Print a copy of the worksheet on which you will respond to the questions asked of you.

Lots of students dislike or fear literature because they think they "don't get" the idea of symbolism. Read about symbols on page 314 in your literature book.

• What is a symbol? 

Although symbols in literature may have different shades of meaning for each of us, our culture has many very traditional meanings. The website http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html contains examples explaining some traditional symbols in our culture. It also gives you a sampling of the wide variety of symbols and their possible meanings.

• Click on at least five letters of the alphabet and record your five findings.

You're going to read a story about a scarlet ibis, and you have probably guessed that it will involve some symbolism. Now you will find out what a scarlet ibis is, what it looks like, and some interesting facts about it. Here is a picture of the bird.

http://www.photohome.com/photos/animal-pictures/birds/scarlet-ibis-1.html

• What about a scarlet ibis? Go to this website and respond to the questions on the worksheet.

http://webserv.nhl.nl/~ribot/english/euru_ng.htm

Read the following poem "Staying Alive" by David Wagoner (Adventure and Suspense pages 119 - 121) carefully. Reading it more than once will help.

Complete the sentence on the worksheet and write your explanation.

(Adapted from Barbara Selwocki and Michelle Dunn "Mystery and Meaning" WebQuest; http://www.aacps.org/aacps/boe/INSTR/CURR/comed/HSwebquest/Scarletibis/index.htm)