ONDOKUZ MAYIS UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

MASTER’S DEGREE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

TEACHING POETRY

ASSOC. PROF. DR. ZERRIN EREN

“THE GIVING TREE” BY SHEL SILVERSTEIN

PRESENTED BY:

MELEK NISA DALKILIÇ

19250194

2019-2020

SPRING Shel Silverstein

Poet, Songwriter, Author, Illustrator (1930– 1999)

Shel Silverstein was born on September 25, 1930, in Chicago. Silverstein studied music and established himself as a musician and composer, writing songs including “A Boy Named Sue,” popularized by Johnny Cash, and Loretta Lynn’s “One’s on the Way.” Silverstein also wrote children’s literature, including The Giving Tree and the poetry collection A Light in the Attic. He died in 1999.

Shel Silverstein enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1950 and served in Korea and Japan, becoming a cartoonist for Stars & Stripes magazine. After his stint in the Army was up, he soon began drawing cartoons for magazines such as Look and Sports Illustrated, but it was his work for Playboy magazine that began garnering Silverstein national recognition.

While at Playboy in the 1950s, Silverstein also began exploring other areas of creativity, including writing and music, and he contributed poems to the magazine. He also began publishing his own books of cartoons, beginning with Take Ten (1955) and Grab Your Socks (1956). Silverstein would go on to produce more than a dozen albums over the course of his diverse career.

In 1963, Silverstein met Ursula Nordstrom, a book editor, and she convinced him to begin writing material for children, which he did on short notice. Uncle Shelby's Story of Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back would be the first, appearing that same year. The next year, he wrote two: A Giraffe and a Half and The Giving Tree, the latter of which would go on to become Silverstein's most popular book.

As the 1960s came to an end and the 1970s began, Silverstein ramped up his songwriting efforts, composing various songs.

Shel Silverstein passed away on May 10, 1999, from a heart attack in Key West, Florida.

Biography.com Editors. (2019,July 22). Retreived from https://www.biography.com/writer/shel-silverstein THE GIVING TREE & ITS’ ANALYSIS

Once there was a tree.... The poem starts with ‘once…’ just like the stories. The reason is and she loved a little boy. that the poem is a narrative poetry. It is telling a story of a boy And everyday the boy would come and a tree throughout the poem. and he would gather her leaves The gender is explicitly depicted in the second verse. Even and make them into crowns though trees do not have gender, the poet explicitly gives it a and play king of the forest. female role. The giver role is appointed to the female while the He would climb up her trunk boy is the taker throughout the poem. This is a stereotype for the and swing from her branches females that they always give whatever they have selflessly. At and eat apples. this point, the poet also uses personification by assigning human And they would play hide-and-go-seek. qualities such as gender, emotions, talking and giving things for And when he was tired, the tree. he would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree.... It is clear that the boy is little, at the age of play when his actions very much. are considered. The activities the boy did are the ones which And the tree was happy. children do at their play age. For instance, the boy visits the tree every day, he gathers her leaves, climbs up her trunk, swings from her branches, eats apples, plays hide and seek and sleeps in her shade. It is understood that the boy spends most of his time with the tree.

Besides, both are happy and love each other very much. Especially the boy obviously shows his love in the first stanza.

But time went by. By starting with ‘but’, the first three verses directs readers to a And the boy grew older. change of events. It is understood that, the boy will lose his And the tree was often alone. interest and love for the tree in time. When the poem goes on, Then one day the boy came to the tree the tree stands alone as the boy grows older. and the tree said, "Come, Boy, come When the boy comes, the tree reminds the old days as a refrain and and wants to spend time same as before because she still sees the climb up my trunk and swing from my boy as a little child. However, the boy and his needs have branches and eat apples and play in my changed. shade and be happy." "I am too big to climb and play" said Instead of playing and having fun with the tree, the boy needs the boy. money. The tree does not have money but offers him to collect "I want to buy things and have fun. her apples to sell and earn money. She gives from herself so as I want some money?" to meet the boy’s needs and wishes to make him happy. "I'm sorry," said the tree, "but I It is said that the tree is happy when she can help the boy and have no money. she is sad when the boy is not with her. I have only leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in However, I think the situation is more than it looks like. She is the city. Then you will have money and happy so that she could provide the money the boy needs. She is you will be happy." sad because she gives from herself even though the boy did not And so the boy climbed up the care her for years. The tree inwardly feels that this is not what tree and gathered her apples she deserves. and carried them away.

And the tree was happy. But the boy stayed away for a long time.... and the tree was sad.

And then one day the boy came back The boy comes back again some time later and the tree feels so and the tree shook with joy happy to see the boy. She repeats the refrain by reminding the and she said, "Come, Boy, climb up my old days because the boy is still like a little child in her eyes. trunk However, those times passed for the boy and he puts himself in and swing from my branches and be a different place. He is a grown-up and wants to marry so his happy." wishes mount up in time. "I am too busy to climb trees," said the The boy does not hesitate to ask more from the tree. The tree boy. does not have what the boy asks. Her house is the nature. Here, "I want a house to keep me warm," he she shows her contentedness. said. "I want a wife and I want children, She offers the best she can do to provide him a house because and so I need a house. she feels that the boy will be happy when he has what he wants. Can you give me a house?" His happiness will also make the tree happy. " I have no house," said the tree. The boy does not think of the tree’s happiness while cutting off "The forest is my house, her branches. Though, the tree looks happy outwardly that she but you may cut off makes him happy. my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy." Although the boy took whatever he wanted to be happy, he did And so the boy cut off her branches not actually seem happy to get what he asked for. The only time and carried them away his happiness mentioned was his childhood times. Maybe, his to build his house. greedy behaviors lead unhappiness over time. And the tree was happy.

But the boy stayed away for a long Just like before, the boy was not with the tree for a long time time. and he would come to ask for help most probably. The boy And when he came back, comes and goes whenever he wants and the tree becomes happy the tree was so happy with the boys’ arrival and the things he could give to him. she could hardly speak. The tree was so happy to see the boy that she hardly speaks. So, "Come, Boy," she whispered, it is clear that long time has passed and the tree grows very old "come and play." but even, she was so happy to see the boy. She repeats her "I am too old and sad to play," refrain by whispering and she cannot even finish it. said the boy. "I want a boat that will However, the boy does not realize her senility and wanted more take me far away from here. from her. He takes the attention to his sadness and agedness so Can you give me a boat?" he wanted more from the tree even though this is too much for "Cut down my trunk the tree. and make a boat," said the tree. The tree offers the last thing she could give for the boy, her "Then you can sail away... trunk. This will give an end to the tree for the sake of the boy’s and be happy." happiness. The boy does not hesitate and worry about her for a And so the boy cut down her trunk second and takes what he wanted again. and made a boat and sailed away. And the tree was happy The tree looks like happy for the boy, but now it is clear that she ... but not really. is not happy in reality. This unhappiness may result from the boys going away with the boat, losing her trunk, or boy’s selfish behaviors. I think it is because of the boy’s selfish behaviors that he does not care or even thankful for the tree whatever she does.

And after a long time A long time has passed since the boy last came because the boy the boy came back again. only appears when he needs something. When he came back "I am sorry, Boy," again, the tree did not say the refrain because she is aware that said the tree," but I have nothing all these old times were over. left to give you - As soon as he came, the tree thought that he would want My apples are gone." something from her. Before he asks his wish, the tree directly "My teeth are too weak said that she has nothing to give any more. for apples," said the boy. "My branches are gone," She listed everything she has given and added that they are all said the tree. " You gone. All the things she had were the ones the boy took away. cannot swing on them - " When the tree listed what was gone from her, the boy reacted "I am too old to swing that he was too old and tired to act like before. So her apples, on branches," said the boy. branches, and trunk are not useful for the boy any more. "My trunk is gone, " said the tree. "You cannot climb - " Even if the tree has done due to losing everything she had, she "I am too tired to climb" said the boy. expressed her sadness as she could not give something for the "I am sorry," sighed the tree. boy. As the boy gets too old to ask for a new wish, he only "I wish that I could give you something.... needs to sit and rest. but I have nothing left. He does not ask any more favor. I think it is not because he is I am just an old stump. satisfied with the things he owned thanks to the tree, but I am sorry...." because he is too old to have power to do anything. "I don't need very much now," said the boy. "just a quiet place to sit and rest. Hearing over his last wish, the tree felt happy because it was the I am very tired." thing that she could do. She welcomed the boy again without "Well," said the tree, straightening any wrath. herself up as much as she could, As the title suggests, the tree gives everything she has. She is so "well, an old stump is good for sitting and selfless that she gave up on herself for the sake of the boy and resting she did not expect anything in return for her favors. This Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest." reminds me the ‘unconditional love’ of the tree for the boy. And the boy did. However, the boy uses her feelings for his selfish wishes. And the tree was happy.

There are some refrains through the poem as;

"Come, Boy, come and This refrain reminds me that the tree always climb up my trunk and swing from my thinks of their old happy days that they spent branches and eat apples and play in my before. She reminds those days to the boy shade and be happy." who is always little in the tree’s eyes.

‘And the tree was happy’ Whatever the boy take from the tree, the tree is depicted as happy. The reason of this happiness is her ability to make the boy happy. However, the boy does not seem happy with the things he wishes and gets. Actually, she is not happy because apparently, she wants to boy to be with her so as to be happy but the boy does not care the tree’s needs. Instead, he just uses the tree to gain his wishes. The boy continues his selfish behaviors while the tree selflessly gives from her till the end.

The poem makes the readers sad even though this is written for children. At this point, Silverstein said, he wrote it like that "because life, you know, has pretty sad endings. You don't have to laugh it up even if most of my stuff is humorous”. Thus, the poet consciously writes the poem for children to come up with the sad endings and do not get surprised with the unexpected sad events. In a way, Silverstein prepares readers to the real life. However, it is not certain that children will get the idea as it was aimed.

Reference http://www.shelsilverstein.com/about/#

LESSON PLAN

Grade:

Level:

Topic: the Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Objectives:

 Students will trigger their schema by practicing the words they will see in the poem.  Students will be able to deduce the important steps in order to summarize the poem.  Students will be able to compare the characters in the poem with the real life ones they are familiar with.  Students will be able to draw conclusions about the personality the boy needs to have.  Students will be able to edit the poem by turning the boy’s selfish behaviors into the expected ones.  Students will be able to evaluate and make a decision on the suitableness of the original and edited versions of the poem.

Lesson Procedure - Materials and Activities

1. Getting Familiar with the Topic (Vocabulary Practice)

Before reading the poem, the teacher gives students the title and the pre-reading worksheet in order to get students ready and trigger their schema.

The students are leaded to an expectation that there is a tree which is giving some things. These given things could be her parts such as apples, branches, leaves etc.

2. Reading the Poem Silently

The students are expected to read the poem silently in the illustrated book format. In this way, they will visualize the events and their understanding will be strengthened.

3. Watching the Short Film Version

Students will watch the short film version of the poem in order to understand it better by triggering different senses. In this way, students will be involved in it deeper because they will be exposed to different sources.

While watching the short film version, students will take notes of the repeated actions of giving and taking in an order. Thus, they will focus on the given and taken events and they will develop better understanding of what is going on throughout the poem. They will also prepare themselves for the next activity.

4. Summarize the Poem on a Timeline (Knowledge + Comprehension)

In this activity, students will show their understanding and comprehension of the poem by taking advantage of their previous notes.

Students will summarize the poem by ordering the taking and giving circle. They will also draw picture for each line.

5. Comparing the characters – the poem and the real life (Apply + Analyze)

Students will be randomly given the character cards as it is seen on the left. They will switch the giver role (the tree) and the taker role (the boy) as it is written in their cards.

After they take their cards, they will put themselves on the boy’s shoes and they will selfishly list the things they would ask.

Besides, they will switch the tree role with their mother, the nature or their lover. They will pretend as the giver role will give whatever they asked for. While doing this activity, they will feel awkward because their life is not like as they have written. They sometimes take and other times give in their lives. They do not act selfishly all the time.

When students understand that there is a mismatch with the real life relationships and the situations they made up, the teacher asks students to compare the imaginary situation and the reality both for themselves and the appointed characters.

After analyzing the characteristics and roles, the teacher asks students to draw a conclusion to explain how the relationship should be between people.

Students will discover that the boy’s behaviors are so selfish and he does not care for the tree. However, people should not be so senseless. They should know to thank, to be grateful about the things they get. They should also give some things to make others happy. With these thoughts in their minds, they will move on to the last activity.

6. Editing the Poem (Synthesis)

Students’ opinions about the boy’s characteristics will be asked. After they share their ideas about the boy and the feeling of the tree, the teacher will ask how they would change the poem if they were the author. According to their thoughts and the question, they will edit the poem in groups of 5. As they edit the poem, they will write their new stanzas on green stickers and make the tree lively again.

7. Evaluating the Poems (Evaluation)

After composing a new poem, each group will read the original one and the edited one again. Later, they will decide on the suitable one for the children. They will write their reasons behind their decision and share them with their classmates.

Reference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxi6g_u8I0Q&list=LLSql7mRyATN_Ehwdfa9yn8A&index=3&t=0s