1a. In "Song of the Thunders," how does the storm feel?
2a. How often does the storm pity itself?
3a. In "Song of the Crows," who is the first to arrive?
4a. Identify places in the songs where the dreamer has become something or someone else.
5a. After listening to a recording of these songs, decide if the melody and rhythm suit the words. Explain your answer.
1b. Why would a storm feel this way?
2b. What do you think the storm is doing when it is not pitying itself?
3b. What is the significance of this animal?
4b. How does this help the dreamer to nature better?
5b. Using the lyrics from these songs, compose your own music to suit the words. How does your choice differ from the original?
Oral Tradition. How does the fact that these Anishinabe oral traditions are songs influence the listener?
Personification. Who does the dreamer become in each of the songs? How effective is the use of personification in the songs?
1. Pretend you are a storm that pities itself. Write a poem that explains your feelings and your behavior.
2. Write four or five lines of a song about an element of nature.
3. You have just awakened from a dream about a blinding snowstorm. Describe your dream in a brief journal entry.
Homonyms. A homonym is a word that has the same pronunciation as another word but a different meaning, origin, and, usually, spelling. The words wind and rain in these Anishinabe songs are homonyms. For each word below, write at least one homonym and a simple definition for each word.
Examples wind: a breeze wind: to wrap around or tighten rain: water falling in drops reign: to rule, as in a king
1. there
2. wood
3. wound
4. two
5. for
6. bare
7. dove
8. meat
9. bow
10. here
Distinguishing Prepositions from Infinitives. A preposition is used to show how a noun or a pronoun is related to other words in the sentence. A prepositional phrase is made up of a preposition and an object of the preposition. The infinitive is the form of two words, to and the base word, as in to catch, to succeed, and to entertain. Review the Language Arts Survey 3.27, "Identifying Prepositional Phrases," 3.40, "Avoiding Split Infinitives," and 3.69, "Prepositions." In the sentences below, tell whether each underlined phrase is a prepositional phrase or an infinitive.
Examples We went to the deli for lunch. (prepositional phrase) I wanted to go swimming today. (infinitive)
1. I needed some time to think.
2. Deion tried to run up the hill.
3. My mother brought a gift to our new neighbors.
4. They told me to act naturally.
5. Mateo wrote a letter to the editor.
6. We drove to the beach for the day.
7. The coach asked Maria to try pitching.
8. I planned to give her a special birthday gift.
9. My brother went to the doctor for a checkup.
10. Mom asked us to take our game of catch outdoors.
