Poetry Break! A Poem About Spring

Introduction:
Begin a discussion with the students about how they know the season is changing. Start with winter characteristics and then ask for signs that winter is ending. Ask students to keep those characteristics in mind as you read the poem.

waiting for music
by Ralph Fletcher

Tight buds loosen
and tiny fists bring
gifts: new leaves
pea green and shy.

The leaves will become
unaccountable chimes
played and replayed
by the rustling wind.

Listen to the earth’s first
music, lovely and common
like the beating of the rain
or the beating of hearts.

(from Ordinary Things: Poems from a Walk in the Early Spring by Ralph Fletcher)

Extension:
Challenge students to take a walk when they get home (with a family member) and write a poem about the experience for the next class. If feasible, allow class time to work on the poems. Share the poems when completed. Collect them into a booklet for the students.

Reference:
Fletcher, R. 1997. ORDINARY THINGS: POEMS FROM A WALK IN EARLY SPRING. Ill. by Walter Lyon Krudop. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689810350.