“I Hear America Singing”
By Walt Whitman
Title – What does the title suggest this poem will be about?
Group Work
Step 1 – Read the poem.
Read the poem silently to yourself.
Then, have someone in your group will read the poem aloud.
What jumps out at you as you hear the poem being read? Write the words or phrases down as you listen.
Next, have another person in your group read the poem aloud again.
Did something different catch your attention the second time? Write those words or phrases down.
Step 2 – Vocabulary
Look these words up to help you understand the poem. carols blithe mason ploughboys melodious
Step 3 - Tone
Describe the tone of this poem
Step 4 - Form
Catalog (list) Poem – Whitman pioneered this free verse poetic form
How does the catalog of singers contribute to the theme and mood of this poem?
What does Whitman list in this poem?
How does he talk about each person/group?
What kind of language does he use? Does this make the poem easier to understand?
Note: Whitman includes mothers, wives, girls – Emerson, Thoreau made no mention of women or their work in their writing.
Step 5 – Theme
What is the theme of this poem?

“A Noiseless Patient Spider”
By Walt Whitman
Title – What does the title suggest this poem will be about?
Group Work
Step 1 – Read the poem.
Read the poem silently to yourself.
Then, have someone in your group will read the poem aloud.
What jumps out at you as you hear the poem being read? Write the words or phrases down as you listen.
Next, have another person in your group read the poem aloud again.
Did something different catch your attention the second time? Write those words or phrases down.
Step 2 – Vocabulary
Look these words up to help you understand the poem. promontory isolated vast launch filament to muse to venture sphere ductile gossamer fling
Step 3 - Tone
Describe the tone of this poem
Step 4 – Form
What form, or shape, does this poem have? Is it still an example of free verse?
Step 5 – Imagery
What kind of language does Whitman use in this poem? Does this make the poem harder to understand?
Imagery – What kinds of imagery do you see in this poem?
Write down the examples in your answer.
How does the imagery help Whitman connect the spider and the soul?
Step 6 – Theme
What is the theme of this poem?

“Beat! Beat! Drums!”
By Walt Whitman
Title – What does the title suggest this poem will be about?
Group Work
Step 1 – Read the poem.
Read the poem silently to yourself.
Then, have someone in your group will read the poem aloud.
What jumps out at you as you hear the poem being read? Write the words or phrases down as you listen.
Next, have another person in your group read the poem aloud again.
Did something different catch your attention the second time? Write those words or phrases down.
Step 2 – Vocabulary
Look these words up to help you understand the poem. bugle ruthless brokers speculators parley expostulation timid beseech entreaty trestle
Step 3 – Tone
Describe the tone of this poem.
Step 4 – Form
What form, or shape, does this poem have? Is it still an example of free verse?
Step 5 – Alliteration
Discover how alliteration adds to the mood this poem conveys by finding examples in this poem.
Write the examples down and explain the connection between the repeated sounds and the mood of the poem.
Step 6 – Theme
What is the theme of this poem?