In a small group, look over the footnotes and the Words for Everyday Use for each poem. Read and discuss the meaning of each word. Then draw a picture that illustrates the meaning of each.
In your group, read each poem silently first. Then read the poems aloud, switching speakers with each stanza. As you read “Jabberwocky,” try to figure out possible meanings for each stanza by using clues each stanza provides, remembering that the poem contains many nonsense words. You will have to make up meanings for the nonsense words. As you read “You Are Old, Father William,” compare lines in the poem to the picture on page 637.
If you are having trouble reading the poems aloud, try switching speakers after every line instead of after every stanza. Help each other figure out what the lines mean. Use the Guided Reading Questions included with the poems and help each other guess the meanings of the nonsense words. Also read the possible meanings for the nonsense words on page 640.
Go back through each poem, and make a list of things to include in an illustration for each poem. Then have your group create new illustrations for each poem. Share your illustrations with the class, discussing some of the lines you illustrated.