Poetry and Rimas

Infantiles: A Make and

Take of Interactive

Poetry for Young

Children

Compiled by

Vicente Hernandez

The Bear Blvd. School for Early Learning

Elizabeth Field

-------------------------

January 2011

Poetry and rhymes are part of the cultural language that

children learn easily and also are tools that teachers use to

develop oral language and to promote early stages of writing

and reading in young children. Many types of poetry may be

used such as free-verse, rhyming, interactive, adult-

authored, child-generated, and teacher-adapted, from great

children’s books.

Why Use Poetry with Young Children

Poetry expands children’s oral language abilities as it:

• Provides texts that are easy to remember.

• Builds a repertoire of the unique patterns and forms of language.

• Helps children become sensitive to and enjoy the sounds of language — rhymes, alliteration,

assonance, onomatopoeia (buzz, whiz, woof).

• Supports articulation and elocution.

• Extends listening and speaking vocabularies.

• Expands knowledge of the complex syntax of language.

• Encourages children to manipulate and play with language.

• Develops phonological awareness (rhyme, syllables, onsets and rimes).

• Makes it easy for children to isolate and identify sounds, take words apart, and change sounds in

words to make new words.

• Provides rich examples of comparisons such as similes and metaphors.

Poetry expands children’s written language abilities as it:

• Gives them access to memorable language that they can then match up with print.

• Expands spoken vocabulary, making it easier later for them to read words.

• Helps them notice aspects of print.

• Provides opportunities to learn and recognize words that rhyme, end the same, start the same, or

sound the same in the middle.

• Helps them begin to notice the letters and letter patterns associated with sounds.

• Provides a setting in which to develop the concept of word and notice how spaces are used to

define words in written language.

• Provides models of fluent reading helping children get the feel of it.

Poetry expands children’s content knowledge as it:

• Provides new perceptions and ideas for them to think about.

• Helps them develop conceptual understanding.

• Encourages them to develop a sense, of humor.

• Sensitizes them to the forms and style of poetry.

Poetry contributes to children’s social knowledge and skills as it:

• Provides artistic and aesthetic experiences.

• Creates a sense of community through enjoying rhymes and songs as a group.

• Gives them access to English-speaking culture.

• Provides a window to many other cultures.

• Provides a common language for a group of children to share.

• Creates memories of shared enjoyable times.

Poetry rationale taken from:

Pinnell, Gay Su & Fountas, Irene C. (2004). Sing a Song of Poetry. Portsmouth, New

Hampshire: FirstHand, an imprint of Heinemann.

Ideas for Using Poetry and Pocket Charts

1. Recognize the oral language benefits of poetry and nursery rhymes, especially for second-

language learners. When making poetry charts, begin with familiar songs, nursery rhymes, and

fingerplays. In this way, children are able to chant the words orally but must figure out how to

match the spoken words to the printed ones. Provide picture cues behind important words to

scaffold this process.

2. Increase the phonological awareness of poems read aloud by:

- reciting the poem in a soft voice and using a louder voice for rhyming words

- reciting the poem in a regular voice and whispering the rhyming words

- challenging children to indicate when the order of words has been swapped in a familiar poem

- challenging children to notice when a correct word from a familiar rhyme has been replaced with a

similar-sounding word that does not make sense.

3. Make pocket charts interactive by asking children to:

- use pointers to read along with familiar nursery rhymes or songs in chart format or use pencils

with toppers to read along with smaller charts in a poetry center

- match individual word cards (cut up versions of the same poem) to sentence strip poems

- match pictures to the lines of print or individual words that represent them

- underline rhyming words on poetry charts with wicky sticks or highlight them with opaque plastic

strips placed over the words of laminated charts

- play with children’s names in a poem like “Happy Birthday” or “Hey Neighbor”

- rearrange the lines of sentence strip poetry and read the silly new poem that results.

4. Save time by using your computer to make three poetry materials at the same time:

- Input and print a favorite poem using a font in which letters such as “a” and “g” look as children

would expect them to look. This page can be used in a poetry center and in a take-home folder each

time a poem is completed.

- Enlarge the printed poem to poster size at your school’s teacher resource room or a copy shop

such as Kinko’s. Encourage the children to illustrate the poetry chart.

- Change the orientation of the page to landscape and enlarge the text as much as possible while

still keeping each line of the poem as a line of print. Print this version of the poem onto 81/2” x 14”

or 11” x 14” paper to make “sentence strip” poetry for mini-pocket charts.

5. Remember that even young children can be challenged to think about the meaning of poetry.

“People” is a great conversation-starter for young children; “The Drum,”“A Poem is a Little Path,” or

“Try, Try Again” would work well with slightly older children.

6. Create a class innovation of the poem “To Johnny.” Encourage children to generate their own

ideas of what the box and stick could be, then write down the new words on a class chart. Common

children’s rhymes like “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” can also be rewritten by children

with lines like “Five little monkeys making lots of noise couldn’t find a way to share their toys.”

Karen Capo and Judy Rolke, School Literacy and Culture Project, Rice University’s Center for

Education, 2005.

La tijera de mamá

Cuando me recorta el pelo

la tijera de mamá,

va diciendo en su revuelvo:

chiqui-chiqui-chiqui-chá…

Aletea,

viene y va,

y a mi oído cuchichea:

chiqui-chiqui-chiqui-chá…

Cuando el pelo me recorta

la tijera de mamá,

charla más de lo que corta,

chiqui-chiqui-chiqui-chá…

Germán Berdiales

“Choco late”

Uno, dos, tres CHO,

uno, dos, tres, CO,

uno, dos, tres, LA,

uno, dos, tres, TE...,

Chocolate, chocolate,

bate, bate el chocolate.

“Choco late”

1, 2, 3 CHO,

1, 2, 3, CO,

1, 2, 3, LA,

1, 2, 3, TE...,

Chocolate, chocolate,

bate, bate el chocolate.

“Chocolate”

Uno, dos, tres CHO,

uno, dos, tres, CO,

uno, dos, tres, LA,

uno, dos, tres, TE.

Chocolate, chocolate,

bate, bate el chocolate.

Cho

co

la

te

“Rima de la Manzana”

La manzana,

se pasea,

de la sala,

al comedor.

No me piques,

con cuchillo,

pícame,

con tenedor.

From “El Cuento del Gato”, by Alma Flor Ada.

manzana,

naranja

mango

uvas

banana,

naranja

mango

uvas

sandía,

,

naranja

mango

uvas

manzana,

naranja

mango

uvas

pera,

naranja

mango

uvas

naranja,

naranja

mango

uvas

piña,

naranja

mango

uvas

ciruela,

naranja

mango

“Tortillitas”

Tortillitas, tortillitas,

Tortillitas de manteca,

pa mamá

que está contenta,

Tortillitas de salvado,

pa papá

que está enojado.

“AAA... Mi Abuelita

me Dará”

AAA... mi abuelita me dará.

EEE... una tacita de té.

III... pan dulce yo le pedí.

OOO... pero ella no me lo dio.

UUU... ¿Me lo quisieras dar tú?

From “Cinco Pollitos”, by Alma Flor Ada.

Tic, tac, tic, tac, yo soy el Señor Reloj.

Tic, tac, tic, tac, doce horas toco yo.

Tic, tac, tic, tac, yo soy el Señor Reloj.

Tic, tac, tic, tac, doce horas toco yo.

A la 1, como tuna.

A las 2, como arroz.

A las 3, todo al revés.

A las 4, voy al teatro.

A las 5, pego un brinco.

A las 6, aprendo inglés.

A las 7, un juguete.

A las 8, un bizcocho.

A las 9, nadie se mueve.

A las 10, con los pies.

A las 11, campanas de bronce.

A las 12, alguien tose.

“Cinco Ranitas”

C i n c o r a n i t a s

C o n m u c h a s m a n c h i t a s

S e n t a d a s a r r i b a d e u n t r o n c o . ¡ C r o ! ¡ C r o !

U n a r a n a c a y ó A d e n t r o d e u n l a g o .

A h o r a q u e d a n c u a t r o r a n a s .

¡ C r o ! ¡ C r o !

C u a t r o r a n i t a s . . .

T r e s r a n i t a s . . .

D o s r a n i t a s . . U n a r a n i t a . . .

A h o r a n o q u e d a n m á s r a n a s .

¡ C r o ! ¡ C r o ! ¡ C r o !

From “Songs for Little Ones” by Silvia León.

Five l itt le speckled frogs

F i v e l i t t l e s p e c k l e d f r o g s , S i t t i n g o n a s p e c k l e d l o g ,

E a t i n g t h e m o s t d e l i c i o u s b u g s . . . y u m , y u m .

O n e j u m p e d i n t o t h e p o o l

W h e r e i t w a s n i c e a n d c o o l .

T h e n t h e r e w e r e f o u r s p e c k l e d f r o g s , . y u m , y u m .

F o u r l i t t l e s p e c k l e d f r o g s … .

T h r e e l i t t l e s p e c k l e d f r o g s … , T w o l i t t l e s p e c k l e d f r o g s … ,

O n e l i t t l e s p e c k l e d f r o g S a t o n a s p e c k l e d l o g

E a t i n g s o m e m o s t d e l i c i o u s b u g s , Y u m Y u m !

H e j u m p e d i n t o t h e p o o l

W h e r e i t w a s n i c e a n d c o o l

T h e n t h e r e w e r e n o g r e e n s p e c k l e d f r o g s ,

G l u b G l u b !

From “Songs for Little Ones” by Silvia León.

Keep A Poem In Your Pocket

K e e p a p o e m i n y o u r p o c k e t A n d a p i c t u r e i n y o u r h e a d

A n d y o u ’ l l n e v e r f e e l l o n e l y

a t n i g h t w h e n y o u ’ r e i n b e d .

T h e l i t t l e p o e m w i l l s i n g t o y o u

A d o z e n d r e a m s t o d a n c e t o y o u A t n i g h t w h e n y o u ’ r e i n b e d .

S o … K e e p a p i c t u r e i n y o u r p o c k e t

A n d a p o e m i n y o u r h e a d

A n d y o u ’ l l n e v e r f e e l l o n e l y a t n i g h t w h e n y o u ’ r e i n b e d .

Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

Dora Diller

“My stomach ’s fu l l of butterf l ies ! ”

l amented Dora D i l l er .

Her mother s ighed . “That ’ s no surpr ise ,

You ate a caterp i l l ar ! ”

Jack Prelutsky

Catch A Little Rhyme

Once upon a time

I caught a little rhyme

I set it on the floor

But it ran right out the door

I chased it on my bicycle

But it melted to and icycle

I scooped it up in my hat

But it turned into a cat

I caught it by the tail

But it stretched into a whale

I followed it in a boat

But it changed into a goat

When I fed it tin and paper

It became a tall skyscraper

Then it grew into a kite

And flew far out of sight…

Eve Merriam

Weather

Dot a dot dot dot a dot dot

Spotting the windowpane.

Spack a spack speck flick a flack fleck

Freckling the windowpane.

A spatter a scatter a wet cat a clatter

A splatter a rumble outside.

Umbrella umbrella umbrella umbrella

Bumbershoot barrel of rain.

Slosh a galosh slosh a galosh

Slither and slather a glide

A puddle a jump a puddle a jump

A puddle a jump puddle splosh

A juddle a pump a luddle a dump

A pudmuddle jump in and slide!

Eve Merriam

http://www.poemhunter.com/

The Swing

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall

River and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside—

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown—

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

Robert Louis Stevenson

Humpty Dumpty

Some Great Poetry and Song Books

You Be Good & I’ll be Night: Jump On The Bed Poems

By Eve Merriam

This Old Man

By Carol Jones

Today is Monday

By Eric Carle

Over In the Meadow

Ezra Jack Keats

What A Wonderful World

By George David Weiss and Bob Thiele. Illus. by Ashley Bryan

To Market, To Marker

By Peter Spier

Here’s A Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry

Collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Petersz; Illustrated by Polly

Dunbar

Fiesta Babies

By Carmen Tafolla

A Rainbow All Around Me

By Sandra L. Pinkney