On this particular day, we read Langston Hughes' poem, "A DREAM DEFERRED." I've included it below.
A Dream Deferred
by Langston Hughes
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Once again, I asked them to read the poem and then make note of the things that surprised them, confused them, angered them, humored them, or made them question further.
What follows are snippets of conversations that my students had with each as they attempted to analyze the text using close reading strategies.
A group of three kiddos I stopped and listened to:
"Maybe it means his dreams are gone?"
"But maybe he means this is what happens when your dreams don't come true."
A group of boys throwing ideas out to each other:
"I'm not sure what deferred means."
Yeah, but I got exploded! It happens to me sometimes ... I just lose everything from my mind. I think that's what he was trying to say."
A group of four students:
"I'm thinking back to yesterday's poem. Would rotten meat stink losing your dream?"
"I want to know why he uses these specific words."
"Yeah. Me too. I mean, rotten meat has to be gross."
"So, losing your dreams is gross, right?"
Anytime you start something new and different .... anytime you make a major switch in thinking, there is always that creeping doubt itching to seep into your thought process. It's also going to be a hot mess before it becomes a beautiful unfolding of the fourth grade thought process. I walked away from this particular day in complete awe of just how perceptive my students are!
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