Spring Poetry Picture Books

Happy Weekend!  I'm Pamela from Hedgehog Reader, and I'm so happy to be guest blogging again here on Who's Who and Who's New!

With Memorial Day come and gone, it sort of feels like summer already, doesn't it?

But the reality is that we have several weeks left of spring, and I am sticking to that until June 21 - living here in Phoenix, I like to prolong the cooler mindset of spring as long as I can!

Springtime's sensory bonanza provides a palette of colorful language, experiences, and details that our students can pull into their own writing.  And what better way to mentor our young writers through the process than with picture books that feature seasonal poetry?

I've collected nine wonderful titles to share with you today, along with a few instructional tie-ins and activity ideas along the way.

Sun Above and Blooms Below: A Springtime of Opposites by Felicia Sanzari Chemesky and illustrated by Susan Swan

While this book is written in verse - qualifying it for our spring poetry category - it has a bonus:  Every page features at least one pair of opposites.  (Cameo credits to some adorable hatching chicks, another springtime theme that I recently shared a few books and activities for.)  Idea - Create a class book of other thematically-curated opposites in verse!

Did You Hear Wind Sing Your Name?:  An Oneida Song of Spring by Sandra De Coteau Orie and illustrated by Christopher Canyon

Richly written and illustrated in imagery and symbolism that reflects Oneida tradition, this book is described by the author as "a song."  Idea - Discuss various places poetry is found in our daily lives - poems, songs, raps, jumprope rhymes, hand-clapping games, advertising slogans, etc.

Seeds, Bees, Butterflies, and More!:  Poems for Two Voices by Carole Gerber and illustrated by Eugene Yeltsin

My students have always enjoyed the playful interaction required to read a "poem for two voices."  They're also a lot of fun to write with a buddy!   Idea - Challenge students to work in pairs to write and perform their own poems for two voices.

Spring Rain Winter Snow by Edward J. Rielly and illustrated by Angelina Buonaiuto

Haiku is such a natural fit to describe seasons; after all, haiku by definition is poetry to describe our relationship with nature.  Idea - One project my kids have always loved is to paint a nature scene in watercolor, add their own related haiku in permanent marker, and finish it on a student-made scroll.  I will try to write a post about this later; they turn out so beautiful and make a wonderful display.

Hi, Koo!:  A Year of Seasons by Jon J. Muth

Here is more seasonal haiku fun with a healthy dose of friendship tossed in for good measure.  (The author was awarded Caldecott honors for his Zen Shorts.)  Idea - Muth deviates from the traditional haiku format, leading to valuable classroom discussion of poetry form and "rules."

Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems by Francisco Alarcon and illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez

I have a particular fondness for books that provide text immediately accessible in both English and another language.  Children naturally seek to break the code of languages other than their own home language - and quite often the home language is something other than English.  Bilingual books tap into the diversity of language and into our students' natural curiosity about it.  As the title hints, this book features a lot of fun examples of anthropomorphic figurative language.  Idea - Examine as a class how this type of figurative language contributes to the imagery of the poem.  Why does some anthropomorphism work?  (It works when the behavior seems almost believable for that particular non-human thing.)  Why would some not work?  (It doesn't work when the behavior is not even close to being believable by any stretch of the imagination.)  Students work in pairs to brainstorm a list of human behaviors that might be displayed by a non-human thing.  After they select their favorite from their list, they join into a collaborative small-group discussion about why their particular favorite works.

Outside Your Window:  A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Mark Hearld

This gorgeously illustrated book features poetry about nature in our own everyday environment.  Idea - Take a playground field trip with clipboards in hand.  Students note examples of nature on the playground (or other nearby locale), and choose from their list to write a Nature Outside Our Window poem.  This makes a great classroom book!

A Stick is an Excellent Thing:  Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by LeUyen Pham

The title says it all!  This fun volume of poetry extolls the value of timeless outdoor pastimes - many of them likely brand-new to some of our students.   Idea - What fun to set up Celebrating Outdoor Play stations that feature jacks, catch, hopscotch, and other activities featured in the book so that students can rotate through and experience these playtime staples for themselves!

Red Sings from Treetops:  A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

This 2010 Caldecott Honor book features a beautifully sensory exploration of color in nature through the seasons.  Idea - Use a web graphic organizer to brainstorm examples of color in nature.  After completing one as a class, students can work on their own or in small groups to generate more ideas.


I hope this list provides you with a new title or two to add to your favorites list - if you have more book or activity ideas, please share them in the comments section!

Poetry Scavenger Hunt

Hello fellow teachers!  I am Pam from ROCKIN RESOURCES and I am so honored to be posting one of my ideas on the Who's Who blog!  This idea of a Poetry Scavenger Hunt was designed for upper elementary, but I'm sure you can tailor it to your grade level as well!

I hope you and your kiddos enjoyed Easter and a few egg hunts along the way!  We had our family visit and I love the fact that the teenagers still want us to hide eggs!  They will not be happy if they come across this picture on social media somewhere but here they are dying eggs!  Oh yeah the proof is in all those mugs in front of them.  

Since it is Poetry Month, and I know that no matter what the age, they love to hunt for things.  Soooooo why not conduct a Poetry Scavenger Hunt with your students?  It is Poetry Month ya know!  I teach 4th grade and they will be the first ones to tell you that they enjoy this activity!  It is an awesome motivator to get them to learn!  So what is a POETRY SCAVENGER HUNT?

Materials Needed:

1.  Tons and tons of poetry books- if your own library or your school's library doesn't have a wide variety or abundance, go to the local library and check out as many as you can!  You want enough resources for them to enjoy this activity.  Your media specialist might even allow them to come in and do this activity in their media center to spread out and make it more interesting!

2.  Poetry samples for projecting during whole group lesson.

3.  Poetry cards (below)

4.  Magnifying glasses -optional-  (We are lucky to have plastic ones in our science kits.)  These give your students a "fun" tool to search for elements.  The little things make a difference!

5.  Sticky notes.  (If you have iPad access, you don't need sticky notes)

Lesson Plans:

First, introduce (or review) the following Poetry Elements and examples.  The definitions for each word can be found on the cards later in the lesson!

Alliteration-  Ex. Slimy slugs slither slowly on the sidewalk.

Imagery-  Ex. The thick fuzzy coat was a blessing in the winter blizzard.

Metaphor-  Ex.  A good laugh is sunshine in a house.

Onomatopoeia-  Ex.  Bang, ding, pop!

Personification-  Ex.  The wind whistled its happy tune.

Repetition-  Ex.  Leaving my friends, leaving my home leaving my room, leaving my memories

Rhyme-  Ex.  School, tool, rule

Rhyme Scheme-  

Ex. Roses are red    A

     Violets are blue   B

     Sugar is sweet    C

     And so are you.   B

Rhythm-  (musical quality)

Simile-  Ex.  She was as pale as a lump of sugar.

Stanza-  (a poetry paragraph)

Theme-  (the message)

Tone-  (feeling)

Next, as a whole group, show students how to look in poems to find these elements.  The best way I found is to project slides of poetry and discuss elements found in the example.

One example I use for Imagery:

This is the only one I don't project.  I like to read this one while my students close their eyes so they can form their own imagery.  I read a portion of "Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down:

I took a walk around the world to ease my trouble mind

I left my body laying somewhere in the sands of time

I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon

I feel there is nothing I can do.

Then, pass out poetry books, magnifying glasses, and poetry elements cards to groups.  (I usually give each group 4-5 cards).  When students find a poem with this element, they mark it with a sticky note.  TECHNOLOGY- TAKE PICTURE OF POEM WITH IPAD.  Click on the picture below for free cards.

Last, gather back as a whole group and share their findings!


Are you looking for more poetry ideas and resources?

Free and paid Poetry Products:  CLICK HERE

Poetry Pinterest Board:  CLICK HERE 

 

Visit ROCKIN RESOURCES store!  They offer a variety of free and paid products ranging from grades 2-6.  Pam specializes in LANGUAGE ARTS and SOCIAL STUDIES.  She is well-known for her writing programs that have been best sellers and boost writing scores!  

Thanks again Hilary for the opportunity to post on this amazing blog!  I find so many incredible ideas on here!

Lions and Tigers and Leopards,  Oh, My!

It’s time to take a trip to the zoo!

Taking a field trip to the zoo seems to be a favorite springtime activity or end of the school year event.  Whether it is traveling by bus or in cars, going to the zoo is an exciting time for children.  Even if you don’t go to a zoo, studying about wild animals is an excellent way to practice many core skills.

Here is a poem we wrote to spark interest in the “wild” cats! 

Click <HERE>to find the FREE poem & pocket chart pictures at our website www.jkcurriculumconnection.com

A favorite book that covers many different animals is called A Children’s ZOO by Tana Hoban.  It is an excellent book to practice descriptive words using adjectives and verbs.  There are large photos of the animals on the right side and 3 descriptive words about each one on the left page.

This book provides a great springboard for a writing extension!  Ask the students to draw a picture on an animal and write 3 describing words or 2 words and a verb.  On the 4^th line, write the name of the animal.  For an extra challenge, try to do an animal for every letter of the alphabet and create an ABC book!  If your class size is under 26 students, ask someone who finishes early to do another page.  If your class size is 26 or over (sorry, we feel your pain!) students may double up on the same letter but a different animal would be selected.   Ex. T= tortoise, tiger etc. 

Here are some of our other favorite books to use when learning about zoo animals.  

When studying tigers or zebras, create a class book cover, with the words "What Has Stripes".  Here are some favorite books about tigers and zebras.  There is even one called "A Bad Case of Stripes"!   

Create a Class book and write about things that have stripes.  Add quotations around their idea and then add ‘said' and (student’s name).  This is a meaningful way to begin the practice of using quotation marks in their own writing.  They get really excited to see what their friends said when asked the question, "What has stripes?"

Ex: “Tigers have stripes,” said Tracy.  

“A rainbow has stripes,” said Denise. 
"Peppermint candy has stripes," said Kendra.
"A dress has stripes," said Amy.

“A cat has stripes,” said Jeremy. 

At the end, add student author pages where the children draw themselves wearing stripes with the caption, “The authors have STRIPES!”

We’ve found it is fun to have the authors as part of the concluding pages of the book. 

Sometimes, half the class can be working on the book about stripes while the other half is writing a book called, "What Has Spots?" This will spark a lot of discussions around the classroom! 

Speaking of spots, one year, after traveling 2 hours on a bus with 2 classes of students, I was faced with seeing "spots"!  Happily we made it to the zoo without any mishaps! But... upon arrival a mom shared with me that she had been sitting beside a child who complained of not feeling well.  After all the children had exited the bus, we took a closer look and sure 'nuf, the child was covered with spots! MEASLES!  Yikes!  The volunteer moms all took turns staying with the child and the rest....well, is history!  Needless to say, the next couple of weeks saw more and more children coming down with "a bad case of spots"!  

Shoebox Animals

We LOVE doing this after our study of wild animals.  It just pulls the unit all together!  

These animals are made out of shoeboxes or other small boxes of differing sizes.

1. Each child selects a box to use as the body of their animal.

2. Cardboard Circles for the heads:  These can sometimes be found at a party store in the cake decorating section. 

Students draw shape of their animal’s head on the circle.  

Since this piece is a heavy material, an adult will need to help cut these out.  A piece of white tag board can also be used.  

3. Students paint their shoebox and animal head.  Allow time for them to dry. 

4. Add the details.  Painting spots, stripes, fur, feathers, etc.

Glue the dried painted head to the front of shoebox after adding the mouth, ears (cut from colored paper), and eyes. 

*Eyes can be bottle cap lids with wiggly eyes glued inside.  Spraying the bottle caps black ahead of time makes them stand out and look like eyelashes!  

*Whiskers can be pipe cleaners (if the real animal has them).

*Add a tail or other details as needed.

*Add legs and feet.  These can be made from painting toilet paper rolls or paper towel tubes.  Add paper paws to the legs for the feet.
*Lastly, glue a small piece of paper inside the box as a liner.  

Bonus!  When the top of animal (the shoebox lid is lifted) the children have a secret place to put their “treasures” in at home!  This was a day for celebrating with everyone dressing up!  Time to take the animals home.  We LOVE these celebrations!

NOTE:  This project will take some time during the week as it has many steps/stages.

Once completed, students can also write about their animal and present them to the class.  They can even start writing midway through the art project as they are VERY motivated!  Encourage them to write either fiction stories or non-fiction reports. 

Here is an art/writing project using paper bags to create a puppet.  The first time we do this one, we model it and they complete the same one together as a whole class. Students are provided with a preprinted paper with a circle for the head and pieces for the ears, eyes, and tail.  Later, in a center, there are pre-made samples of many different animals with their tracing pieces sorted into plastic baggies.  Students can select a favorite animal and trace the necessary pieces to create their own puppet while looking at the model.  Once the kids get good at following the models, they start creating their own paper bag puppets! Oh, the creativity just flows!

All puppets have a writing activity connected to it.  They add information about their animal or why they like it.  Some students have even asked to put on a puppet show.  "Sure," we reply, "but the play needs to be written out and we must review the scripts!"  Off they go, working hard to create their future, albeit fairly short, performance!     

We hope you have been inspired to go "wild" with your Animal or Zoo studies.  Here is a FREE path game we created.  It comes with Editable cards so ANY content can be added that needs practicing.  Click the link below the photo to find it at our TPT "store"!

A-Trip-to-the-Zoo-Path-Game-FREEBIE

Enjoy your "wild animals" these last few days of the school year! 

Check out our website for other Free Downloadables