A Black Kangaroo

A Black Kangaroo

in Kalamazoo

said, "I'm glad to know you,

and am keeping an eye

on what you do."

"I'm thinking I have a task for you.

Can you track me back

in the direction of

 Australia and Timbuktu?"

This crazy black kangaroo,

maybe he'll next

come to visit you.

      This Kangaroo carries his travel bag in his pouch.  Who knows where he'll end up next.  If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?  Perhaps you'll travel there in a dream. Can you write a poem about that?   Do you know the song about the "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree..."?

Isabel Iguana

Isabel Iguana skipped 

to the fair in the city.

She tickled herself pink

so she would be pretty.

This is how she 

won first prize

and admiration

from iguana guys.

     How many "i"s are in this poem?  How many words can you think of that start with the letter "i"?  Ice cream, intelligent, igloo, icky?  Can you write your own poem with lots of "i"s?  It must be fun.

Elliot the Eel

Elliot the Eel

wasn't nice-- even a bit.

He shocked all his friends

with his electrical hit.

One morning Elliot awoke

and could not see.

He had lost his

electricity.

"Please help me,"  

Elliot pled,

as Wally Walrus 

swam past his head.

Wally helped Elliot

out that day.

Now Elliot has

changed his way.

Today Elliot the Eel

is kind and genteel.

To his friends, he's sweet.
He knows how they feel.

     How many animals can you name that start with the letter "E"?  Or can you write a poem about eggs?

Amy Aardvark

For Amy an Aardvark

it was love at first sight

when she saw Archie Ant

on a hot August night.

Before their love

had even begun,

Amy ate Archie

with a zap of her tongue.

She ate his aunts and uncles,

his brothers and sisters,

the old and the young

of Archie's ancestors.

She ate them all, everyone,

with a flap of her tongue.

     This is another poem that stresses an alphabet letter.  It uses a lot of assonance--repetition of vowel sounds.  Can you pick a letter and write your own poem?  You may end up with a tongue twister.  Hmmm?  I wonder if Amy Aardvark is particularly good at that since she has a long tongue she can twist.  Have fun writing.

Goldfinch

A little yellow goldfinch
perched on the bird feeder,
sang a happy tune.
The seed is all I need here.

The goldfinch took a seed
and cracked it with his beak.
Tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet.
Here, there is plenty to eat.

     This poem uses lots of assonance.  Can you find all the long E sounds?  Do you like watching birds?  I do and there are lots of birds around now as they start their migration.  Can you watch a bird and write a poem about it?    Let your verses soar.

My Cold

Doctor, Doctor

please come quick.

Dad is coughing.

He is sick.

     Ok, that verse had a TRUE rhyme.  See how the last word in the second and fourth lines end in ICK?

Doctor, Doctor

please come fast.

Granny has taken

her last gasp.

Doctor,  Doctor

Please come fast

Dad is in bed.

He's passing gas.

     These two verses have slip rhyme, near rhyme, off rhyme, or rhyme based on assonance.  See how both lines two and four have the same soft or short a sound, followed by the s, but don't end in the T to match fast?

Daddy, Daddy

please come now.

The dog is dead

and so is the cow.

Brother, Brother

phone Auntie Rose

Joy has a cold

and a runny nose.  

      In these verses, the lines are a little forced, The second line is there simply so I can have something to rhyme with the fourth.  But let's play with this a little more and see what we come up with.

Sister, Sister

what should we do?

Mama is throwing up

she has the flu.

Uncle, Uncle

bring a clothes peg.

Grandad has fallen

and broken his leg.  

        Now, this is a good example of forced rhyme.  A clothes pin has nothing to do with a broken leg.

Jeanne, Jeanne

get out of bed.

Linda has fallen

and bumped her head.

Doctor, Doctor

bring every pill.

Brother is sick,

he's very ill.

     This could be done as a circle game with children where each child's name is used for the first line and the person next to that child is used in the third line.  Then the child in the first line is moved to the third line in the next verse.  The key to this is figuring out what the last line will be.

Freddy, Freddy

stop doing sums.

Bridget is here

and chewing gum.

      Ah, this one has another near rhyme.  Let's see if I can do better.

Kenny, Kenny

get off your bum.

Freddy is here

and he's chewing gum.

Oh, I can hardly wait to get together with a group of friends to try this out.  Now it is your turn.  Can you add your own verse to this ramble?  Start with the last line of the poem and work your was backwards.  Have fun.
  I'm giggling already with crazy ideas.