Portuguese Year 2: Poems, rhymes and tongue twisters: understanding and saying them
Portuguese, Year 2 (Portugal): First say what a poem tells and what it means; then plan voice, pauses and gestures to say it aloud.
What it says and what it means
A poem is written in lines (verses), often with rhymes, and says things through images. To explain its meaning, ask two questions: what does it say? (the words) and what does it mean? (the idea behind). Rhymes for children (lengalengas) and tongue twisters are traditional texts passed from mouth to mouth: the lengalenga repeats and rhymes; the tongue twister has similar sounds and is hard to say fast. To say them well you use your voice, pauses, intonation, gestures and facial expression.
A poem is made of sounds
A poem is made of sounds: if you read it at a run, the charm is lost. A pause lets you breathe, intonation (the voice going up and down) shows the feeling, and gestures and your face show what the words mean. So first understand, then say it: a calm poem asks for a calm voice, a poem of surprise asks for a voice that rises. Traditional texts are learnt by heart by listening and repeating, so hearing someone read them aloud counts too.
The wind poem
Our poem: «O vento é um menino / que corre sem sapatos.» (The wind is a boy who runs without shoes.) Step 1, what it says: the wind is a boy running barefoot. Step 2, what it means: the wind is not really a boy; it is an image, the wind is light, fast and playful. Step 3, the voice: soft, a little faster on «corre». Step 4, the pause: a short pause after «menino». Step 5, the gesture: your hand sweeps through the air; you smile. Step 6: practise until you can say it by heart.
Starting fast, or one voice for everything
With tongue twisters the mistake is to start at full speed: you trip, and the fun is lost. Start slowly, syllable by syllable, and only then speed up. With poems the mistake is to say everything in the same voice, without pauses, like reading a list, or to make gestures that have nothing to do with the meaning. Voice and gestures must show what the poem says, not distract the listeners. And remember: if you do not understand the poem, you do not know which voice to give it.
Where you say and hear these texts
In playground rhymes used to choose who starts, in the rhymes grandparents say, in tongue twisters said for fun to train your tongue, like «Três pratos de trigo para três tigres tristes.» (Three plates of wheat for three sad tigers.) A poem learnt by heart can be said at a school party, to a grandparent or in a video for the family. And hearing someone read poems and stories aloud counts too: that is how many traditional texts are learnt.
Test what you learned
Which two questions help you explain the meaning of a poem?
- a) How many lines does it have, and who wrote it?
- b) What does it say, and what does it mean?
- c) Does it rhyme, and how fast can I say it?
Correct answer: b) What does it say, and what does it mean? — Yes: the words say one thing, and the idea behind them is the meaning.
The poem says: «O vento é um menino / que corre sem sapatos.» (The wind is a boy who runs without shoes.) What does it want to say?
- a) A boy lost his shoes in the wind
- b) Children should not wear shoes when it is windy
- c) The wind is angry and breaks things
- d) The wind is light and playful, like a child running barefoot
Correct answer: d) The wind is light and playful, like a child running barefoot — Yes: it is an image; the wind is not really a boy, but it runs lightly and playfully like one.
You want to say the tongue twister «Três pratos de trigo para três tigres tristes» (Three plates of wheat for three sad tigers). What is the best way to train?
- a) Slowly, syllable by syllable, and then faster
- b) As fast as you can, from the very first try
- c) Only in your head, without moving your mouth
Correct answer: a) Slowly, syllable by syllable, and then faster — Yes: starting slowly you get each sound right, and only then speed up without tripping.
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