Recess, rhyme, and reason: a collection of poems about school

(Stockland, P. M., & Rojo, S. (2004). Recess, rhyme, and reason: a collection of poems about school. Minneapolis: Compass Point Books.)

Summary: A collection pf poems relating to school. This book also outlines the many types of poems and devices used in poems. This book is user friendly for children learning to write poems using material familiar to them.

Reading Level: Ages 9-12, Lexile 910L

Key words/phrases:
    1. School
    2. Expressing Emotions
    3. Children's Poetry
    4. How-To Guide
    5. Types of Poetry

Suggested Delivery:  Small group / Whole class

Electronic Resources:
    1. Kenn Nesbitt’s Poetry 4Kids includes many school related poems by Kenn Nesbitt to expand on the poems given in the book.
    2. Poetry for Kids expands on the poems given in the book, providing similar poems, and provides students who may be struggling with the activities below with more ideas and methods of writing poems.
    3.  Poetry Teachers describes how to teach poetry and poetry activities for teachers to use in their classrooms.

Teaching Suggestions:
   Key Vocabulary:
          Types of Poetry: Haiku, Acrostic, Free Verse, Concrete; Rhyme, Rhythm, Meter, Voice, Imagery, Translated, Stanzas, Metaphors, Repetition, Pattern, Compare and Contrast

   Reading Strategies to increase comprehension:

         Before: Introduce concept of poetry and have students write a brief poem about any topic they want to.

         During: Highlight each poetry concept and make a list of all the concepts on the board for the students to reference.

        After:  Have students see if the poems they wrote in the “Before” activity contain any of the concepts outlined in the book. Discuss and brainstorm ways to include these concepts in their poems.

 

   Writing Activity demonstrating inferential comprehension:
Have students revise their poems or begin a new one which includes at least one of the concepts. Have students explain how the concept is used in their poem.