1a. In "Under the Harvest Moon," what is happening when "Death, the gray mocker,/Comes and whispers to you"?
2a. What does "Love" do?
3a. In "Theme in Yellow," who is the speaker?
4a. How is the speaker changed by the end of "Theme in Yellow"?
5a. In what ways are these two poems similar? How are they different?
6a. How well does the title "Under the Harvest Moon" reveal the poem's content? How well does the title "Theme in Yellow" reveal that poem's content? Did the content of either poem surprise you? Explain your answer.
1b. What causes this to happen?
2b. Why does "Love" do this?
3b. Why does the speaker describe this time of year?
4b. How do the children know the speaker is fooling?
5b. Each poem offers a unique image of autumn and conveys a distinct feeling about the season. Describe the image of autumn and the feeling it evokes in "Under the Harvest Moon." Do the same for "Theme in Yellow." How might the poet's feelings about autumn incorporate these different images and feelings?
6b. Which poem comes closer to representing autumn as you would represent it? Why? How do these poems link the ideas of fall and harvest with the spiritual world? How does the Related Reading link those ideas?
Personification. What is personified in "Under the Harvest Moon"? How do you know? What is personified in "Theme in Yellow"? How do you know? How does personification affect the objects being described? How might each poem be different if these objects were not personified?
Symbol. Look at the chart you created for "Death" and "Love." What did you write about "Death"? about "Love"? How is "Death" linked to autumn? How is "Love" linked to autumn?
1. Write a brochure for a travel agency, describing autumn in the region where you live and stating why your region is a good place to visit in autumn.
2. Imagine you have a new neighbor from a different country who wants to learn about autumn traditions in the United States. Write directions for one of the following: carving a jack-o'-lantern, baking a pumpkin or and apple pie, wild ricing, or making a cornucopia.
3. Write a free verse poem about your favorite season and share it with your class.
Working with Word Roots. The main part of a word is called its root. For example, the word circle in "Theme in Yellow" has the word root circ meaning "around." This root is used in many other words, such as circulate, circumvent, and circumscribe. By learning the meanings of common word roots, you can work to figure out new words you encounter in your reading. For the words below, identify the root that both words have in common and use a dictionary to write a simple definition for the root.
Example biology, biography bio "life"
1. literal, literature
2. aquarium, aquatic
3. bicycle, cyclone
4. diverse, versus
5. chronology, chronic
6. similar, assimilate
7. particle, participate
8. audience, audition
9. survive, vivid
10. export, portfolio
Direct Objects. A sentence must have a subject and a verb, but sometimes a sentence has other parts that complete the meaning such as direct objects and indirect objects. Select the verb and identify the direct object for each of the sentences below. For more information, see the Language Arts Survey 3.20, "Completers for Action Verbs: Direct and Indirect Objects."
Example I brought him lunch. (Brought what?) lunch; verb: brought; direct object: lunch
1. My grandfather wanted company.
2. The geese are flying south.
3. Remember your dreams.
4. We saved the frogs from being run over.
5. My mother waited for me to return to the house.
6. I lost my glasses near the campsite.
7. Uncle Lester played baseball with the children.
8. The doctor checked my vision during the exam.
9. I found my mother in her old school photographs.
10. I bought some butter for the corn on the cob.
