The Worlds Greatest Poems by J. Patrick Lewis, Keith Graves, Ill. CA: Chronicle Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-8118-5130-5. Q5/5P.

            Kids love reading about record breakers, and what better then to have in it poetry from? Great for a 5^th grade classrooms to share with students that surely, anything is possible! Students can write about their favorite poem and why they liked it so much. Prompts such as, “Was it the poem about the longest time a human remained standing? Or the poem about the tallest roller-coaster?” Write a paragraph describing your favorite poem and why.

Poetry Jam

Grade Level: 5^th-6th

Subject Area: English, Creative Writing

Duration: 2 class periods

Objectives: After reading designated books aloud to the class students will create their own poetry in groups by picking a central theme and taking turns writing line-by-line.

Books:

Doo-Wop Pop by Roni Schotter, Bryan Collier, ill. NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0060579685

The Worlds Greatest Poems by J. Patrick Lewis, Keith Graves, Ill. CA: Chronicle Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-8118-5130-5.

            Assignment:

Start by asking the class what some fun themes would be for their poetry. Write each theme on a piece of paper. Tell students to gather in groups of four or five. Each group will pick a theme from the class suggestions.

Students will each write two lines on separate pieces of paper. Once everyone in the group is done, students will work together to fit the lines together they way they think works best.

-Christina Gendron, 8/02/09