How Things Work
By Gary Soto
Today it’s going to cost us twenty dollars
To live. Five for a softball. Four for a book,
A handful of ones for coffee and two sweet rolls,
Bus fare, rosin for your mother’s violin.
We’re completing our task. The tip I left
For the waitress filters down
Like rain, wetting the new roots of a child
Perhaps, a belligerent cat that won’t let go
Of a balled sock until there’s chicken to eat.
As far as I can tell, daughter, it works like this:
You buy bread from a grocery, a bag of apples
From a fruit stand, and what coins
Are passed on helps others buy pencils, glue,
Tickets to a movie in which laughter
Is thrown into their faces.
If we buy a goldfish, someone tries on a hat.
If we buy crayons, someone walks home with a broom.
A tip, a small purchase here and there,
And things just keep going. I guess.
Gary Soto, “How Things Work” from Black Hair (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1985). Copyright © 1985 by Gary Soto. Reprinted
with the permission of the author, www.garysoto.com.
Family Style by Janet Wong
Like hungry sea gulls,
chopsticks fight, trying to snatch
the best piece of fish.
Copyright ©1994 by Janet S. Wong. All rights reserved.
Retrieved from: http://www.poetrysuitcase.com/Poetry_Suitcase/Poems_and_Props.html
Recipe for Disaster: A Crazy Cooking Poem for Kids by Ken Nesbitt
A box of melted crayons.
A cup of Elmer's glue.
A pint of watercolor paint.
Some Silly Putty too.
A half a pound of Play-Doh.
About a pint of paste.
A tablespoon of flubber
to improve the final taste.
I looked through all the cupboards
for things I could include.
If it was marked "Non-Toxic"
I just figured that meant "food."
To guarantee it's healthy
I topped it with a beet.
Then smashed it all together
so it should be good to eat.
I'm hoping that you'll try it
and tell me what you think.
Just close your eyes and open wide
and nevermind the stink.
Retrieved from: http://www.poetry4kids.com/poem-580.html
Every Insect by Dorothy Aldis
Every insect (ant, fly, bee)
Is divided into three:
One head, one chest, one stomach part.
Some have brains.
All have a heart.
Insects have no bones
No noses.
But with feelers they can smell
Dinner half a mile away.
Can your nose do half as well?
Also you'd be in a fix
With all those legs to manage:
Six.
Retrieved from: http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems44.html
My Teacher took My iPod
My teacher took my iPod.
She said they had a rule;
I couldn't bring it into class
or even to the school.
She said she would return it;
I'd have it back today.
But then she tried my headphones on
and gave a click on Play.
She looked a little startled,
but after just a while
she made sure we were occupied
and cracked a wicked smile.
Her body started swaying.
Her toes began to tap.
She soon was grooving in her seat
and rocking to the rap.
My teacher changed her mind.
She said it's now okay
to bring my iPod into class.
She takes it every day.
--Kenn Nesbitt
Retrieved from: http://www.poetry4kids.com/poem-330.html
Copyright © 2007 Kenn Nesbitt
All Rights Reserved
How to Torture Your Teacher
Only raise your hand when
you want to sharpen your pencil
or go to the bathroom.
Repeat every ten minutes.
Never raise your hand
when you want to answer a question;
instead, yell, "Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!"
and then, when the teacher calls on you,
say, "I forgot what I was going to say."
Lean your chair back,
take off your shoes, and
put your feet up on your desk.
Act surprised when the teacher
puts all four legs of your chair back on the floor.
Drop the eraser end of your pencil
on your desk.
See how high it will bounce.
Drop your books on the floor.
See how loud a noise you can make.
Hum.
Get all your friends to join in.
Hold your nose,
make a face, and say, "P.U.!"
Fan the air away from your face,
and point to the kid in front of you.
On the last day of school,
lead your classmates in chanting:
"No more pencils!
No more books!
No more teachers'
dirty looks!"
Then, on your way out
the door, tell the teacher,
"Bet you're looking forward
to summer vacation this year.
But I'll sure miss you.
You're the best teacher
I've ever had."
Text © Bruce Lansky, reprinted from No More Homework! No More Tests!
How to Torture Your Students
by Jane Pomazal and Bruce Lansky
Start each day with a surprise quiz. Don't dismiss the class for recess until you've finished the
lesson you're working on.
At the end of the day, hand out a huge assignment that's due the next day.
When a student says, "I have to go to the bathroom," say, "You should have gone this morning
before you left home" or "You'll have to hold it in; it's time for the kindergarten to use the
bathrooms."
Never call on students who have their hands up.
Only call on students who have no idea what's going on.
When a student asks you a question, say, "Look up the answer in a book." Don't bother to
mention the name of the book in which the answer can be found.
When you read, go as fast as you can.
Skip a line or two, then ask questions about the passage to see if the students were listening.
When it's time for the students to read, call on someone who doesn't have a book.
When you hand out pencils, make sure they're dull and don't have erasers.
When you hand out books, make sure they're torn and tattered.
When preparing the students for a test, write all the information they'll need to know on the
board.
Then stand in front of the board so they can't see what you've written.
As soon as you've finished discussing the test information, turn quickly and erase the board.
On the last day of school, hand out a surprise final exam.
Tell your students if they flunk it, they'll have to attend summer school-and if they flunk summer
school, they'll have to repeat the grade.
Tell them you hope they all flunk because you like them so much and you wish they could be
your students again next year.
Text © Jane Pomazal and Bruce Lansky, reprinted from If Kids Ruled the School published by
Meadowbrook Press
Retrieved from http://www.poetryteachers.com/schoolpoems/schoolpoems.html
Bleezer's Ice Cream
by Jack Prelutsky
I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
there are flavors in my freezer
you have never seen before,
twenty-eight divine creations
too delicious to resist,
why not do yourself a favor,
try the flavors on my list:
COCOA MOCHA MACARONI
TAPIOCA SMOKED BALONEY
CHECKERBERRY CHEDDAR CHEW
CHICKEN CHERRY HONEYDEW
TUTTI-FRUTTI STEWED TOMATO
TUNA TACO BAKED POTATO
LOBSTER LITCHI LIMA BEAN
MOZZARELLA MANGOSTEEN
ALMOND HAM MERINGUE SALAMI
YAM ANCHOVY PRUNE PASTRAMI
SASSAFRAS SOUVLAKI HASH
SUKIYAKI SUCCOTASH
BUTTER BRICKLE PEPPER PICKLE
POMEGRANATE PUMPERNICKEL
PEACH PIMENTO PIZZA PLUM
PEANUT PUMPKIN BUBBLEGUM
BROCCOLI BANANA BLUSTER
CHOCOLATE CHOP SUEY CLUSTER
AVOCADO BRUSSELS SPROUT
PERIWINKLE SAUERKRAUT
COTTON CANDY CARROT CUSTARD
CAULIFLOWER COLA MUSTARD
ONION DUMPLING DOUBLE DIP
TURNIP TRUFFLE TRIPLE FLIP
GARLIC GUMBO GRAVY GUAVA
LENTIL LEMON LIVER LAVA
ORANGE OLIVE BAGEL BEET
WATERMELON WAFFLE WHEAT
I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
taste a flavor from my freezer,
you will surely ask for more.
Retrieved from: http://www.poemhunter.com/
Jimmy Goes to the City
by Arthur Read
Jimmy was a happy ape
Until some hunters caught him
He liked the jungle better than
The city where they brought him
The city was louder
The city was meaner
Even the dirt in the jungle was cleaner
So Jimmy made a daring escape!
The hunters were suddenly minus one ape!
He climbed the tallest building
Because from there he'd see
How far away the jungle was
From the middle of the city.
Jimmy jumped into a passing plane
But the pilot didn't wait for him to explain
Jimmy flew back to the jungle
And told his ape friends in their lair
"The city's okay for a visit
But you couldn't make me live there."
Retrieved from: http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/poetry/narrative.html