picturebooksforolderreaders

A Kick in the Head

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Janeczko, P. B. and Raschka, C. (Ills.) (2005). A kick in the head: An everyday guide to poetic forms. (Illustrated by Chris Raschka). Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 076360662-6

Annotation – Illustrated guide to understanding 29 poetic forms.

Media – collage with torn paper, ink and water colors

Rating – 5QT and 5QI/4P

Use of rhythm and rhyme – Because this book is an anthology of poems using poetic forms, it is a very suitable book to use during a language arts class in the upper elementary and middle school grades to teach what they are. In fact, the book is so clear and concise about the forms, it could even make a non-poetry lover begin to write poems: There once was book about poems; those poems would always roem (roam); when they finally landed and found they were stranded amongst a lover’s boens (bones).

Curricular Connection – This book is a treasure trove for language arts teachers. A poem is usually required sometime during a school year and this book would be an excellent resource for teachers and very helpful for students (if enough copies could be obtained for the classroom).

Lesson Plan for A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms by P. B. Janeczko and C. Raschka, and Women Daredevils by J. Cummins and C. Harness

Janeczko, P. B. and Raschka, C. (Ills.). (2005). A kick in the head: An everyday guide to poetic forms. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 076360662-6

Cummins, J. and Harness, C. (Ills.). (2008). Women Daredevils. New York: Dutton Books. ISBN: 978-0-525-47948-2.

Target Audience: Students in grades 5-8 or older with more poetic forms to create

Preparation Needed: Short explanations of selected poetic forms; brief summary of 5 women outlined in the book: Women Daredevils.

Overview – Because this book is an anthology of poems using poetic forms, it is a very suitable book to use during a language arts class in the upper elementary and middle school grades to teach how those forms are created. Using another book for some basis for the students to work from will be helpful for those who have difficulty with a blank sheet of paper and are expected to create something.

Rationale – Students have been studying types of poetry and here is a chance for them to put their understanding into a poem of their own devising. (If more explicate instructions are needed for particular students, discuss what kinds of phrases may not be appropriate for a classroom setting.)

State Standards – 3.0 Literary Response and Analysis – Grade 5

Students read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of literature. They begin to find ways to clarify the ideas and make connections between literary works. The selections in Recommended Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students.

Structural Features of Literature

3.1 Identify and analyze the characteristics of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction and explain the appropriateness of the literary forms chosen by an author for a specific purpose.

Learning Objective - 2 students will create a poem using an assigned poetic form. This exercise synthesizes previous knowledge by applying the understanding of a poetic form into a creative process and producing a finished poem.

Materials

1. Explanation of assigned poetic form – Grade 5 could start with couplets, tercets, quatrains, clerihews (this one would work really well for the Women Daredevils), acrostics, or riddle poems. Older grades could add the more challenging form types.

2. Print out sheet about one of the women daredevils

Procedure – Think – Pair - Share Exercise

q Students will pair off with their previously assigned partner.

q One student will read the poetic form instructions and the other student will have the information about the Women Daredevils.

q Students will have 20-30 minutes to create their poems, if needed.

q Students who finish their poem before the time limit can assist other pairs, if appropriate.

q Students can share with another pair if desired.

q Students can share with the entire class, if desired.

Extension or Enrichment Activities

q Students could illustrate their poem

q Poems could be compiled and put into a book for the classroom to refer to

Assessment

q Informal observation of students working in pairs

q Comments from students in general

Resources Consulted in addition to the specified books

www.readwritethink.org - sample lesson plans based on best practice in English and Language Arts instruction prepared by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English