Grass

point of view, text features, theme, imagery, character, figurative language, author’s craft

• Prompt students to think of an element of nature; for example, a leaf, a stream, or a rock. Then ask, “If this part of nature could talk, what do you think it would say? If you were to draw a word bubble for it, what would you write in the bubble?” (You might also have students do this in pairs.) Ask volunteers to share their ideas with the class.
• Then project the poem, either on a whiteboard or on your screen if teaching remotely. Ask a volunteer to read aloud the Up Close box. Have students predict the narrator (they will probably guess that it is grass) and what it might say. 

• Read the poem aloud for the class a few times, or have students listen to the Poetry Read-Aloud (available in your Resources tab). 

1. What do you notice about the way the poem’s title is illustrated? Why do you think it’s illustrated this way? (text features/theme) The title of the poem is “Grass,” and the word itself is sprouting grass. It emphasizes the poem’s topic in a fun way. Also, the poem is about how grass grows and spreads in places other things can’t, and the grass growing on the word “grass” illustrates this.
2. Who or what is the narrator of the poem? How would you describe this narrator? If it were a person, what words or phrases would you use to describe it? (point of view/character) Grass is the narrator of the poem. The grass is confident, as shown by the first two lines of the poem, in which it explains that it can do something that others can’t. The grass also has perseverance and a sense of purpose; it keeps doing what it is meant to do as shown by the lines “I see, I sprout, I grow, I creep.” It even survives the winter, sleeping under the snow and ice. The very end of the poem—“And where there’s level ground, I spread”—expands on this idea, giving the impression of determination.
3. What does the grass mean when it says, “I drink the rain, I eat the sun”? What do those images tell you about why the rain and the sun are important to the grass? (imagery) The grass means that the rain and the sun provide it with sustenance—water and food—that helps keep it alive. (You can make a science connection by reminding students that the grass turns sunlight into nourishment, or food, through a process called photosynthesis.)
4. The author uses personification in this poem; she writes about something that is not a person as if it has human qualities or abilities. Find three examples of personification in the poem, and explain your choices. (figurative language) Possible answers include: “I drink the rain,” “I eat the sun,” “I run,” “I see,” “I creep,” and “I make my humble, bladed bed.” Students will probably say that grass can’t drink, eat, run, see, creep, or make a bed.
5. In what way does the last line of the poem look different from the rest of the poem? Why do you think the author placed the last line this way? (author’s craft) All the other lines of the poem are centered, but the last line is placed off to the side. The author probably placed the line this way to illustrate exactly what the grass says it is doing—“I spread.” 

This poem is about the remarkable tenacity of grass in achieving its purpose—to grow and spread—but it can also deliver a message to readers, encouraging them to be confident and determined in pursuing their own purpose. After reading the poem, lead students in a discussion that will help them reflect on what they think or hope their purpose might be. What are they here to do? Are they here to be kind? To be creative? To be helpful? Are they here to invent things? Discover things? Be happy and spread joy?

Distribute or assign the Poetry Kit (available in your Resources tab), which will guide students to write their own poem in which they personify something in nature.

• After they read the poem, have students think of a word that they can illustrate in the same manner as “Grass” on p. 21. For example, they might write “rain” and draw a thunderstorm around the word, or they might write “dogs” and draw different dogs climbing and running through the letters. Students can make their illustrations on paper and then hold them up to share with the class in a virtual meeting, or you can create a slide deck and assign each student one slide on which to create their illustration. 
• Have students work in pairs, using video chat or a phone call, to find the rhyme scheme of the poem. Instruct them to read the poem aloud (together or one at a time) and identify the rhyme in the first four lines. Then ask them to find the rhyme in the next set of four lines, and invite them to talk about what the rhyme scheme—or pattern of rhymes—is in the poem. (In every group of four lines, the last word in the second and fourth lines rhymes. Also, the rhyme changes every four lines.)