Children's Poetry
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Poetry Break # 14

Poetry Break # 14: A Poem Ideal for Linearound or Solo Reading

 

Introduction: Review the definition of simile.  Next, ask students to describe some of the "yuckiest" school lunches they have ever seen, incorporating similes in the descriptions.  For example, the hotdogs looked like mini metal missiles.

 

School Lunch

 

Our school lunch is from outer space,

Endangering the human race.

The meatballs bounce right off the floor.

The fish cakes could break down a

  door.

The bread was baked ten years ago.

The burgers look like they will grow.

The chicken has the chicken pox.

The peas are frozen in the box.

The spinach gives your legs gangrene.

The fruit juice tastes like gasoline.

The soup is salty as the sea.

The franks explode like TNT.

The salad bar - don't dare to try it.

The carrot cake once caused a riot.

The deadly tuna casserole

Can bore a hole right through the bowl.

The fries could knock you off your chair.

The corn could make you lose your

   hair.

The way they cook here is a crime,

 

But lunch is still my favorite time.

 

Taken from Laugh-eteria by Douglas Florian. N.Y.: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1999, p. 96, ISBN: 0152020845.

 

Extension: a) To perform, assign a line to each student. There are twenty lines, and one student could say the title and author.  If you have more students than lines, students could double up on some lines. Have students form a standing circle or straight line as they read the poem.  Ask them to read with plenty of expression. b) Follow up this lesson with additional instruction on similes and metaphors.  Bring in foods that may be new to some children, and have a food tasting party. Then ask students to write metaphors and similes related to the food they tasted. c) Read other food poems that have a similar tone. Next, write a group poem about lunch at your school cafeteria.

 

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