Knockout Rating: 4.5 of 5
"Bronzeville Boys and Girls" Rating: 5 of 5
Overview
A primary focus in 5th grade English Language Arts is to teach students how to "determine a theme" within poetry "from details in the text" by examining "how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic" (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2).
In this post, I argue that teaching Knockout by K.A. Holt and "Bronzeville Boys and Girls" as a text set strengthens students' abilities to analyze theme and speakers' perspectives in poetry, and builds students' confidence as authors of poetry. I encourage educators who are eager to use this text set in their classrooms to begin their study with Knockout, to model writing poetry in free verse, and then to use form poetry from "Bronzeville Boys," to provide deeper insight into key themes in Knockout.
A Brief Introduction to Both Texts
Knockout by K.A. Holt (grades 5-8)
- sequel to House Arrest. Knockout ties up many of the loose strings left at the end of the first book.
- is written in first-person perspective.
- centers on Levi, a 7th grader, who has Subglottic Stenosis, a condition that makes it hard for him to breathe.
- follows Levi's journey towards self-discovery as he pursues his dream of becoming a boxer and, more importantly, strives to prove to his family that he is not defined by his disability.
- reveals the complexity of relationships within a non-traditional family structure. Levi's father abandoned the family when he was a baby. As his father attempts to re-enter Levi's life, Levi navigates feelings of hope and hopelessness, and love and resentment towards his father.
- highlights the emotional ups and downs of middle school, including feelings of awkwardness, isolation, independence, and desire to find one's place in the world.
- briefly explores a lesbian relationship between two of Levi's classmates. This is subtle enough to not provoke negative reactions from conservative parents, but clear enough to give LBTQ students a sense of connection with the text and inclusion in the classroom.
"Bronzeville Boys and Girls" by Gwendolyn Brooks
- collection of short form poems compiled in a picture book. The poems model rhyme, meter, and assonance (among other poetic devices). Each poem contains a unique structure and rhythm for students to analyze. Poems are written in both 1st and 3rd person perspective.
- explores themes— both lighthearted and serious— relating to growing up.
- centers entirely on African American characters and their experiences. Each poem is about a different character or set of characters.
- contains color pastel illustrations.
Why Teach Knockout First?
Knockout is written in free verse poetry, while "Bronzeville Boys and Girls" is composed of form poems. Reading an article titled "So Much Depends Upon the Teaching of Poetry" by Kari Scheidel opened my eyes to the benefits of familiarizing students with free verse poetry prior to teaching them to analyze write form poems. In her article, Scheidel argues that teaching form poetry prior to free verse poetry can stifle students' creativity and cause them to become reliant on a "'plug and chug'" method of writing poems (Scheidel 64). Students who are introduced to form poetry may lose their ideas in the process of deciding whether or not they are successfully writing in iambic pentameter or in the process of counting syllables for their haiku. Free verse, meanwhile, prioritizes the expression of ideas above the form in which those ideas are conveyed. Freed from the obligation of confining their writing to a certain structure, students focus entirely on communicating in a way that is meaningful to them and meaningful to their readers.
Knockout provides a stunning example of this sort of meaningful communication. Written in first-person perspective with Levi as the narrator, each of the poems captures Levi's inner emotions and thoughts as he fights to be free of the physical and emotional confines of his disability. Writing poems provides an emotional outlet for Levi and allows the reader to catch a glimpse of the inner-workings of his heart. Because the story is so captivating, it opens students' eyes to the immense power of poetry to communicate meaningful ideas.
We can facilitate students' awakening to this power by providing them the opportunity to begin keeping their own notebooks of free-verse poetry to recount their own struggles and successes. Such an activity enables students to forge closer connections with the text, and helps them understand that the heart of poetry— meaningful communication of experience— is not dependent on rhyme or rhythm.
Poems from "Bronzeville Boys and Girls" that Highlight Key Themes in Knockout:
"Tommy" (Brooks 39)
"Tommy" explores the theme of growing up that is central to Knockout. The speaker of the poem is likened to Levi's brother, Timothy, as he watches Levi grow up. Just as the speaker invest time and care into the seed, Timothy has invested twenty plus years into caring for Levi. He sees Levi as helpless without him and is, thus, shocked when Levi grows into an independent young man— just as the speaker is shocked when the seed pops suddenly emerges as a young tendril.
"Jim" (Brooks 35)
Jim, in this poem, parallels Timothy in Knockout. Jim sacrifices something he cares about, his baseball game, in order to take care of "Mother-dear," who is sick. The sacrifices made by Timothy reach an even greater level; he has sacrificed his entire childhood in order to care for Levi. And just as Jim tries to not let "Mother-dear" see his sacrifice, Timothy, too, tries to cover up the sacrifices he made for Levi in order to prevent Levi from feeling any guilt.
"Michael is Afraid of the Storm" (Brooks 21)
This poem highlights the struggle between dependence and independence that Levi undergoes in Knockout. Just like the speaker in the poem, Levi longs to be independent. Yet, part of him is afraid to be without his mother and Timothy. In the concluding pages of the book, as Levi takes a leap of independence in order to pursue his dream of boxing, he writes, "I try to smile/ my throat suddenly full,/ a lump/ a knot/ pushing up/ making water leak from my own eyes/... What will it be like/ all by myself?" Just as the speaker of the poem secretly longs to be close to his mother in the midst of the storm, part of Levi wishes to stay close to his family as he pursues his dream of becoming a boxer.
For Further Reading
...Other Novels Written in Verse:
1) House Arrest by K.A. Holt (prequel to Knockout. Read this first!!)
2) Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt
3) Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
4) The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
References
Brooks, Gwendolyn. Bronzeville Boys and Girls. New York, HarperCollins,1956.
Holt, K.A. Knockout. San Francisco, Chronicle Books LLC, 2018.
Scheidel, Kari. So Much Depends upon the Teaching of Poetry. ScholarWorks@GVSU, 2005.
Hello! I found this review to be quite insightful. The books chosen sound great for bringing in not only racial diversity to characters, but also highlighting disability and non-traditional family structures. The two books fit all of this in while looking into the deeper topics of individuality, freedom, and growing up. All of these things plus being nice mentor texts for poetry makes me really want to check them both out! Also, I am happy that you put in the poem "Michael is afraid of the storm" because I was able to relate to those feelings. With the knowledge the the Levi later addresses this same feeling again, I feel that it would be interesting to see if students in…