Don’t Just Paraphrase A Poem

I asked my students to read a poem. Then they had to:

Paraphrase each line of the poem. Write your version next to the original line

So, I’m not going to get into the pointlessness of this task. I had a room of the most brilliant students in town and this is what we did? If we’re going to have students re-write a poem, let’s create a more interesting goal. Something that will get their brains buzzing.

Let’s Cover A Poem

I love a good cover song. It’s interesting to hear one artist’s take on another artist’s work. Johnny Cash’s version of Nine Inch Nail’s Hurt is iconic. Jimi Hendrix’s cover of Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower is better than the original. Every middle school dance I went to ended with Whitney Houston singing Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You.

So let’s do a cover version of a poem.

  • What if Dr. Seuss covered this poem?
  • What if Edgar Allen Poe did his own rendition?
  • What might Lewis Carroll’s version be like?

Scaffold It

Of course, if I give my students Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken and just say “Rewrite it like Dr. Seuss.” I’m going to get some weak poems. Students need way more structure in order to tackle such a complex task.

First, we’d have to define the style of Dr. Seuss. We’d need to get as specific as possible so that we can mimic that style. Only then can we apply that style to the new poem.

  • Seuss uses a da da dum rhythm. (This three syllable pattern is called an anapest. Yes I’d tell students that no matter their age.)
  • Each line has four da da dums. (Tetra = four, so that makes this rhythm anapest tetrameter.)
  • Seuss often rhymes AABB
  • He uses repetition and nonsense words.

Using those rules, I can re-write the first stanza of The Road Not Taken in a Seuss-y style!

Frost’s Original Seuss Remix
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 		In an old yellow wood where two paths did appear,
I faced such a pickle. Which way should I steer?
The roads split apart in the woods so bright,
And I wished I could travel both paths that night.
But being one guy, I had to decide.
So I peeped down a path ’til it bent out of sight.

See how my “paraphrase each line” task set such a dull restriction?

Now, of course, some students are going to ask, “Can I do the whole poem?” And of course I’ll say, “You bet!”

In the end, we can tour the remixed poems. We can compare and contrast. Perhaps each student creates three awards with criteria of their choosing to hand out. You can see how easily this task can grow and grow. No one is going to say, “I’m done. What do I do now?“!

For Byrdseed.TV Members

Now, over at Byrdseed.TV I have a few related tasks: