Student goals: Practice reading comprehension; identify synonyms, antonyms, and idioms; write poetry

Time required: 40 minutes

Directions:

1. Distribute the Poetry in Motion student reproducible (PDF).

2. Read aloud "From a Railway Carriage" with the class and discuss the meaning.

3. Individually or in pairs, ask students to answer the questions about "From a Railway Carriage." (Answer Key: Synonym for "cattle"=cows (answers may vary); antonym for "gone"=here (answers may vary); idiom="whistle by," which means "pass by quickly")

4. Talk about the different forms a poem can take, such as rhyming (poem containing repetition of similar sounds), free verse (poem with irregular line lengths or lack of regular rhyme), or haiku (poem that usually contains 17 syllables arranged in three lines). Have students work together as a class to brainstorm and write a poem about the magic of travel. Include at least one idiom in the poem.

Wrap-up: After students have identified the similes, metaphors, homonyms, and other figures and parts of speech within "From a Railway Carriage," have them identify the same things in their own class poem.

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