Module 3
Poetry Performance

Refrain	Movement	Group Performance	Linearound	Sing Song Poem

	Poems were meant to be read aloud. This set of poetry breaks will allow you to experience each poem in a different way. I have selected some of my favorite poems that you can practice performing using a variety of strategies.

Poetry Break #11

Refrain

Introduction
What remedy do you use to cure the hiccups. Read this poem several times to students. The students will begin to pick up on the refrain "hiccup hiccup" as the poem is read. Take a deep breath...

Hiccup
by Jack Prelutsky

I have hiccup hiccup hiccups,
I’ve had hiccup them all day.
They’re persistent hiccup hiccup
and won’t hiccup go away.
I’ve tried gulping hiccup water,
stood upon my hiccup head,
held my breath until my hiccup
hiccup face turned hiccup red.

I’ve attempted every hiccup
hiccup hiccup cure I could,
but it hasn’t hiccup hiccup
done a hiccup bit of good.
And in fact I think I’m hiccup
getting hiccup hiccup worse.
Do I need a hiccup doctor
or a hiccup hiccup nurse?

I can feel my hiccup hiccups
down into my hiccup shoes.
I have hiccup got the hiccup
hiccup hiccup hiccup blues.
I’m afraid my hiccup insides
are about to hiccup pop,
if these hiccup hiccups hiccup
do not hiccup hiccup stop.

Prelutsky, Jack. 1993. Hiccups. In It’s raining pigs and noodles. Illus. James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow. ISBN 006029194X.

Extension
Students often find poems about bodily functions quite humorous. Allow students to play around with this poem. Students could add body movements to each hiccup like popping out of their seat or other movements that reflect the hiccups. Students could create a new humorous cure for the hiccups. Let students share their creative solutions aloud or in writing.

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Poetry Break #12

Movement

Introduction
Primary students love this nonsense rhyme. After modeling the poem, allow the students to demonstrate active movements to represent each animal. This would be an easy poem to use puppets with and let students act it out using them. Here are some suggested movements.

Higglety, Pigglety, Pop!
by Samuel Goodrich

Higglety, Pigglety, Pop! (slap legs twice, clap)
The dog has eaten the mop; (pretend to eat the mop)
The pig’s in a hurry, (move arms in running motion)
The cat’s in a flurry, (wave arms above head wildly)
Higglety, Pigglety, Pop! (slap legs twice, clap)

Goodrich, Samuel. 1986. Higglety, Pigglety, Pop! In Read-Aloud Rhymes: For the very young. Poems selected by Jack Prelutsky. Illus. Marc
Brown. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0394872185.

Extension
Teaching students about rhyming words is a very important skill for primary students. Continue working with rhyming words by singing rhyming songs or by playing rhyming word games. Reading Dr. Seuss books would be an appropriate follow up activity for this poem.

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Poetry Break #13

Group Performance

Introduction
Have you ever had a day that you did not want to do anything but sleep? Well, this little one is having one of those days. Line students up in two groups and have them banter the lines back and forth. Ask students to think about the body language and the body movement of this young child.

I Don't Want To

by Jack Prelutsky

AB
I don’t want to play on the sidewalk.
I don’t want to sit on the stoop.
I don’t want to lick any ice cream.
I don’t want to slurp any soup.
I don’t want to listen to music.
I don’t want to look at cartoons.
I don’t want to read any stories.
I don’t want to blow up balloons.

I don’t want to dig in the garden.
I don’t want to roll on the rug.
I don’t want to wrestle the puppy.
I don’t want to give you a hug.
I don’t want to shoot any baskets.
I don’t want to bang on my drum.
I don’t want to line up my soldiers!
I don’t want to whistle or hum.

I don’t want to program my robot.
I don’t want to strum my guitar.
I don’t want to use my computer.
I don’t want to wind up my car.
I don’t want to color with crayons.
I don’t want to model with clay.
I don’t want to stop my not wanting...
A&B I’m having that kind of a day.

Prelutsky, Jack. 1993. Hiccups. In It’s raining pigs and noodles. Illus. James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow. ISBN 006029194X.

Extension
Students could create a list of things they like or don't like to do. As an art connection, the students could each illustrate one line of the poem and put the poem up in the hall for display.

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Poetry Break #14

Linearound Poem

Introduction
Do you have any stories to share about elderly members of your family? Elizabeth Swados has a great way to describe this great grandma. After reading this poem aloud, give each student one line to perform. Encourage students to think about the sound and movements of this great grandma as they recite their line.

Great Granma
by Swados, Elizabeth

Great Granma’s kind of deaf- Ay?
Great Granma takes short breaths- oof
Great Granma’s elbow creaks – eeh
Great Granma’s eyes can leak- yuk
Great Granma laughs with a wheeze- hyee
Great Granma gets mad when you tease – Dang!
Great Granma sometimes mumbles – mmm
Great Granma sings through her nose – nana
Great Granma likes to doze – zzz
Great Granma sometimes forgets – Who?
Great Granma has not one regret – NO SIR!
Great Granma likes to tell stories – Blah blah
Sometimes her stories are boring – zzz
Great Granma loves everyone – Bless you all
She calls us her daughters and sons – My you’re tall!
Great Granma’s as good as they get – Hooray!
Great Granma has not one regret – NO SIR!

Swados, Elizabeth. 2002. Great Granma. In Hey you! C’mere: A Poetry Slam. Illus. Joe Cepeda. New York: Levine. ISBN 0439092574.

Extension:
This is a great introduction to the celebration of Grandparent's Day. Invite grandparents or senior citizens to your school to read stories and poetry to students.

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Poetry Break #15

Sing a Poem

Introduction
Books, books, books! Set a pile of books in front of the class before reading the poem. Sing this song to the tune of "On Top of Old Smokey".

Books to the Ceiling
by Arnold Lobel
(in the tune of On Top of Old Smokey)

Books to the ceiling, books to the sky.
My piles of books are a mile high.
How I loved them!
How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.

Lobel, Arnold. 1990. Books to the ceiling. In Good books, good times. Poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Illus. Harvey Stevenson. New
York: Harper and Row. Illus. 0060225289.

Extension
Encourage students to survey the books in their home libraries. They could bring their favorite books from home and do a booktalk, an illustration of the book, or some kind of visual aid. Make a bibliography of all of the books for their classmates to share.

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This site was last updated July 3, 2002.

This website was developed for educational purposes for the class: Poetry for Children at Texas Woman's University in Denton, TX.