Mirror, mirror

Singer, M. (2010). Mirror, mirror. New York: Dutton.

Fairy tales are not always what they seem, when one views them from a different perspective. Split text and illustrations combine two separate but unified pictures and poems. Traditional fairy tales like Cinderella and Red Riding Hood are given a new appearance through reverso poetry.  Readers too will have to take a double look at each page.

Suggested lesson plan

8th grade - Writing

Students will construct a reverse poem. Teacher will read “Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse” aloud to the class as a large group. In the back of this book is a description of a “reverso” which is a poem that is written backwards from the bottom to the top. Students are only able to change capitalization and punctuation. Have them create two different poems. The first one they can choose a haiku of their choosing, and then create a reverso of the haiku.

For the second poem, they will be required to write the first, as well as the reverso. When students are done, have a few volunteers share their poems. It will be sure to evoke a few laughs and students will gain a better appreciation for the challenges of poetry – and the power of punctuation!

 Materials:

The book, “Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse”

Pencils

Paper

Lesson plan obtained at: http://picturebookjunkie.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/lesson-plan-5-reverso/

8th grade Writing - Poetry

(15)  Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are expected to:

(B)  write a poem using:

(i)  poetic techniques (e.g., rhyme scheme, meter);

(ii)  figurative language (e.g., personification, idioms, hyperbole); and

(iii)  graphic elements (e.g., word position).