Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman Reflection

Fleischman, P. (1988). Joyful noise: Poems for two voices. New York: Harper & Row.
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices is classified as a specialized poetry book. Each poem, about the topic of insects, all written by Fleischman, is about a different insect’s life, the work they do, hardships they face, their lifecycles, etc. Fleischman utilizes personification as a means of comparing an insect’s life to that of humans. For example, in the poem, Fireflies, he compares a firefly’s light and the night sky to an artist’s ink and his or her canvass. In the collection, there are poems about insects such as grasshoppers, cicadas, beetles, honeybees, etc. Fleischman writes each poem with a first person narrator from an insect’s point of view. For example, in the poem Honeybees, Fleischman writes,
“Being a bee          Being a bee
                             is a joy.
is a pain.
                             I’m a queen
I’m a worker
I’ll gladly explain    I’ll gladly explain” (1988. pg. 29).
In addition, Fleischman writes the poems, as the title implies, to be read and enjoyed using two voices or two groups of voices. As seen from the quote above, one reader reads from the left side and another reader reads the lines on the right. If both readers have lines on the same level, the two read chorally.
Big Question – How can reading poetry improve fluency, speaking, and listening skills?
Reading poetry, using echo reading or choral reading, is an excellent way to improve fluency skills for students. Students can perform these skills in small groups or whole group settings. Using this book, small groups of students could practice choral reading one poem from the book to present to the rest of the class or to other grade levels in the school. Younger students also enjoy hearing performances of poetry as well.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.4.4b Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.