Love That Dog- Poetry- Week 5

Creech, S. (2001). Love that dog. New York: HarperCollins.

Love That Dog is about a boy, Jack, who is uncomfortable writing poetry when his teacher asks him to. He finds that he can't avoid the assignments and writes poetry anyway. Throughout the course of the book, Jack opens up about a dog he loves and finds he does enjoy writing poetry.

Love That Dog is considered narrative poetry. The book progresses just like any other story we would read, (in a sequence of events) but includes poems to tell us the story. Throughout the book are several free verse poems. There is also an example of concrete poetry on page 37 in the book. The boy decides to try concrete poetry when the teacher shares an example in class. Of course, his is about his yellow dog.

Curriculum Connection:
Just as the teacher does in Love That Dog, you could introduce the poems Jack discusses in the book. Have students write their own versions of the different poems before reading Jack's version. Then they can compare.

Standard:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.9a Apply grade 6 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres [e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories] in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics”).

Big Question:
Almost every poem Jack writes in the book is about his dog. Can you think of something you are passionate enough about to write several different poems on the same topic?