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The Scarecrow's Night Watch: A Poem to Practice Aloud

Read an original poem about a scarecrow's night in a cornfield aloud, then follow a girl's three practice readings to improve pace, accuracy and expression.

Grade 5ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRF.5.4.b

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 Common Core standard
Printable answer key
10 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 5
Subject: ELA
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students use punctuation and word clues to read a poem aloud with expression.
Students choose a fitting pace for different parts of a poem.
Students explain how repeated readings improve accuracy, pace and expression.

How to use

Have students read the poem aloud at least twice with a partner before reading the story about Odalys. Students can mark pauses and loud or soft words in the poem as they practice.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RF.5.4.b

Read grade-level prose and poetry aloud with accuracy, an appropriate pace, and expression on repeated readings.

Preview

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Name Date

The Scarecrow's Night Watch: A Poem to Practice Aloud

Read a poem aloud, then follow one reader through three practice readings.

Read the poem and the story

Read the poem aloud two times. Then read the story about a girl practicing the same poem.

The Scarecrow's Night Watch

1The sun slips down. The farmhouse sleeps.
The tall corn starts to sway.
And out among the long green rows,
the scarecrow starts his day.

2He cannot run. He cannot hop.
His boots are stuffed with hay.
But there he stands—so straight! so tall!—
to keep the crows away.

3A breeze drifts by and tugs his sleeve.
It hums a sleepy tune:
"Shhh . . . hush . . . the night is long," it sings
beneath the silver moon.

4Then—CRASH!—a bucket tumbles down!
The corn leaves shake with fright.
The scarecrow's button eyes stay wide.
He will not leave tonight.

5A raccoon peeks. A raccoon blinks.
"Is someone standing there?"
It turns and scurries through the rows.
It's gone! The field is bare.

6At last the sky turns soft and pink.
The rooster crows hello.
The scarecrow sighs a straw-soft sigh
and lets the long night go.

Practice Night

1Odalys was going to read "The Scarecrow's Night Watch" at the Harvest Poetry Night at her school. The evening before, she practiced in the living room while her older brother, Caspian, listened from the couch.

2On her first reading, Odalys raced through every line. She read the word "scurries" as "scarries" and kept going without fixing it. She read CRASH in the same calm voice as the rest of the poem. "That was fast," Caspian said. "It sounded like the scarecrow was in a hurry."

3On her second reading, Odalys slowed down. She stopped to sound out "scurries," then reread the whole line. She paused at each dash and let her voice drop to a whisper for the breeze's song. But when she reached the raccoon's question, her voice stayed flat.

4"Make it sound like the raccoon is really asking," Caspian said.

5On her third reading, Odalys's voice rose at the end of the raccoon's question. She shouted CRASH so loudly that the cat leaped off the couch. When she read the last stanza, she let her voice grow slow and soft, like someone drifting off to sleep.

6Caspian clapped. "Now I can see the whole cornfield," he said.

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