Tell It Again! Read-Aloud Anthology - EngageNY

Poetry Reading
Find a copy of the poem “Buffalo Dusk,” by Carl Sandburg. Tell
students that you are going to read a poem to them written by a
man named Carl Sandberg. Ask them to listen carefully to what Mr.
Sandburg is describing in his poem. You may wish to reread the
poem, defining any words students may not understand, such as
dusk, sod, and pageant.
Ask students some or all of the following questions to ensure their
understanding of the poem:
• Why are the buffalo gone? (They were hunted; their habitat was
diminished.)
• Who are the people who saw the buffalo who are now also
gone? (our ancestors)
• Why do you think Carl Sandburg describes this scene of the
buffalo pawing the dust as a pageant, or a grand show? (He
thought this was a spectacular sight; the buffalo were like
actors; etc.)
• Why do you think Carl Sandburg chose the title “Buffalo Dusk”?
(Answers may vary.) [You may need to explain that dusk is the
time of day when the sun has just set. Dusk is near the end of
the day. The term dusk may also describe the end of the time of
something. So buffalo dusk is the end of the time of the buffalo.]
• How do you think Carl Sandburg feels about the buffalo being
gone? (He is probably sad.)
Make sure to remind students that buffalo have now started
to make a comeback in our country, and that maybe someone
will one day write a new poem about that. Also, make sure that
students understand that there are still many Native Americans
living in the United States, but that their ancestors who lived in the
mid-1800s are now gone.
If time allows, you may want to talk about the alliteration in the
poem. Tell students that alliteration is the occurrence of the same
beginning sound or letter in words.
Westward Expansion CA | Culminating Activities 155
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