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I use the poem, "A Poison Tree". I took the poem together with some of the ideas about teaching
it from the "RICH" anthology and teacher's guide; created by Dr. Ora Zohar with Arleen
Eidelman, Susan Haber and Aviva Pinchuk.(Published by The Ministry of Education/Hebrew
University) I would like to thank Dr. Ora Zohar for her permission to use the material.
After you study the poem, "The Poison Tree", see if you can find a connection between
the cartoon and the poem.
A POISON TREE
Have the kids try to explain why each of these metaphors is appropriate for "wrath". They'll
come up with great ideas. Among things I've heard:
IMPORTANT NOTE:
This is the connection between the poem and the cartoon. In both, an emotion becomes
eventually leads to real consequences in the world. In the cartoon, the emotion is
expressed as verbal violence which eventually leads to physical violence.
We discuss the negative effect of the wrath on both parties. The victim, (not entirely a victim - he
stole into the garden and wanted the fruit because it was mine), and the person who spends his
life hating and whose only joy is seeing the downfall of his enemy.
Very likely it was something trivial, and unimportant. (Many of our conflicts in life are
over trivial matters. Think of some of the recent violence that has erupted over such
"important" matters as parking places, etc.)
Often, a fight develops, and after a while we can't even remember how it began.
I also like to point out that the "friend" and the "enemy" might have done the same thing!
What is different, is how "I" reacted. In other words, the difference between an "friend" and
an "enemy" is not always in how they treat us but in how we perceive and treat them! [I'm
not talking about an enemy that is out to kill you-but in the context of our kids, and in our
lives - why are some people included in "our group" while others are rejected? Are the ones
who are rejected really "bad", -is there behaviour any different from the "popular" kids?]
Some of the kids are upset at "lack of logic" in the poem. They start saying, "Come on. How can
an imaginary fruit kill anybody." In the past, I had to go into a long explanation of how literature
is "allowed" to blur the distinctions between fantasy and reality. Today, I just have to say two
words; "X-Files". (or is that one word?) At any rate, the idea that negative emotions that are not
dealt with properly can lead to consequences in the real world is grounded in fact.
There is plenty of room for follow-up activities. The kids can write about experiences which
relate to ideas in the poem; for example, a case in which they "told their wrath", etc.
I hope the kids enjoy the lesson. You can post any reactions or interesting ideas on the homepage
bulletin board.