Poem of the Week

Following is a portion of a very famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It is about the ride that Paul Revere took to warn folks in the countryside around Boston that the British were attacking. It happened at the time of the American Revolution.

Because it is a fairly long portion, students will be asked to memorize either the first stanza, the second stanza, or, if they want a challenge that past Corridor 5th graders have taken on, both stanzas.

The poem will be on next week’s assignment sheet also. It is included here to give them extra time to practice and memorize this poem. Students will recite what they have learned on Friday, November 9.






from:  Paul Revere’s Ride

So listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, “If the British march
By  land or sea from the town tonight,
Hang a  lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,---
One if by land and two, if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and arm.

    Henry Wadsworth Longfellow