Comprehension Gym
6.4
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
P oetry
The Lake Isle
of Innisfree
by William Butler Yeats
Poem Stats
Learning Objectives
Poetry, peace, tranquillity
Reading age 11.5 years, Level?? Lexile ?
Written by William Butler Yeats.
Predicts actions and outcomes
Understands the meaning of words
Interprets figurative language
Finds facts and information
Identifies audience and purpose
Makes connections
Learning Sequence Overview
Pre-reading Activities
Content and Skills
Part 1
Cover Story
Inferential: predicts actions and outcomes.
Students focus on the cover, its title and illustration, to predict what the book will be about.
Part 2
Dictionary skills
Vocabulary and Usage: understands the meaning of words.
Focus words: glade (noun), glimmer (noun), core (noun), pavement (noun), linnet (noun)
Working with three of these words, students put words in alphabetical order, match each word to the
part of speech and choose the sentence that uses the word correctly.
Part 3
Figure it out.
Inferential: interprets figurative language.
Students identify figures of speech and interpret their meaning and effectiveness in the text.
Part 4
Who, what, where and when?
Literal: finds facts and information.
Students use their knowledge of the text to find facts and information.
Part 5
Audience and purpose
Text analysis: identifies audience and purpose.
Students identify the target audience and the purpose of the text.
Part 6
Word trees
Inferential: makes connections.
Students identify words that are connected to a core word.
Part 7
Read the extract
Read poem, The Lake Isle
of Innisfree.
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
After reading
Part 8
Students complete a 16 question comprehension quiz. The quiz has a range of questions that test
literal, inferential, vocabulary and usage, text analysis and critical literacy comprehension skills.
Example questions are:
What does bee-loud glade mean? Choose the best answer.
What is the most likely reason that the narrator wants to keep bees?
What materials will the narrator use to build his cabin?
This is followed by an optional writing exercise where students respond in writing to a question.
These written responses need to be assessed/marked by a teacher.
The written response prompt is:
The Lake Isle of Innisfree has a special meaning for the poet. Describe a place that means a lot
to you. Remember to use descriptive language.