PREVIEW
Have students preview "Everybody
Needs a Rock" and tell what they
think the poem will be about. Remind
them to use the illustrations to help
them. After they preview, ask:
- Do you think this is a serious
poem or a funny poem?
(funny)
Link to Writing
As a group, brainstorm other possible
rules for picking out a rock. Jot down
students' ideas on the board, then
have students work on their addition
to the poem. Remind them to follow
the structure of the poem and use, for
example, the rule number as the title
of the next verse, funny line breaks
and irregular line lengths,
capitalization of some words,
and so on.
POETRY
Use the sidebar on p. 78 to guide discussion.
- Explain that poetry is the arrangement of words in lines. It usually takes the form of verse or a group of lines which form an often visible unit. Poems usually express the author's feelings and/or thoughts, and thus are emotional or imaginative. Poems are generally intended to give the reader pleasure.
- Many poems have rhythm, and they often, but not always, rhyme. Sometimes, poems have irregular rhythm, and sometimes they have no rhythm, or no rhyme. This poem has a highly irregular rhythm and no rhyme.
- Read the poem aloud. Discuss the irregular rhythm students hear when it is read. Discuss how the author feels about rocks. Remind students to use details from the poem to support their ideas.
AudioText
Responses will vary.
Activate Prior Knowledge Have
students discuss what they know
about rocks. This may include what
they look like, how big or small they
are, how they are formed, what they
are used for, and so on. Discuss in
particular the idea of having "pet
rocks," or, as the author of this poem
writes, a rock for a friend. Encourage
students to share their ideas about
why a rock might make a good "friend."
LessonTOC
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"Everybody Needs a 
