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Summary "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out" #1

By David Kwan
Last updated about 7 years ago
5 Questions
Note from the author:
This Formative is by: Rachel Kerr

Here is how I help students learn how to summarize a piece of literature with a LOT of extraneous information. Plus, the kids love the poem.
Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out
Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout
Would not take the garbage out.
She would scour the pots and scrape the pans
Candy the yams and spice the hams,
An though her daddy would scream and shout,
She simply would not take the garbage out.
And so it piled up to the ceilings:
Coffee grounds, potato peelings
Brown bananas, rotten peas,
Chunks of sour cottage cheese.
It filled the can, it covered the floor,
It cracked the window and blocked the door.
With bacon rinds and chicken bones,
Drippy ends of ice cream cones,
Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,
Gloppy glumps of cold oatmeal,
Pizza crusts and withered greens,
Soggy beans and tangerines,
Crusts of black burned buttered toast,
Gristly bits of beefy roasts . . .
The garbage rolled down the hall.
It raised the roof, it broke the wall . . .
Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs
Globs of gooey bubble gum,
Cellophane from green baloney
Rubbery blubbery macaroni
Peanut butter, caked and dry
Curdled milk and crusts of pie,
Moldy melons, dried-up mustard,
Eggshells mixed with lemon custard,
Cold French fries and rancid meat,
Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat.
At last the garbage reached so high
That finally it touched the sky.
And all of the neighbors moved away.
And none of her friends would come to play.
And finally Sarah Cynthia Stout said,
“OK, I’ll take the garbage out!”
But then, of course, it was too late . . .
The garbage reached across the state,
From New York to the Golden Gate.
And there, in the garbage she did hate,
Poor Sarah met an awful fate,
That I cannot right now relate
Because the hour is much too late.
But children, remember Sarah Stout
And always take the garbage out!

Fill out the graphic organizer based on the above poem. Be sure to use the text tool.

Visulaize - what did you "see" in your mind when reading this poem?

How can you connect with Sarah and her chores?

If you could give Sarah one piece of advice, what would it be?

Who else do you think would enjoy reading this poem? Why?