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Poetry,

October Saturday

Figurative language describes an autumn chore in an exciting way

By Bobbi Katz
From the October/November 2019 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will identify metaphor and setting in this descriptive poem. 

Featured Skill: Metaphor,
Common Core Standards
  • R.1, R.2, R.4, R.5, R.6, R.10, W.3, SL.2, L.3
TEKS Standards
  • TEKS Grades 2-3:
    1a, 1c, 4a, 6a, 6c, 6d, 7b, 8d, 7b, 8d, 9b, 10d, 10e, 12a

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Metaphor

A metaphor compares two things that aren’t alike but have something in common. As you read, think about how the poet uses a metaphor to describe leaves.

All the leaves have turned to cornflakes.

It looks as if some giant’s baby brother

had tipped the box

and scattered them upon our lawn—

millions and millions of cornflakes—

crunching, crunching under our feet.

When the wind blows,

they rattle against each other,

nervously chattering.


We rake them into piles—

Dad and I.

Piles and piles of cornflakes!

A breakfast for a whole family of giants!

We do not talk as much as we rake—

a word here—

a word there.

The leaves are never silent.


Inside the house my mother is packing

short-sleeved shirts and faded bathing suits—

rubber clogs and flippers—

in a box marked SUMMER.


We are raking,

Dad and I.

Raking, raking.

The sky is blue, then orange, then gray.

My arms are tired.

I am dreaming of the box marked SUMMER.

THINK AND WRITE

Learn more about metaphors and write a poem with our Poetry Kit!  

COPYRIGHT ©1990 BY BOBBI KATZ. USED WITH PERMISSION OF BOBBI KATZ, WHO HOLDS ALL RIGHTS.

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Can't Miss Teaching Extras
Teach This

You have access in the archives to another wonderful, lyrical poem by Bobbi Katz, “September.”

Watch This

Introduce your students to Bobbi Katz in this illuminating 7-minute interview between her and a student reporter, filled with great creative-writing tips.

Read This

“October Saturday” is part of a collection called The Place My Words Are Looking For, which is special because it contains not only wonderful poems, but the stories behind the poems from the poets themselves. Add it to your classroom library!

More About the Article

Key Skills

Metaphor, interpreting text, text features, figurative language, point of view, key details, main idea

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
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1. PREPARING TO READ

Set a Purpose for Reading (10 minutes)

  • Begin by reading the Metaphor bubble for the class. Ask students to think about the metaphor the poet uses throughout this poem to describe the leaves.
  • Point out that this poem describes an event that takes place in a particular setting. Remind students that setting describes where and when events take place.
  • Direct students to the photograph. What is the girl doing in the photo? 

2. READING AND DISCUSSING

  • Read the poem to the class, play our audio version, or use Text-to-Speech. As students listen, ask them to think about the things that are compared in the poem and to imagine what the leaves look and sound like.
  • Project or distribute the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions and discuss them as a class while students refer to the poem.

Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions (15 minutes)

  • What does the poet compare the leaves to in the beginning of the poem? (metaphor) The poem compares the leaves to cornflakes. What do the leaves and cornflakes have in common? Both are brown and crunching.
  • Why does the poet compare the leaves to cornflakes spilled from a box tipped over by a “giant’s baby brother”? (interpreting text) The leaves are as large as cornflakes that would be eaten by giants.
  • How do the title and the photograph help you understand the setting of the poem? (text features) The title states that the activity described in the poem takes place on a Saturday in October. The photograph shows a girl raking leaves in the fall.
  • In the first stanza, what words describe the sound the leaves make? (figurative language) The words crunching, rattle, and nervously chattering describe the sound.
  • In stanza 2, what words identify the speaker in this poem? (point of view) The phrase “Dad and I” identifies the speaker as a child who is raking autumn leaves with her father.
  • What does the poet compare the autumn leaves to in stanza 2? (metaphor) The poet compares the leaves to a pile of cornflakes that is a breakfast for a whole family of giants.
  • In stanza 3, what is the narrator’s mother doing? (key details) She is packing away summer clothes, such as short sleeved shirts, bathing suits, clogs, and flippers in a box labeled “SUMMER.”
  • Why does the narrator dream about the box marked “SUMMER”? (main idea) The narrator is already looking forward to swimming and playing outside next summer.

3. SKILL BUILDING

  • Call on a volunteer to read the Think and Write box.
  • Distribute our Poetry Kit. Students can complete the activity in small groups. If they write their own poems, they can read them aloud.

Text-to-Speech