Analyzing Poetry: Pages 20–24 of Love That Dog and “The Pasture” | EL Education Curriculum

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Analyzing Poetry: Pages 20–24 of Love That Dog and “The Pasture”

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RL.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  • RL.4.2: Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
  • RL.4.3: Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
  • RL.4.5: Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.
  • W.4.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
  • W.4.9a: Apply grade 4 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text [e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions].").
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can identify the characteristics of poetry in "The Pasture." (RL.4.1, RL.4.5)
  • I can determine the theme of "The Pasture" from details in the text and summarize it. (RL.4.2, RL.4.5)
  • I can identify the similarities and differences between poetry and prose. (RL.4.1, RL.4.5)

Ongoing Assessment

  • I Notice/I Wonder Note-catcher: "The Pasture" (RL.4.2, RL.4.5)
  • Comparing and Contrasting Poetry and Prose Graphic Organizer: "The Pasture" (RL.4.5)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Analyzing Poetry: "The Pasture" (20 minutes)

B. Determining the Theme and Summarizing the Poem: "The Pasture" (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Comparing a Poem with Prose: "The Pasture" (15 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • In this lesson, students continue reading Love That Dog to analyze what happened in those pages and how Jack felt about it (RL.4.1, RL.4.3). Students then closely read "The Pasture" by Robert Frost (in the back of Love That Dog), to identify characteristics of poetry (RL.4.5) and to determine a theme from details in the text (RL.4.2). Students then summarize the poem in writing (RL.4.2, W.4.9a).
  • Recall that the theme that has been identified in these materials is one that most students of this age will understand. If students suggest other themes for the poem, listen to their ideas and consider whether these are viable themes based on the supporting details students choose.
  • At the end of the lesson, students compare "The Pasture" to prose (RL.4.5).
  • Continue to use Goal 1 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.
  • The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to poetry and creative writing. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.

How it builds on previous work:

  • In the lessons leading up to this one, students have become familiar with the routine of reading pages of Love That Dog, analyzing what happens and how Jack feels about it, and then analyzing the famous poem that Jack describes. This lesson continues this routine with new pages of Love That Dog and a new famous poem, "The Pasture" by Robert Frost.
  • In Lesson 5, students compared poetry to prose using a graphic organizer. In this lesson, they do the same thing with Robert Frost's poem "The Pasture."

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • Students may need additional support determining a theme, particularly if they come up with different ideas for the theme within their triads. In this situation, remind students that everyone can interpret poetry differently, and there is no right or wrong answer; however, for their theme to be possible, they must be able to find supporting details.

Assessment guidance:

  • Read student summaries and students' Comparing and Contrasting Poetry and Prose Graphic Organizer: "The Pasture" at the end of the lesson to ensure students are ready to complete the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment in the next lesson. If students are not ready, consider adding a lesson to re-teach anything students are not sure about.
  • For ELLs: Collect Language Dive Practice homework from Lesson 6 for assessment.

Down the road:

  • In the next lesson, students will complete the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment. During this assessment, they will read more of Love That Dog and analyze one of Jack's poems for characteristics of poetry in order to write a summary describing the theme and supporting details. They will also compare "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" to a prose version of the poem as part of the assessment.

In Advance

  • Strategically pair students for work in this lesson, with at least one strong reader per pair.
  • Preview the poem "The Pasture" and review the example anchor charts and note-catchers to determine what students need to understand from reading the poem.
  • Review the Thumb-O-Meter protocol. See Classroom Protocols.
  • Post: Learning targets, What Happens and How Does Jack Feel about It? anchor chart, Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart, What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart, and Criteria of an Effective Summary anchor chart.

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time A and B, and Closing and Assessment A: Students complete the I Notice/I Wonder Note-catcher: "The Pasture" using a word-processing tool--for example, a Google Doc.
  • Work Time A and B, and Closing and Assessment A: Students complete their note-catchers in a word-processing document--for example, a Google Doc--using Speech to Text facilities activated on devices, or using an app or software such as Dictation.io.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 4.I.B.6, 4.I.B.7, 4.I.B.8, 4.I.C.10, 4.I.C.11, 4.II.A.1, and 4.II.A.2

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by repeating the pattern of analysis of Love That Dog using the What Happens and How Does Jack Feel about It? anchor chart and a closely related poem, "The Pasture," using the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart. Students also have additional opportunity to identify theme, practice summarizing, and comparing poetry to prose for a similar task in the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to compare poetry to prose. Begin by narrowing the focus, selecting one characteristic of poetry from one line of "The Pasture." Discuss the same or a contrasting characteristic from a line of Love That Dog.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • Invite students to evaluate the structure of the language and its effect in the January 10 entry of Love That Dog compared to that of "The Pasture." (Examples: The colloquial language, such as I mean, has the effect of sarcasm and suspicion. The archaic language, such as shan't, has the effect of romance, being outdated, or snootiness.)
  • When students discuss and write the summary of "The Pasture," invite them to condense their ideas by combining several shorter, repetitive sentences into one longer, more complex, clearer sentence. (Example: Frost uses imagery. It is all about spring. It helps the reader understand how fresh everything is in spring. It helps the reader understand how new everything is in spring. > The imagery Frost uses helps the reader understand how new and fresh everything is in spring.)

For heavier support:

  • During Work Time A:
    • Copy "The Pasture," "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and Jack's January 10 entry. Display them side by side. Invite students to draw lines to show the similarities between Jack's entry and the two poems. Invite them to use contrasting colors to underline portions that are different.
    • Turn the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart into a kinesthetic activity. Copy descriptions of the characteristics and lines from "The Pasture" onto separate strips. Students can paste the descriptions and lines into the correct category: Structure, Imagery, Rhyme and Meter, or Repetition.
    • Distribute a partially completed copy of the I Notice/I Wonder Note-catcher: "The Pasture." This will provide students with models for the kind of information they should enter, while relieving the volume of writing required.
  • During Work Time B:
    • Print the "The Pasture" summary and cut it into strips. Scramble the strips and discuss the meaning of each one. Invite students to sequence them correctly, giving rationale if they come up with more than one correct version.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): This lesson builds on skills developed in previous lessons. Help students to generalize across lessons by making explicit connections to previous lessons in this unit. For instance, when introducing the learning targets, have students make connections to the work they completed in the previous lessons that is similar to what is expected of them in this lesson. Another example is to compare the poem "The Pasture" to Love That Dog to discuss the characteristics of poetry.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): To help facilitate increased comprehension, some students may benefit from multiple strategies for engaging with the text. Help minimize the complexity of analyzing Love That Dog by chunking important texts and engaging in a discussion about the meaning. Another strategy is to have students sketch the meaning of lines from "The Pasture" and then use words to describe the images.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Continue to build excitement around poetry. Highlight how poetry can come in many different forms and be a nice break from traditional writing because we can "break the rules" around standard English.

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

  • theme, summarize, characteristics, prose (L)
  • pasture, spring, rake, totters (T)

Materials

  • Love That Dog (from Lesson 2; one per student)
  • What Happens and How Does Jack Feel about It? anchor chart (begun in Lesson 2; added to during Work Time A; see supporting materials)
  • What Happens and How Does Jack Feel about It? anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)
  • Paper (blank; one piece per student)
  • What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (begun in Lesson 6)
  • What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)
  • I Notice/I Wonder Note-catcher: "The Pasture" (one per student)
  • Criteria of an Effective Summary anchor chart (begun in Lesson 5)
  • I Notice/I Wonder Note-catcher: "The Pasture" (example, for teacher reference)
  • Comparing and Contrasting Poetry and Prose Graphic Organizer: "The Pasture" (one per student)
  • Comparing and Contrasting Poetry and Prose Graphic Organizer: "The Pasture" (example, for teacher reference)
  • Equity sticks (class set; one per student)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

Assessment

Each unit in the 3-5 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

  • Move students into pairs and invite them to label themselves A and B.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and select a volunteer to read them aloud:

"I can identify the characteristics of poetry in 'The Pasture.'"

"I can determine the theme of 'The Pasture' from details in the text and summarize it."

"I can identify the similarities and differences between poetry and prose."

  • Remind students that they have seen the first two targets before, but this time the poem they will be analyzing is different.
  • Review what theme, summarize, characteristics, and prose mean.
  • For ELLs: Most students will need repeated exposure to and practice with prepositions. In many cases, there are no hard and fast rules, and even proficient speakers sometimes disagree on acceptable usage. Invite students to notice, discuss, and practice using the verb-noun-preposition groupings (collocations) in the learning targets. Ask "What if" questions. (Examples: "What if we replace of with to or for--are they acceptable substitutions? Do they change the meaning?")
    • identify the characteristics of
    • determine the theme of
    • identify the similarities and differences between

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Analyzing Poetry: "The Pasture" (20 minutes)

  • Invite students to retrieve their copies of Love That Dog and to turn to page 20.
  • Invite students to follow along, reading silently in their heads as you read aloud pages 20-24.
  • Focus students on the What Happens and How Does Jack Feel about It? anchor chart.
  • Divide the class in half and invite one half of the class to focus on pages 20-21, and the other half to focus on 22-24. Invite students to:
    • Reread their assigned pages with their partner.
    • Discuss with their partner what to record in each column of the anchor chart.
  • After 3 minutes, refocus whole group. Cold call students to share out. As students share out, capture their responses on the anchor chart. Refer to What Happens and How Does Jack Feel about It? anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Direct students to turn to the back of their copy of Love That Dog to find "Some of the poems used by Miss Stretchberry." "The Pasture" is the fifth of these poems. Tell students that it is by Robert Frost, the same poet who wrote "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."
  • Follow the same routine used in previous lessons to:
    • Chorally read the poem aloud twice with students.
    • Have students close their eyes to visualize the poem.
    • Have students determine the gist (someone asking someone else to join them in the pasture to do jobs).
    • Have students sketch what they heard on paper.
  • Remind students of the characteristics of poetry recorded so far in the third column of What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart.
  • Invite students to turn and talk to their partner:

"What do you notice about the poem?"

  • Cold call students to share out. As students share out, capture their responses in the second column of the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart. As you record, ask students to help you categorize their notices into the characteristics identified so far. Refer to What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Focus students on the words pasture spring. Invite students to turn and talk to their partner, and cold call students to share out:

"What is a pasture? If you don't know, how can you find out the meaning of this word?" (dictionary--land covered with grass)

"What is a spring? There are different meanings of this word, but which meaning do you think is used here? If you read the rest of the stanza, what does the context suggest?" (spring of water. It says "wait to watch the water clear.")

  • Focus students on the word rake. Invite students to turn and talk to their partner, and cold call students to share out:

"What does it mean to rake? What do you use to rake? If you don't know, how can you find out the meaning of this word?" (dictionary--collect, gather or move. You use a rake to rake.)

  • Draw a rake on the board or show a picture for students who don't know what it is. Invite students to stand up and move their bodies as though they were raking. Select a student doing it well to model for the whole group.
  • Focus students on the word totters. Invite students to stand up and show with their bodies what totters means. Select a student doing it well to model for the group and explain that it means to move in an unsteady way.
  • Distribute the I Notice/I Wonder Note-catcher: "The Pasture" and invite students to work with their triad to reread and analyze the poem and to list notices and wonders on their note-catchers. Allocate each triad a characteristic of poetry to focus on for notices and wonders. When possible, ensure the number of each student analyzing each characteristic is equal.
  • Remind students of the characteristics of poetry on the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart.
  • After 5-6 minutes, refocus whole group. Focus on one characteristic of poetry at a time and invite students responsible for analyzing each characteristic to share out.
  • As students share out, capture their responses on the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart in the same categories. Refer to What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
    • Note: If students have not already encountered the poetry characteristic "repetition," it is important that it be introduced here, as lines are repeated. See What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (example, for teacher reference).
  • Invite students to share their wonderings about the poem and record them on the board. If questions are about word or phrase meaning, help students identify the meaning before moving on. If questions cannot be answered from the content, explain that sometimes poems and stories leave us with questions intentionally because the authors want us to keep thinking about their work.
  • Tell students they are now going to use the Thumb-O-Meter protocol to reflect on their progress toward the first learning target. Remind them that they used this protocol in Lesson 4 and review as necessary. Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.
  • Guide students through the Thumb-O-Meter protocol using the first learning target. Scan student responses and make a note of students who may need more support with this moving forward.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: Mini Language Dive. Ask students about the meaning of chunks from a key sentence of Love That Dog, pages 20-24. Write and display student responses next to the chunks. Examples:
    • "Place your finger on the sentence: 'And maybe that's the same thing that happened with Mr. Robert Frost' from January 17." Read the sentence aloud as students follow along.
    • "What is the gist of this sentence? (Jack is comparing something to what Frost did.)
    • "Place your finger on that's. I wonder why Jack uses this word." (That's is a referent, a cohesive device, that signals Jack is referring back to his previous sentences about the wheelbarrow poet's teacher typing up the poet's words, thus making others think it was a poem. Jack is suggesting that's the same for Robert Frost: Like William Carlos Williams, perhaps Frost's teacher typed up Frost's words and others thought they were poems.)
    • "How does your understanding of this sentence change your understanding of Love That Dog?" (Responses will vary, but may include: It helps me understand that Jack is suspicious of or curious about how others use or interpret poetry. He sees that the format of poetry can have a powerful effect on people.) (MMR, MMAE)
  • For ELLs: Discuss the meaning, usage, and pronunciation of the colloquial language in the January 10 entry: did NOT get, I mean REALLY, well! Discuss the meaning of the idiom too much time on his hands.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: Mini Language Dive. Ask students about the meaning of chunks of "The Pasture." Write and display student responses next to the chunks. Examples:
    • "'The Pasture' has vivid imagery. Close your eyes and paint a picture in your mind as I read it aloud." Tell students that you will give them time to think and write or sketch before you cold call. "What imagery was most vivid for you and why?" (Responses will vary.)
    • "Place your finger on That's. How does Frost's use of this word compare to Jack's?" (Frost used that's as a referent to refer back to the little calf; Jack used that's as a referent to refer back to a previous concept, of teachers typing up words to make them seem like poems.)
    • "Place your finger on shan't. The verb shan't is quite old and no longer commonly used. Who can figure out what verb in English is used today in place of shan't?" (won't)
    • "Place your finger on I shan't be gone long. I wonder why Frost writes this line." (Responses will vary, but may include: to tell a loved one that even though he will be back soon, he will miss his loved one and that his loved one should not worry.)
    • "Can you circle the subject in this line and underline the predicate?" (I shan't be gone long.)
    • "Try to complete this sentence with something from your own life: I won't _____." (Responses will vary but may include: I won't forget to do my homework.) (MMR, MMAE)

B. Determining the Theme and Summarizing the Poem: "The Pasture" (20 minutes)

  • Focus students on the "Theme" box at the bottom of the I Notice/I Wonder Note-catcher: "The Pasture." Remind students of what a theme is and how it differs from a subject. Example: The subject that the poet has written about is doing jobs in the pasture, but the theme is what the author wants us to understand by reading about doing jobs in the pasture.
  • Invite students to turn and talk to their triad:

"What is a theme in this poem? Record it in the box at the bottom of your note-catcher."

  • Focus students on the "Supporting Details" boxes on the I Notice/I Wonder Note-catcher: "The Pasture." Remind students of the role of supporting details as necessary.
  • Invite students to work with their triad to find at least two details in the poem that helped them identify the theme they have chosen, and to record them in the boxes.
  • Cold call students to share out:

"What is a theme of this poem? What is a message or main idea the poet wants you to take away?" (the joy of chores on the farm)

"What details support this?" (Responses will vary, but may include: The water in the pasture spring will run clear once the leaves are raked away, and the little calf is so newly born that it "totters" and can barely stand up. This imagery helps the reader understand how new and fresh everything is in spring. The line "I shan't be gone long.--You come too." is repeated in this short poem, showing us that the speaker feels that these simple chores are special enough to urge a friend to share them. This poem reminds us how wonderful and new spring can make us feel.)

  • If productive, cue students to clarify the conversation by confirming what they mean:

"So, do you mean _____?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Remind students that summaries give us a brief idea of what a text is about so we can determine whether or not we want or need to read it. Focus students on the Criteria of an Effective Summary anchor chart.
  • Invite students to spend 30 seconds orally summarizing the poem to their partner.
  • Select volunteers to share their summaries with the whole group. Listen for students to say something like: "'The Pasture' by Robert Frost is a poem about the joy of going out to do chores on the farm in the early spring. The imagery Frost uses helps the reader understand how new and fresh everything is in spring. The water in the pasture spring will run clear once the leaves are raked away, and the little calf is so newly born that it "totters" and can barely stand up. The line "I shan't be gone long.--You come too." is repeated in this short poem, showing us that the speaker feels that these simple chores are special enough to urge a friend to share them. This poem reminds us how wonderful and new spring can make us feel." Refer to I Notice/I Wonder Note-catcher: "The Pasture" (example, for teacher reference). Model this if student summaries did not include the correct information.
  • Invite students to write their summary at the bottom of the note-catcher. Remind them of the Criteria of an Effective Summary anchor chart.
  • Invite students to turn and talk to their partner, and then use equity sticks to select students to share out:

"How did the strategies on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart help you to better understand the text?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Tell students they are now going to use the Thumb-O-Meter protocol to reflect on their progress toward the second learning target. Remind them that they used this protocol earlier in the lesson and review as necessary. Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.
  • Guide students through the Thumb-O-Meter protocol using the second learning target. Scan student responses and make a note of students who may need more support with this moving forward.
  • Some students may benefit from multiple examples to highlight the difference between theme and subject. Consider referring to another class reading and ask the students to name the subject (what the book was about) and the theme (the message that the author wanted to teach you). Also consider providing sentences that represent both subjects and themes and have students mark them with an "S" or a "T." Examples: "The girls got in an argument, but then they had a discussion and forgave each other." (S) and "We should forgive our friends even when they hurt our feelings." (T) (MMR, MMAE)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Comparing a Poem with Prose: "The Pasture" (15 minutes)

  • Distribute and display the Comparing and Contrasting Poetry and Prose Graphic Organizer: "The Pasture." Remind students that they have used this organizer when comparing prose about the tiger to the poem by William Blake, and briefly review what students need to record in each box on the organizer.
  • Invite students to follow along, reading silently in their heads as you read aloud the prose at the top.
  • Invite students to turn back to "The Pasture" poem in Love That Dog and follow along, reading silently in their heads, as you reread the poem aloud.
  • Remind students of the characteristics of poetry on the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart. Give students 1 minute to think and look carefully at the two texts before inviting them to turn and talk to their partner. Use equity sticks to select students to share out with the whole group:

"What is one similarity between the poem and the prose? Remember that similarities are things that are nearly the same." (Responses will vary, but may include: They are about the same subject.)

  • Tell students they are now going to work with their partner to complete as many similarities and differences as they can, using evidence from the text.
  • Circulate to support students in completing their organizer.
  • After 10 minutes, refocus the group and use equity sticks to select students to share out. Refer to Comparing and Contrasting Poetry and Prose Graphic Organizer: "The Pasture" (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • If productive, cue students to expand the conversation by giving an example:

"Can you give an example?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Tell students they are now going to use the Thumb-O-Meter protocol to reflect on their progress toward the final learning target. Remind them that they used this protocol earlier in the lesson and review as necessary. Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.
  • Guide students through the Thumb-O-Meter protocol using the final learning target. Scan student responses and make a note of students who may need more support with this moving forward.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: To ensure that the general purpose of the comparison is transparent, cue students to problem-solve. Invite them to turn and talk with a partner:

"Can you figure out why we are comparing a poem to prose?" (Responses will vary, but may include: to discuss when it is appropriate to write using the characteristics of poetry vs. when it is appropriate to write using the characteristics of prose.) (MMR, MME)

  • For some students, consider decreasing the complexity of the task. Provide pre-written sticky notes with various differences or similarities between poetry and prose. Have students place the sticky notes in the appropriate space on the graphic organizers. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with memory: To provide lighter support in preparation for the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment in the next lesson, invite students to vary the sentence frames they created in Lesson 5 that will help them talk about similarities and differences between the poem and prose versions. To provide heavier support, invite students to use the sentence frames their peers created. Examples:
    • "Both texts are about ___."
    • "Whereas the poem _____, the prose _____." (MMAE)

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with reading and writing: Refer to the suggested homework support in Lesson 1. (MMAE, MMR)

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