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collectively write a poem, but this time, they must use all three items in the poem. However, instead of saying the name of the item, they must use a rhyming word. For example, instead of a pencil, they may incorporate the word stencil. Or instead of a cheese grater, they may write about an alligator. The challenge is to write a poem using words that rhyme with the items selected, but to make it truly cut-throat, there must be a twist. After a certain amount of time, the teacher stops all writers and a team member must go to the front of the classroom and participate in a challenge. (This can be board races, a Lego building competition, etc.) The winner is exempt from the twist. The losers must get another random item from the table and take it to another group to “sabotage” their poetry writing. All groups must now add the fourth item into their poem before the time is up. Finally, all poems are read, and by popular vote, the winner is declared!
We hope these competitions offer lots of writing fun and excitement in your
to recommend some food-inspired books
• Cook Me a Story: A Treasury of Stories and Recipes Inspired by Classic Fairy Tales by Bryan Kozlowski
• The Hole Story of the Doughnut by Pat Miller
• 1 Big Salad: A Delicious Counting Book by Juana Medina
• Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes by K and J Dean
• Ten Kisses for Sophie! by Rosemary Wells
• Milk Goes to School by Terry Border
• Our Food: A Healthy Serving of Science and Poems by Grace Lin
• Groovy Joe Ice Cream and Dinosaurs by Eric Litwin
• Because of Thursday by Patricia Polacco (with a special cameo appearance by Guy Fieri)
Additionally, we recommend these “oldies but goodies” for your teacher resource collection:
• Simple Cooking Fun by Sharon Draznin
• Book Cooks by Janet Bruno
• Snacktivities! by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Jean Potter
• Alpha-Bakery by Gold Medal Flour
And finally, two foodie titles to inspire good character in your students:
● Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
● Cupcake by Charise Mericle Harper.
Now you’ve learned the recipe for reading/writing success. We have introduced you to some great ways to get your students excited about reading and writing. Now go challenge your students to be the NEXT Book Network Star!
References:
Culham, R. (2014). The writing thief. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
Empson, J. (2016). Chimpanzees for tea. New York, NY: Philomel Books.
Giff, P. R. (2016). Writing with Rosie. New York, NY: Holiday House.
Grant, J. (2016). Gabby wonder girl. Toronto, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside.
Jackson, R. & Hawkes, K. (2016). Have a look, says book. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Katz, A. (2016). That stinks!: A punny show-and-tell. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Stead, P. C. (2016). Ideas are all around. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press.
Tallec, O. (2016). Who, what, where. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
Dr. Julie Bryant is a former kindergarten and first grade teacher.She has taught at SBU since 2002.
Colleen Shuler retired after 26 years of teaching various grade levels. She has been at SBU since 2015. They are both active in ILA, MLA and the local chapters.
that serve as “Good Treats” for your students.
classroom. In addition to these, we would like