Page 57 - SpringBoard_ELD_Grade8_Flipbook

ACTIVITY 3.4
Interacting in Meaningful Ways: Academic Collaboration
Learning Targets
• Ask and answer questions about a poem in collaborative conversations, demonstrating active listening, and drawing upon an expanding pool of language resources for discussing literature.
• Express and support opinions of a poem in conversation.
Turn to your partner or small group to discuss each question about “O Captain! My Captain!” After you have discussed a question, write notes about your answer before going on to the next question.
1. What scene does the poem “O Captain! My Captain!” describe? What is the ship doing and what has happened to the captain?
2. The poem is an allegory representing the death of Abraham Lincoln, so its characters, objects, and events all refer to his death in some way. Who is the captain? What does the ship represent?
The poem describes the scene of .
3. The ship is approaching the harbor after a “fearful trip.” What trip or journey would be associated with President Lincoln? What is the “prize” the captain, through the ship’s journey, has won?
4. How does the poem make you feel as you read it? What is the mood of the poem?
asking Questions
Allegories have two levels of meaning: the surface story and the symbolic meaning. The surface story of “O Captain! My Captain!” is about a ship, whose captain has died, coming into harbor. With your partner or small group, read aloud the poem again. Discuss what questions you have about the symbolic meaning or the historical event it describes. Write one question to share with the whole class.
34 SpringBoard® English Language Development grade 8
The captain represents
and the ship represents .
The poem makes me feel because its mood is .
In the allegory, the ship’s journey refersto .
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