Before Reading
Picture What May Happen
Read the About the Selection section and examine the art on page 212. In small groups, discuss the questions in the Art Note. Based on what you read and see, begin to imagine what may happen in the poem.
During Reading
Create Mind Pictures
1. Listen as your teacher reads the first two stanzas of the poem. Begin to create a mind movie as you listen. Involve all of your senses in the mind movie. Then make quick sketches in your notebook that show what you see, hear, or feel.
2. Continue reading on your own. As you read, continue making a mind movie and sketching important images. Don't worry about the art of what you draw, just make brief sketches that will help you track the thoughts you had as you read the poem. When you are done, write a brief explanation next to each sketch.
Fix-Up Idea: Read Aloud
If you are having trouble visualizing, try reading aloud with a partner. Have your partner read a stanza aloud while you listen and visualize. Then read a stanza aloud to your partner. Continue this way until you have read the whole poem, or read the whole poem aloud to your partner, and then have your partner do the same for you.
After Reading
Share Your Mind Pictures
Share your sketches with your group and describe the mind movie you made. Remember, everyone will have a different mind movie. Discuss differences in everyone's mind movies and look back at sections of the poem that created different images in everyone's minds. Explain why the words or lines led to the creation of different images.