(1) Poetry Lesson 9
(2) Poetry Lesson 9
Bed in Summer (p.115) from The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of
Poetry by Bill Martin Jr.
The big idea is the main idea of the poem.
Sometimes it is easy to spot the big idea of a
poem. Sometimes it is hard. That’s because
poetry isn’t necessarily telling a story with a main
character that follows a clear path to reach a
goal.
Poets choose each word carefully when they
write. They want to be certain that their words
express the emotions that helped create their
poems. A poet wants the reader to understand
the message or big idea. As readers we need to
take our time and look at all the clues that the
poet is providing. Readers use these clues to
determine what is important in the poem, which
helps us discover the big idea. What do I mean
when I say the “big idea”?
Allow student responses.
Poets find inspiration all around them in
everyday life. Sometimes the message or big
idea is simply how something makes the poet
feel. When we read poetry, it’s important to
look at clues that the poet provides and put the
clues together to find the big idea.
Let’s try it out.
(3) Poetry Lesson 9
(4) Poetry Lesson 9
Display “Bed in Summer” by Robert Louis Stevenson
from The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry
Let’s look at the chart and see what other kinds
of clues we should look for.
One of the first clues that a poet provides is
the title of the poem. We will make a chart of
the clues we are going to gather and see how
they help us find the big ideas.
Display the Appendix “Clues We Use to Identify the Big
Idea.”
What do you think this poem is about just from
reading the title?
Allow student so respond. Write some of their ideas
on the chart: sick in bed, sleeping in late, hot in bed….
Read the Who, What, When and Where clue prompts
on the left column of the chart.
We should look for these clues while reading the
poem, but to really determine the big idea, it’s
important to read the poem all the way through first.
Then we can go back and look for the clues. Think
about these questions while I read.
Read the poem.
Let’s look for clues together. Who is the poem
about, or who is talking?
(5) Poetry Lesson 9
(6) Poetry Lesson 9
Point out that the poem is in the first-person “I” form, and the
narrator seems young.
Allow student responses. Discuss longer summer days and
daylight savings time. Use Clue 1 to list the comparison of
waking up in winter versus summer. Clue 2 could be like so
ies of the Appendix “What I See” so students can draw an
much to play. Review the clues together and come up with
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big idea. Write
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parts of the poem inspired them.
Where is the speaker?
Response: He’s in bed.
When?
Response: In the summer, during the “day.”
Why? This is a hard question and a really
important clue for the big idea. Why is the
speaker in bed during the day?
Response: In the summer, during the “day.”
Poets want to communicate a big idea to their
readers, but because poetry is different from a
story, they do it by carefully selecting their
words and giving us clues. Often in poetry, the
big idea isn’t expressed clearly and the readers
have to put all the clues together and connect
the dots or read between the lines. By looking
for clues and putting them together, we can
determine the important message in a poem.