6.2 Monday: Gathering Leaves

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

What simile is used in stanza 1? How do you know it is a simile?

STANZA 1

Spades take up leaves

No better than spoons,

And bags full of leaves

Are light as balloons.

• similes use the words was or is

• similes use like or as but do NOT compare

• similes use like or as to compare

• similes exaggerate

What is happening in stanza 3 of the poem? Select the best words to complete the sentence.

The speaker is trying to carry 1. ______________ but they keep sliding out of his 2. ____________ and into his 3___________.

• 1. spoons 2. bags 3. yard

• 1. balloons 2. shovels 3. bag

• 1. leaves 2. arms 3. face

Why does the speaker compare a spade to a spoon in lines 1 and 2 of the poem?

Spades take up leaves

No better than spoons,

• Because gathering many leaves with a spade is difficult for the speaker

• Because a spade and spoon have the same basic shape

• Because a spade and spoon can be used in yard work

• Because the speaker has trouble using a spoon

Read lines 9 through 12 from the poem.

But the mountains I raise

Elude my embrace,

Flowing over my arms

And into my face

The speaker uses figurative language in these lines to show that he —

• wants to avoid gathering leaves

• feels the wind blowing leaves into his face

• drops the huge amount of leaves he gathers

• climbs up onto high mountains of leaves

One theme of this selection suggests that —

• joy can be found in common tasks

• some type of work is not easy to finish

• fallen leaves are as valuable to harvest as garden crops

• sometimes it takes just the right tool to complete a task

The poet repeats the phrase “next to nothing” in stanzas 5 and 6 most likely to —

STANZA 5

Next to nothing for weight,

And since they grew duller

From contact with earth,

Next to nothing for color.

STANZA 6

Next to nothing for use,

But a crop is a crop,

And who’s to say where

The harvest shall stop?

• clarify the question about a harvest in lines 23 and 24

• describe the level of noise the rustling leaves make

• explain the process for gathering leaves

• sum up the poem’s details by answering the question in line 16

The speaker’s voice throughout the poem changes from —

• frustrated to introspective

• pleased to upset

• confident to confused

• uninterested to passionate

Based on the poem, the reader can conclude that the speaker is —

• well-educated

• weak

• hard-working

• impatient