This is my lesson plan for third grade poetry centers in the library as well as the materials I created for it.

1. Name: Natalie Sapkarov Cooperating Teacher-Librarian: Hope Morrison
Date: Tue., Dec. 1, 2009 School & City: King Elementary School, Urbana
Lesson Title: Poetry Centers
Grade Level: 3rd Length of Lesson: 30 minutes
Purpose: To expose students to the different modes of using poetry (reading,
writing, and speaking).
Learning Outcomes:
• Students will be able to read poetry aloud with fluency, accuracy, and
emotion.
• Students will be able to write a concrete poem using a graphic organizer.
• Students will be able to navigate the Shel Silverstein website effectively.
• Students will be able to connect previous knowledge of poetry to each of their
poetry centers.
Illinois Learning Standards:
• 1.B.2d Read age-appropriate material aloud with fluency and accuracy.
• 3.B.1a Use prewriting strategies to generate and organize ideas (e.g., focus on
one topic; organize writing to include a beginning, middle and end; use
descriptive words when writing about people, places, things, events).
• 3.C.1b Create media compositions or productions which convey meaning
visually for a variety of purposes.
• 4.A.1d Use visually oriented and auditorily based media.
• 5.A.1b Locate information using a variety of resources.
Materials
Needed by teacher:
• FLIP video camera
Needed by students:
• Folders
o Poetry Vocabulary worksheet
o Writing Shape Poems worksheet
o Reading Poetry Aloud guide
o Poetry packet
o Shel Silverstein Website instructions

2. • Pencils
• Dictionaries
• Computers
• Shel Silverstein books
Instructional Procedures
Focusing Event:
• Remind students that we are continuing our poetry centers today. Tell students
that this is our last day doing centers and that we will wrap up our poetry unit
next week.
• Pass out folders to writing, website, and speaking groups (in that order). Show
students in each group which color sheet they will be working on in their
folders and tell them that they should get to work right away.
Instruction/Guided Practice/Closure:
• Students will be working individually or in pairs at their centers. I will be
circulating the room to offer help and answer questions as well as videotaping
students in action.
Writing Center
o Students will be working on their Writing Shape Poems worksheet
independently.
o When they finish, students should raise their hands so that I may give
them further instructions. I will show them an example of a shape poem
that I wrote, pointing out that the writing should go around the shape
and that they do not need to rhyme or write in complete sentences. I
will also answer any questions at this time and give them each their own
shape poem template.
o Students will be working on their final draft of their shape poem until
the end of the class period.
Website Center
o Students will begin by reading two Shel Silverstein poems from the book
at their computer. They may then move on to exploring the Shel
Silverstein website independently, using the Shel Silverstein Website
instructions in their folder. Students will spend the entire class time
exploring the website, playing games and listening to poems online.
Reading Center
o Students will be reading poems aloud in pairs, which I will assign.
Students will first independently read through their Reading Poetry

3. Aloud guide, and then they will choose a poem from their Poetry packet
to read silently.
o When students have followed all of the instructions on the guide, they
can then read their poems aloud to each other.
o For students who finish early or would like a challenge, they may answer
the bonus questions at the bottom of their reading guides.
Check for Understanding
• During the class period, I will circulate the room to make sure that all students
are on task and to answer any questions.
• I will be sure to start at the reading center to get this group going first. Then, I
will move to the website center to make sure that all students are able to
navigate the website effectively. I will then move to the writing center to
answer any questions and check students’ progress.
What’s Next?
We will wrap up our poetry unit next week by filling in the L of our KWL chart and
watching the video I will create of the past three weeks’ worth of work. If there’s
time, I will let students come up and read either the poem they wrote or a poem they
liked from their poetry packet.

4. Name ________________________________________________________________________
Rhythm is the beat of a poem. When you read a poem aloud, you say some words
louder or softer than others. Think of rhythm as the drum beat, foot-tapping, or
finger-snapping part of the poem.
Rhyme is the same sound repeating at the end of two or more words.
cat and hat bird and word spring and bring drop and stop
Alliteration is the same letter sound at the start of two or more words near each
other in a poem.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Onomatopoeia is a word whose sound is what it means.
Beep! Splash! Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Pop! Buzz! Ring!
Stanza is a group of lines in a poem. Different kinds of stanzas have different names.
Couplet: two-line stanza Triplet: three-line stanza Quatrain: four-line stanza
Acrostic: The first letter in each line spells a word. The word is the subject of the
poem.
Does
Only
Good
Concrete: The words in the poem are placed on the page so that they make a shape.
The shape is related to the subject of the poem.
Free Verse: These poems do not rhyme. The poet can decide how many lines to use.
Limerick: Humorous poem with five lines. Limericks have a certain amount of
syllables and rhymes.
There was an Old Person whose habits,
Induced him to feed upon rabbits;
When he'd eaten eighteen,
He turned perfectly green,
Upon which he relinquished those habits. –Edward Lear

5. Name: ____________________________________________________________________
A shape poem is also called a concrete poem. You will create your own shape poems
using one of the shapes below.
BALLOON FISH HEART
Birthday party Trip to an aquarium Someone you love
Celebration Ocean Valentine’s Day
Pet fish
BASKETBALL LEAF
Playing basketball FOOTBALL Autumn
Favorite team Playing football Trees
Favorite player Favorite football team
Favorite football player STAR
Night sky
Famous person
DIRECTIONS:
1. Choose one of the shapes from the bold list above.
2. Choose a topic to write about that relates to your shape.
3. Write your topic in the oval below.
4. Think of words to describe your topic. Write these words on the lines below.
5. When you finish, raise your hand. I will look it over and give you further directions.

6. DIRECTIONS:
1. Read at least two poems from the book at your seat.
2. Click on Let’s Have Some Fun.
3. Click on Games & Puzzles.
4. You can play any of the games on this page!
HELPFUL HINTS:
• If you don’t like the game you’re playing, click the back arrow in the top left corner.
• Do not click on anything that says Click here to download.
If you finish early, read some more poems from the poetry book at your seat.
If you want to explore this website at home, go to http://www.shelsilverstein.com/
DIRECTIONS:
1. Read at least two poems from the book at your seat.
2. Click on Let’s Have Some Fun.
3. Click on Games & Puzzles.
4. You can play any of the games on this page!
HELPFUL HINTS:
• If you don’t like the game you’re playing, click the back arrow in the top left corner.
• Do not click on anything that says Click here to download.
If you finish early, read some more poems from the poetry book at your seat.
If you want to explore this website at home, go to http://www.shelsilverstein.com/

7. Read the poem silently.
If you come to a word you don’t know, ask your partner or raise your hand.
Read the poem again silently.
Read the poem quietly to yourself.
Read slowly.
Pause at commas, and stop at periods.
When you are ready, take turns reading your poems aloud.
Remember to…
Speak slowly.
Pronounce each word carefully.
Use emotion in your voice.
Use voices if there are different characters.
BONUS: After each poem, answer these questions. (Hint: Use your Poetry Vocabulary
sheet to help you.)
Does the poem rhyme?
If yes, point out the rhymes to each other.
Does the poem use alliteration?
If yes, point out the words in the poem that create alliteration.
Does the poem have onomatopoeia?
If yes, point out the words in the poem that create onomatopoeia.
What kind of poem is it?
Rhyming? Acrostic? Concrete? Free verse? Limerick? None of these?