“Scratch” by Jody Gladding is a great mentor poem for students of all ages and teachers can use the poem either in the classroom or in the schoolyard. Spending time outside is beneficial to students’ health, both mental and physical, so if possible do this activity outside!
Hand out a copy of the poem. Ask the students to read the poem through once. On the second reading, ask them to mark up what they notice. Who is/are the speaker(s)? How does Gladding use fonts and bolding to tell the story of her poem? Have students highlight the two voices in the poem and read it out loud.
If students are not familiar with the junco, a sparrow common in most of North America, have them look up photos of the bird. Why might Gladding have focused on this specific bird in her poem?
After discussing the poem together, pair students up to write their own poem using Gladding’s text as a mentor. Students should pick a season and write two sets of lines: one set of lines should be from the perspective of a plant or animal they are familiar with and one set should be from the perspective of a human. Gladding focuses on the actions of the speaker and the junco in spring. What else can students write about? Challenge students to keep their poems short, like Gladdings’, and focused on small actions taken by the two voices in the poem. Students can also illustrate their poem.
This activity can be a lot of fun to do outdoors, whether sitting on the sidewalk outside the building or in a forest/field near school. If necessary, spend some time brainstorming a list of animals and plants in the area that students are familiar with to help them get started with the non-human voice in the poem.
Further Reading:
Sarah Gross is one of the co-organizers of NerdCampNJ. She teaches in central New Jersey and loves spending time outdoors.
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