Cradle Songby William Blake

Included: A brief excerpt from the book and rigorous question set activities

promoting higher level-thinking development

Additional Resources

Tier 1

poetry selection

Jacob’s Ladder Goals & Objectives

Habits of Mind

Sleep, sleep, beauty bright,Dreaming in the joys of night;

Sleep, sleep; in thy sleepLittle sorrows sit and weep.

Sweet babe, in thy faceSoft desires I can trace,

Secret joys and secret smiles,Little pretty infant wiles.

As thy softest limbs I feel,Smiles as of the morning steal

O’er thy cheek, and o’er thy breastWhere thy little heart doth rest.

The cunning wiles that creep In thy little heart asleep!

When thy little heart doth wake,Then the dreadful night shall break.

Obtain the book from a school library to read the story in its entirety and complete the ladder activities.

Students will be able:Ladder AA1 Sequencing - To list in order of importance specific events or plot summaries A2 Cause and Effect - To identify and predict relationships between character behavior and story events, and their effects upon other characters or events.A3 Consequences and Implications - To predict character actions, story outcomes, and make real-world forecasts.

Ladder EE1 Understanding Emotion – to explain how emotion and feeling are conveyed in a text and/or their personal experience.E2 Expressing Emotion – to articulate their feelings through a variety of media (e.g., song, art, poem, story, essay, speech)E3 Using Emotion – to analyze how emotion affects the passage and/or the reader. Ladder FF1 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.

Habits of Mind

Working Interdependently

Thinking about Thinking (metacognition)

Innovating, Creating, Imagining

Refer to Jacob’s Ladder Story Table for Ladder A, E, & F Thinking Questions.

Tier 2Rigor

(Discussion)

High Level Strategies with

Ladder A, E & F Questions

Discussion Strategies: Think-Pair-Share, Write-around, 3-4 Podcast slides (Pixie, Frames).

Choose 2 of 3 questions below to complete.

A1—The poet is sequencing the lines of the poem in a particular way. What is the pattern he is using? What new information is given in each stanza?

A2—What is the effect on the reader of observing a baby sleeping? How does the effect change throughout the poem?

E1—What words create feelings in the poem? List several and explain the certain way those words make you feel.

E2—Apply your feelings about the poem in a picture that portrays an object. Describe your picture and its connection to the poem.

F1—Make a list of words you don’t understand in the poem. Look up their meaning in a dictionary.

Tier 3Rigor

(Discussion)

High Level Strategies with

Ladder A, E & F Questions

Discussion Strategies: Think-Pair-Share, Write-around, 3-4 Podcast slides (Pixie, Frames).Choose 2 of 3 questions below to complete.

A3—What are the implications of projecting behavioral qualities on an infant? Do you think it is effective in this poem?E3—What approaches does the poet use to make you feel the way you do about the poem? Describe the poetic techniques employed, choice of words and images, and structure of the poem. How does the mood of the poem change in the last stanza because of word choice?F2—What are “cunning wiles” as used in the last stanza? What do babies do that match that description? Illustrate an example of using “cunning wiles”F3—Create an image of an elderly person sleeping. Choose your words so that they match the characteristics of an elderly person.

Tier 4

Reflections/Relevance

Choose one of the writing ideas to complete.  Be creative. 

1. Write a poem about a favorite item of yours. Follow the authors writing style and pattern when you write your poem.

2. Illustrate each stanza of the poem. Be detailed and descriptive using the author’s words to help visualize the events during each stanza.

Suggested project strategies:  Write a podcast script; create a puppet show; develop a PSA; a PowerPoint presentation; write and be an actor in a skit; write a persuasive speech and give before the class.