week 20: Art & ColorsThird Grade

Take  5!

The Poetry Friday Anthology

Celebrate  Diversity with  The Poetry Friday Anthology  series  (for  K-­‐5  and  Middle  School)

featuring  original  poems  by  over  75  poets  with  a  Take  5!  Mini-­‐Lesson  for  each  poem

How the Birds Got Their Colors by  Joseph  Bruchac

Long  ago,  it  is  said,all  the  birds  were  brown.Gluskonba  loved  the  red  and  gold  and  all  the  other  colorsthe  trees  turned  every  autumn.

 But  he  grew  sadwhen  winter  cameand  all  those  leaves  fell  from  the  trees.

 So  Gluskonba  bent  downand  picked  up  all  those  colors  from  the  ground.

 He  gave  those  colorsto  the  birdsso  he  could  see  themall  year  round.

1.  Point  out  to  students  that  many  poems  are  funny,  but  some  are  quiet  and  thoughtful—like  this  one  based  on  a  Native  American  legend  from  the  Abenaki  people.  You  may  also  need  to  provide  background  on  Gluskonba,  known  as  “the  one  who  helps  the  people.”

2.  Share  the  poem  again,  inviting  students  to  echo  read  the  lines  of  the  second  stanza  only,  repeating  each  line  after  you  say  it.  Then  you  read  the  rest  of  the  poem  aloud.

3.  For  discussion:  What  are  your  favorite  colors  of  fall?

4.  This  poem  is  an  example  of  a  narrative  poem—a  poem  that  tells  a  story.  Guide  students  in  seeing  how  the  stanzas  build  to  create  this  poem  story.  Talk  about  how  the  poet  uses  some  rhyme  (leaves/trees;  brown/down/ground/round),  but  not  always  in  a  regular  pattern.

5.  Pair  this  with  another  poem  about  Gluskonba  and  the  birds  by  Joseph  Bruchac,  “How  the  Geese  Became  Chiefs  of  the  Birds”  (5th  Grade,  Week  8,  page  234).

“Savvy  teachers  have  learned  they  can  trust  Vardell  and  Wong  .  .  .  these  carefully  chosen  tips  and  strategies  offer  ways  to  present  poems  through  art,  drama,  and  technology  and  describe  curriculum  connections.”     —IRA’s  Reading  Today

“This  is  a  lot  of  resource  and  professional  development  for  $29.99!”     —The  ALSC  Blog

“A  treasury  of  the  greatest  science  poetry  for  children  ever  written,  with  a  twist—it  can  be  used  to  ignite  the  spirit  of  students  in  a  different,  out  of  the  box  way.”     —NSTA  Recommends

Honors  and  Accolades  for  the  series:

✻    an  NCTE  Poetry  Notable✻    Poetry  Foundation  CPL                Picks    of  the  Month✻    NSTA  Recommends

Available  in:Common  Core  editionsand  Texas  TEKS  editionsfor  K-­‐5  and  Middle  School

plus  a  National  Science  Edition  based  on  the  NGSS  (with  a  TEKS  Supplement)

pomelo books*

poem  ©2012  Joseph  Bruchac  (josephbruchac.com)

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