Dance, dance, dance all the night.
Fly in the sky.
Cover all the streets.
Pile up on rooftops.
Perch on the branches of all the trees.
Sparkle when the sun shines.
Quiet in the city.
Close the schools!
Mike Deas
Things to Do If You Are the Snow
Read the words of the poem and look at the pictures. You can do those moves too!
By Bobbi Katz
From the December 2023/January 2024 Issue
Featured Skill:
Rhythm and Meaning,
Topic:
English Language Arts,
More About the Article
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
IMPLEMENTATION
Small group; whole group; independent reading
PAIRINGS AND TEXT CONNECTIONS
- From the Storyworks 2 archive:
”Snowflakes” (December 2020/ January 2021) Students can compare two poems about snow.
SUGGESTED READING FOCUS
Read and Move (15 minutes)
- Get kids moving! We included little pieces of art by each line of this poem to show a movement.
- First, read the poem as a class. After each line, stop to do the movement together.
- Then, do it again. Students will be more fluent with their reading and will have practice with their movements.
- This is a delightful activity to present to families or other students if you have an assembly.
AFTER READING SKILLS PRACTICE
(15 minutes each)
- Make a Word Ladder: Phonics
This printable gives students practice with the vowel teams -oa and -ow.
- Write a Class Poem: Poetry Writing
- Have your class collaborate on a “Things to Do” poem using this poem as a model text!
- Choose the subject. (You might choose the topic or have the class decide.) Examples could be “Things to Do If You Are a Snowman,” “Things to Do If You Are a Tree,” “Things to Do If You Are a Cat,” or “Things to Do If You Are an Eraser.”
- Tell kids to think about the subject of the poem. Have them picture it in action in their minds. What does it do? How does it move? List their ideas on chart paper.
- When the poem is complete, read it aloud and encourage kids to do their own motions to act it out!
Text-to-Speech