Nonsense verse contribute to the child’s personal and literary development
Values of nonsense verses for children
1) Provide humor for children
2) They introduce the children to rhyme and various pattern of verse
3) They serve as release from tension and anxieties
4) They provide children a means of escape from reality
5) They are excellent for ear-training
6) They serve as introduction to better poetry

Poets of Nonsense Verse
• Edward Lear (1812-1888)
– The greatest poet of nonsense
– He write limericks, funny poems of 5 lines
– His verses are made up of words
• Lewis Carrol (1882-1898)
– Writer of humorous verse for children
– Wrote “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland”
• Laura E. Richards (1850-1943)
– Known as the American Poet Laureate of Nonsense
– Qualities of her verses:
• Uses funny words
• Uses humorous tales
• Deals with funny characters and funny situations
• lyrical
• Alan Alexander Milne (1882-1956)
– His charm is his ability to present small children as they are
– He shows the child’s love of small animals
– His verses are full of child’s activities

Lesson 4
What is Poetry?
• It is an artistic expression of thought and emotion in rhythmical language
• A kind of verbal music
• It is like a musical score that must interpreted by the human voice in order to get fullest enjoyment
Qualities of Poetry
• Has musical and rhythmic qualities
• Appeals to the imagination
• The emotional content of poetry must be sincere, worth expressing, and must be universal in appeal
• The subjects must be varied
Classification of Poetry
I. Types of Poems According to form:
A.Narrative poems tell a story and relate events
Kinds:
1. ballads – narrative poems that are intended to be sung
2. epics – deal with deeds and heroic adventures
3. metrical romances – deal with love and brave deeds of hero
B. Lyric poems express the feeling, the mood, and the personality of the poet
Kinds:
1. Songs – poems that can be sung
2. Pastoral poems – about shepherds and rural scenes
3. sonnets – poems of 14 lines
4. elegy – a meditative poem that expresses grief or deals
5. ode – poem that expresses exalted feelings, a praise of someone or something
Factors that Influence Appreciation of Poetry
1. The Teacher
 must have natural love for poetry, broad educational background and reading excellence
 Must have a background of fundamental general information
 Must have  a familiarity with miscellaneous allusions
2. The Pupil
 The teacher must know the pupils well, their level of interests and varied backgrounds and responses
 The teacher must be quick to exploit every possibility of enhancing appreciation of poetry
 Different activities:
 Read poetry aloud for sheer personal enjoyment
 Memorize favorite lines
 Set up scrap books
 Participate in declamation contests
 Join poetry reading clubs
 Attend dramatic presentation
 Interpret the meaning and rhythms of poem in a pantomine
 Make their own simple melodies and poems
 Make story
 Interpret poetry through drawing or illustrations
Values of Poetry
 Enriches children’s experiences
 Develops correct enunciation
 Develops literary appreciation
 Develops imagination
 Enlarges vocabulary
 Improves the aesthetic sense
 Gives them pleasure and delight
 Improve their outlook in life and nature
Suggestions in Teaching Poetry Appreciation
 Do not assign a poem for home preparation
 Do not belabor the pupils with the study of facts
 An excellent technique is for the teacher to read the poem first
 Anticipate difficulties with some words
 Make it a natural and habitual practice to read poetry to children
 While reading or reciting a poem to children, have the children sit comfortably and relaxed
 Do not force children to memorize poems
 Allow children time to react to poetry
Uses of poetry
 To correlate with other subjects
 To commemorate certain events
 To express the meaning and rhythm of poem in a pantomine or interpretative
 To express their thoughts, feelings and imaginations in creative activities
 Writing poems by children
Steps in Teaching A Poem
I – PREPARATION
a. Mastery of the subject matter
b. Preparation of the lesson plan
c. Preparation of devices
II – INTRODUCTION
a. Motivation
b. Presenting devices
c. Vocabulary development
III – PRESENTATION
a. First reading
b. Intellectual discussion
IV – SECOND READING BY THE TEACHER
a. Aesthetic discussion
V – MEMORIZATION
a. Culminating Activities
1. Drawing
2. Dramatization
3. Composition
4. Reproduction
5. Choral reading 

Lesson 5
Definition of Choral reading or Speaking
• The interpretation of poetry by several voices speaking as one.
• It is the group interpretation of poetry for the purpose of sharing enjoyment
• Choral reading involves the use of script
Uses of Choral Speaking
• Can be used in school at all levels
• It is an activity that children and adults of any age can enjoy
Poems Suitable for Choral Speaking
• Universal in tone
• Vary in mood, content and type
• Lyrical and narrative
• Rich in auditory image
• Marked rhythm
• Can be used three voices

Types of Choral Speaking Arrangement
A. Refrain: contains lines or verses which are repeated
– minstrel – saying the verses
– Audience – reciting the refrains and choruses
– Solo – reciting the narrative
B. Sequence: best employed in poems which develop its thought into a strong climax
– Solo – reciting the lines
– Chorus – enters to build a climax or impressive finale
C. Antiphonal: a traditional form of reciting Biblical verses
– One group – responds to another (boys to girls)
– Children – one row to another
D. Unison: strong and powerful emotions
– Interpreted by the whole speaking group
– Requires the ability to speak together at the same timing, proper control of volume of voice
E. Line-a-child:
– Each line of a poem is read by a different child
Kinds of Voices or Semi-Choruses
– Light or High voices: for reading or saying lines that suggest fun, happiness, brightness.  For asking questions, unless a male asks the question
– Dark or Low voices: for saying lines that suggest mystery, terror, sadness, solemnity. For answering questions, unless a female answers the question
– Medium voices: for blending all voices. For relating the narrative, for introducing the characters and for giving explanation

Steps in Choral Speaking
1) Read the poem selected for its content
2) Determine the type and the mood of the poem
3) Understand the meaning of the  poem
4) Know the rhythmical nature of the poem
5) Read the poem with the children
6) Repeat the selection together
7) Apportion the parts and lines to the children
8) Make sure the voices blend properly
Values 
1. It enhances greater appreciation for poetry
2. It enriches the art like experience by extending imagination and sympathy
3. It develops self-confidence and poise
4. It develops good speech habits, articulation and enunciation
5. It develops cooperation and social understanding