Brooklyn Rain: Poetry Warm-Up for Sixth Grade
A short poem excerpt from Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming, paired with a vocabulary note on the word "squish," designed as a brief warm-up for 6th graders. It builds close reading, sensory-language analysis, and understanding of memory and place in free verse.
“brooklyn rain The rain here is different than the way it rains in Greenville. No sweet smell of honeysuckle. No soft squish of pine. No slip and slide through grass. Just Mama saying, Stay inside today. It‘s raining, and me at the window. Nothing to do but watch the gray sidewalk grow darker, watch the drops slide down the glass pane, watch people below me move fast, heads bent. Already there are stories in my head. Already color and sound and words. squish (skwihsh) n. spongy, cushioned feeling when walking on a flexible surface 5 10 from Brown Girl Dreaming 13 LIT17_SE06_U01_A1_WC.indd 13 16/03/21 12:10 PM Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. Already I’m drawing circles on the glass, humming myself someplace far away from here. Down south, there was always someplace else to go you could step out into the rain and Grandma would let you lift your head and stick out your tongue be happy. Down south already feels like a long time ago but the stories in my head take me back there, set me down in Daddy’s garden where the sun is always shining.”
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use as a 10-15 minute warm-up before a longer reading of Brown Girl Dreaming, projecting the poem and reading it aloud once before students read silently.
- Discussion question: Which sensory details (sound, smell, touch, sight) does the speaker use to contrast Brooklyn with Greenville, and what does that contrast reveal about how she feels?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Pre-teach "squish" and have students act out or describe a spongy surface, then ask them to find one other image that appeals to the senses.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to examine how the speaker's memories "take me back there" in the final stanza and write a short paragraph on how memory shapes the speaker's sense of home.
- Estimated time: About 10-15 minutes, including reading aloud and one or two discussion questions.
What is Diffit?
Teachers use Diffit to get quality materials for their unique classrooms. Adjust difficulty, add scaffolds, or change the topic to get started.
Try Diffit for free“brooklyn rain The rain here is different than the way it rains in Greenville. No sweet smell of honeysuckle. No soft squish of pine. No slip and slide through grass. Just Mama saying, Stay inside today. It‘s raining, and me at the window. Nothing to do but watch the gray sidewalk grow darker, watch the drops slide down the glass pane, watch people below me move fast, heads bent. Already there are stories in my head. Already color and sound and words. squish (skwihsh) n. spongy, cushioned feeling when walking on a flexible surface 5 10 from Brown Girl Dreaming 13 LIT17_SE06_U01_A1_WC.indd 13 16/03/21 12:10 PM Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. Already I’m drawing circles on the glass, humming myself someplace far away from here. Down south, there was always someplace else to go you could step out into the rain and Grandma would let you lift your head and stick out your tongue be happy. Down south already feels like a long time ago but the stories in my head take me back there, set me down in Daddy’s garden where the sun is always shining.”
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use as a 10-15 minute warm-up before a longer reading of Brown Girl Dreaming, projecting the poem and reading it aloud once before students read silently.
- Discussion question: Which sensory details (sound, smell, touch, sight) does the speaker use to contrast Brooklyn with Greenville, and what does that contrast reveal about how she feels?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Pre-teach "squish" and have students act out or describe a spongy surface, then ask them to find one other image that appeals to the senses.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to examine how the speaker's memories "take me back there" in the final stanza and write a short paragraph on how memory shapes the speaker's sense of home.
- Estimated time: About 10-15 minutes, including reading aloud and one or two discussion questions.
Brooklyn Rain: Poetry Warm-Up for Sixth Grade
A short poem excerpt from Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming, paired with a vocabulary note on the word "squish," designed as a brief warm-up for 6th graders. It builds close reading, sensory-language analysis, and understanding of memory and place in free verse.
What is Diffit?
Teachers use Diffit to get quality materials for their unique classrooms. Adjust difficulty, add scaffolds, or change the topic to get started.
Try Diffit for free