Module 6: Poetry book published since 2015

 

A Bunch of Punctuation

Bibliography

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. (2018). A bunch of punctuation. Illustrated by Serge Bloch. Wordsong. ISBN: 9781590789940

 

Summary

This book is a collection of poetry selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins written by several different poets including Hopkins himself.  The book compiles a collection of poetry that explains all the different jobs and responsibilities of each form of punctuation that can be found in basic grammar studies.  This book begins with a table of contents that lists the title, author and page number for each poem.  The book also begins and ends with poems about all types of punctuation and their uses with a specific poem on each punctuation mark found in the poems in between.  Each poem/punctuation mark gets its own two-page layout with comedic illustrations that are simple in both color and detail.  These types of illustrations will appeal to an upper elementary or middle school audience.

 

Analysis

Since this collection is made up of poems written by several different poets, the structure of each is diverse and therefore keeps the reader engaged in the content.  The main purpose of the writing is to convey meaning and explain the use of each punctuation mark.  Combined with the funny illustrations throughout the book the reader will enjoy reading these informational poems and it may even help students to remember the correct usage of specific punctuation marks in their own writing.  Some of the poems use rhyming, while others do not, however when the poet chooses to use rhyming it helps the reader to acknowledge that the information is being shared in a fun, rhythmic and poetic way instead of just the standard non-rhyming way of direct instruction.  This rhyming is another way that the poet keeps the reader’s attention and helps them understand the content.

Each poem uses personification to make the punctuation mark seem like a real person with feelings.  Some poems take this even farther and use first-person point of view throughout the poem and give the punctuation mark feelings like the selected poem below about the colon and its feeling of being forgotten and it even shares feelings of jealousy for other punctuation marks like the comma and even the semicolon (which it calls names).  This personification allows the reader to connect to the punctuation marks in a personal way and may help them remember their purpose in writing even more. 

The content and vocabulary of this collection does lend itself to use best with middle school students.  Some of the included punctuation marks may not be readily used by students who are younger than secondary school.  For example, the dash, semicolon, hyphen, and ellipsis do not get used by elementary school students regularly and would be best introduced at the secondary level.  Many students may not even know what an ellipsis is called even if they do use it.  Other vocabulary like overwrought, understated, inquiry, president-elect, and fail-safe could be difficult for elementary-aged students and even middle school students may need some explanation beforehand.

 

Poem

Forgotten: A Colon’s Complaint

By Alice Shertle

I wish to complain of the following:

neglect, disrespect, lack of use,

abandonment, utter exclusion.

I call it colon abuse

 

I’m hidden away in a textbook:

Punctuation Made Easy, no less.

Page forty-three is devoted to me,

but nobody reads it, I guess.

 

The comma, incredibly common,

butts right into line after line.

Couldn’t there be a small place for me:

just one little sentence that’s mine?

 

Use me to draw attention:

what follows is something of note!

Or I’ll point to a list so nothing is missed:

Umbrella, galoshes, and coat.

 

Even the semicolon

(that halfling) gets used now and then;

I can make what you write sound impressive and bright!

Please pardon the inquiry: when?

 

Activity

This collection of grammar-related poetry would be a great introduction and/or review for a middle school ELA class.  For this activity I would break the class up into groups depending on how many punctuation items/poems you would like to cover.  I would then assign each group a punctuation poem that they will read out loud together in their groups and then have each group create their own anchor chart to help remember the uses and some examples of how to use their assigned punctuation.  Groups will end the activity by sharing their poem orally with the class and then discussing their anchor chart before displaying it for use during the unit/year.  The teacher could even choose one punctuation poem to read aloud and model the activity before creating the groups and giving instructions.