Why does he say the boy was "half-past three", instead of three and a half years old? It sounds better the way he says it. It suggests the clock's time. Give me some other titles for this poem. "The Chums", "A Queer Game", "The Two Playmates". DANDELIONS (Second Reader, page 30) AIM To lead the pupils to perceive and appreciate how the poet uses personification and comparison. PRESENTATION This poem should be studied in the spring, when the dandelions are in bloom. A nature study lesson should precede the literature lesson. The pupils should be required to observe when the dandelions begin to make their appearance; at what time of the day they are most conspicuous; after what kind of night they are to be found in greatest profusion; what change occurs in the structure of the flowers as they grow older; how long a time usually elapses between the first appearance of the flowers and this change; what the white, downy part of the flower constitutes; what eventually becomes of this part. Introduce the lesson by a brief conversation about military operations. Describe how one army tries to seize a strategic position, sometimes a hill, where the men can fix their guns and command the surrounding country. If this lesson could be presented without the pupils knowing the title (by writing the poem on the black-board, for instance), there would be the added interest of solving a riddle, namely, what the poet is describing. What is a real "trooper band"? A band of soldiers on horseback. And what are real "veterans"? Old soldiers who have seen much service in war. What is actually meant by the "trooper band"? The dandelions when they first come out. What is the phrase that suggests that they are dandelions? "Yellow coats." What does the author actually mean by the "veterans"? The dandelions, when they have gone to seed. What phrase suggests this? "Their trembling heads and gray." Where did the "trooper band" make their appearance? On the hillside. When? On a "showery night and still". Why is such a night selected? Because it makes the dandelions bloom in great numbers. To what is the coming of the dandelions compared? To an army taking possession of a hill. What words tell how they came? "Without a sound of warning", "surprised", "We were not waked by bugle notes", "No cheer our dreams invaded". Explain "surprised the hill". Marched upon it when they were least expected, and seized it. Give the meaning of "held it in the morning". Had undisputed possession of it. Tell, in your own words, how the dandelions came. Suddenly and unexpectedly.