Strategies for reading poetry:
*Preview the poem- Look at the shape, number of stanzas and lines, punctuation, and rhyme scheme of poem.
*Read the poem aloud a few times- Hearing how a poem sounds sometimes makes it more sensible.
*Visualize the images- Paint a picture in your mind. Do the images remind you of something?
*Clarify words/phrases- Do certain words or phrases/figurative language stand out? Why?
*Evaluate the poem’s theme- What message is the poet trying to send or help me understand? Make inferences and draw conclusions based on the text in the poem.