Growing Pain by Vernon Scannell zge AYGN 19250120 2020 Vernon - - PDF document

INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM TEACHING POETRY

• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zerrin EREN

“Growing Pain” by Vernon Scannell

Özge AYGÜN 19250120 2020

Vernon Scannell (1922-2007)

Portrait: Charlotte Harris

Vernon Scannell’s Favourite Poetry Saying “The business of poetry is to harmonise the sadness of the universe” – A E Housman

Some of his Poems Graves and Resurrections (1948) A Mortal Pitch (1957) Walking Wounded (1965) Behind the Lines (2004) Growing Pain Some of his Novels The Face of the Enemy (1961), The Dividing Night (1962), Ring of Truth (1983) Feminine Endings (2000)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/vernon-scannell

British formalist poet, memoirist, and novelist Vernon Scannell, whose birth name was John Vernon Bain, was born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire. He served in the British Army during World War II. Scannell’s precisely scaled formal poems illuminate both domestic and wartime scenes. In 1960, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and in 1981, he was granted a Civil List pension in recognition of his services to literature. He died at the age of 85 at his home in Otley, Leeds. A selection of his papers is archived at Leeds University Library.

Some of his Memoirs

The Tiger and the Rose (1971) A Proper Gentleman (1977) Drums of Morning: Growing Up in the Thirties (1992)

Analysis of the Poem “Growing Pain” Title: When I read the poem and understand its content, I see a relationship between the title and

• content. There is a psychological pain faced by a 5 year-old boy. As the boy is growing up, the

psychological pain also begins to grow. The poem highlights the problems of growing up and the importance of a close parent-child

• relationship. It can be induced that pains, suffering and problems while growing up are inevitable.

Detailed analysis will be provided below: The boy was barely five years old. We sent him to the little school And left him there to learn the names Of flowers in jam jars on the sill And learn to do as he was told. He seemed quite happy there until Three weeks afterwards, at night, The darkness whimpered in his room. I went upstairs, switched on his light, And found him wide awake, distraught, Sheets mangled and his eiderdown Untidy carpet on the floor. Here, “I” as a narrator may be the father or mother of the boy. The boy was wide awake because maybe he could not sleep at all due to his disturbed state of mind. He made the room untidy because he was very worried and upset. Since he could not deal with the pain, he attacked the objects in his room. Five years old boy may represent innocence and naiveness. He is barely out of babyhood, but he starts to grow up. When I look at the subject “we”, I induced that the narrator may be someone who the boy knows. The narrator may be the boy’s father or mother. Then, why did they call him “the boy” instead

• f saying “our son.” This may be because of the distant

relationship between the boy and the narrator. The narrator himself/ herself can teach the boy the names of the

• flowers. But they sent him to the little school for this. The

narrator might be too busy to teach the boy. Maybe he/she is a working person. Or the narrator asks the boy to see and learn how real life is outside home. The boy is expected to learn how to do things. Maybe the narrator asks him to take his own responsibility to accomplish something since he is growing up. This may be the necessity of growing up. The boy seemed to be very happy and pleased with his school in the beginning. He probably was socializing and making some friends in the school. The darkness here may refer to unhappiness experienced by the boy. It was at night since pains generally come to light in that time.

I said, 'Why can't you sleep? A pain?' He snuffled, gave a little moan, And then he spoke a single word: 'Jessica.' The sound was blurred. 'Jessica? What do you mean?' 'A girl at school called Jessica. She hurts --' He touched himself between The heart and stomach '-- she has been Aching here and I can see her.' Nothing I had read or heard Instructed me in what to do. I covered him and stroked his head. 'The pain will go, in time,' I said. The narrator thought that the boy was in pain physically. Maybe the narrator has never thought that the boy is suffering from a psychological pain. The boy seems to fall in love with Jessica. However, he is too young and does not know how to struggle with this situation. He may not even know that he fell in love with Jessica. He feels this pain coming out of his inside. And he looks like relating the pain to Jessica. And the pain seems to grow inside the boy. Thus, the boy can even see the pain-Jessica- along with feeling her. Maybe Jessica has been a part of the boy. Both the pain and Jessica may be included in the body of the boy, in his heart. The boy has such a serious pain that he moans. Probably he cried a lot. Therefore, he breathed noisily. He may be feeling so exhausted that he could produce only single word: Jessica. Jessica may be the center of the pain for the boy; therefore, he produced only her name. Also, the way he pronounces “Jessica” may sound different and soft because he is saying someone’s name he loves. The narrator is most probably surprised to hear the word “Jessica.” He/ she may expect to hear a physical pain like stomachache or toothache, etc. Depending on the lines, I am of the opinion that the narrator may be the father of the boy. The father could not find anything to make the boy relaxed and calm. However, I believe that a mother could find more words to talk about love since women can be more sensitive and emotional in terms of feelings. The narrator could not deal with the boy’s pain –love-

• effectively. Therefore, he just wanted to touch the boy to

comfort him. The narrator may think that time is the only cure for the pain,

• love. And there is nothing to overcome it. Thus, he produces

this sentence.

Age: 13-14 Grade: 8th Level: A2 Topic: Poem “Growing Pain” by Vernon Scannell Time: 45mins Methods: Communicative Language Teaching, Integrated skills based Approach Target Vocabularies: heart, stomach, eiderdown, sheets, distraught, wide awake, jam jar, flowers, sill, carpet. Objectives of the Course

• Students will be able to learn some vocabularies and use them effectively with some

prepositions they have learnt before.

• Students will be able to think in a critical and creative way while discussing the poem.
• Students will be able to gain language awareness.
• Students will be able to create a short poem which helps them to improve their literacy skills

and emotions.

• Students will be able to dramatize the poem through personal involvement.
• Students will be able to improve their communication and collaboration skills through drama

activity. Materials: Pictures, Quizlet (flash-cards, games, matching activity, listen-write activity), worksheet, video, realias (dolls, jam jar), box, ball, white board and board marker. WARM-UP ACTIVITY The teacher says the students that they will learn a poem written by Vernon Scannell. And, she shares Vernon Scannell’s favorite poetry saying expressed by A.E. Housman. “The business of the poetry is to harmonize the sadness of the universe.” The teacher asks the students to discuss this saying and make guesses about the poet. One question may be “What may be the contexts of the poems written by Vernon Scannel?” Through the discussion, the students may feel ready for the poem and wonder the context of the poem.

ACTIVITY 1- FLASH-CARDS (The teacher shows the students the pictures of some vocabularies written in the poem so that the students can understand the poem better. While showing each picture, the teacher pronounces the word three times. This helps the students learn the correct pronunciations and meanings of the

• words. )

Following teaching vocabularies, the teacher uses Quizlet for flash-cards in order to practice and reinforce the knowledge of vocabularies. A sample of flash-cards for one of the vocabularies is given below: ACTIVITY 2- MATCHING Following the Flash-cards, the teacher elaborates Matching activity on Quizlet. This activity also aims to encourage the students to internalize the vocabularies. Since the students enjoy online activities, this can be motivating for them. The matching activity is given below:

ACTIVITY 3- LISTEN-WRITE ACTIVITIES Then, the teacher starts the activity Listen-Write on Quizlet. In this activity, the students first listen to the pronunciation of the words and write the correct spelling of them. If they write wrong, they get immediate feedback. Here a sample of the activity is provided below: ACTIVITY 4- GAME As a last activity aiming to practice vocabularies by having fun, gravity game is used. In this game, the meanings of vocabularies are on the meteors which are falling down. The students are expected to write the vocabularies depending on the definitions written on the meteors before the meteors land. The gravity game is given below: ACTIVITY 5- DISCUSSION / QUESTION- ANSWER The teacher asked the students to look at the title of the poem and guess what the poem may be

• about. This draws the students’ attention for the poem and its content. She reads the poem to the

students and asks them to follow the lines she is reading. Then, the teacher explains run on lines and shows them in the poem. After finishing reading the poem, the teacher throws a ball to one

• f the students and asks him/her to read the first line of the poem and asks him/her to throw the

ball to one of her/his friend so that they can read the lines of the poems. Following this, the teacher asks the students about what they have understood. The teacher and the students analyze the poem in details and make different comments on it in order to enhance critical thinking

• ability. After analyzing, the teacher asks the students some individual questions to make learning

process more individualized. She asks them such questions as “Have you ever felt such a feeling, love? What do you think about the boy in the poem? Who may be the narrator and why?” At the end of this activity, the teacher reminds the students some prepositions they have learnt before.

And she gives them a short summary related to the prepositions found in the poem by using some

• materials. She says, for example, the flowers are between the jam jar and the box through

demonstration. ACTIVITY 6- FILLING IN THE GAPS IN THE POEM The teacher plays a video in which the poem is read. She makes the students listen to the poem

• twice. In the first listening, she just asks them to listen to the poem by feeling it. Before the

second reading, the teacher gives them handouts on which the poem is written. In the second listening, she asks them to fill in the blanks in the handout while they are listening. The blanks are composed of target vocabularies and prepositions. After finishing, the students share their

• answers. If needed, the teacher gives feedback for correction along with giving feedback for
• approval. Or they can involve in a peer correction which is really effective to develop a sense of

responsibility and impartiality.

“Growing Pain” by Vernon Scannell The boy was barely five years old. We sent him to the little school And left him there to learn the names Of ……… … ....... ……. …. the …….. And learn to do as he was told. He seemed quite happy there until Three weeks afterwards, at night, The darkness whimpered in his room. I went upstairs, switched on his light, And found him …………….. , …………….. …………… mangled and his …………… Untidy …………. …. the floor. I said, 'Why can't you sleep? A pain?' He snuffled, gave a little moan, And then he spoke a single word: 'Jessica.' The sound was blurred. 'Jessica? What do you mean?' 'A girl …… school called Jessica. She hurts --' He touched himself …………… The ………….. and ………….. '-- she has been Aching here and I can see her.' Nothing I had read or heard Instructed me in what to do. I covered him and stroked his head. 'The pain will go, in time,' I said.

ACTIVITY 7- PUTTING THE POEM LINES IN THE CORRECT ORDER IN THE SHAPE OF HEART The teacher shows a box to the students. The box has some sticks on which the lines of the poem are written. She asks one of the students to come and choose the stick on which the first line of the poem is written. Then, the student with the first line sticks it to the white board and reads the

• line. The other students do the same thing. At the end of this activity, a shape of heart is created

in the board. The teacher asks for volunteer students to read the whole poem. ACTIVITY 8- STORYTELLING- DRAMA KINDS OF ACTIVITIES The teacher uses some real materials and crafts for this activity. She reads the poem with the help

• f the materials and her body language as a storytelling activity. After finishing it, she asks the

students to do the same thing. In this way, students will have more chance to learn both language and the poem. They may also gain self-confidence through the active involvement in the activity.

Further, she asks the students to dramatize the poem by using only their body language. One student may be the narrator and the other one may be the boy in the poem. The students can dramatize the poem several times. In this way, they can internalize both the vocabularies and the poem. ACTIVITY 9- WRITING AN ACROSTIC POEM After finishing, volunteers can read the poem. Thus, they can have a chance to express and develop their emotions by awakening their senses. Further, the students will collaborate and resume their friends’ lines. This may enhance communication skills, also. The teacher asks the students to write an acrostic poem to the white

• board. For this, the teacher defines what acrostic means. The poem

will be related to “love” and the acrostic will be “To love or not to love.” Each student comes to the board and takes a letter for acrostic and writes a line in the shape of heart. Through this activity, the students can enhance their literacy skills and creativity.