Poem memorization for 1st grader

[emdav]

Hello all!

My first grader needs to memorize two poems this school year and present them to his class. I'm hoping to find a classic poem that is appropriate for this age. He is pretty good at memorizing but gets frustrated at anything "too long." Any suggestions? I'm clueless!

 

[Aliceacc]

Not at all "classic", but Shel Silverstein has some great poems. They're all geared towards kids, and some are short.

Google him and I'm sure you'll come up with something great.

edited to add: take a look at "Hug O' War" here: http://faculty.weber.edu/chansen/humanweb/projects/MeghanUng/poems.htm

 

[patchchild]

I'm SOOOO glad to hear that teachers still do this. Where I teach, memorization is an unspoken no-no and I think that's terrible. If you don't get to practice memorizing, how do you ever learn to do so? I know most schools are big on learn the process and you don't have to memorize (like math facts) but some things are just easier memorized.

Now, with that rant out of the way, Shel Silverstein is fantastic! Also, check in with the teacher, I bet she has tons of books set aside.

 

[The Disney Bunch]

When I was in the first grade I had to memorize Joyce Kilmer's Trees for the Arbor Day play

 

[minkydog]

Robert Louis Stevenson: A child's book of verses!

 

[I_Know_You2!]

Robert Louis Stevenson: A child's book of verses!

Bingo. I love memorization. And kids do too.

 

[The Moonk's Mom]

When I was in the first grade I had to memorize Joyce Kilmer's Trees for the Arbor Day play

Oh I was going to say that too...I still remeber most of it and annoy my kids with it from time to time!

 

[K and K's Mommy]

I am going to agree with Shel Silverstein. I think he is classic as I read him 30 years ago. My favorite is "Sick," but it is longer. If you are going to buy one poetry book, I would do Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.

I am also glad they are memorizing. Except for math facts, my kids have not had to do that. They even stopped doing bible verses at VBS!

 

[crisi]

Ogden Nash also has a lot of short funny kid appropriate verse:

The Ostrich
by Ogden Nash

The ostrich roams the great Sahara.
Its mouth is wide, its neck is narra.
It has such long and lofty legs,
I'm glad it sits to lay its eggs.


The Cow
by Ogden Nash

The cow is of the bovine ilk;
One end is moo, the other, milk.

 

[Carriemel]

One of my favorite web sites is http://www.poetry4kids.com/poems.
My favorite one out of all of them is "My Elephant Thinks I'm Wonderful" by Kenn Nesbit.

My elephant thinks I'm wonderful.
My elephant thinks I'm cool.
My elephant hangs around with me
and follows me into school.

My elephant likes the way I look.
He thinks that I'm fun and smart.
He thinks that I'm kind and generous
and have a terrific heart.

My elephant thinks I'm brave and bold.
He's proud of my strength and guts.
But mostly he likes the way I smell.
My elephant thinks I'm nuts.

Another of my favorites is "Don't Ever Bite Your Sister", again by Kenn Nesbit.

Don't ever bite your sister.
Don't kick her in the shin.
Don't slap your sister silly
and don't sock her on the chin.

Don't tape a "Kick Me" poster
upon your sister's back.
Don't take your stinky socks off
and then put them in her pack.

Don't purchase plastic spiders
and place them on her head.
Don't leave your rubber rattlesnake
inside your sister's bed.

Don't do this to your sister
for, if you ever do,
I'm pretty sure she may do something
even worse to you.




Most of the other poems on that link are school-based. A lot of them are longer, though. So, there ya go.

 

[dis75ney]

This one is a favorite of DS8 - I have no idea who wrote it, but it's pretty cute:

Do you carrot all for me?
My heart beets for you,
With your turnip nose
And your radish face,
You are a peach.
If we cantaloupe,
Lettuce marry;
Weed make a swell pear.

 

[emdav]

I'm SOOOO glad to hear that teachers still do this. Where I teach, memorization is an unspoken no-no and I think that's terrible. If you don't get to practice memorizing, how do you ever learn to do so? I know most schools are big on learn the process and you don't have to memorize (like math facts) but some things are just easier memorized.

Now, with that rant out of the way, Shel Silverstein is fantastic! Also, check in with the teacher, I bet she has tons of books set aside.

This assignment is "above and beyond the required curriculum." Our school gives out medals to kids who do extra work and meet certain academic standards. There is a list of twenty items and you have to do fifteen to get the award.

 

[emdav]

Not at all "classic", but Shel Silverstein has some great poems. They're all geared towards kids, and some are short.

Google him and I'm sure you'll come up with something great.

edited to add: take a look at "Hug O' War" here: http://faculty.weber.edu/chansen/humanweb/projects/MeghanUng/poems.htm

I do like Shel Silverstein and I checked out a couple of his poetry collections from the library. I read a lot of them to ds and he did enjoy them. The ones he really liked were all very long. I am thinking about "Boa Constrictor" but he didn't seem to connect with this one.

 

[emdav]

This one is a favorite of DS8 - I have no idea who wrote it, but it's pretty cute:

Do you carrot all for me?
My heart beets for you,
With your turnip nose
And your radish face,
You are a peach.
If we cantaloupe,
Lettuce marry;
Weed make a swell pear.

This is great! Ds currently thinks Broccoli Obama, John McCantaloupe, and Celery Clinton are some of the funniest things so I think he may connect to these veggies.

 

[emdav]

One of my favorite web sites is http://www.poetry4kids.com/poems.
My favorite one out of all of them is "My Elephant Thinks I'm Wonderful" by Kenn Nesbit.

My elephant thinks I'm wonderful.
My elephant thinks I'm cool.
My elephant hangs around with me
and follows me into school.

My elephant likes the way I look.
He thinks that I'm fun and smart.
He thinks that I'm kind and generous
and have a terrific heart.

My elephant thinks I'm brave and bold.
He's proud of my strength and guts.
But mostly he likes the way I smell.
My elephant thinks I'm nuts.

Another of my favorites is "Don't Ever Bite Your Sister", again by Kenn Nesbit.

Don't ever bite your sister.
Don't kick her in the shin.
Don't slap your sister silly
and don't sock her on the chin.

Don't tape a "Kick Me" poster
upon your sister's back.
Don't take your stinky socks off
and then put them in her pack.

Don't purchase plastic spiders
and place them on her head.
Don't leave your rubber rattlesnake
inside your sister's bed.

Don't do this to your sister
for, if you ever do,
I'm pretty sure she may do something
even worse to you.




Most of the other poems on that link are school-based. A lot of them are longer, though. So, there ya go.

Too cute!

 

[emdav]

Robert Louis Stevenson: A child's book of verses!

I've looked up some of these and they are great. Some are really short too.

 

[sandycarroll]

My girls are in K and grade 2 and love all the Shel Silverstein poems. The other favorite is Jack Prelutsky...also very funny and perfect for a first grader. I would stick to something with less than 7 or 8 lines so it's easier on the first try. Also, rhyming tends to be easier for the little ones to remember.

 

[Denine]

Robert Louis Stevenson: A child's book of verses!

This was what I was going to say.

 

[HerdOHuds]

Look at Jack Prelutsky's Something Big has Been Here and A Pizza the Size of the Sun. There are short and long ones in there. My favorite is Fearless Flying Hotdogs. It has some really funny puns and with actions is actually easy to memorize with a bit of practice. I had some special reading students memorize it for a program in about 2 weeks with actions.

Also, the Random House Book of Poetry has a very handy index in the back by subject, first line, and title. I used it a lot when I was teaching thematically.

And the Chicken Soup with Rice book by Maurice Sendak has monthly poems that are easy to memorize. It wouldn't be too tough to learn every month.

 

[amyj1024]

I too was going to suggest Jack Prelutsky...funny poems, perfect for 1st grade!