One Just One

Halloween

Against a spooky moon,
Under a scraggly tree,
In front of a haunted house,
What do you see, see, see?
Tell me, Friend, what do you see?

Moving from door to door,
Gliding down the street,
Groups of the strangest beings,
Who will you meet, meet, meet?
Tell me, Friend, who will you meet?

Knocking at your door,
A ghostly king and queen,
A monster, a vampire, and zombie
On Halloween--ween--ween
When, Friend? On Halloween!
             Copyright: Linda Armstrong, Oct. 20, 2012

Ideas for parents and teachers:

• Read the poem aloud, pausing at the end to allow children to supply the last predictable word.
• Review the ee words in the verse. They include tree, see, street, meet, queen, and Halloween.
• Other words that follow the same pattern include: bee, flee, free, free, deed, feed, heed, need, reed, seed, weed, seen, beet, feet, between, teen, geese, seem, and freeze. Encourage children to make up their own verses using some of those words.
• Encourage children to draw a picture to illustrate this verse or their own.
• Invite students to turn the double e into a pair of eyes, draw a character around those eyes, and then write a play or story about that character.
• More advanced readers and spellers may want to name words with different spellings of the long e sound.

Note: This is a new work composed for this blog. It is not included in any of my books.

Teaching Blog Addict: Welcome to TBA!

I will post a new verse soon. In the meantime, you will find a wealth of terrific free, practical, and exciting teaching ideas at the Teaching Blog Addict. Click on the link below and be invigorated!
Teaching Blog Addict: Welcome to TBA!

It Happens in Fall

The days are cool.
We go back to school.

When does it happen?
In fall, fall, fall,
That's when it happens
In fall.

Gold leaves drift down,
Then they turn brown.


When does it happen?
In fall, fall, fall,
That's when it happens
In fall.

Goose flocks fly by
Making Vs in the sky.


When does it happen?
In fall, fall, fall,
That's when it happens
In fall.

This time of year
Football fans cheer.


When does it happen?
In fall, fall, fall,
That's when it happens
In fall.

Spell it out:

Give me an F
Give me an A
Give me an L
Give me an L

Fall! Fall! Fall!

Teachers and parents:

Other all words include
all
ball
call
hall
mall
tall

Encourage children to write their own verses or stories using those words.

Other rimes (word families) appearing in this verse include

cool/school (drool, fool, pool, tool)
down/brown (clown, frown, gown, town)
and by/sky (fry, my, why)

Free Technology for Teachers: The Noun Project - A Library of Universal Icon Clipart

Don't miss this great source for clip art. There are so many ways professional graphics can be useful in a classroom. That said, be sure to check the useage rules. They vary depending on the license.
Free Technology for Teachers: The Noun Project - A Library of Universal Icon Clipart

There's an a in the Middle: A Phonics Verse for the Season

There’s an a in the middle.

You can hear it in bat.

b-a-t, bat

zooming through the park.

There’s an a in the middle.

You can hear it in cat.

c-a-t, cat

stalking in the dark.

Tap, tap, tap--

You can hear it in tap.

Tap, tap, tap--

You can hear it in tap.

 T-a-p, tap

Someone's coming down the street

T-a-p, tap

(pause...)

Trick or treat! Trick or treat!

Ideas for parents and teachers:

• Write out each a word with an orange or black marker. 
• Small type is to be read softly. Read louder as the type gets larger.
• Read the verse several times and pause to let children supply the predictable words. 
• Encourage children to find words from the verse in a Halloween picture book or to make up a story using the words.
• Help children print the letter a.
• Find a pattern for making a paper plate bat online or in a craft book from the library.
• Tell children to stalk around the room as cats.
• Make cat paper bag puppets or masks. 
• Invite children to create a play for their puppets or masks.

An Old Favorite

I found the collection "For a Child" on Amazon, but, unfortunately, it seems to be gone now. The book was my favorite as a child, and had a lasting effect on me. It instilled in me a love of verse. I think that is why I have enjoyed writing One, Two, Three, Follow Me!, A,B,C, Follow Me!, and Bit, Bat, Bee, Rime with Me! so much.