Module 4: Social Studies Poetry

 

Rutherford B., Who Was He? Poems About Our Presidents

Bibliography

Singer, Marilyn. (2013). Rutherford B., who was he?: Poems about our presidents. Illustrated by John Hendrix. Disney. ISBN: 9781423171003

 

Summary

This book is a collection of poetry by Marilyn Singer about all the presidents of the United States from Washington through Obama.  The cartoon illustrations by John Hendrix bring an additional humor to the poems as well.  Most poems are written about one president and reside on their own page with corresponding illustrations, however there are a few presidents that either share a page or even a poem through the use of speech bubbles.  Many poems also include a famous quote by the president that the poem is about.  There is not a table of contents, but there is a short introduction and conclusion that gives information about the role of president in general.  There is also backmatter in the book that includes short biographies and quotes about each president, as well as a timeline and additional resources.

Analysis

The content of this collection seems best suited for middle school students, but I could also see high school students finding pleasure in the humor of some of the poems and illustrations.  The illustrations are reminiscent of the old political cartoons from newspapers throughout history.  The poems are humorous while also being informative and since they all rhyme in some way the rhythm of each is easy to pick up right away.  The diversity of poem length and structure will keep the reader engaged throughout the book.  A couple poems are written with speech bubbles from multiple presidents sharing their point of view or ideas, which is an interesting format for a poem.

The vocabulary and content presented throughout the book could facilitate a lively debate among readers in conjunction with the detailed cartoons.  Most of the vocabulary will be appropriate for middle school readers, but some of the social studies academic vocabulary may need to be talked about and defined either before or after reading, such as tariffs, emancipation, suffrage, and annex.  The purpose of this collection of poems is to inform the reader about some of the important and well known information about past US presidents, but the poet presents this information in a humorous way with rhyming and rhythm that will keep the reader wanting to know more.

 

Poem

Herbert Hoover

A chicken in every pot, two cars in every garage.

                Millionaire and business whiz—

                folks sneered that every pot was his.

He wasn’t uncaring, yet held the strong belief

                that government should not provide financial relief.

The Great Depression – not his fault.  But he got the blame.

                In the thirties Herbert Hoover was a dirty name.

Up for re-election, he knew his change was grim

                when the public’s slogan was ANYONE BUT HIM.

 

Activity

This collection of poems about the presidents of the United States could be used as an introduction and/or conclusion to most units in social studies or US history.  For example, the poem “Herbert Hoover” above would be a great poem to read to introduce a unit on the great depression or the happenings during that time period.  It would be great to even read the poem about Calvin Coolidge who was president right before the great depression.  The teacher could have half the students read the poem about Coolidge and the other half about Hoover and then have a friendly debate over who they think caused the great depression.  At the end of the unit this activity could be used again, but students could choose which president they thought was responsible and include support from the poem or unit content.