Week 5

It's Week 5 in our weekly sharing of poems on Poetry Friday and the theme is "More Pets."
For a taste of The Poetry Friday Anthology, here's an excerpt from the poem for Grade 5.


Good Dog! Bad Dog!
   by Jeannine Atkins

Good dog never wakes us up.
Yip! Bad dog jumps on the bed.
Good dog shakes for a biscuit.
Bad dog snitches jam and bread.

...


[For the rest of the poem, check out p. 231 in the book.]



TAKE 5
1. To kick off this poem, show images of the two masks of drama—comedy and tragedy. Then read this poem aloud using a light and happy voice for lines 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12 and a frustrated voice for lines 2, 4, 6, 8, 10.

2. Next, display the words of the poem and divide the students into two groups—one to say the words Good dog as they occur in the poem and one to say the words Bad dog. You read the rest of the poem, including the conclusion of lines beginning Good dog or Bad dog.

3. Invite students to share their own favorite pet stories.

4. Poets give their poems shape and meaning in many ways. Talk with students about each stanza and what it adds to the poem. Consider the poet’s use of rhyme (bed/bread; chair/care) and how the rhyme depends on the final syllable in one case (heart/apart).

5. Follow up with more dog poems like “Spotty’s Tongue” by Betsy Franco (3rd Grade, Week 5) or “My Dog Jack Thinks Up His Valentine” by Patricia Hubbell (2nd Grade, Week 21) or selections from Betsy Franco’s book, A Dazzling Display of Dogs.

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Week 4

The theme of Week 4 is PETS, always a popular topic among young readers. This week, we feature a "pet" poem for every grade level with subjects ranging from a petting zoo, pet fish, wished-for pets, not-pets, to pet opposites. Here is an excerpt from the poem for second grade. It's "My Pet" by David L. Harrison. 

My Pet
by David L. Harrison

See those bats?
In the maple tree?
The one on the left
Belongs to me.

Haven't told him yet
He's my pet.

...

(Read the rest of the poem on p. 110 in the book.)

Take 5

1. To set the stage before reading this poem aloud, make an origami bat. A simple model is available here: nickrobinson.info/origami/diagrams/bat.htm. After reading the poem aloud, hang the bat upside down.

2. Read the poem again and this time invite students to chime in on the second and final stanzas in whisper voices while you read the rest aloud.

3. For discussion: If you could have any pet (that’s not usually a pet) what would it be?

4. Guide students in identifying the rhyming words in this poem (tree/me; yet/pet; friends/ends; night/flight; skies/flies). Read the poem out loud again and display the poem so students can join in on the rhyming words.

5. Compare this with another poem, “Bat” by X. J. Kennedy (1st Grade, Week 8) or a selection from Fuzzy-Fast Blur: Poems About Pets by Laura Purdie Salas.

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Week 3

It's Week 3 in our weekly sharing of poems on Poetry Friday. What's the topic? Fun and games! Every poem for every grade level focuses on play and recreation. Here's an excerpt from the poem entry for Second Grade. It's "The Winner" by Georgia Heard. The poem begins...

The Winner
by Georgia Heard

Evenings,
we play ball
next to the creek
in our neighbor’s field.

We run so fast

I
can’t
even
catch
my
breath.

...

(You'll have to get the book for the rest of the poem!)


Here are the Take 5 strategies that accompany this poem:

1. This is a poem that lends itself perfectly to full-body involvement while reading it aloud. Try doing some of the actions described in the poem (swinging a baseball bat, running, huffing and puffing, aching feet).

2. In sharing the poem aloud again, students can say the column of words (I / can’t / even / catch / my / breath) breathing deeply between each word to suggest breathless running while you read the rest of the poem aloud.

3. For discussion: What are some of your favorite things to do AFTER school?

4. Discuss with students how many poems rhyme, but not all. This poem is an example of free verse. It doesn’t rhyme, but guide students in seeing how the poet arranges the lines to highlight the column of single words right in the middle. 

5. Follow up with an acrostic poem about playing baseball. Look for “Last Try” by Avis Harley (from 1st Grade, Week 31).


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Week 2

For Week 2, the theme is "More School" since most of us are still helping kids get into the rhythm of school life. Here's a taste from THIRD GRADE with an excerpt of the featured poem by up-and-coming poet Michele Krueger.

Recess
by Michele Krueger

Climbing, sliding,
laughing, skipping,
cherry-flavored
fruit juice sipping

....

walking, talking,
jump-rope turning,
‘til it’s time
to go back learning


This poem is FULL of great action words that describe a variety of recess and playground activities and is fun to perform-- with motions, too.

And here are the Take 5 activities that accompany this poem:

TAKE 5
1. Try pantomiming some of the action words in the poem while you read it aloud (climbing, skipping, throwing, catching, bouncing, hopping, running, walking, jumping, etc.).

2. Alert the students to all the action words in this poem (climbing, sliding, throwing, catching, etc.). Display the words of the poem and invite students to choose their most favorite action and chime in when that word appears.

3. Talk with students about their favorite recess and recreational activities.

4. Show how rhyming words help turn this “list” of action words into a poem. Ask students: What are the words that rhyme (skipping/sipping; smacking/snacking; singing/swinging/ turning/learning). Read the poem aloud again and pause before the final rhyming word in each pair and invite students to complete the rhyme.

5. Pair this poem with another “Recess” poem by Avis Harley (2nd Grade, Week 2) or with selections from Jack Prelutsky’s Good Sports.


Every single poem in this anthology of 200+ poems includes "Take 5" activities just like these to help you introduce and share the poem and tie in a quick skill focus. Stay tuned for more examples each week. And don't forget to join the Poetry Friday round up at Write. Sketch. Repeat.