Based on the notion that teaching vocabulary extension in isolation makes little impact on students, a three-part exercise, designed to develop students' vocabulary through poetry while providing meaningful enjoyment, uses the poem "The Hawk" by A. C. Benson. In the first class period, students are introduced to both the exercise and the poem and their thoughts and feelings about hawks are tapped through class discussion and a freewriting session. The second class period involves a careful reading of the poem, several at home exercises requiring students to explore the various uses of the word "hawk," and a class discussion. The final session requires students to complete 10 tasks at home that center on specific aspects of the poem, such as the setting, the terror of the bird, and the atmosphere of the moors. A class discussion follows this, and includes making a scrapbook based on the poem. (A list of seven poems for additional reading includes Tennyson's "The Eagle" and Gerard Manley Hopkins's "The Windhover.") (JD)