Lesson 8: Poems of Mystery - Part A
Completion requirements
Unit 5
What Are the Traits of a Good Mystery?
Lesson 8
Reader's Notebook
Poems of Mystery
In this lesson, you are going to read three mysterious poems.
The poems use different types of figurative language to make them sound spooky and mysterious.
Turn to pages 96 to 97 and pages 101 to 103 in the book Literacy in Action 5B.
Click each coloured row for information about the activity.
Think About It
How do poets use descriptive language to create pictures for their readers?
Do the following:
- Write two ways in which poets create pictures using words in their poems.
Read the poem through twice. The first time is a warmup and the second time it will probably make more sense. Can you find examples of onomatopoeia in the poem?
Can you find a metaphor in the poem? A metaphor is where two objects are compared not using the words like or as.
The poem Snow Woman uses a type of figurative language called personification. This is when inanimate (not living) objects are given human characteristics. Here are some examples of personification from the poem:
As you are reading the poem, pay attention to how personification helps to make the poem even more interesting and mysterious. Read it through at least twice. Think about and answer the three questions in the During Listening - Snow Woman section on the Reader’s Notebook: Poems of Mystery page.
- icy fingers
- her laughter echoing
- a splinter of light snatches at her gown
As you are reading the poem, pay attention to how personification helps to make the poem even more interesting and mysterious. Read it through at least twice. Think about and answer the three questions in the During Listening - Snow Woman section on the Reader’s Notebook: Poems of Mystery page.
Figurative Language
From Snow Woman, find another example of a simile or a metaphor to add to your Crack the Code Figurative Language Chart. Refer back to Unit 5, Lesson 2: Reading Mystery Stories - Crack the Code for information about similes and metaphors.
Click on the image of the worksheet to view it larger and remind yourself what the worksheet looks like.
From Snow Woman, find another example of a simile or a metaphor to add to your Crack the Code Figurative Language Chart. Refer back to Unit 5, Lesson 2: Reading Mystery Stories - Crack the Code for information about similes and metaphors.
Click on the image of the worksheet to view it larger and remind yourself what the worksheet looks like.
Click the image to view a larger version.
Document: Reader’s Notebook: Assignment 5-3 Poem
Click here to download
For a printer-friendly version of the file, click here.
After you have finished reading the poem Midnight, and you are sure you understand it, answer the questions on your assignment page.
After you have finished reading the poem Imagine a Night, and you are sure you understand it, answer the questions on your assignment page.
After you have finished reading the poem Snow Woman, and you are sure you understand it, answer the questions on your assignment page.
Save
How to save a file:
- Scan the document to your computer.
- Have the file open and select Save As from the File menu.
- Name your Reader's Notebook: Poems of Mystery file in this format: jsmith_rnpoemsmystery and save the file to your Documents folder.