Scott Foresman Reading Street

Poetry in Reading

Examine features of
poetry.
Practice a test-taking
strategy.
Compare and contrast
across texts.

PREVIEW

Discuss with students what they think
the poem will be about.

The title of the poem sounds
like the beginning of a letter
or diary entry. What do you
think the author says to the
stars?
(Responses will vary; look for
ideas that show what someone
might tell the stars.)

Link to Writing

Have students brainstorm what they
would say to the stars and help them
translate their ideas into verse. Point
out that the lines in the poem don't
have to rhyme.

Whole Group Discuss the Question of the Day.

Group Time
Differentiated Instruction

Reading

Whole Group Use pp. 353a and 353j.

“dear stars.” See
pp. 330f–330g for the small group lesson plan.

Use pp. 353e–353h and
353k–353m.

Language Arts

Grouping Options

Poetry

Use the sidebar on p. 352 to guide discussion.

Poetry is often very imaginative writing designed to express feelings or thoughts.
When we read poetry, it helps to visualize things. Discuss with students what images they see as they read “dear stars.”

AudioText

Poetry

Explain that poetry is usually emotional. Poets are moved by something or someone and write about that feeling. Poetry is also imaginative and offers a different way of looking at things.

Possible response: A dark night sky
filled with stars

CONNECT TEXT TO TEXT

Reading Across Texts

The night letters Lily got told of
things that happened to the
"writers" during the day. Ask
students what might happen to
stars at night.

Writing Across Texts Look back
at Lily's night letters. Start your
letter the same way. Include
details from your talk above in the
the letter.

Writing Across Texts Now write
a letter to Lily from the stars.

Reading Across Texts
Lily in Night Letters got letters
from insects, a rock, and a tree.
Think about what the stars
might say to Lily in a letter.

Often the poet’s
    purpose is to give the
    reader a new way of
    looking at something.

Poetry is a creative
expression of language.

Genre

you are twinkling
in the moonlight
deep
deep in the dark
but clear sky

written and illustrated
by Takayo Noda

Notice that there are
    no capital letters or
    punctuation. Why do
    you suppose the poem
    is written this way?

I can hear insects
and cool breezes
bring the smell
of mountain

I lie in a hammock
between the trees

Think of something you
would say about the
stars. Then write another
verse for the poem.

Link to Writing

in my bed
when I close my eyes
you still twinkle
inside them

I watch you twinkling
for the longest time
until
my mother calls me

What picture did you have in your head as you read the poem?

Visualize

twinkle

to shine with a light that flickers slightly; to sparkle

Star Gazers

Ancient civilizations looked at the sky and the stars not only
for beauty, but for practical reasons as well. Stars were very
important to people of early civilizations. Even without modern
inventions, such as the telescope, they were able to navigate the
seas. Polynesian people were some of the first to use stars to
navigate the oceans. They used the stars to help guide them through
the night by keeping records of their placement in the night sky.

The ancient Egyptians were one of the first to create a calendar using stars instead of the moon. They used the movements of Sirius, the dog star, to tell when the floods of the Nile would come.