Go back and study the picture. Close Reading of an Image: L. O. Students will view a photograph and poem and describe in detail what they see and read. When we go back to the picture, let’s say details that you see in the picture, and then you will write them down. What colors?¨ What shapes? What textures? What kind of lines? What patterns? Go back and study the picture.

Now you write down details from the picture. Colors Shapes Objects Lines Textures Patterns What’s the story in the picture? What do you wonder about the picture? How does the picture make you feel?

Close Reading of a Poem.1 “Literary Analysis requires that one not only read the text, but look closely at what the author is saying as well as how the author is saying it. “When close reading, it is important to look at the small details and understand how they work together in the piece to create meaning.” 1. “Close Reading of Poetry and Fiction.” http://www.lima.ohio-state.edu/academics/writing/

Close Reading. Look for: Repeated images, words or ideas Words or phrases that jump out as important Words or phrases that can be interpreted in more than one way Irony or ambiguity Passages you don’t understand Figurative language

Mankind Does Not Agree by Gordon J.L. Ramel I have no use for birds in cages, 
 but mankind does not agree; 
 they’ve been jailing them for ages 
 and they just don’t seem to see 
 that the beauty that inspired, inevitably fades, 
 and what once was writ in diamonds 
 Wings are made for flying, 
 for dancing with the air, 
 and wings that cannot open 
 are the color of despair, 
 and an anger in me rages 
 and I long to set them free, 
 but it’s the sadness of the ages 
 that mankind does not agree.

Reading and Responding Read the poem. Underline phrases you wonder about or find interesting in the poem. Write 3-5 sentences about what you underlined. Exchange your writing with a partner. Read what your partner wrote, and make a comment or ask questions about what your partner wrote. With the whole class, share what your partner wrote and how you responded. Whole Class Share of our thoughts about the poem.

Big Ideas-Essential Questions (EQs) Reflect on your details and wonderings, What big ideas does this picture raise for you? What essential questions? Possibilities Taming Nature, Intelligent Animals EQs: Should we tame wild animals? Can birds think and feel? Other

Day 2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wing in the orange sun’s rays and dares to claim the sky. But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn And he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom.

Close Reading. Look for: Repetition: Repeated images, words or ideas Words or phrases that jump out as important Words or phrases that can be interpreted in more than one way Irony or ambiguity Passages you don’t understand Figurative language Big Ideas-Essential Questions (EQs)  

Reading and Responding Read the poem. Underline phrases you wonder about or find interesting in the poem. Write 3-5 sentences about what you underlined. Exchange your writing with a partner. Read what your partner wrote, and make a comment or ask questions about what your partner wrote. With the whole class, share what your partner wrote and how you responded. Whole Class Share of our thoughts about the poem.

Big Ideas-Essential Questions (EQs) Reflect on your details and wonderings, What big ideas does this picture raise for you? What essential questions does “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings raise for you?   Big Ideas Essential Questions

Compare and Contrast L. O. Students will devise categories for comparing and contrasting two poems, “Mankind Does Not Agree” and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” When you compare and contrast, you have to compare and contrast like things, such as Author’s Purpose, Big Idea, Essential Questions, Point of View, Problem, Questions the poem raises.  

L. O. Students will complete a graphic organizer comparing and contrasting the Big Ideas, Essential Questions, Point of View, Author’s Purpose, Problems, Questions raised in two poems about birds. Compare and Contrast how “Mankind Does Not Agree” and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” How are they alike and how are they different? Author’s Point of View (1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person, 3rd person omniscient narrator) Provide proof. Does the poet use pronouns? Main Idea Hint- Big Idea Relevant Essential Question(s) Author’s Purpose

Relevant Magnet Standards Compare and Contrast how “Mankind Does Not Agree” and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” How are they alike and how are they different? Relevant Magnet Standards Sustainability, Sense of Place, Activism, Inquiry, Careers, Technology Mankind Does Not Agree I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Students investigate how to balance human needs and natural laws. Activism. Inquiry Does the author present a problem? What questions do the poems raise for you?

Day Three – Teen Biz Articles - How smart are birds. L. O Day Three – Teen Biz Articles - How smart are birds? L. O. Students will read and respond to multiple choice questions based on a non-fiction article on birds. Go to http://www.empower3000.com/ Log-on Search “birds.” Available articles to assign. Animals Can Dance! Scientists have found that some animals can dance. (3rd story down on search page) Bird Brains? Not These Birds! How smart are birds? Some people tried to find out. (4th story down on search page) Have You Heard? Don’t Mess With Mockingbirds! Can mockingbirds recognize people? Some researchers say yes. (5th story down on search page)

Extended Learning PBS Nature Episode- A Murder of Crows Go to: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/a-murder-of-crows/introduction/5838/ New research has shown that they are among the most intelligent animals on the planet. Read text, watch introduction, take notes. 


Day 4 – Group Work 


Sources Picture of bird. Photograph: Crested Caracara by Mark Willocks (USA). [December 17, 2010]. Ramel, Gordon J. L., “Mankind Does Not Agree.” Ecology.info “where the world goes for information about ecology.” [December 17, 2010]. Ohio State University at Lima Writing Center. “Close Reading of Poetry and Fiction” http://www.lima.ohio-state.edu/academics/writing/. [December 17, 2010]. Teen Biz, Achieve 3000. Animals in Action. http://www.empower3000.com/. [December 17, 2010].