Go to page
Unit 1
Reading Poetry
OBJECTIVES
Listen and respond to poems.
Identify how meaning is conveyed through word choice.
Read poetry fluently.
Connect ideas and themes across texts.
Model Fluent Reading
Tell students that a tympani (TIM puh nee) is a set of kettle drums. Then read "A Single Penny" aloud. Have students listen for rhythms and sounds that bring the poem to life. As you read, stress the words single and jingle.
Discuss the Poem "A Single Penny"
1 Sound Devices • Critical
What rhyming words in the poem create the sound of pennies in a pocket?
The rhyming words single/jingle create the sound.
2 Draw Conclusions • Inferential
Why might the speaker prefer three pennies to one, other than for their sound?
Possible responses: She might prefer three pennies because they represent more money.
Model Fluent Reading
Read "Fund-raiser" aloud. Have students listen for the speaker's tone of voice—her attitude toward the subject. As you read, use the voice of an eager student.
Discuss the Poem "Fund-raiser"
1 Tone • Critical
What tone of voice does the speaker use? Think of an adjective to describe it.
Possible responses: eager, urgent, bouncy, enthusiastic
2 Author's Viewpoint • Inferential
Look at the last two lines of the poem. What is the poet's attitude toward fund-raisers? (Hint: She feels differently than the speaker does.)
Possible response: She feels as if fund-raisers happen too often and interfere with learning.
Poetry
UNIT 1
Fund-raiser
A Single Penny by Felice Holman
by Carol Diggory Shields

We’re having a bake sale, we’re having a
   cake sale.
We’re selling you candy and magnets and bows.
We’re raffling chances on moonlight romances
And TVs and CDs and school-logo clothes.

We’re walking for new bats, we’re jogging
   for gym mats.
A single penny
does not jingle
in my pocket,
but two would
make a single
jingle
and would do.
And three
would be
a real
tympani!
We’re selling subscriptions to buy uniforms.
The art room needs paint sets, the band needs
   new clarinets.
(Please use a pen on the triplicate forms.)

We’ll wash your Toyota to fill up our quota,
We’ll clean up your dog or your kids or your yard.
We’d like to be learning, instead we are earning.
(We gladly take checks and all credit cards.)
1
2
 
   
Close  
Practice Fluent Reading
Have partners take turns reading "Fund-raiser" aloud. Students can begin by reading the poem in a positive, excited tone of voice. Then have students experiment with negative tones, such as boredom. Ask, "Which tone do you think best conveys the poem's meaning?" After students read and discuss the poem, have them listen to the AudioText of the poem and compare their own readings with that on the CD.
Audio CD
AudioText
WRITING POETRY
Have students write a poem about ways they can earn money, how they feel about money, or what money is good for. Encourage students to use a light, humorous tone in their poems.