Children's Poetry
Home | Poet Study: Karla Kuskin | Karla's Poems (two favorites) | More Poems by Karla | More Kuskin Poems | Even More Kuskin Poems | Kuskin Bibliography | Kuskin References (& more) | Poetry Breaks - Module 1 | Poetry Break # 1 | Poetry Break # 2 | Poetry Break # 3 | Poetry Breaks: #4, #5 | Module 2 | Poetry Break # 6 | Poetry Break # 7 | Poetry Break: #8 | Poetry Break # 9 | Poetry Break # 10 | Module 3 | Poetry Break # 11 | Poetry Break # 12 | Poetry Break # 13 | Poetry Break # 14 | Poetry Break # 15 | Module 4 | Poetry Break # 16 | Poetry Break # 17 | Poetry Break # 18 | Poetry Break # 19 | Poetry Break # 20 | Module 5 | Poetry Break # 21 | Poetry Break # 22 | Poetry Break # 23 | Poetry Break # 24 | Poetry Break # 25 | Module 6 | Poetry Break # 26 | Poetry Break # 27 | Poetry Break # 28 | Poetry Break # 29 | Poetry Break # 30 | Bibliography (1) | Bibliography (2)
Poetry Break # 7

Poetry Break # 7:  A Favorite Poem by Jack Prelutsky

 

Introduction: Show your students pictures of scribbles (or doodles) completed by students in pre-kindergarten. Ask students if they remember doodling (or scribbling) when they were two, three, or four. Also ask if any student has a younger brother or sister who likes to doodle.

 

My Brother is a Doodler

 

My brother is a doodler,

he simply loves to scrawl,

he doodles, doodles, doodles

with his crayons on the wall.

He doodles on the windows,

and he doodles on the door,

then doodles, doodles, doodles

on the ceiling and the floor.

 

All day he doodles, doodles,

he doodles everywhere,

if there's no place to doodle,

he doodles in the air.

He doodles, doodles, doodles

on my pillow and my sheet,

and sometimes even doodles

on the bottoms of my feet.

 

Taken from Prelutsky, Jack. A Pizza the Size of the Sun. New York, Greenwillow Books, 1996, p. 14. ISBN: 0688132359.

 

Extension:  a) Invite students to share funny doodling stories from younger days. For example, did anyone doodle on the walls and get in trouble?  b). Ask students to talk about what kind of doodling they do now that they are older. Does it have themes? For example, when they are bored, do they tend to draw people's faces or flowers? c) Read some picture books that involve doodling. Two that come to mind are Olivia by Falconer and Bad Day at Riverbend by Van Allsburg. d) In art, ask students to make a large scribble with their eyes closed. Then, with their eyes open, ask them to make a picture out of the scribble.

 

Five Interesting Facts about Jack Prelutsky:
* He was born in Brooklyn and studied voice at the High School of  Music and Art, a New York City Public School.
 
* He left Hunter College to become a "beatnik."
 
* He has worked as a cab driver, a busboy, a photographer, a potter, a  furniture mover, and a folk singer.
 
* He lives in Washington state with his wife and his large collections of poetry books and frogs (the non-living kind).
 
* He enjoys bicycling, woodworking, and cooking.
 
* He has been writing poetry for more than 20 years. He has published more than 36 books for children.
 
Source: www.randomhouse.com                                        

boy5.gif