What My Father Said By: Alan King

Pre Reading Strategies: Annotate while you read. In the last box--> Why do you think the author wrote this poem? PART A: Which statement expresses the main theme of the poem? Working hard is more important than playing with friends. It can be dangerous to be careless. Friends often turn on each other during conflict. Parents often know best, even when we think they don’t. . PART B: Which detail from the poem best supports the answer to Part A? “We were at that age when bragging rights / shined brighter than Super Bowl rings.” (Lines 19-20) “I went back inside the shed to help dad / move a spool of fat cables” (Lines 28-29) “I watched, grateful dad said no, / that accusations weren’t huddled over me” (Lines 38-39) “Why you lying! You know / you set that fire!” (Lines 40-41) PART A: What does it mean that the speaker “frizzled” in Line 22? He is upset that he can’t join his friends. He is overheating from all his hard work. He is embarrassed by his father’s words. He is shocked by his father’s words. PART B: Which quote from the text best supports the answer to Part A “They asked if I could kick up the field with them.” (Line 21) “That was the Saturday Mrs. Brown mulched / her rose bush” (Lines 23-24) “That was the day I heard my boys / laugh two yards over, yelling touch down!” (Lines 26-27) .“before I saw black billows of smoke / over the shed before Mrs. Brown” (Lines 30-31) In this animated video Darryl tells the story of how he learned why he should listen to his parents more. Use the Race model to answer the question below. How does Darryl’s response to his parent’s wish differ to the speaker’s response to his parent? How does Darryl’s imagination lead to his misfortune? How might the speaker’s imagination have led to trouble, if not for the intervention of his father? Do both the story and poem suggest that children should limit or control their imaginations?