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Unit 3
Reading Poetry
OBJECTIVES
Listen and respond to
poems.
Identify how meaning is
conveyed through word
choice.
Read poetry fluently.
Connect ideas and
themes across texts.
Model Fluent Reading
Read "Cloud Dragons" aloud. Explain that this poem is a question-and-answer dialogue between two people, both of whom are participating in the same activity.
Discuss the Poem "Cloud Dragons"
1 Character • Literal
What are the two speakers
doing?
They are looking at clouds.
2 Imagery • Inferential
Look at the images on the
page. What do you think a
caballito is?
A caballito is a pony or small horse.
Dialogue
Explain that dialogue is a
conversation between two or more
people shown in writing. In fiction,
quotation marks are usually used
to indicate dialogue. When poets
want to show dialogue, though, they
often use other methods. For
example, they might use different
line lengths, typefaces, or stanzas
for each speaker; or, as in this
poem, they might use a
question-and-answer format.
EXTEND SKILLS
Model Fluent Reading
Read "Lemon Moon" and "Hurt No
Living Thing" while students follow
along. Explain that when reading
poems aloud, pausing at the right
times can help clarify meaning. Point
out that both of these poems use
punctuation marks to tell the reader
when to pause.
Discuss the Poem "LEMON MOON", "Hurt No Living Thing"
1 Metaphor • Inferential
In "Lemon Moon," what is the
moon compared to?
The moon is compared to a
lemon wedge.
2 Theme • Critical
How does the author of
"Hurt No Living Thing" feel
about creepy-crawly things?
Possible response: She believes
that all of them are valuable and
precious.
Poetry
UNIT 3
LEMON MOON
On a hot and thirsty summer night,
The moon’s a wedge of lemon light
Sitting low among the trees,
Close enough for you to squeeze
And make a moonade, icy-sweet,
To cool your summer-dusty heat.
by Beverly McLoughland
Cloud Dragons
          Oh, I see caballitos
          that race the wind
high in the shimmering blue.
        What do you see
     in the clouds so high?
What do you see? Tell me, do.
           Oh, I see dragons
           that curl their tails
     as they go slithering by.
         What do you see
     in the clouds so high?
What do you see in the sky?
by Pat Mora
Hurt No Living Thing
Hurt no living thing;
     Ladybird, nor butterfly,
     Nor moth with dusty wing,
Nor cricket chirping cheerily,
Nor grasshopper so light of leap,
     Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat,
     Nor harmless worms that creep.
by Christina Rossetti
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Practice Fluent Reading
Have partners read "Cloud Dragons" aloud, each student taking the part of one character. Then have students exchange parts and read the poem again. Before students begin reading, they may want to discuss the identities of the characters: Is one an adult and one a child? If so, which is which? After students read, have them listen to the AudioText of the poem and compare and contrast their readings with the CD recording.
Audio CD
AudioText
WRITING POETRY
Point out that the speakers in both "Cloud Dragons" and "Lemon Moon" "see" something in the sky that isn't actually there. Then have students write their own poems describing what they sometimes "see" in the sky.