(1) Poetry Lesson 8
(2) Poetry Lesson 8
April Rain Song (p. 56) and The Woodpecker (p25) from The
Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry by Bill Martin Jr.
Let’s read some poems with strong sensory
images. While reading, think about the words
the poet selected to create pictures in your
mind. We will close our eyes during some parts
of the reading to focus on the images.
Poets use sensory images to inspire us to use our
imaginations-to hear, see, feel, taste, and smell
the words in their poems. We are able to
connect with the important messages and better
understand the meaning. Poets use rhyme,
rhythm, and onomatopoeia to create sounds to
involve us as readers. We also looked at some
poems that used the sense of sight by including
detailed descriptions.
(3) Poetry Lesson 8
(4) Poetry Lesson 8
The weather seems to inspire a lot of poets.
Why do you think that is?
Let’s read the poem out loud together and see
if our images develop even more as we become
active readers.
Allow time for student responses. Display “April Rain
Song” by Langston Hughes.
The title of this poem says that is a song, so we
can expect it to have some rhythm. Close your
eyes and think about the images that the details
bring to your minds.
Read the poem slowly.
Read the poem chorally.
Did your images change at all by reading the text?
What descriptions helped form your images?
Have students use the text to support their ideas.
If you had to draw a picture about this poem,
what image would you draw?
What images came to mind?
Distribute copies of the Appendix “What I See” so students
can draw an image. Have volunteers share their images and
Share responses.
explain what parts of the poem inspired them.
(5) Poetry Lesson 8
(6) Poetry Lesson 8
It’s interesting how we all have different images in
our heads. That’s because all our experiences
are different. By using sensory images, Langston
Hughes made his poem connect to our
experiences.
Did you see a little woodpecker hopping around
on a telephone pole? What did he look like?
Display “The Woodpecker” by Elizabeth Maddox Roberts.
These details and descriptions really allow us to create
images in our minds. This poem isn’t about the noises
that it makes, like I guessed from the title.
Have you ever seen a woodpecker? I thought
this poem would use a lot of tapping sounds to
help think about a woodpecker, but this poet is
focused more on the way the woodpecker looks
and acts. Close your eyes.
Read the poem.
Guide students to describe the bird using the parts of the text
that support their images, such as “a hood and a collar of
red.”
We must stop and think about the images the
words are describing. These words allow readers
to use their imaginations and create those
images in their minds before continuing to the
next line.