Hug+O'War

Day 1

 * 1) Introduce the poem. "Have you ever played Tug of War? Have you heard of it? What happens in that game? If you have played it, do you have any connections to it?"
 * 2) "This poem is called Hug O' War. (Instead of saying "Tug OF war," people sometimes say "Tug o' war" when they are talking fast. Use your crystal balls to make some __predictions__ about what this poem might be about." Don't show them the poem yet!
 * 3) Echo read the poem. Teacher reads a line or two, group echos. Give positive feedback / make a few suggestions for improvement.
 * 4) Comprehension question: "Let's __visualize__ what might be happening in this poem. If you had to describe what you see when you read the poem, what would you say? What is everyone doing? Where are people?" Try to get as many details as possible -- what do people's faces look like? What are they doing?
 * 5) In pairs, students time each other reading the poem and record their initial time on the graph.

Day 2

 * 1) Today practice the poem with a partner. Have students model reading it with expression. Talk about changing your voice and intonation. Have them give each other some feedback.
 * 2) Go over each part of the poem in more detail. Paraphrase each part in "talking language." Re-write the story in sentences on chart paper.
 * 3) Partners time each other and record their Tuesday time on the sheet.

Day 3

 * 1) Focus on the line breaks. Explain that poets decide when to cut their lines, instead of writing all the way to the end of the page. You can choose to pause at a line break, or to keep on going and only pause at the end of some lines, or at punctuation. Have them identify the line breaks (touch them).
 * 2) Students practice alone or with a partner, as they choose, trying out different ways of reading it and paying close attention to line breaks.
 * 3) Comprehension: What can you __infer__ that the poet doesn't like about the game of Tug of War? Why does he want to change it into Hug of War? What evidence is there in the poem for your ideas?
 * 4) They time each other and record the time.

Day 4

 * 1) Today they will get to perform the poem for each other. Give them some time to practice.
 * 2) Comprehension: __Synthesizing__: What do you think the poet wanted you to think about or learn from his poem? What do you think the theme, or main idea, of the poem is? What is it about? How would you explain it to someone else? ("This is a poem about..")
 * 3) People who want to can perform for the group. Time them as they do. If some don't perform, be sure they get timed by a partner and record their times.
 * 4) Other options for performing: have pairs or groups of 3 read each stanza, and go around the circle, reading the poem chorally in small groups.