3rd grade / 4th grade / 5th grade

• Compare Cactus Hotel with poetry

  • Read "The Cactus " by Ramendra Kumar

  • Use a T-chart to record the details that are revealed by each text.

  • locate a copy of Cactus Poems by Frank Asch (RAE,  Harris County Library and Fort Bend County Library have copies)

• Compare Class Clown with poetry

  • Read Class Clown

  • Read "Talking" from If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries by Judith Viorst

  • Think about the things Lucas is interested in and talks about.

  • Try rewriting the poem as if you were Lucas, listing the things he can’t stop thinking and talking about.

(Click web above to link to a Kidspiration template)

• Compare Dandelions to poetry  

  • Read “Big Mud Puddles and Sunny Yellow Dandelions”

  • The poet shows how adults and children look at the same thing, yet see it differently.

  • How did Zoe and her mother see moving to the prairie differently?

  • How do her father and her mother see it differently?

For each part of the poem, record how you think Zoe and her parents would see each of those things.

• Compare Dandelions to color poetry

  • Read Dandelions by Eve Bunting

  • Read “What is Yellow?” from Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O'Neill

  • Do you think Zoe’s mother would agree with the poem’s line, “Yellow’s the color of happiness.”?

  • If you lived on the prairie, what color would you pick to write a poem about? Why?

  • Having trouble choosing your color?  Check out the names of paint colors for inspiration.

  • Try writing your poem. See this lesson plan with templates to help you get started.

  • Check the other color poems in Hailstones and Halibut Bones for examples or see these student examples

Use this idea sheet to start your example:

DandelionsYellowExample.doc 

• Compare Lon Po Po with poetry. 

  • Use “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf” by Roald Dahl.  Focus your comparison on what happened to the wolf in the story.  Create a Venn diagram to show your comparison

(Click web above to link to a Kidspiration template )

• Compare Max Malone with poetry

  • Read Max Malone

  • Read Read "If I Were in Charge of the World" from If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries by Judith Viorst

  • Max and his friend are trying to make money, but things always seem to go wrong. If Max were to re-write this poem, what do you think he’d have to say?

  • You can use this online form to help you get started

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• Compare Pioneer Cat with poetry.

  • Read the first 3 pages of Pioneer Cat

  • Read “Since Hanna Moved Away”

Imagine that the poet is Kate Purdy’s friend, Doris, and the poem is now “Since Kate Moved Away” How would the poem change?