Paper collage image of frogs at a pond under the moonlight
Art by Susan Swan
Poetry,

Peering Up From Mud

Lyrical words bring glass frogs to life

By Margarita Engle
From the February 2023 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will describe how the poet, Margarita Engle, uses imagery to help readers picture glass frogs. They will also make connections between the poem and this issue’s Mini Read, which is about glass frogs.

Complexity Factors
  • Levels of Meaning
    This nonrhyming lyrical poem is about the special beauty of glass frogs.
  • Structure
    The poem is written in the first-person plural from the perspective of glass frogs and is addressed to the reader. It has two stanzas and contains no punctuation or capitalization. Three bubbles contain questions designed to guide readers to better understand and appreciate the poem.
  • Language
    The poem includes a great deal of imagery and repetition.
  • Knowledge Demands
    To understand the poem, students will need to be familiar with glass frogs and know that they are partially transparent. Students will need to interpret some figurative language.
Featured Skill: Imagery,
Other Key Skills: imagery, compare and contrast, interpreting text, making connections, inference, building knowledge
Standards
  • Common Core
    Anchor Standards: R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.5, R.9, SL.1, SL.2, L.4 Grade 4: RL.4.1, RL.4.2, RL.4.3, RL.4.4, RL.4.5, RL.4.9, SL.4.1, SL.4.2, L.4.4 Grade 5: RL.5.1, RL.5.2, RL.5.3, RL.5.4, RL.5.5, RL.5.9, SL.5.1, SL.5.2, L.5.4 Grade 6: RL.6.1, RL.6.2, RL.6.3, RL.6.4, RL.6.5, RL.6.9, SL.6.1, SL.6.2, L.6.4
  • TEKS
    Grade 4: 4.1a, c, d; 4.3b; 4.4; 4.6; 4.7b, c, g; 4.9b, f; 4.10a, b, c, d, e Grade 5: 5.1a, c, d; 5.3b; 5.4; 5.6; 5.7b, c, g; 5.9b, f; 5.10a, b, c, d, e Grade 6: 6.1a, c, d; 6.2b; 6.3; 6.5; 6.6b, c, g, h; 6.8b, f; 6.9a, b, c, d, e

Presentation View
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Want to hear this poem read aloud by a special guest? Find the audio read-aloud in your Resources tab. 

Want to hear this poem read aloud by a special guest? Click here!

This poem is about glass frogs. Meet these incredible animals in the Mini Read before reading the poem!

UP CLOSE: Imagery

As you read, look for details that help you imagine what glass frogs look, sound, and taste like.

Peering Up From Mud

you can’t see us

not like those golden frogs

flashing their beauty

because we’re not here

pretend we’re not here

you can’t eat us

we’d taste like clear air

we’re transparent

invisible


until night when stars pass through us

moonlight flows into us

we start to sing

we need to sing

we love to sing

sing

sing

sing

Selected text excerpt from Silver People by Margarita Engle. Text copyright © 2014 by Margarita Engle. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

This poem was originally published in the February 2023 issue.  


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Activities (2)
Skills Activities
Quizzes (1)
Answer Key (1)
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Skills Activities
Quizzes (1)
Answer Key (1)
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
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Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Reading the Poem

3. Discussing the Poem

4. Skill Building

5. Can’t-Miss Teaching Extras

1. Preparing to Read

  • Before reading this poem, make sure students read this issue’s Mini Read, “This Frog Is See-Through!,” on pages 2-3. It introduces glass frogs and explains why their skin is transparent.
  • Have students look at the image that accompanies the poem. Ask: What time of day is it? (nighttime) How do you know? (The moon and stars are out.) What do you think the frogs are doing? (Answers will vary; some may say they appear to be singing.)
  • Ask a volunteer to read aloud the Up Close box for the class.

2. Reading the Poem

  • Read the poem aloud, or play our Audio Read-Aloud for the class.
  • Invite a student to do a second read of the poem. This time, pause for the class to discuss the questions next to the poem. (These questions are also included in the “Discussing the Poem” section that follows.)

3. Discussing the Poem

  • Based on the first stanza, how are the frogs in the poem different from the golden frogs? (compare and contrast) Whereas the golden frogs are “flashing their beauty,” the frogs in the poem can’t be seen.
  • In line 4, the frog speaking in the poem says, “we’re not here.” Is this true? What does the next line tell you? Based on what you read in the Mini Read, what is going on? (interpreting text/making connections) No, this is not true. The frogs are here. They are just pretending not to be so they won’t be spotted and eaten. From the Mini Read, I learned that glass frogs have transparent skin, which helps them avoid being seen by predators.
  • Based on lines 7-9, how might the way the frogs look affect the way they taste? Think about the words the poet uses to describe their look and taste. (imagery) The frogs are “transparent/invisible.” Just like they can’t be seen, they also can’t be tasted. They would “taste like clear air,” which tastes like nothing.
  • In the second stanza, in what ways do the stars and moonlight change the frogs? How do you think this nighttime light makes them feel? (inference) The stars and moonlight pour through the frogs’ transparent skin and fill them with joy. The light makes them feel like singing.
  • Why is the word sing repeated in the last six lines? (imagery) It is repeated to emphasize the frogs’ need to express themselves by singing. It also helps readers imagine what the frogs sound like—a chorus of voices in the moonlight.
  • Based on this poem, are glass frogs diurnal (active during the day) or nocturnal (active at night)? (building knowledge) Glass frogs are nocturnal.

4. Skill Building

Distribute or assign the Poetry Kit (available in your Resources tab), in which students will be able to write their answers to the above questions and more. It is available to print or as an interactive slide deck that students can complete digitally.

Can't-Miss Teaching Extras
Watch a Video

See a glass frog in all of its translucent glory in this video from the Discovery Channel. (Note: This webpage has ads.) 

Write Nighttime Poetry

The University of Arizona Poetry Center has created this lesson plan for elementary students to explore nighttime and write their own sensory poems. 

Text-to-Speech