Little Things by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer Included: The poem and rigorous question set activities promoting higher level-thinking development

Poem Jacob’s Ladder Goals & Objectives Habits of Mind Tier 1 Poem Jacob’s Ladder Goals & Objectives Habits of Mind

“Little Things” Little drops of water, Little grains of sand, Make the mighty ocean And the pleasant land. Thus the little minutes, Humble though they be, Make the mighty ages Of eternity.

Students will be able: Ladder C C1: Literary Elements-To identify and explain specific story elements. C2: Inference—To use textual clues to read between the lines and make judgments about specific textual events, ideas, or character analysis. C3: Theme and Concept—To identify a major theme or ideas common throughout the text. F1: Understanding Words – to identify and explain the meaning of figurative language or new vocabulary within the context of a story or poem. F2: Thinking About Words – to analyze the use of words within the context as related to the theme of a text. F3: Playing With Words – to accurately apply figurative language and new vocabulary to newly created contexts.

Working Interdependently Thinking about Thinking (metacognition) Habits of Mind Working Interdependently Thinking about Thinking (metacognition) Innovating, Creating, Imagining Refer to Jacob’s Ladder Story Table for Ladder C & F Thinking Questions

(Discussion) High Level Strategies with Ladder C & F Questions Tier 2 Rigor (Discussion) High Level Strategies with Ladder C & F Questions

Discussion Strategies: Think-Pair-Share, Write-around, Sequencing pictures, Role Play, Journaling, Picture Dictionary. Choose 3 of 4 questions below to complete. C1: Make a list of the words in the poem you don’t know and then look up their definitions. Write a synonym or draw a picture to represent the words. C2: What does the author mean by “Thus the little minutes,/Humble though they be,/Make the mighty ages/ Of eternity”? C3: Identify the message or theme of this poem. Support your answer with evidence from the poem. F1: Choose the most important words in the poem. How would you explain their importance?

Reflections/Relevance Tier 3 Reflections/Relevance

Choose one of the ideas to complete. Be creative. 1. Plan an illustration for each line of the poem. Be able to tell about your pictures to a friend. Be creative. (F2) 2. The author uses the relationship between drops of water and the oceans as well as minutes and eternity. Compose or illustrate three other relationships you can think of from your own experience, and then tell how your ideas show the same relationships as the words in the poem. Be creative. (F3) Optional project strategies:  Commercial Role Play; Create a Puppet Show; Charts, Posters, Flyers, Brochures; Picture Dictionary.