Review:
My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States is a collection of poems gathered by Lee Bennett Hopkins. It is a poetic atlas of the seven geographical regions of the United States including the capital- Washington D.C. Each geographical region includes a map, state facts-including a great fact for each state, and poems. The poems reflect different aspects of each region from weather to city life. Livingston's poem uses a line from the song, America, the Beautiful, as its title and then describes this line by using the geographic features of the mountain states. Livingston compares the mountains to majestic kings in this line by using a simile, "They rise like kings". Alcorn's illustrations bring the poems visually to life. They represent Americana folk art with a Picasso-like flavor thrown in for variety. it is a great resource for a social studies classroom.
Introduction:
Have students sing the song, America, the Beautiful. After singing the song, have students talk about the lines in the poem (have a copy of the poem showing on a screen using a LCD projector). Lines like, "...for spacious skies/ for amber waves of grain/ for purple mountain majesty/ above the fruited plain"- have students discuss what these are describing. Students can create a 4-square graphic organizer, write each line in a square, and then draw an illustration of the line. Then read the poem and show the illustration.
Poem: excerpt from My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States
"For Purple Mountains' Majesty" by Myra Cohn Livingston
I saw them today.
I saw them.
So many years I have heard them in a song.
It's true. They're purple when you see them.
They rise like kings.
They are mountains.
Suddenly
I know.
I really know.
What that song is all about.
Extension:
Have students write a poem about their state and then create an illustration to accompany it.
No comments:
Post a Comment