Developing Voice and Characterization in Poetry Nikki Grimes’s When Gorilla Goes Walking Debbie Diner SOL Objectives: SOL 4.4: The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fiction. b) Describe how the choice of language, setting, characters, and information contributes to the author’s purpose SOL 4.7: The student will write effective narratives, poems, and explanations. a) Focus on one aspect of a topic b) Develop a plan for writing e) Utilize elements of style, including word choice and sentence variation f) Write rhymed, unrhymed, and patterned poetry Language Objective: Students will analyze the role of word choice and voice in characterization by reading the poems contained in When Gorilla Goes Walking, and write their own poetry based on those elements. KUD: K: The terms “voice,” “word choice,” and “characterization.” Poetry may be written from many different perspectives, including first-person. U: Authors use word choice to create unique and vibrant voices for their characters. Analyzing how a character speaks can help you learn about that character. D: Write first-person poetry in which the narrator has a distinct voice. Materials: Nikki Grimes, When Gorilla Goes Walking White/Chalk Board or Projector Class writing materials Procedures: In the day or so leading up to the lesson, read through the entire book When Gorilla Goes Walking as a class, in order to familiarize the students with the book and with Grimes’ poetry. On the day of the lesson, begin by rereading the short poem “Cecilia” to the class. Ask them to think about what they learn about the narrator from the way she speaks, what they think her personality is like, etc. Make sure that, in their responses, they tie their answers to specific phrases and words Grimes chose to use. Write these phrases and words on the board. Discuss as a class what makes these phrases different from “normal” words, how Grimes uses them to build her narrator’s voice. Continue to build the class list of “Voice Phrases” by rereading the poems “Gorilla,” “Learning the Rules,” and “Jealous.” Make sure to concentrate not on the narrator’s description of her cat, but on the way she speaks, and how her voice can let us learn a lot about her (even though she isn’t explicitly described in any of the poems). Once all three poems have been read and analyzed, ask the students to consider what type of person the narrator is. Is she a happy person? Does she have a good sense of humor? Is she shy or outgoing? Label the list of “Voice Words” with her personality type, in order to create a list of phrases that could be used by the students to help give a distinct voice to a character with a similar personality. Explain to the class that, as a large group, they’re going to work together to make up a poem from a firstperson perspective with a strong voice, like Grimes’ poetry. Begin by determining, as a class, what type of personality their narrator should have. Once the personality is defined, work to brainstorm several words or phrases a person with that personality might use frequently. Use these phrases to build a class poem in which the narrator describes something (an object, or perhaps a pet) in their house. After the class poem is complete, compare it to some of Grimes’ poetry. Do the students think they were successful in creating a distinctive voice for their narrator? If not, what do they think they need to change? After the class poem has been analyzed, switch the focus to individual writing. Explain that each student is going to write their own first-person poem with a unique narrator. In writing workshop, begin with a prewriting process in which students decide on a personality type for their narrator, and individually brainstorm “Voice Words” for that personality. To help the students develop a unique and interesting voice for their narrator, you may choose after this step to have them share their lists with classmates and ask for suggestions or criticism, as well as personally monitor students as they work. Using their pre-writing lists, have students write short poems from the first-person perspective, with a focus on using specific phrases and words to give their narrator a distinct voice. Follow the normal steps of the writing process (drafting, sharing, revising, editing, publishing) to create polished final pieces. Assessment: Assess the students’ final poems for the use of effective word choice in creating a vibrant and unique voice for their narrator. You may choose to assess formally, with a checklist or similar rubric, or in a less formal student-teacher writing conference. The focus of this assessment should be less on particular writing conventions or poetic forms (such as rhyme scheme or meter, which are not the focus of this lesson) and more on whether students were able to convey their narrator’s personality through his or her speech and word choice.