Making Spring Come Alive

If you are anything like me, you look forward to bidding farewell to the doldrums of winter with immense anticipation for springtime and all of the beauty that suddenly pours forth! In celebration of the first day of Spring, here is one of my favorite seasonal poems along with some ideas for savoring its rich, vivid language with your students.

                                                  Spring
                                                  By William Blake

                                                  Sound the flute!
                                                  Now it’s mute!
                                                  Bird’s delight,
                                                  Day and night,
                                                  Nightingale,
                                                  In the dale,
                                                  Lark in sky,—
                                                  Merrily,
                                      Merrily, merrily, to welcome in the year.

                                                  Little boy,
                                                  Full of joy;
                                                  Little girl,
                                                  Sweet and small;
                                                  Cock does crow,
                                                  So do you;
                                                  Merry voice,
                                                  Infant noise;
                                     Merrily, merrily, to welcome in the year.

                                                  Little lamb,
                                                  Here I am;
                                                  Come and lick
                                                  My white neck;
                                                  Let me pull
                                                  Your soft wool;
                                                  Let me kiss
                                                  Your soft face;
                                     Merrily, merrily, to welcome in the year.

Here are some enriching activities to help bring this poem alive for students:

• Reinforce literary and pre-reading skills. This poem is filled with rhyming words that you could point out or have young readers go on a hunt for.

• Commit the poem to memory. Encourage your students to memorize this poem, either individually or as a class, perhaps even reciting it for a grandparent or friends! Begin to “furnish the minds” of your students with powerful and rich language.

• Seize this opportunity to teach science concepts. Discuss the season of springtime and pull out pictures of nightingales and larks. What do we notice outside in the springtime? What changes can we observe happening around us? What baby animals can we spot in spring?

• Take the learning outside. Take a nature walk and listen for the sounds of springtime. What spring melodies do your students hear around them?

• Include a fine-arts element. Have your students create a piece of artwork based on what they read in the poem. What types of elements might be in a spring picture?

I hope this poem caused you and your students to stop and take a few minutes to venture outside and appreciate the beauty of the changing seasons!

For more on incorporating poetry into your school day, here are a few podcast episodes that will provide you with additional tips and ideas!

Episodes 42–44: The Power of Memorization

Episode 136: The Whys and Hows of Teaching Poetry