“Wheatfield with Crows” by Vincent van Gogh, courtesy of the Van Gogh Museum.
The following activities and questions are designed to help your students use their noticing skills to move through the poem and develop their thinking skills so they understand its meaning with confidence, using what they’ve noticed as evidence for their interpretations. Read more about the framework upon which these activities are based.
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Warm-up: (free-write) What lessons have you learned that you still remember? Who taught you these lessons and why are they important?
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Before Reading the Poem: Look closely at the painting “Wheatfield with Crows” by Vincent Van Gogh. What stands out to you in this painting? Why? Look again. What else do you see? What questions do you have?
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Reading the Poem: Silently read the poem “Crow” by Lorna Dee Cervantes. What do you notice about the poem? Note any words or phrases that stand out to you or any questions you might have.
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Listening to the Poem: Enlist two volunteers and listen as the poem is read aloud twice. Write down any additional words and phrases that stand out to you.
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Small Group Discussion: Share what you noticed about the poem with a small group of students. Based on the details you just shared with your small group and the resources from the beginning of class, what might this crow symbolize? Why? How might you describe the speaker and their relationship to nature? Why? What might this poem say about gender and/or what lessons the speaker remembers? How are they similar to or different from the lessons you’ve learned in your own life?
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Whole Class Discussion: What do you make of the lines, “I saw myself: twig and rasp, dry / in breath and ammonia smelling”? What might these lines suggest about the speaker? How does personification play into your understanding of the poem? Why?
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Extension for Grades 7–8: In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month read more poems. (Teachers, you may want to preselect poems for your students.) Join with a partner or small group and pick a poet from this list. Learn more about this poet and create a presentation for your class, celebrating their work and accomplishments. Share with the class. After, discuss with your class the importance of Hispanic Heritage Month. In what ways might your school extend the celebration?
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Extension for Grades 9–12: Read the article “The Poetic History of Colorado.” Then research the poetic history of the place where you live and work with your class to create a digital archive of these poets and their work. After, view the archive together. What did you learn? What surprised you? How have these poets shaped your community?
Hispanic Heritage Month is observed between September 15 and October 15. Find art, events, educational materials, articles, and additional resources to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from the Smithsonian.
Personification is the endowment of inanimate objects, animals, or abstract concepts with animate or human-living qualities. Read more.