The First Day of School
Will they let me go when I need to go to the bathroom?
And what if I get lost on my way back to class?
And what if the other kids are a hundred, a thousand, times smarter
than I am?
And what if we have a spelling test, or a reading test, or an anything
test, and I'm the only person who doesn't pass?
And what if my teacher decides she doesn't like me?
And what if, all of a sudden a tooth gets loose?
And what if I can't find lunch, or I sit on my lunch, or I (oops!) drop my
lunch someplace like the toilet?
Will they let me starve or will somebody lend me a sandwich?
A cookie? A cracker? An apple? Some juice?
And what if they say, "Do this," and I don't understand them?
And what if there's teams and nobody picks me to play?
And what if I took off my sneakers, and also my socks, and my jeans,
and my sweatshirt and T-shirt,
And started the first day of school on the second day?
By Judith Viorst
©2013HappyEdugator
Directions:
Read the poem by Judith Viorst.
Discuss with the class. Has anyone ever suffered
from first day of school “jitters”?
What are some things that make you nervous?
Give students a minute to brainstorm their ideas.
Hand out the poem format and have students use
their ideas to write a “What if?” poem.
Have students share their poems.
Students may wish to edit, revise, and publish
their poems to display in the classroom or
hallway.
©2013HappyEdugator
The First Day of School
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©2013HappyEdugator
Thank you for downloading my First Day of School Activity What If Poem. I hope that you enjoy the resource and get a lot of
use out of it. Please let me know if you have any questions or
concerns. My email address is [email protected]
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Microsoft Design, Graphicstock.com
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Deborah Hayes
Aka HappyEdugator