Cricket Song
by Catherine Pickut (p. 19)
Teacher’s Page
Prereading: U.S.A. Culture
The young boy and his mother in “Cricket Song” are African Americans who live and work on a large plantation. Although
slavery was abolished in the United States during the Civil War, many African Americans continued to work on such plantations with varying degrees of independence. David’s ruminations in “Cricket Song” suggest that he and his family have
not been freed, and the metaphor of the cricket song itself reflects the author’s own ponderings about the nature of freedom.
The dialogue in “Cricket Song” reflects rural African American speech patterns and dialects, as when David
says, “The birds, they sing ’cause it’s they way of bringing joy . . .”
The men working in the fields sing “Nobody knows the trouble I seen . . .” Negro spirituals such as this one originated
as slave songs, and strongly influenced black American music which followed.
Reading and Conversation
Ask students to work in small groups to discuss the following questions: What are the various types of music described in
“Cricket Song”? What does each example of music suggest or represent in the story? Does music play a similar role in students’ own lives? If so, what emotions are evoked by the various kinds of music students hear?
Writing
After students have discussed the questions above, ask them to write about one kind of music that is or has been particularly significant in their own lives. How would they describe the music? Do they listen to it alone or in the company of others? How does the music make them feel?
Comprehension Check for “Cricket Song”
Answer key to the exercises on the Student’s Page.
1. c
4. b
2. c
5. a
3. d
Vocabulary in Context
Answer key to the exercises on the Student’s Page.
1. H
6. A
11. L
2. O
7. M
12. B
3. G
8. J
13. C
4. F
9. E
14. D
5. I
10. N
15. K
Guide to Eighth Grade
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Cricket Song
Cricket Song
(p. 19)
Name _____________________________ Date _____________
Vocabulary: Words to Watch
page 19
ivory
hovered
shanty
drew
semi-dark
bellow
page 20
polliwogs
glimmer
slumber
rhapsody
medley
dew-kissed
toiled
“Nobody knows
the trouble
I seen . . .”
sort of
clarity
subdued
bronze
build
tugged
yellowish white, like the hard, smooth substance that forms the tusks of elephants and certain other
animals
flew, soared, or floated suspended in the air
a roughly built or dilapidated cabin or shelter; shack
moved steadily
partial darkness
roar or shout in a deep, powerful voice
tadpoles; frog or toad larva with tails and gills
give off a dim, unsteady light
sleep
a musical composition marked by an impassioned style
a piece of music consisting of a series of melodies from various sources
touched by dew, moisture condensed from the atmosphere onto cool surfaces, usually at night;
moist, refreshing, or pure
worked laboriously and continuously
a popular Negro spiritual or religious song of African American origin
a little bit; somewhat
the quality or state of being clear; brightness
quiet
a yellowish to olive-brown color
the physical form of a thing or person
pulled at vigorously
page 21
occupyin’
towering
pondering
shrugged
squinted
prosperity
plantation
silken
occupying; keeping busy
of impressive height
thinking about carefully and deliberately
raised the shoulders, sometimes to indicate “I don’t know”
looked with partly closed eyes
financially successful circumstances or conditions
a large farm devoted to crop production, usually by resident workers
soft and lustrous; like silk
page 22
suppose
pulse
kind of
scurried
tingled
intensity
distinct
crimson
horizon
tawny
meadow
assume as true
a regular beat or rhythm
rather; somewhat
scampered; ran hurriedly
felt a prickly, stinging sensation
degree; strength
individual; clear; easily recognized
a deep red
the line along which the earth and sky appear to meet
light golden brown
a grassy field
Guide to Eighth Grade
9
Cricket Song
Cricket Song
(p. 19)
Name _____________________________ Date _____________
Vocabulary: Words to Watch
continued
page 22 (continued)
syncopation
lavender
enfolding
a distinct rhythm, shifting a regular musical accent to a beat that is normally weak
light purple
enveloping; enclosing; embracing
page 23
chorus
deafening
croaks
surveyed
eternity
seam
glanced
pearly
wishing well
chirruping
charm
rose
washing
sounds uttered in unison; a repeated part of a song
extremely or excessively loud
utters a hoarse, rasping cry
looked over and examined in detail
a seemingly endless time
a crack or wrinkle
looked quickly or casually
smooth and lustrous; yellowish white
a fountain or other enclosure into which people traditionally throw a coin and make a wish
making a high-pitched sound
fascinate or bewitch
went from a lower to a higher position; stood up
covering with a thin layer
Comprehension Check for “Cricket Song”
Circle the letters of all the correct answers. Some questions may have more than one correct answer.
1. David and his mother live in
a. a big, white plantation house
b. an apartment
c. a small shanty
d. a hotel
4. David’s mother works in
a. the fields
b. the kitchen of the big house
c. an office
d. a school
2. David is
a. six years old
b. fourteen years old
c. eleven years old
d. nine years old
5. During the day, David
a. does chores around the plantation
b. goes to school
c. plays with his friends
d. goes shopping
3. David asks Jeremiah why he sings. Jeremiah answers
that
a. he sings because he’s happy
b. he wants to be a professional singer
c. he’s practicing for his church choir
d. singing makes the work go faster
6. At the end of the story, why do David and his mother
listen to the crickets singing a “song which they could
never sing”? ____________________________________
Guide to Eighth Grade
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
10
Cricket Song
Cricket Song
(p. 19)
Name _____________________________ Date _____________
Vocabulary in Context
Match the vocabulary word on the left with its definition on the right. (The first one is done for you.) Then choose ten of
the words and use each in a sentence of your own below or on a separate sheet of paper.
A. shanty
1. ________ a grassy field
B. slumber
2. ________ thinking about carefully and deliberately
C. scurried
3. ________ looked quickly or casually
D. tugged
4. ________ light purple
E. intensity
5. ________ a deep red
F. lavender
A
6. ________
a roughly built cabin or shack
G. glanced
7. ________ looked with partly closed eyes
H. meadow
8. ________ individual; clear; easily recognized
I. crimson
9. ________ degree or strength
J. distinct
10. ________ worked laboriously and continuously
K. eternity
11. ________ extremely or excessively loud
L. deafening
12. ________ sleep
M. squinted
13. ________ scampered; ran hurriedly
N. toiled
14. ________ pulled at vigorously
O. pondering
15. ________ a seemingly endless time
1. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
10. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Guide to Eighth Grade
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Cricket Song