Over in the Meadow Freebie

I know you've heard the children's rhyme, "Over in the Meadow." Ever since we used it last week, it's been playing over and over and OVER in my head! It's the perfect poem to use to introduce setting in poetry. First, I sketched out the bare bones of a meadow.

Then, we gave groups of our first graders a different verse of the poem and asked them to illustrate it.

They loved drawing the pictures and talking about the different animals. It was a simple, fun way to review setting. Click on the pic below to get a copy of the poem. Cut apart the verses and you are ready to go! 

I'm having a giveaway in my Teachers Notebook Shop. Click {HERE} to follow my shop and enter. You could win a copy of "My Teacher Likes to Say" activities on punctuating dialogue and figurative language.

Happy Friday!

Setting of a Poem -- Freebie

Try introducing poetry early this year.

I love this simple poem by Walt Whitman. 

Give it to your kiddos and let them discuss the way the words make a picture in their minds. I love listening in on their conversations.

After their discussions, ask them to illustrate the setting of the poem and write at least three sentences of seven words in length that tell why they drew the picture.

Click {HERE} to get the activity.

This addresses the following third grade Common Core standards, but will apply to other grade levels, as well.

RL 3.5  Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stance; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.

L 3.1.i  Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences.

L 3.2 Demonstrate command of the capitalization, punctuate, and spelling when writing.

Today is the last day of the big Teachers Pay Teachers Sale. 

Click on the pic above to visit my store.

Poetry Activities

My kids are really getting into reading poetry.....lots more than I thought they would.

Each kiddo got their own copy of the poem to add to their poetry journal. We drew boxes around each stanza, highlighted rhyming words, underlined examples of repetition, and marked examples of alliteration.

I think their favorite part is determining the rhythm of the poem.

We started by clapping to a simple song they had done in Music class. I kept clapping while I was talking, so that they could see that regular talking doesn't have a rhythm. We kept clapping while I read the poem, then they read it with me.

We moved into marking the lines of poetry.

We used dots for unstressed syllables and lines for the emphasized syllables.

They've been clapping and trying to make regular beats out of ordinary conversation!
We also added a foldable of poetry elements to our Reading Journals.

We're concentrating on poetry for a few more weeks. I think I'm going to have to step up my original plans. My kiddos are really getting into this!

Leave a comment with your favorite ideas and activities for poetry.

Poetry Oldie But Goodie -- Freebie

My sweet baby girl turned 21 yesterday!

(This is where you all say, "But Mary, you don't look old enough to have a 21 year old!)

Since I'm helping her celebrate and not near a computer, I'm scheduling this to give you another shot at a freebie I posted last spring. It's a circus-themed collection of different poetry activities.

Just click on the pic above to get the file!

If you haven't gone to Teachers Notebook and entered their giveaway, go NOW! You might win a tablet!

Common Core Poetry Freebie, Fourth and Final Freebie (For Now!) AND January Currently

Fourth and Final Freebie! (How's that for alliteration?!)

All the poems in these activities for my Common Core unit on poetry are based on a summer theme.

Click on the pic above to download.

(Remember to set your printer options to "FIT" so that all the material will print on each page.)

I'd love it if you would leave a comment and tell me what you do in your classroom to help your kiddos understand poetry.

Teachers go back to work tomorrow. Our kids don't come until Monday. I'm anxious to see them, but I sure do like being at home!

And that seems to be the theme for my January Currently!

Listening: to NCIS (I've been OD'ing on reruns and marathons while we've been off!)

Loving: that both my kids are home fro m college....although neither are currently in the house right now! 

Thinking: how much I love my time at home. Getting back in the real world starts Thursday. Sigh.

Wanting: Snow Days....lots and lots of snow days!

Needing: Snow Days....lots and lots of snow days!

OLW: I think my One Little Word is going to be Renewal. That covers sooo many aspects of my life..professional...personal...spiritual...

If you haven't linked up with Farley's January Currently, go now. It's a fun way to step back and take stock!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a copy of The Miracle Dogs of Portugal. Click {HERE} to enter.

Happy New Year! - Common Core Poetry Freebies

Happy New Year!

I'm joining the linky party at The Teacher's Cauldron to share a personal and a blogging resolution.

My personal resolution is easy: take better care of myself. That means more exercise, better eating, and better time management. The only problem is...I'm not too good at holding myself accountable! Anyone want to help?

My blogging resolution: Like most of us, I get behind on responding to my comments. That's my top goal for 2013. If a reader takes the time to comment, I want them to know how appreciative I am. AND I want to find a new blog to follow at least once a week!
(My husband wants my blogging resolution to be making money from my blog! :) I'm happy doing the freebie thing, though. If I'm making it for my own use, I might as well share it.)

Now for your freebie:

2012 brought a lot of changes to most of us professionally...implementing Common Core has been challenging, but I think it's forced me to get out of my comfort zone and stretch my thinking as a teacher. It's been good for me and it's been good for my kiddos.

One of the biggest changes for me has been integrating poetry on a regular basis in my classroom beyond just gluing poems in our poetry journals and illustrating them. Our first four weeks after break are focused on poetry. Here is the third installment of my poetry activities. The theme of these poems is Autumn.

Just click on the pic above to get the file.

(Remember to set your printer options to "FIT" so that all the material will print on each page.)

If you haven't entered my giveaway for a copy of The Miracle Dogs of Portugal, click {HERE} to enter.

Happy New Year!

Even More Common Core Poetry Activities - Freebie - and a Doggone Good Giveaway!

I've got another freebie on poetry today and the chance for you to win a fantabulous book!

First....the freebie....

Click on the pic above to get activities tied to Christina Rossetti's poem, "Who Has Seen the Wind?" It includes other poems students can use for comparing and contrasting. These are the poems I'll be using our second week back after Christmas Break.
(Remember to set your printer options to "FIT" so that all the material will print on each page.)

Now for the giveaway....

I was excited when I received an email asking if I would be interested in giving away copies of The Miracle Dogs of Portugal, by Tracy Aiello. 

Really...need you ask? Reading is my passion. Sharing reading and books with my kids and friends is just part of that love.

Tracy Aiello's book is the "almost true" story of Henry the Navigator. I love the lyrical words in the story. Aiello actually captures the sound of the ocean in words. Click on the pic below for more info on the book and author.

I have five, yes FIVE, copies of the book to give away. All you have to do is enter below.

And the BEST part of this giveaway.....Miracle Dogs will be donating five additional books to give children affected by Hurricane Sandy. How cool is that?!

Enter now. The contest ends Friday, January 4 at midnight.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Common Core Poetry Activities - Freebie - and a Giveaway!

I think I'm the least comfortable teaching poetry because I don't read a lot of poems. I've spent some time developing activities for some of the poems recommended in the book, Common Core Curriculum Maps: English Language Arts, published by Josssey-Bass. I've used this book for ideas on implementing the Common Core ELA standards in my class. In fact, it's starting to show some wear and tear because I drag it home every night and back to school every morning!

Another resource that I don't want to do without is The Common Core Lesson Book K-5, by Gretchen Owocki. Both of these books have been invaluable to me as I've worked on implementing Common Core this year.

I used the list of poems from Common Core Curriculum Maps as the basis for my poetry unit we will begin on January 7. I'll be posting four different activities on these poems over the next few days. Each set of activities highlights a season.    I'm starting with winter and highlighting "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," by Robert Frost for the first week. I've included other poems for comparing and contrasting with the first poem in the packet. 

Click on the pic above to download the file.

I'd also like to give a shout out to a blogging friend of mine. Susanne at SOS Supply is celebrating her first bloggaversary with some great giveaways. I'm donating an Amazon gift card to help her out. Sue teaches in South Wales in the UK. If you don't already follow her blog, go now and help her celebrate. You might win some awesome prizes! Click on her button below to go visit!

Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich - Freebie

Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich is a hilarious collection of poems about all different kinds of monsters. Turn your students loose with the book and let them match up the titles of the poems with a short summary. As an alternate activity, you can only give them the titles and ask them to write their own summaries.

Just click on the pic above to download the file.

You have a few hours to enter my giveaway for a fifty dollar gift card to Educational Insights. Click {HERE} to enter.

Circus Poetry -- Task Cards -- Freebie

Give your kids some fun poetry practice using these task cards with a circus theme.

Just click on the pic above to get the cards.

Please leave a comment if you download! I'd like to know how you are going to use the cards.