“Because I could not stop for Death” Think-Pair-Share Read the first three stanzas stopping at “We passed the setting sun.” On the bottom of your copy, answer the following questions:

“Because I could not stop for Death” Independent Listening As you listen to the poem, focus on the following question: How does the rhythm make the poem feel? (Are there any particular words that are stressed more than others?) What impression does the reader have of death? What specific words or lines lead to that impression?

“Because I could not stop for Death” Turn and Talk Line 3 contains the word “carriage.” Considering the actors, what do you think this carriage symbolizes? In the third stanza, Dickinson uses the word “passed” repeatedly. What kind of word is it and what effect does it have in the third stanza?

“Because I could not stop for Death” Teacher Model of Evidence Based Claim Based on Stanzas 1-3

“Because I could not stop for Death” Collaborative Model of Evidence Based Claim Partner Work Using the textual details on the organizer, find other details/quotations that could be related to the one provided. Using what you have just found, make/explain the connections among those details previously modeled.

“Because I could not stop for Death” Independent 1.) Re-read stanzas 4-6 starting with “Or rather, he passed us;” Think-Pair-Share 2.) What is the narrator experiencing in stanza four? What words clue the reader in to this?

“Because I could not stop for Death” Independent 3.) What do you notice about the verb tenses used throughout the poem? How are they compared throughout the stanzas and what do they tell the reader about the narrator? Turn & Talk 4.) What kind of language does Dickinson use throughout the poem? Is it physical or abstract, vague or clear? Is the language constant during the piece? What effect does this have on the poem’s meaning?

“Because I could not stop for Death” Group Practice with Evidence Based Claim Based on Stanzas 4-6, look for evidence to support the claim about the text.