Read the Prereading information on page 178, and discuss Art Smart. Make a prediction about what will happen in the song. Why is the song called “The Springhill Disaster”? What might the disaster be?
Find a partner. Read the first two stanzas to each other aloud and make a prediction about what will happen. Then read stanzas 4, 5, and 6. What will happen to the men in the mine? Will any of them survive? Finally, read the last two stanzas, and discuss what happened to the men.
If you are having difficulty marking predictions, use the Guided Reading Questions as purpose-setting questions before you read. Each question is near two stanzas. Read a question, then read the two stanzas near it, and answer the question. Read the next Guided Reading Question, read two stanzas, and answer the question. Continue reading in this manner until you reach the end of the song.
Summarize your predictions. Which of your predictions were accurate and which ones did you have to change as you read? Discuss things that helped you make and change your predictions—Prereading information, the artwork, lines from the song, or what you already knew. How does making predictions affect your reading experience?