Examine page 625 closely. What do you see? Then look over the poem. How does the shape of the poem depict something in the title? Read the Reader’s Toolbox, and discuss what a concrete poem is.
Read the poem aloud in a small group. Have each person in the group read the poem. Use the punctuation marks to guide you about when to pause. Don’t stop at the end of a line if there is no punctuation mark there. How does the shape of the poem influence how you read the poem?
If your group is having trouble reading the poem aloud, making sure that everyone in the group understands the meaning of the words at the bottom of the page. Before reading the poem, read the Words for Everyday Use aloud. Discuss what the skateboarder is doing in the picture. Which lines in the poem might describe what the boy in the picture is doing?
Discuss how the speaker feels about skateboarding. List these words in your notebook. Then make a list of words that you would use to describe skateboarding. Make a new concrete poem about skateboarding that includes the words on your list. The shape of your skateboard poem does not have to be the same as that used in “The Sidewalk Racer, or On the Skateboard.”