CKLA Unit 3 Lesson 7

CKLA Unit 3 Lesson 7

by April Espinoza

​KUB OBJECTIVES

We will KNOW about Walt Whitman’s poem “I Hear America Singing”

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We will UNDERSTAND that readers make inferences to understand a poem’s meaning

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We will BE ABLE TO  identify how Whitman characterizes America and make inferences about what Whitman most values about the nation.​

​Vocabulary

​Beam (n.) - a thick piece of wood

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​Blithe (adj.) - happy and untroubled

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​Intermission (n.) - a break in the middle of something, usually a performance

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​Mason (n.) - someone who builds things with stone

​Introduction

​Today's poem, "I Hear America Singing" uses lots of repetition. Walt Whitman uses repetition to show what he thinks is important about America.

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​If you have your Poet's Journal, take a few minutes to label your lines, label your stanzas, label your stanza breaks, line breaks, and identify rhyming words and a rhyming scheme.

​I Hear America Singing

​Walt Whitman

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​I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear.

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​Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,

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​The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,

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​The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,

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​The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,

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​The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,

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​The woodcutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,

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​The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or the girl sewing or washing,

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​Each sing what belongs to him or her and to no one else,

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​The day what belongs to the day - at night the party of young fellows,

​robust and friendly,

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​Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

Multiple Choice

What word did you hear repeated?

• singing

• blithe

• carpenter

• America

​Reflection and Inference

​In this poem Whitman describes the whole nation by focusing on some of its parts - in this case, its people and their songs. Reread the first line of the poem......

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​"I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear."

Multiple Choice

Where do we usually hear carols?

• Library

• Classroom

• During holidays like Christmas

• on TikTok

Multiple Choice

Carols are happy, joyful songs which is one reason people sing them during the holidays. By using the word carol, Whitman gives us a hint on how he feels about America. What does this word choice tell us about Whitman's feelings for America?

• He wishes he lived somewhere else.

• He believes America is a happy place.

• He believes America needs more jobs.

• He believes Americans should sing more.

Multiple Choice

Whitman also uses the adjective varied to describe the carols. What does the varied mean?

• The same

• Different or Diverse

Open Ended

Look back at your poem and list the different people who are singing in the poem. If you do not have your journal, you can look on Ampllify.

Multiple Choice

The phrases Whitman uses to reference these singers are all nouns that describe people by one particular thing. What is that thing?

• They describe people by their looks.

• They describe people by where they live.

• They describe people by their jobs.

​Up to now, the poems in this unit have used figurative language in clear ways. For example, Sherman Alexie's poem compares basketball to war by saying: "for us, it is war."

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​However, poets do not always make their comparisons so directly. As readers, one of the things we must figure out is whether or not Whitman is referring to literal songs that people would sing out loud, if he is using the idea of singing as a metaphor, or if he is doing both.

Multiple Choice

At the end of the poem, Whitman writes, "Each singing what belongs to him or her and no one else." What does Whitman mean here?

• All the people have their own unique songs.

• All the people sing the same song.

• All the people love any type of music.

Open Ended

Think of a carpenter who is building a piece of wooden furniture. hat kind of noises might his tools make? (Carpenters might use saws, hammers, drills, nails, and ladders)

Poll

In Whitman's poem, are the workers actually singing songs?

• Yes

• No