Step 1: Post a copy of the painting "The Problem We All Live With" by Norman Rockwell at an easily accessible location in the room, or ideally in multiple locations around the room to increase viewing speed.  Send students up in small groups (3-4 students at a time) to review the painting up close. When they return to their seats they should record their first understanding and/or impression of the painting and be prepared for a whole-class discussion.

Step 2: After all students have had a chance to form an initial impression of the painting, open up the topic for a brief whole-class discussion, asking students to point to specific elements of the painting that support their initial impression.

Step 3: Working in pairs, have students revisit the painting using the analysis worksheet provided in the resource set. Circulate among students frequently to ensure they are completing all of the required fields and clarifying instructions as necessary. If resources permit, you may wish to have multiple color copies (8-10) of the painting in 8.5"x11" format, laminated to provide multiple uses. This would allow students to have a small version of the painting easily accessible to them while still having access to a larger version posted around the room if needed.

Step 4: Once students have completed the analysis worksheet, have them merge into groups of 4 and discuss their findings, modifying their analysis worksheet as new or complicating interpretations are offered.

Step 5: Open the discussion up to the whole class. How did the close-reading activity that required them to slow down and review tiny details at length alter their understanding of the painting? Did their understanding of their original impression become stronger? What caused that deepening understanding? Did their original impression change? If so, what close-reading details of the painting changed their opinion?

Step 6: Individual reflection - during the final few minutes of class, have students write a written reflection in their journals or on an exit slip that captures how this close-reading activity helped improve their ability to conduct critical analysis of texts.  How might they be able to transfer the skill of analyzing visual texts to analyzing written texts?

Summative Activity: Have students write their own original "textual conversation" poem responding to the painting (or to a different painting if you want to increase the challenge) by mimicking a poetic form currently being studied or by writing several poems in multiple poetic forms to analyze and consider how changing the poetic form shapes the reader's understanding of the text.