Module 4
Poetry Across the Curriculum

Social Studies	Mathematics	Science	Picture Book	Nonfiction Book

	My favorite subject to teach has always been language arts. This set of poetry breaks highlights poems that can be integrated into the curriculum. Poems about multiplication, homework, states, historical figures, animals, and many more will enhance the curriculum and make children roar with laughter. Make learning fun by adding a poem break to a lesson today.

Poetry Break #16

Poem related to social studies

Introduction
If you could board an airplane and go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Allow students to share before reading this poem.

My Wonderful Dream
by Laura Nummeroff

Last night I had the strangest dream,
That I was on a whale.
We took a trip around the world,
With me upon his tail.

We went to Bali and Peru,
To Italy and France.
We saw a school of foreign fish,
And watched a mermaid dance.

We drank green tea in China,
In England we munched scones.
We made a stop in Amsterdam,
For Dutch chocolate ice-cream cones.

We went all the way to Africa
To see zebras and giraffes,
And the muddy hippopotamus
Gave us a lot of laughs.

Then on we went to India
To try a taste of curry.
We took our time getting home.
We weren’t in a hurry.

And when our trip came to an end,
I thanked him for the ride.
I told him how much fun I’d had.
And that he was the perfect guide.

Numeroff, Laura. 1999. My wonderful dream. In Sometimes I wonder if poodles like noodles. Ilus. Tim Bowers. Simon & Schuster: New York. ISBN 0689805632.

Extension
In groups of three, the students will make a passport. As an introduction to a countries study, the students will browse books about the countries mentioned in this poem. Each group will create a passport to highlight interesting facts about that country. Each group will share the information that they found with theclass.

Return to top

Poetry Break #17

Poem related to mathematics

Introduction
Texas schools are so diverse in language and culture. What a great opportunity to let students demonstrate their various languages! Use this poem as a springboard for counting in other languages.

One to Ten
by Janet Wong

Yut yee sam see
Count in Cantonese with me!

Eun look chut bot
Can you tell me what we’ve got?

Gow sup. One to ten!
(Could you say that once again?)

Wong, Janet. 1994. One to ten. In Good luck gold and other poems. Poems selected by Lee B. Hopkins in Marvelous math: A Book of poems. Illus. Karen Barbour. McElderry: New York. ISBN 0394872185.

Extension
Students will practice learning how to count in the various languages. Encourage parents to write them down for students in the primary grades. For older students, they can create simple word problems using the various languages and let their classmates solve them.

Return to top

Poetry Break #18

Poem related to science

Introduction
Read this poem using the caterpillar/butterfly transformational puppet. As you recite the poem, demonstrate the actions of the caterpillar.

The Caterpillar
by Douglas Florian

The caterpillar’s not a cat.
It’s very small
And short and fat,
And with those beady little eyes
Will never win a beauty prize.
The caterpillar’s brain is small---
It only knows to eat and crawl.
But for this creepy bug don’t cry,
It soon will be a butterfly.

Florian, Douglas. 1994. The Caterpillar. In Beast feast. Scholastic: New York.ISBN 0590131583.

Extension
Introduce students to the lifecycle of the butterfly. Purchase Monarch butterflies during your spring unit on insects so that students can watch this process first hand. Encourage students to research the lifecycle of other insects and compare/contrast the two lifecycles.

Return to top

Poetry Break #19

Poem related to a picture book

Introduction
Place a variety of books about animals that live in artic regions around the table. Read the story the Emperor’s Egg by Martin Jenkins. Display a penguin puppet in the center of the table as you read this poem aloud. Ask students if they ever walked on their parents feet when they were learning to walk.

My Father's Feet
by Judy Sierra

To keep myself up off the ice
I find my father’s feet are nice.
I snuggle in his belly fluff,
And that’s how I stay warm enough.
But when my father takes a walk,
My cozy world begins to rock.
He shuffles left, I hold on tight.

Oh no! He’s wobbling to the right.

No left again!

Oops, here he goes.

Do you suppose my father knows
I’m hanging on to his warm toes?

Sierra, Judy. 1998. My father’s feet. In Antarctic antics: A Book of penguin poems. Illus. Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. Gulliver: San Diego. ISBN 0152010068

Jenkins, Martin. The Emperor’s egg. Ilus. Jane Chapman. Candlewick: New York. ISBN 0763605573

Extension
The students will be broken into groups of three. Each group will begin research on various animals in the Artic regions. After selecting an animal and completing the research, the groups will create a visual display that shows graphics, information about the animal, and poems (written or selected) about that animal and/or poems that represent that animal. Each group will give a three minute presentation and read the poems selected.

Return to top

Poetry Break #20

Poem related to a nonfiction book

Introduction
Ken Robbins book Autumn Leaves examines the characteristics of leaves. Start this lesson by reading the poem and then the book. After reading the book and poem, take the students outside for a leaf discovery field trip.

To Each His Own
by Anna Grossnickle Hines

When the leaves fall
some float
lazily
wavily
and taking all
daysily
drift
to the ground.

Some flutter
skuttering
whuttering
audibly uttering
whispers
of sound.
When the leaves fall
some
come in bunches
swirling
and whirling
twisting
and twirling
round
about
round.

Some
skip-a-dip
bippity
floppity
flippity
toppity
tippity
plippity
down.
And some just drop
flop.

Anna Grossnickle Hines.2001. To each his own. In Pieces: A Year in poems and quilts. Greenwillow: New York. ISBN 0688169635
Robbins, Ken. 1998. Autum leaves. Scholastic Press: New York. ISBN 0590298798.

Extension
Take the students out on the playground and let them select a variety of leaves. Create a collage or picture using the leaves. Students can borrow some of the words from this poem to write a short paragraph or poem to describe their project.

Return to top

Home

Email Web Administrator

This site was last updated July 14, 2002.