April Poetry Challenge #30 - unk

Brainstorming words: bunk, junk, dunk, funk, gunk, hunk, monk, punk, clunk, sunk, stunk, skunk,

More words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/unk/:  chipmunk, spelunk, kerplunk, shrunk, trunk, debunk

Did you see the skunk
Chasing the chipmunk?

We must clean the junk
Out of the old trunk.

The ghost hunters are in a funk
Their hauntings have been debunk(ed).

Would you like to spelunk
In a cave full of gunk?

The cave stunk
Because of the skunk.

Into the lake, the stone went kerplunk
Down to the bottom, it quickly sunk.

I added a poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #29 - ump

Brainstorming Words:  bump, dump, lump, jump, clump, rump, sump, trump, slump, chump, hump, stump

More words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ump/:  grump,

Don't bump
the grump!

I'm in a poem slump
My brain feels like a lump.

The camel has a hump
But he can not jump.

He can really jump
He's over his slump.

I added a poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

One more day to rhyme
Until next year's poem time.

April Poetry Challenge #28 - ug

The first thing that comes to my mind is…
I'm as snug
as a bug
In a rug.

That would be really much quicker than normal.  I will try some more but still might like that one the best.

Word Brainstorming:  bug, rug, snug, hug, pug, dug, jug, mug, tug, chug, thug

http://www.clker.com/clipart-3332.html

There is a ladybug
In my coffee mug!

More words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ug/:  litterbug, spark plug, shutterbug, shrug, fireplug

Give the Earth a hug
Don't be a litterbug!

The mower needs a spark plug
It will not chug - only shrug.

Pour some tea in my mug
From the great big brown jug.

http://www.clker.com/clipart-pug.html

The little black pug
Gave the rug a tug.

The little dog dug
a hole in the rug.

Give that pug
A big hug.



I added a poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #27 - ore

Word Brainstorm:  store, bore, more, sore, chore, shore, gore, door, core, lore, poor/pore, roar, tore, wore, yore

More words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ore/:  adore, deplore, evermore, folklore, herbivore, carnivore, lakeshore, snore, score

Rhyming:

Rhyming Tercet:
Eats grass - herbivore
Eats meat - carnivore
Eats both - omnivore!

I adore
The seashore.
(not really - but it rhymes!)

I read folklore
By the lakeshore.

She does deplore
His loud snore.

I need a new door
Let's go to the store.

She tore
Out out the door.

What's the score?
Who has more?

I added the folklore poem and the rhyming tercet to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #26 - op

Brainstorming Words:  chop, bop, drop, glop, hop, lop, mop, pop, sop, top, stop, flop,

More Words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/op/:  blacktop, barbershop, bookshop, bloghop, countertop, gumdrop, lollipop, hilltop, slop, workshop

Rhyming Work:

I walked to the barbershop
On the mountain hilltop.

Get a mop
This puddle must stop!

Do you want a sweet gumdrop
Or a lemon lollipop?

Water balloon drop
Hot blacktop
POP!

I must stop
At a bookshop!


This is my latest  bookshop purchase.  We celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day at the end of May to inspire the students during the last days of school.

I  added the bookshop poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #25 - oke

Brainstorming Words:  joke, yoke/yolk, bloke, okey-doke, soak, stoke, woke, awoke,

Eek!  This is a hard one.

Looking for more words at http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/oke/:  artichoke, backstroke, broke, choke, Coke, housebroke, evoke, keystroke, poke, slowpoke

Rhyming Thoughts:

Don't choke
On the artichoke.

http://www.clker.com/clipart-2445.html

The sleeping baby awoke.
It was not a funny joke.


Don't be a slowpoke
Doing the backstroke.

Each keystroke
An action will evoke.

Early she awoke
To let out the dog - not housebroke!



I  added a poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #24 - ock

I just like to say this sound!  It makes me think of the nursery rhyme:
Hickory, dickory dock
The mouse ran up the clock!

Brainstorming Words:  clock, dock, wok/walk, chalk, glock, rock, stock, sock, lock, mock, hock, jock, knock, tock/talk, flock, block,

Add the chicken stock
To the heated wok.

Many birds is a flock
Many steps is a walk.

The tick and the tock
Are the talk of a clock.

Is it soft like a sock
Or hard like a rock?

I almost didn't check for multi syllable words today but look at these gems from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ock/:  hollyhock, peacock, shamrock, sherlock

http://www.clker.com/clipart-26076.html

The beautiful peacock
Admired the hollyhock.

ww.clker.com

We need a sherlock
To find the missing sock!








I  added a poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #23 - ip

It's another evening poem brainstorm.  This has been a busy week.

Brainstorming Words:  sip, chip, dip, flip, grip, hip, tip, trip, lip, nip, pip, rip, slip, whip, zip, strip, blip,

I find more multi syllable words at http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ip/:  citizenship, championship, microchip, ownership, parsnip, scholarship, skip, spaceship

http://www.clker.com/clipart-backbend-.html

The gymnast will flip
For the championship.






Be careful not to slip
When pulling the parsnip!

Someone with good citizenship
Has the golden rule in grip.

The alien from the spaceship
Wants his US citizenship!

Through a straw can you sip
The juice of a parsnip?

http://www.clker.com/clipart-parsnip.html

Get a really good grip
Then pull up the parsnip!



I  added the championship poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #22 - ink

Happy Earth Day!

Brainstorming words with dinner again:  ink, stink, think, link, sink, wink, rink, fink, pink,

If you don't think
Your work will stink.

More words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ink/:  blink, clink, brink, drink, mink, kink

Close one eye - wink
Close two eyes - blink

Our Earth will stink
If we don't think.

You can get a drink
From the kitchen sink.

The valentine was pink
With lace and scented ink.

I  added a poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #21 - ine

I thought about this last night as I was going to sleep and I'm sure had the perfect poem, but didn't get up and write it down.  Could I remember it in the morning - no, of course not!  So…

I am brainstorming words with dinner instead of breakfast.

Words:  brine, fine, dine, line, stein, nine, mine, pine, tine, vine, whine, wine, porcupine, thine, shine, twine, sign, design

The porcupine 

Made a design

With quills and twine.

More words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ine/:  airline, alpine, beeline, define, divine, feline, grapevine, guideline, skyline, sunshine, 

Use a piece of twine 

To tie up the vine.

The porcupine

Loves the sunshine.

I do not like to stand in line

My patience is not really fine.

The cat climbed the tree of pine

He was an evergreen feline!

I  added a poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #20 - in

Brainstorming Words:  in, bin, din, chin, fin, gin, kin, pin, sin, tin, win, shin, spin, again,

Dorothy hit her shin
On the man of tin.

Give the wheel a spin
And you might win.

There was quite a din
Caused by many a wagging chin

Give the top a spin
Once again.

More Words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/in/:  toxin, bargain, bearskin, penicillin, amoxycillin, cousin, dustbin, elfin, grin, hairpin, margin, napkin, noggin, robin, skin, twin, grin, thin

Your cousin
Is your kin.

http://www.clker.com/clipart-16266.html

The three holes are in
the paper's margin.

My cousin Robin
Has an elfin grin.

Put trash in
The dustbin.



He bumped his noggin
On the chin
Of his twin.

I  added a poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #19 - ill

Word Brainstorming:  Bill, chill, dill, fill, gill, hill, Jill, kill, mill, nil, pill, sill, still, shrill, till, will, drill, spill, until

This reminds me of…
Jack and Jill
Went up the hill.


Rhyming:
The sound of the drill
Is very shrill.

http://www.clker.com/search/windowsill/1

Sitting on the windowsill
Gave the chipmunk quite a chill.



I know the daily drill
I'll take my morning pill.

I know the morning drill
I'll walk on the treadmill.

The pharmacist did not spill
Even one expensive pill.

Stay still
Until…

More words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ill/:  anthill, frill, krill, molehill, quill, spoonbill, treadmill,

Does a spoonbill
Like to eat krill?

I  added a really short poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #18 - ight

Brainstorming Words:  night, right, sight, tight, white, height, fight, slight, bite, kite, light, might, fright, knight

More words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ight/:  daylight, blight, delight, eyesight, skylight, streetlight, firelight, wight

http://www.clker.com/clipart-haunted-house-1.html

Rhyming:
They had a fright
Late at night.

Haunted houses are his delight
He really loves a good fright!




The armor of the knight
Shines in the firelight.

Hold on tight
With all your might!

The clouds look white
In the daylight.

You can't fly a kite
By the firelight.

I  added a fright poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #17 - ide

Brainstorming Words:  ride, side, slide, wide, cried, died, guide, hide, lied, tide, tried, confide

Rhyming Practice:
That giant slide
Is a wild ride!

You must go hide
The seeker cried.

The camouflaged frog could not hide
From our competent tour guide.
(We saw this little guy on our field trip earlier this week.)


More words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ide/:  countryside, fireside, peroxide, decide, downside, fluoride, glide, hayride, hillside, inside,  rockslide, stateside, subside, worldwide

We took a buggy ride
Through the countryside.

The dentist said:
Make your floss glide
And use fluoride.

I  added the frog poem to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #16 - ick

Yesterday was the 144th day of school for us.  Ick seems appropriate for "gross" day.  :)

Brainstorming words:  click, kick, lick, Nick, pick, Rick, stick, sick, tick, wick, chick, Antarctic, trick

You can have your pick
Of your favorite chick?

Don't touch the big stick
It belongs to Nick.

Do not lick
The candle wick!

More rhyming words from http://www.morewords.com/contains/ick/:  airsick, breadstick, brick, broomstick, click, dropkick, fiddlestick, garlic, homesick, lipstick, magic

The witch uses magic
To fly her old broomstick.

http://www.clker.com/clipart-garlic.html

Did you add garlic
To the hot breadstick?







It is not too cold for a penguin chick
To live in the freezing Antarctic!

I think the last poems are better than the first few.  That is why I usually write several before I pick one to add to the comments on Mary's blog, Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #15 - ice

Today is a little mixed up.  I wrote one rhyming couplet this morning to post to Mary's blog,  Poems of Silliness.  I did not brainstorm words - well, I guess I did a little - but I wrote nothing down.  This is what I wrote.

mycutegraphics.com

Penguin Rhyming Couplet:

Sliding on ice
Is rather nice!


Today marks the halfway point of the April Poem Challenge:
Fifteen poems done
Rhyming can be fun!

April Poetry Challenge #14 - est

Word Brainstorming:  best, chest, guest, jest, nest, pest, rest, test, vest, west, zest, invest, crest,

Rhyming practice:
Which way is the best
North, south, east, or west?

In the treasure chest
She found a bird's nest.

Be a good guest
Don't be a pest.

For winter, he will invest
In a new warm puffy vest.

More words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/est/:  Most of the examples are comparing words:  biggest, coziest, largest, etc...

More practice:
My room is the biggest
Bragged the blessed guest.

Use the yellow lemon zest
To make your cake the best.

 I added a poem to the comments on Mary's blog Poems of Silliness.

Lemonade Poem

We are using the Lucy Calkins' Units of Study for writing.  My class is working on seeing objects with their poets' eyes.  They are also listening with their poets' ears.  This is tricky - thinking about seeing things in new ways.

We are also using Amy Lemons' We are all Poets:  Poetry Pack from Teachers Pay Teachers.  We are trying to add a little fun into our day and afternoons are the most challenging for this group.  For this challenge, the students wrote about seeing lemonade with their poets' eyes.

Here is my Lemonade poem.

Lemonade
Lemonade is a yellow swimming pool of deliciousness for my tongue!
Lemonade is flower nectar in a jar.
Lemonade is full of golden slices of the sun.
Lemonade is starlight in the daytime.
And lemonade is like sipping summer through a straw.

April Poetry Challenge #13 - ell

I had been working ahead a day and it was easy to schedule a morning post.  Then I just had to remember to zip over to Mary's blog and copy/paste a poem in the comments.  Today, I am not ahead.  It had to wait until after school, but I didn't forget.

Word Brainstorming:  jell, gel, well, bell, dell, shell, fell, Nell, sell, tell, Miguel,

A boy named Miguel
Fell into the well.
(Shades of Jack and Jill)

More words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ell/:  seashell, eggshell, dwell, doorbell, handbell, nutshell, smell, spell, tortoiseshell

Rhyming:

http://www.clker.com/clipart-11119.html

A tortoise does dwell

Inside its own shell.

Reaching for a pink seashell

Into the water she fell!

It is not nice to tell

Someone they smell!

Did you hear the bell?

It is time to spell.

 I added the tortoise poem to the comments on Mary's blog Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #12 - eat

Brainstorming words:  eat, feat/feet, beat/beet, cheat, sheet, heat, meat/meet, neat, peat/Pete, seat, wheat,  sweet, treat, fleet, complete, compete

Brainstorming rhymes:  

If you compete
You might get beat.

She will eat
The sweet treat.

Did you meet
The man named Pete?

Twelve egg whites I did separate and beat
To accomplish the angel food cake feat.

Your ghost costume is complete
After we add this bed sheet.

Dinner is complete.
It is time to eat.

I baked an angel food cake "from scratch" for Easter.  I guess it is still on my mind.  I added that poem to the comments on Mary's blog Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #11 - ay

Brainstorming words:  bay, day, hay, Kay, may, nay/neigh, pay, stay, way/weigh/whey, ray, slay/sleigh, say, today, payday, bray, play, stray,

More words from http://www.morewords.com/contains/ay/:  tray, array, archway, away, betray, bluejay, lay, castaway, clay, copay, decay, delay, dismay, display, entryway, hallway, hideaway, holiday, hooray

Playing with rhymes:

Hip-hip hooray!
It's a holiday!

We can dance and play
It is Saturday.

We watched the bluejay
Eat food from the tray.

She did not stray
She stayed to play.


I added a Saturday poem to the comments on Mary's blog Poems of Silliness.
Happy Weekend!

April Poetry Challenge #10 - ate

Brainstorming words:  ate/eight, bait, Kate, date, fate, gate, hate, late, mate, Nate, rate, skate, plate, Tate, wait/weight, classmate, great, primate, create, chocolate(?), collaborate, conjugate, precipitate, cogitate, congratulate, debate, deflate

Wow!  There are a ton of multi-syllable words that rhyme with ate at http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ate/.  Here are a few interesting ones: abbreviate, agitate, ambulate, animate, articulate, carbohydrate, elaborate, eliminate, emigrate, evaluate, evaporate, condensate, exasperate, coordinate, demonstrate, contaminate, educate, fabricate, irritate, motivate, masticate, participate

Will you participate
In the great class debate?

The birthday balloon will deflate
If the air - you eliminate.

That artist is great
She can really animate.

First the water must condensate
Then it can precipitate.

Agitate and irritate
or collaborate and educate?

Do you like to participate
When the class collaborates?

Lessons are difficult to abbreviate
When there is a lot to cogitate.

What can we eliminate
So we don't exasperate?

This one was fun.  Perhaps too many educational words to play with?
I added a poem to the comments on Mary's blog Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #9 - at

Brainstorming words:  bat, cat, sat, rat, that, splat, fat, gnat, hat, mat, pat, vat, spat, brat, chat

More words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/at/:  acrobat, copycat, Democrat, hardhat, laundromat, meerkat, wombat

These words make me think about Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat!

Thinking about rhyming:

"Do you want to chat?"
Said the bat to the rat.

While driving, a fat gnat
Hit the car window - Splat.

The children had a spat
About wearing the hat.

http://classroomclipart.com

http://classroomclipart.com

A traveling African meerkat
Met a friendly Australian wombat.









The cat sat
on the rat.

I found a costume for an acrobat
in the big dryer at the laundromat.

She wore a hardhat
To the new laundromat.

I added the traveling mammal poem to the comments on Mary's blog Poems of Silliness.
#2ndchat was discussing poetry last night on Twitter.

April Poetry Challenge #8 - ap

Word Brainstorming:  cap, sap, rap, tap, flap, gap, lap, map, nap, zap, snap

Finding more words at Carl's Corner:  chap, strap, wrap, trap, snap, scrap, slap

Poem Brainstorming:

He followed the treasure map
But it turned into a trap!

Around the pond the swan did lap
While the baby chicks took a nap.

Her new purse strap
Broke with a snap!

The secret was written on a scrap
Of paper hidden under his cap.

My lilies it did snap
so, I made a rabbit trap.

It is easier to do these when I am not at school.  It was so nice to get up in the mornings during spring break and write a few poems.  It is harder to do with school work looming on my "to do" list!

I added the secret poem to the comments on Mary's blog Poems of Silliness.

One week done
Eight poems spun.  :)

April Poetry Challenge #7 - ank

Brainstorming Words:  thank, bank, sank, stank (word?), tank, rank, dank, clank, yank

More Words from http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ank/: blank, crank, drank, frank, gangplank, outrank, plank, snowbank, shrank, prank


Playing with couplets:

Pirate Couplet:
You - I outrank
Walk the gangplank!





You - I must thank
For rescue from the snowbank (Too many syllables)

I must be frank
Your room - dark and dank
Was rank and stank
(I'm glad you cleaned it!)(Too many lines, but tells a story)

The heavy metal tank
Sank in the soft snowbank!

Turn the crank
Hear a clank.

Teacher Couplet:
I really must be frank
Don't leave your answer blank!

Wonderland Couplet:
Alice drank
And shrank!

I added the pirate poem to the comments on Mary's blog Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #6 - an

Word Brainstorming:
fan, an, can, ban, Stan, man, pan, ran, tan, van, than, bran, Jackie Chan (Did you know that Jackie Chan has a website with a kids' page?), cran - berry, span, plan, scan

Make a plan
Think you can

Raisin Bran

Jackie Chan

Image source: dancingcarrots.com

Very, berry plan
Straw, blue, black, and cran





It's hot in the van
Do you have a fan?

There's a rat in the can
I think we need a ban.

I decided I needed more "juicy" words.  This list was similar to mine:  http://www.carlscorner.us.com/SF1/Unit%201%20Sam%20Come%20Back/Phonics%20Focus/anSet.pdf

This list had much longer multi syllable words: http://www.wordfind.com/ends-with/an/.

Sleep is the plan
Said the sandman.

The huge dog, big and tan
Barked and the postman ran.
(Notice how postman, my longer word, did not end up at the end of the couplet!)

Before I began
I made a quick plan.

http://pixabay.com/p-25353/

Stan the old fisherman
Fries his catch in a pan.




I added one to the comments on Mary's blog Poems of Silliness.

April Poetry Challenge #5 - ame

Word Brainstorming:  tame, flame, game, blame, dame, lame, name, same, exclaim, aim, shame

Poem Brainstorming:

A burning flame
Was to blame.

The teacher did exclaim
"Where is your name?"

These papers look the same
None of them have a name
The teacher did exclaim!

He hung his head in shame
Because he was to blame.

The kids look the same
Playing the twin game.

Happy Easter!

I added the bold missing name poem to the comments on Mary's blog Poems of Silliness.

April Poem Challenge #4 - ake

Brainstorming words:  bake, cake, ache, fake, lake, make, rake, steak/stake, take, wake, awake, break/brake, shake, stomachache, Blake, Drake,

Playing with words: 
Give him a shake
So he will wake.

The terrible cake
Made her belly ache.

I like to bake
But I burn steak!

The vase may be fake
But it still might break.

Drake fell in the lake!
Saved with a long rake.

She bothered the snake
His long tail did shake
Her knees began to quake!

Earthquake
House shake!

I added the last one to the comments on Mary's blog Poems of Silliness.

April Poem Challenge #3 - ain

Word brainstorm:  brain, crane, drain, Great Dane, gain, cane, lane, main/mane, pain/pane, rain/reign, sane, stain, train, vane/vain, Wayne, explain

Playing with the words:
Can you explain
this big Great Dane?

commons.wikimedia.org

I have a pain
From the Great Dane
(He sat on my brain!)

The Christmas queen will reign
over Candy Cane Lane.

This makes me think of My Fair Lady:
The rain in Spain
Falls mainly on the plain.

More playing with the words:
Did you know the train
Travels through the rain?

Let Wayne
Explain.

There's a storm in my brain
Words are falling like rain.

Mary said that I could add to the comments on her blog Poems of Silliness.  Thank you!  Now I will just have to choose one.

April Poem Challenge #2 - ail

Today's challenge began the same - brainstorming words:    ail/ale, bail/bale, fail, gale, tail/tale, hail/hale, jail, kale, mail/male, nail, pail/pale, rail, sale/sail, whale/wail, entail

Then, I realized that many of today's words are homophones.  (Homophone practice here.)

My first poem:  (again not a rhyming couplet)

Listen to my tale

about why I have no bail

to get out of jail.

My second poem:

Did you see the whale

At the seashore sale?

My third poem: (trying to make the couplet the same length led to adding "juicier" words)

The adventurous ant set sail

Across the ocean water pail.

P.S.  I am reading Edgar Allan's Official Crime Investigation Notebook by Mary Amato.  I love how the main character records his thoughts in his notebook.  It also has poetry embedded throughout - great coincidence for poetry month!

April Poem Challenge #1 - ack

Mary Bauer from the blog, The Artistry of Education and Poems of Silliness, challenges her class and other classes to write a rhyming couplet every day in April.  She talks about it on her blog here.  She even provides a word family calendar grid to use for inspiration each day.  Since we are on spring break it is not possible to challenge my class, but I also know that teachers should write every day. I am considering it my challenge.  :)

First, I opened the sticky notes on the computer and brainstormed ack words.  Then I played with the words to make a rhyming couplet.  I also looked up the definition of a rhyming couplet.

Here are some words:  quack, stack, rack, jack, whack, back, tack, hack, lack, knack, pack, sack

My first poem:  (not a really a rhyming couplet & ing added to the ends - poetic license?)

The grocery store clerk prefers

Can stacking

To 

Food packing.

My second poem: 

The pantry food lack

Caused a sad lunch pack.

I added my poem to the comment section of Mary's Poems of Silliness blog and asked if that was okay.